Crown of Midnight

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.

Every book I enjoy more than the last. <spoiler> I love Celaena's character development. Even though I really liked Celaena/Chaol in the previous book, I love their developments apart from each other. Chaol couldn't truly love her the way she is and she is moving past Celaena to becone Aelin. I love that nothing is set in stone.

I thought it was obvious Sorscha was a spy but I enjoyed her romance with Dorian, even if in the end she was more of a narrative device to get Dorian to where he is now. 

I'm on the Celaena/Rowan train at full speed.

The only part I didn't love were Manon's chapters. She was so disconnected from the rest of it that I just didn't care.</spoiler>

The more I think about it, the more I like it. It's sort of a transition book. Its function is mainly to put everyone in the positions they need to be for the rest of the story. And yet it felt really engaging of its own. This series keeps getting better.

Starting Book 4 right now

Ugh, I feel so let down. After a weak start to the series, the second book won me over to keep going. At the end of the book, Celaena set out for Wendlyn, and it was my hope that the story would open up, to include world-building elements. Alas, it was not for me. Celaena spends all book in training with the fae Prince Rowan to wake her magic and fae heritage. I found this ridiculously boring. As Rowan is super-brooding, and she's beating herself up because of events in book 2, it was emo and emo, with bouts of violence, and the strong smell of an upcoming love triangle, my least favorite YA fiction trope.

The Rifthold PoVs, mostly Dorian and Chaol were really not that much more interesting. It just felt like very very little was actually happening. The only PoV I actually enjoyed was Manon, a new character. This Ironteeth witch is the heir of the Blackbeak witches, and her struggle for power among the witches and her training of her wyvern Abraxos were the sole highlight in this boring slog of a book.

It's probably me and not the series, which seems beloved by many. But I am done with Throne of Glass for sure. By the end of Heir of Fire I fully realized that I do not give a damn about any of the main characters. Life's too short for mediocre books.