Crown of Midnight - Sarah J. Maas

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Source/Format: BEA 2013 || ARC

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the thoughts expressed in my review.]

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.(from Goodreads)

When I finally snagged a review copy of Crown of Midnight, I started it with equal measures of anticipation and trepidation. It felt like I’d been waiting for this sequel for so long that I’d built it up in my head, weighing it down with expectations that I feared it would not live up to. Fortunately, Maas completely sliced through all my worries with this incredible follow-up to her debut. The book showcases Maas’ writing to its full potential, certainly exceeding the first in its demonstration of skill and story. I absolutely loved it (as I’m sure everyone who follows me on Twitter is clearly aware of)!

Whereas Throne of Glass was heavily character-driven, Crown of Midnight has equal measures of character development and solid story. The lethal combination that these two elements make is incomparable, and Maas effectively wields her words to make it happen.

Celaena Sardothien returns in this novel, quickly demonstrating her bad-ass fighting and admirable stealth when she is tasked with assassinations by the king. Her skills were displayed prominently, leaving me dazzled with how capable she was. The things I loved about her - the intelligence, curiosity, compassion, loyalty, a penchant for pretty things and books - all resurfaced in tandem with that. In a way, it was as if the girl I had wanted to see in the first novel finally made her appearance -- and it was amazing. Readers are also treated to stunning revelations about Celaena, most of which made me love her more.

Familiar friends and foes also return, including Nehemia, Chaol and Dorian. Nehemia’s friendship with Celaena has grown a lot. It still warms my heart to think of them sharing confidences, challenging and helping each other. I’ve always enjoyed reading about female friendships in novels and theirs is admirable, in spite of their marked differences.

Prince Dorian completely surprised me, and I bear much more affection for him now. He has begun to take part in the politics of running the kingdom, and the games of subterfuge that are involved. His growing political savvy, his selflessness, his courtly manners and developing maturity really drew me to him. He has quite the journey ahead of him, based on this book, and I am certainly eager to see the end results.

Captain Chaol Westfall, however, is still my favorite character. He’s still stubborn and commanding, easily appealing to me as a capable man in uniform. This story allows us to see his vulnerability, particularly when it comes to his past and to Celaena, and that just made me fall for him all the more. His presence in this story is markedly more noticeable, and it pleases me that readers will be better acquainted with him. I’m particularly glad, of course, being a solid member of Team Chaol -- and I certainly hope more of you will agree after this! He's irresistible, really, and that's all there is to it!

Crown of Midnight has earned favorite, stars-and-hearts-in-my-eyes status because of its incredible story. Throne of Glass is entirely outdone by the intensity and creativity of this novel. There are quite a few elements that make up this story - political deception and maneuvering, stronger magical lore, back-to-back shocking revelations about all sorts of things, an intensely sweet romance that made me giddy and made me cry - and they’re all set against the normalcy of the day-to-day routine in the castle. I was incredibly addicted to this book, and Maas certainly deserves praise for being so clever with her writing. She really dove deep into the meat of her story; the end result is this deeply twisty tale that has me begging for more, more, more.

The ending of Crown of Midnight deserves a mention because it’s so good. It’s a solid ending, one that left me in complete shock and dismay and all jumbled up emotionally. But it also left room for development, and I’m fairly certain other fans of the series will be like me and wanting even more (right now, if possible).

I am completely and utterly in love with Crown of Midnight! Maas has managed to write another story that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, eagerly anticipating what happens to these characters I’ve fallen in love with. This follow-up has cemented the series as one of my all-time favorites, and I eagerly anticipate the rest of the books to come.