Review Detail

Ah, fantasy. Time and time again, you draw me in, only to disappoint...wait--what? What is that you say? You have a new fantasy author who you KNOW will not disappoint me? She has written a sequel that is even more intense and *fantastic* than the first? Oh yes...fantasy fans. Unless you are the most scrupulous of readers, this is a fantasy series bandwagon you absolutely MUST jump on.

Last summer, I was happily introduced to Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan's Assassin, and now King's Champion. She is a fixating mix of girly and bad-ass, sensitive and rock-hard. She knows when to play up her assassin side and when to be real. And she is such a master at this that for now (we hope), she has fooled the evil, powerful king, whose rise to power is becoming more and more curious the deeper Celaena goes into his glass castle's stony foundation.

I already know I like Celaena. She's got some traits that are vexing, but hey, what beloved MC doesn't? Namely, her choice of lover in the first book. But she has made up (in my opinion) for her past *mistakes* with the King's son, Dorian, by choosing rightly this time around. Okay, okay, so not everyone is going to want Chaol to be the one she picks, but Maas gives us plenty of opportunities to wonder if they are fated or not, and to wonder whether or not the friendship between Dorian and Celaena that has now come to peacefully exist will eventually blossom into something more, something deeper. But the romance in this sequel is just one of the many aspects of the plot that will keep you hooked...

Celaena is still making visits to Queen Elena's tomb, and she is finding more hidden there than she thought possible. Between that and her assignments from the king, Celaena is busier than ever, but she still finds time to spend with her dear friend, Princess Nehemia, who may also be hiding some secrets of her own, in spite of her promise to never lie to Celaena. When Celaena finds herself assigned to kill one of her old friends, she takes matters into her own hands and begins to find pieces to a puzzle she never realized existed.

There are all kinds of intriguing fantasy elements in Crown of Midnight, and all are artfully and uniquely arranged to make this series one of my favorites. There are witches, carnivals, Fae, tombs, labyrinths, riddles, poems, forgotten languages, haunting songs, and otherwordly creatures, and all are woven into this story with an ease that belies this new author's age. It all appears to be written by an old master, a tale found itself in some dark cavern, hidden away in a locked chest amongst other treasures. There is even a tiny introduction to a new character, and it fit in so well with everything else I had almost forgotten it! I absolutely cannot wait until the next book, and I think I am going to be looking for the prequels to this series as well. I've got to get more of Erilea.