Crown of Midnight by Sarah J.MAAS | Spoiler Free Review

Title: Crown of Midnight by Sarah. J MAAS (Throne of Glass #2)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 418

Synopsis: 

Crowned by Evil.
Bound by Duty.
Divided by Love.

Celaena Sardothien, royal assassin, is the King of Adarlan’s deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies’ blood – but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, put those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors – a captain and a prince – and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart or the fate of a kingdom…

Review

Crown of Midnight is an unbelievable sequel to Throne of Glass. If you would like to read my Spoiler Free Review for Throne of Glass please click here. I don’t know how Sarah J.MAAS does it, every time she writes I swear she knocks it out of the park.

On plot alone this book would get 5/5 stars from. The whole plot is just so interesting, captivating and engaging. What other adjectives can I throw in here?

First off I have to go straight into THAT ENDING. Oh my, you are going to be well and truly shocked and left cliff hanged. I’m talking make sure you have Heir of Fire next to you so you can start it straight away. You know I hate being a spoiler sue so I’m going to say the plot is somewhat different to Throne of Glass, now that Celeana is the King’s Champion she becomes kind of a different character as she does the Kings Bidding to earn her future freedom. By the term ‘different character’ I mean in Throne of Glass she had to protect herself and not truly show her talents and hide part of herself whereas she can now really show her skills in Crown of Midnight. Whilst Throne of Glass had action in terms of the champions training and competing with one another, there is action in Crown of Midnight where we get to see Celeana as the trained assassin she is.

Crown of Midnight is also further about the magical elements of this world. We learn more about Wyrdkeys and there is so many suprises regarding magic to be revealed in this book. Ah I wish I could reveal it to you but alas no Spoilers so please read it!
As more magical elements are introduced into the story we also get to meet a WITCH.. Yaaay for more fantasy characters. Ultimately the witch belongs to a carnival which is present during one moment in the book and she brings with even more depth to this world and the magical elements of the story.  The moments Celeana shares with the Witch are one of the more action packed moments of the book and secrets will be revealed.

For me the plot was fast paced and I was kept on my toes with the constant twists, turns and secrets that left my brain spinning. This is truly a world that just keeps on giving and whilst others somehow guessed the surprises lingering in the plot I was so enthralled in the moment of the story that I didn’t.

One of my favourite things about Maas’ writing is how she incorporates multiple POV’s because it helps with the expansive world building. We learn so many different things through each character and we get to have such a well-rounded story. I think the multiple POV also helps you as a reader to let all the information sink in, if this was simply a single POV read then it would be information heavy whereas because we get to hear from Dorian, Choal and Celeana it is easier to process.

Celeana has such a huge arc development in Crown of Midnight as she has been crowned the King’s Assassin she now has some reign over the castle, she is the King’s Champion therefore she must now do his bidding and kill those he wants to be killed. She has a healthy salary so we see another element to Celeana – post slave and prisoner. The side of Celeana which shows her to be more than a brutal assassin through the books and gowns she buys. One of my favourite moments in this book is the moments we learn more about Celeana’s past and her attempted escape from the Salt Mines.

“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.” 

Celeana without a doubt is one of my favourite characters, some people really hate her but for me I can’t get enough of her sass and sarcasm. She is a kick ass heroine, yes heroine even though she is an assassin. She is brutal when she needs to be but in reality deep down she is so much more which we see through her further developing relationships with Nehemia, Choal and Dorian.

“Why are you crying?”
“Because,” she whispered, her voice shaking, “you remind me of what the world ought to be. What the world can be.”

 

In my review for Throne of Glass you may remember I was torn between Choal and Dorian somewhat. Well Choal well and truly has my heart, I never thought these three characters were really a love triangle? It didn’t feel like a love triangle, Dorian is sweet, sassy and funny but Choal just works for Celeana. In Crown of Midnight we get to see Dorian and Celeana develop more of a friendship which is a dynamic I really like for the pair.

Though despite my love for Choal there were moments in this book where he was towing the line as he does some things that aren’t good in this book, ‘aren’t good’ being the lighter words for the descision he makes. He has to redeem himself thats for sure.

Crown of Midnight follows Throne of Glass into a 5 star Rating. I adored my whole reading experience of this book, Sarah J.MAAS is truly an exceptional writer in my opinion her world building is so expansive and captivating as well as her characters and I lose myself in her world so easily. I can’t wait to see what’s next especially after that ENDING.

p.s this book is an emotional rollercoaster so get the tissues ready. 

Useful Links

Goodreads | Where to Buy | www.sarahjmaas.com

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Have you read Crown of Midnight? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and who your favourite character is!