Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) - Sarah Maas [Review]

This review contains spoilers.

Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Release Date: August 15th 2013
Pages: 432
Rating: ★★★★1/2

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

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. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Review:

I absolutely loved this sequel! Throne of Glass I found an amazing book, but well, I'm always afraid for the second book. But after reading several raving reviews, I went into reading this book with high expectations. And the book definitely did not disappoint!

Short Summary

The book continues where ToG ended. Celaena is now the King's Champion and has to kill everyone the king orders her to kill or he'll kill her friends. The mystery around the Wyrdmarks also continues and Celaena grows closer and closer to Captain of the Guard Chaol.

Characters

Celaena's character was again great in this book. I know I had some problems with her arrogance in the first book, but I have accepted this now as I can see it's just a defense mechanism of her. She was still sarcastic and quite arrogant, but she was also smart, strong and willing to do anything to help the people she loves. 

In this book we saw a softer side of her. She finally loved someone again and felt at home. In the previous book she was only in the castle for survival, but now she has friends and she feels loved again. This made her more caring and less snarky, I liked that side of her.

Dorian really grew as a character. In book one he was still a spoiled, naive boy who couldn't see what was right in front of him. In this book he started to explore for himself and defied his father several times. He matured and definitely became more likable.

Chaol.. I love you! He is definitely one of my favourite male book characters ever. He was just so sweet and he truly cared for Celaena. But when he had to be he was super badass. He was just an overall good person and he did not deserve what Celaena put him through in the last part of the book.

There were a lot of other characters, but for me one stood out: Princess Nehemia. She was one of the few people in the castle who was real and kind and I loved her friendship with Celaena. Nehemia wasn't afraid to fight to get what she wanted and she really cared about her people.

Romance

Where to start about the romance? Well, as I had already foreseen Chaol and Celaena finally admitted to their buildup chemistry and started a relationship. I absolutely loved their romance. They were so sweet together. Chaol really cared for her and Celaena became a better person because of him. But of course their happiness couldn't last too long and they broke up in the last part of the book, so frustrating. I really hated this and I hope everything will work out in book three.

There was no sign of the love triangle that had built up in book one. Celaena and Dorian were strictly friends and she was only romantically interested in Chaol. Since they are broken up now, maybe the love triangle will pop up again in book three. I hope not, since I love the friendship between Celaena and Dorian.

Fantasy/Mystery

The fantasy elements in the book: the magic, Wyrdmarks, elves.. they made up the mystery in this (and the previous) book. Celaena got pulled in even more in this book and also Dorian got his share in the mystery. The mystery gets darker and bigger, although nobody gets killed by monsters anymore. I really liked this part of the book, the mystery's scary and unpredictable.

Plot

The book was fast paced, full of action, had lots of twists, was mysterious and romantic. It had a few heartbreaking moments, but also some where I laughed out loud.

Unfortunately, the 'shocking' cliffhanger I had already predicted and thus did not leave me with my mouth on the floor. But I do really want to how everything continues, since there are a lot of other things that are not yet resolved.

Conclusion

If you liked Throne of Glass, you're going to love Crown of Midnight, as it's even better than its predecessor. More mystery, more romance, more action.. I can't wait for book three!

Stars: 4.5 out of 5