Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

The biggest reveal ever.

I will never stop subconsciously fangirling about this book and this series until my last breath. Crown of Midnight is the action-packed second installment of the Throne of Glass series and one of my most favorite. Why? Well, maybe you should read it and see for yourself. (HINT: The ending will leave you all like whhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?)

Ms. Maas has once again blown me away with her writing and her stories. If I seriously had to choose my favorite of the series (so far through my re-read), it would be this one. I'm not saying Throne of Glass was bad because, hell, look at my 5-gear review on it. There's just something about big reveals and subtle cliffhangers that don't make you want to punch 5 babies in a row, but still makes you want more. I believe I actually read Crown of Midnight before Heir of Fire was published which made the wait excruciating.

The characters are still amazing and once I finished reading, I had come to a conclusion. Even I can't choose between Dorian and Chaol. I can't. I mean, Dorian is compassionate, kind and definitely not like his father... but Chaol... he challenges Celaena, keeps her fighting as if they were a perfect match. They're both UGH.

This is my half-assed review of Crown of Midnight. I hope through the blabbering and fangirling, you were able to see that I loved it.

The second book in the series is just as good as the others. It picks up two months into Celaena's work as the King's Champion. Celaena is conflicted being ordered to kill potential rebels for the man she hates most in the world. Though her romance with Dorian came to an end a new romance starts developing between Celaena and Chaol. Some of the King's secrets start to reveal themselves while new ones seem to develop.

Celaena's confliction places her in extreme danger if the King ever found out. As the book continues Celaena starts to affiliate more with the rebels. Her past is slowing starting to reveal itself though it's obviously still extremely painful for Celaena. As her love with Chaol continues to blossoms her old wounds finally start to heal themselves and she believes that she may be becoming a whole once more. However, when a sudden and bloody situation arises Chaol and Celaena are pulled apart forever.

This book had some excellent twists and turns that were really unexpected and sometimes even heart crushing. This suspense was awesome, it was nice to read a book that had me on the edge of my seat with twists that I could never have guessed.

This book opens with a bang! You are lead to believe that Calaena is killing a man with his wife while they're in bed. But after turning in a few body parts to the king... you see that she is faking deaths. Because let's be really honest here; the king is evil and should never be trusted.

The King gives her another mission - to kill an old friend of hers; Archer. She must also take down the rebel group that he might be attached to. She gets close to Archer and tells him to the leave city or die. He offers to her names to a group of rebels and she takes the names. It ends up in a close call in Davis' office, finding a book on Wyrdmarks.

This leads to her asking Nehemia for help. Though her friend offers none. Along the way she falls for Chaol and they share a short but passionate relationship. It ends the Chaol is taken hostage by Archer and his group of rebels. That's also the night Nehemia is murdered and our assassin guesses Dorian has magic.

The nail in the coffin for Chaol and Calaena is that he kept important information from her about the treat on Nehemia's life. She ends up trying to kill him. I can't say I'm sorry this happened. I was a huge Dorian and Calaena shipper so... yeah.

It takes many days to recover from this major loss. It leads to her discovering the Wyrdkeys and how powerful they can be. She also comes to know that the king has at least one of the three needed to open the gate. It was also how the king had sealed off magic.

Our assassin decides she needs to talk to Nehemia one last time and uses the wyrdmarks to open a portal but very bad things happen leading to Choal knowing she's fae and that Dorian has magic. She also finds out that Archer had a part in her friend's death and kills him.

Chaol decides that the only way keep her safe is to send her far away from this kingdom. He creates a plan and even gets his fathers backing after promising to return to his own homeland. So this amazing book ends with Calaena on the shop to Wendlyn and Chaol figuring out she's not just any far. But the heir to the far throne in Terrase.

This book blew me away, it had be smiling like an idiot and then crying my eyes out. I just love that she is the heir to the throne though honestly I just knew that was coming. It's been so obvious for such a while. Anyway, read this book! It's so amazing and it keeps getting better. Though so sorry for all you Chaol shippers out there. I think that ship sunk.

The writing flows so nicely and I love the way Sarah pays such great attention to detail. This novel will hook you from page one and will not let you go till it's over. Now I'd ready for Heir of Fire!

From page 1 I was engrossed and couldn’t put it down. I literally finished the first book in the series, fell asleep for the night and upon waking started the second on only putting it down to groan and head to work for 8 hours. Upon returning I finished the book. I loved every second of it. Nearly every detail seemed to add something to the story that Sarah J. Maas is weaving. The writing alone in this one has convinced me I will read the entire series no matter where it takes me.

The characters all have developed even further from the first one. The action keeps you interested, and who doesn’t love a story about a tough assassin kicking everyone’s tush? If you liked the first book at all pick up this one. The writing style I loved is continued but the annoying parts of the first book in the series are nowhere to be seen. From page 1 this book does nothing but draw you in and keep you in.

Crown of Midnight, the sequel to Throne of Glass, picks up right up right after the first, with Celaena now the King’s Champion, which basically means she is the King’s private assassin expected to carry out every command with no question. She is as deadly and lethal as ever, and now has her freedom to look forward to. But she is also playing a dangerous game – one that if the King knew, a trip to Endovier would seem like a walk to the park. Her secret can only be shared with her best friend, Princess Nehemia and Captain Westfall, whom she grows closer to. For the King, is planning far worse things for the Kingdom – worse than what he did 10 years ago when he massacred and conquered the neighboring kingdoms to bring them under the rule of Adarlan. A hint of his plans were given at the end of Throne of Glass, which indicated it having something to do with Wyrdmarks, but Celaena stumbles upon a more nefarious plot.

Sarah J Maas, as before, has written the book so well. The plot advances with many twists and shocking revelations, some betrayals and some extremely sweet developments. I finally now know that I am Team Chaol – who couldn’t be? He keeps up with Celaena, even with the shocking truth towards the end. And Celaena – man, she is more dangerous than ever – especially when she is bent on vengeance. The crowning glory of the book is that Celaena is so well-written and described, that even though the book shifts through perspectives, you can feel that you are her. You can feel her anguish, her happiness, her calm, her rage and her ruthlessness – you just become her while reading. Nehemia is the doting friend as ever, the revolutionary – and even though it’s never from her POV, you can feel her despair when she witnesses the King pushing her country down even more.

As I said before, there are many revelations throughout the book – some of them can be guessed soon enough and some just hit you out of nowhere. For the most part, Celaena shows incredible wit and cleverness but sometimes I do feel she could have realized some things sooner. Even so, I like that she is not without flaws; she definitely has grown from the previous books (including the novellas).

The book was divided into two parts – and at the end of the first part, I was like – Noooo! That did not just happen. Yet, as I delved into the second part, I did realize that it had to happen – so that things could be set in motion, as Elena said. And with an ending like that, even self-contained, the possibilities in the next book – they are exhilarating. I want the next book – like now. Sad thing is, there is no name for it yet. But yes, I do expect it to be as engaging, passionate, and enthralling as this one.

Lastly, I am not one for gushing about covers in their reviews but – HOW AWESOME IS THAT COVER!!!

Given it has been a bit from reading Throne of Glass, honestly all I remember was that I loved it, Celaena was kick ass and I adored her, and there was a love triangle that I liked and I think I was rooting for the underdog. All my recollection from before I began, but it quickly came back to me.
Celaena is tough, smart and witty, and I admired her. She goes about everything in such a calculated manner, and she has this ability to see and treasure the good, and have no limits for injustice. I couldn't believe but thought it was exactly like her in the ways that she was defying the king. I knew that she was walking a very narrow road, but admired her all the same. I honestly had forgotten about the Elena theme from the last one, but it also emerged in this one, and I enjoyed that storyline as it challened Celaena even more.
I loved Chaol even more in this one. It is becoming apparent to even Dorian how much he cares for Celaena, and he can't stand it when she is off on the dangerous missions for the king. He wants to protect her and wishes that the line drawn by his position and hers wasn't there. But I lived for their stolen moments, of how steamy it can even be for him to just hold her. It is touching how he cares for her so much he just wants to throw caution to the wind, but I am glad that he is smart about it.
Dorian was present in this one, but thankfully wasn't really a factor into the triangle like in the first, but he is there as a friend to Celeana when she needs one the most. He stepped up in many ways, but still has a long way to grow as royalty. But he is harboring a secret in this one that I had no inkling would happen, but it means big things.
I will say that Sarah almost made me cry, and def shocked me at some of the turn of events that happened. There were so many twists in this one, things that I never saw coming, and that I am still even at the end, not sure exactly what the implications will be but I know that I can't wait to find out. The climax and ending left me breathless and wanting more from this beautifully written novel with so many layers.


Bottom Line: Layered and exciting 2nd book of a series with an awesome and dangerous female main character.