In For A Big Surprise

In For A Big Surprise

• Oct 23, 2013

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Release Date: August 27, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Pages: 432 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Kindle ebook
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

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 assassins's loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

Thoughts on Crown of Midnight

OH MY GOODNESS, I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD LOVE THIS SERIES AS MUCH AS I NOW DO!

Okay, whew. I just needed to start by getting that off my chest! I'm sorry for the shouting, but I just wanted to make sure everyone could hear me. I really enjoyed Throne of Glass, but there were a few minor things that left me wanting a little more from it. Thankfully, this was a case where the second book just made me fall in love with the series. It took the foundation that was established in Throne of Glass to all new heights!

Goodness, I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I stayed up SO late because I couldn't put it down, even though I had to get up early for work the next morning. There was so much to love about Crown of Midnight, so I think that late-night decision was totally justified.

The beginning of this book focuses on Celaena's new role as the King's Assassin. She's given targets to take out, and I was in heaven finally getting to see her in action. I wanted to get to see Celaena's skill a little more in Throne of Glass since there weren't many scenes focusing on the competition, and Maas definitely delivered in this book. The action was really amped up toward the end of Part One and just took off from there. Sometimes a big turning point like that leaves me feeling like the pacing is off. Thankfully, I never felt that way in this one! While there was more action in Part Two, there was plenty of intrigue and mystery happening in Part One.

And the romance! Ooooohhhh my goodness, I had so many feelings during the first part. I don't even have the words to tell you how happy I was about this element. There's so much romantic tension and then Maas just delivers when the couple finally gets together. My heart was just aching with some of the turns their story took, but I have hope that there'll be even more with these two in book three. I love that Celaena makes a decision about who she wants to be with and sticks with it. I don't know what Maas intends to do in future books, and things aren't all smooth for the two lovebirds, but it's still a relief to see a series where the romance doesn't thrive on a dragged out love triangle.

There are a few big shockers - some that I saw coming, some that I didn't. Either way, I was totally hooked! The big thing that I felt wasn't fully developed in Throne of Glass was the magic, and so I was hoping it would be explained better in Crown of Midnight. Thankfully, there is definitely more to learn in this one about what is going on in this kingdom. I don't want to go into anything about the plot, but trust me when I saw that Maas delivered on everything I felt was lacking in Throne of Glass.

Crown of Midnight is just an addictive story! I really enjoyed Throne of Glass, but I can now see how Maas was setting everything up and introducing you to characters that were about to steal your heart. The creativity of the story, the super swoonworthiness of the romance, and the mythology of the magic in this world just blew me away. The story is so complex, so detailed, and so thought out. I definitely feel like Maas knows where she's going with this story, which makes me even more excited for further books in this series.

If you're anything like me, you'll finish this one just DYING for the next book. The other thing I did? Well, I went and ordered hard copies of these books because I can already tell that I need to have these books on my shelves. The Kindle copies just weren't cutting it... I need to be able to flip back through and savor my favorite moments whenever I want. I'm so glad other bloggers convinced me to give these books a shot - I definitely think I've found a new favorite series!

So Quotable

"It was like coming home or being born or suddenly finding an entire half of herself that had been missing."