Book Review: Crown of Midnight
- Author: Sarah J. Maas
- Series: Throne of Glass #2
- First published August 15, 2013
The Assassin of Adarlan
Celaena is the assassin of Adarlan. She has only four years of service left until the freedom she’s longed for. All her life she has served as a weapon for someone else’s interests and now she is one step away from breaking all the chains again and leaving Adarlan forever.
Though she has defeated Cain, Celaena is aware that evil has not been destroyed, and the King is involved in some way that she must uncover.
Being selfish and thinking for herself, hasn’t she suffered enough?
The heroine is again faced with several moral choices. She has firmly put an end to her relationship with Dorian, but what has grown between her and Chaol seems completely real and achievable. She couldn’t imagine a life with the future King of Adarlan, but running away with the Warden is a far more realistic happiness for her. The question remained, could Chaol take her lies and who was he more loyal to, her or the King of Adarlan? Because Celaena has started a dangerous game that could cost the lives of everyone around her.
Nehemiah is the only friend Celaena has allowed herself to have since the betrayal she experienced at the Silent Assassins in the desert. Only to her can she share her secrets, not all of course, but some things must never come to light. It soon becomes clear that the princess also keeps secrets, and much more dangerous ones than Celaena’s. Assassin will be drawn into the game of ancient powers without even realizing it or wanting to. She will be driven to the edge and fall back to that dark corner of herself where rage and anger rule. Her desire for vengeance is destructive and there is no power that can bring her back from this path she will take.
An introduction to magic
The second book in Throne of Glass series sets the stage for the more magical part of Selene’s story. Sarah J. Maas has an exceptional talent for building worlds and magical creatures. I am in awe of the author’s imagination and she will never cease to surprise me. In Crown of Midnight, things get a little deeper and we begin to uncover the layers of this magic system little by little. However, it turns out that the magic hasn’t completely disappeared.
Crown of Midnight
is a dynamic book full of action. While The Glass Throne is the introduction to the world of Erilea and an introduction to the main characters, the second book is the beginning of the journey Selene must take to fulfill her assigned role in the destiny of the kingdom. Sarah J. Maas knows how to test her characters to the limit. Reading “Crown of Midnight” certain it becomes clear to us what a painful and loneliness-filled path she has chosen for her characters. Trust and friendship are luxuries, and most of all, I love how Maas breaks everything down in just a few chapters.
“Crown of Midnight” is the beginning of the growth of a grown up Celaena. By now we’ve been introduced to the childish version of the assassin. Well the cold-blooded murders aren’t particularly childish, but Selena’s own character leans towards the typical 18 year old who likes to get everything she wants. Things are about to change and let’s face it the Selena we are about to see is the heroine I have much more of a soft spot for.
And if you had a feeling about some of the events, I guarantee Maas will manage to surprise you about others. The final chapters are absolutely dizzying and shocking. The ending is more than unexpected and certainly leaves us thirsting for more.
What will happen to Kaol and Dorian? Will they find happiness? Who is Celaena?
“A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.
It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend.”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.
