Crown of Midnight

Hardcover, 432 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 2023 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens.

ISBN:: 978-1-61963-062-8

(1 review)

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to …

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

1 edition

Michael Haider reviewed Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #2)

My Review of Crown of Midnight

5 stars

The second book in the Throne of Glass series built upon the first and smashed my expectations by a wide margin. While not a literary masterpiece by any stretch, I thought Sarah J. Maas' writing was greatly improved in Crown of Midnight, making for a more engaging read than Throne of Glass. In addition to the general improvement in the writing and storytelling, there's more of everything in this one - intrigue, humor, fight scenes, and yes, romance.

The trio of friends, and sometimes love triangle of Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian all grow by leaps and bounds in this one, while not losing that spark that made them fun, compelling, and sometimes maddening characters to begin with. Celaena remained a badass with skills and a personality to be reckoned with, but I really enjoyed Chaol and Dorian's development in this one. Chaol started the series as a pawn for the …

The second book in the Throne of Glass series built upon the first and smashed my expectations by a wide margin. While not a literary masterpiece by any stretch, I thought Sarah J. Maas' writing was greatly improved in Crown of Midnight, making for a more engaging read than Throne of Glass. In addition to the general improvement in the writing and storytelling, there's more of everything in this one - intrigue, humor, fight scenes, and yes, romance.

The trio of friends, and sometimes love triangle of Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian all grow by leaps and bounds in this one, while not losing that spark that made them fun, compelling, and sometimes maddening characters to begin with. Celaena remained a badass with skills and a personality to be reckoned with, but I really enjoyed Chaol and Dorian's development in this one. Chaol started the series as a pawn for the royalty with unwavering loyalty but spends most of the second book struggling between his loyalty and oath to the royal family and his loyalty to Celaena and his own personal desires. Dorian, on the other hand, is still the same handsome and lovable prince, but comes into his own as a man, stepping into his power and more openly disagreeing with his father. I found myself screaming internally at Celaena's recklessness, Chaol's often misplaced loyalty, and Dorian's lack of secrecy despite his station in life and what's at stake.

Crown of Midnight was a wonderful story that kept me engaged throughout to the point where I started the book and finished it in about 30 hours. There seemed to be much less "downtime" in this one compared to Throne of Glass, and with the chapters being on the shorter side, it was very easy to keep tapping away on the Kindle app on my phone.

I loved this book. Chances are if you're reading this one, you're reading through the whole series anyway, but if you read the first and were unsure if you wanted to continue, please keep going and give Crown of Mightnight a read.