Things finally seem to pick up in this installment. Sure, some things are still a tad annoying…Chaol. And the pacing makes thing’s slightly unbearable. But I think this really sets up the next book with the obvious cliffhanger—Caelena is Aelin, finally! ( )

The second in the Throne of Glass series. Can’t talk too much about it without giving up spoilers, but I can say that the love triangle is still going pretty strong, and Maas delivers her trademark plot twists whammies in the last 30 pages or so. Excellent fantasy series so far. ( )

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) ♦ Sarah J. Maas | Review

Crown of MidnightThrone of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas came around with new mysteries and old secrets, some were uncovered and many more are still unknown.



Crown of Midnight ♦ Sarah J. Maas

Opinion

Once the most feared assassin in Adarlan, who rebelled against slavery before becoming a slave herself in the salt mines of Endovier, she is now the King's Champion. In this position, she follows in her well-known footsteps as an assassin, only on behalf of the man who once enslaved her. How will Celaena handle this situation? Will she really kill for the man responsible for her family's death? Because killing, murdering, is what Celaena has to do for the King and the way she's found to circumvent the hit-and-runs is a balancing act. Should her betrayal of the King become known, it would mean her execution.

Sarah J. Maas greeted me with this brilliant start to Crown of Midnight, and she didn't stop there. The second volume had a lot more to offer, but one in particular: a main character who is gorgeous, strong, and in absolute control; this makes for an extremely welcome break from all the obnoxious and pathetic heroines that are prevalent in many Young/New Adult Fantasy books. But the secondary characters also come into their own, they have depth. Both Dorian and Chaol, with the former regaining some of its importance in the last third, while Chaol becomes quite significant for Celaena and the plot as a whole. The author put a lot of thought into all of her characters. While a love triangle was announced in Throne of Glass, this book proved me wrong.

While the first two-thirds of the story brought together a lot of information that was also essential for the plot of Crown of Midnight, it will probably also be important for the following volumes, as the last third was really tough. Intrigues were exposed, tears and blood were shed, and secrets were revealed that got my pulse racing.
Probably the most important twist of all turns out to be at the end and left me breathless.

Conclusion

All the storylines flow seamlessly, and I didn't even feel like Maas dragged this volume out unnecessarily. The dialogues were entertaining, the twists and turns had me glued to the pages. The character developments are becoming more and more solid, but I'm sure there's more to come.


This review was first published at The Art of Reading. ( )

1st read: December 2019
2nd read: September 2023

This is better than the first book in the series. More action, more character development, better writing. I hope that the series continues improving. ( )

The revenge plot is brewing and bubbling and I'm here for it. ( )