Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

CROWN OF MIDNIGHT

Throne of Glass Series #2

by Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsberry USA Children (August 2013)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (420 pages)
Source: Purchased
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)

Summary

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

At A Glance
The only thing that could make this book better is if I could bake it and eat it so it could always be a part of me. No, I am not weird, I just say the things everyone else is thinking...I hope.

The Good
I don't know why but I am having trouble writing this review. Sometimes, when a book is so good, and everyone pretty much agrees, it's hard to write a review because I doubt I will say anything different. I mean, come on, Maas is brilliant. Obvi! She has made a perfect YA book for me, one with a kickass assassin! I could not ask for more. Her writing flows well and her imagery is off the charts. Which brings me to another point. Maas has made the perfect fantasy book for me as well. I have never been a lover of straight up fantasy/ high fantasy. Maas has changed all that. I think I might have to make a shrine for Maas, light some candles, chant a bit, have a whole bunch of smelly-ass incense, you know, the usual. Because this is how much I love Maas right now. Mas Maas! Mas Maas! You know I am excited when I am throwing in some Spanish even though I suck at it.

OMG, I am totally rambling. I kind of like it. I feel so free!!! Anyway, Celaena was badass all the way this time. I did feel like she became too girly in the first book but Celaena was pretty hardcore with her killing and maiming this time around. I like that in an MC. Yeah, I know, weirdo alert!!!

Woah, I just got sidetracked by an episode of Chopped. God, I love that show.

So, yeah, back to Celaena. She does such a great job at convincing everyone she is loyal to the King but in all reality she is sneaky as f*ck! I just love her brain. She knows how to play people so easily. For a while it seems like life is pretty normal...for an assassin living in enemy territory. Then this effing horrible, disgusting, terrible, vomit-inducing, heart-breaking thing happens and I wanted to die, just like Celaena wanted to die. I can't believe Maas did this to us. I am totally banishing all the smelly incense on the shrine, Maas must feel my wrath. No incense for you!! Celaena gets all super scary after that. And to me, that was the best part of the book. I love watching the animal come out in someone. When someone loses all care and fear and just effing goes all out.

Dorian goes through some stuff that really surprised me. His character is growing and is definitely going to have a big part to play later. Just wow. I liked it though. I needed something to spice him up a little. But Chaol is the one to watch out for in this book. He and Calaena grew so close and I loved that they found that little piece of happiness together. Then that THING happened and everything fell apart. Damn you, Chaol! Don't keep secrets, that never ends well. I would have been pissed at Chaol too if I were Celaena.

Okay, that's all I got. No more. Just read this book/series, people. You won't regret it.

Oh wait!!! I can't believe I almost forgot. That. Ending. O. M. G. I...I...book three is going to be AWESOME!!! That is all.

The Bad
I gave this book 5 stars because it was better than Throne of Glass, which I gave 4.5 stars. So I didn't really have anywhere else to go. But, yes, this book is 5 star worthy, no doubt, but I will say that the first half was a little slow for me. I wasn't bored, I was just impatient to get to the meat of the story.

The Snuggly
The love triangle in this series is the love triangle to beat all love triangles. It's the love triangle that people who hate love triangles would love. It just works. You understand why Dorian and Chaol love Celaena. You understand why Celaena has feelings for both men. Throne of Glass focused on Celaena and Dorian, but Crown of Midnight is all about Chaol and Celaena, which I think is a better match. I love them together. And then that thing happened and I was devastated, but I can't reveal anymore than that.

There is sex in this book, and it gets pretty hot, but it's still appropriate for YA.

Final Thoughts
Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book. Read this book.

Quotes

“The rest of the world quieted into nothing. In that moment, after ten long years, Celaena looked at Chaol and realized she was home.”

 

“Who said anything about shame?" She gestured down to her naked body, even though it was covered by the blanket. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're not strutting about, boasting to everyone. I certainly would be if I'd tumbled me.

"Does your love for yourself know no bounds?"

"Absolutely none.”

 

“I don't think you realize who you're dealing with."

The man clicked his tongue, "If you were that good, you would be more than just Captain of the Guard."

Chaol let out a low, breathy laugh. "I wasn't talking about me."

"She's just one girl."

Though his guts were twisting at the thought of her in this place, with these people, though he was considering every possible way to get himself and Celaena out of here alive, he gave the man a grin. "Then you're really in for a big surprise.”

 

 

“Enough! We have enough enemies as it is! There are worse things out there to face!"

Celaena slowly turned to him, her face splattered with blood and eyes blazing bright. "No, there aren't," she said. "Because I'm here now.”

Throne of Glass Series:
Book #1: Throne of Glass
Book #2: Crown of Midnight