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RedditIn this Crown of Midnight book review I share my thoughts on the second book of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. This review will likely have some spoilers. For a spoiler free review you’ll want to check out my Throne of Glass Series Review here.
“Because, you remind me of how the world ought to be. What the world can be.”
Sarah J. Maas, Crown of Midnight
With one book down I knew I only needed to push through this book till the series started to get good, at least according to almost every review I read on the series. I was really hoping this book would be better than the last book.
For the most part though I wasn’t overly thrilled with this book, until the ending. That’s when things started to get really interesting.
Trigger Warnings
Since we don’t always get trigger warnings on books I like to give trigger warnings in my reviews. This can help people avoid certain triggers that could hurt their mental well being.
Possible Triggers in this book are:
- Slavery
- Gore
- Murder
- Torture
- Violence
- Death
- Decapitation
For a list of the triggers I look for you can check out this link here.
Synopsis and Author
After winning the competition and becoming the King’s Assassin, Celaena Sardothien is sent to kill anyone who would oppose the king. After returning from an assignment and showing proof of her accomplished task, the King gives her another assignment. She is to kill a rebel named Archer Finn.
Celaena has a secret though as she dives into Archer’s world to get more information on the would-be traitors to the king.
Meanwhile Dorian has a secret that could mean his death if his father finds out. While Chaol struggles with his loyalty to Dorian, the kingdom, and his feelings for Celaena.
This is the second book of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. The original story had a few chapters that were posted online before it was picked up for publishing almost ten years later.
Reading Experience
The last book in the series was heavily focused on the glass castle within Rifthold; Crown of Midnight goes beyond the castle walls into the city of Rifthold. We see shopping, restaurants, and even abandoned warehouses and poor sections of the city.
As per usual Sarah J Maas is a master of world building that puts you right inside the locations she describes. Everything from the streets to the rooftops is described in detail that brings you right into the story and standing next to the characters and witnessing what’s happening.
Our main characters are still the same but unlike the last book where we only had the point of view of Celaena, we now get the point of view of Chaol and Dorian. While I enjoyed the point of view of Dorian, Chaol’s point of view became tedious and a bit annoying after awhile.
Again the plot felt a bit predictable at least until the end of the book. I wasn’t expecting a certain death and it came as a bit of a shock to me when I read it. It was at this point that the book actually started to pick up a bit for me.
However, this is also when this book starts to become a bit graphic and gory. The overall theme of the book is absolutely internal conflicts. All three of our main characters face a conflict within themselves. Be it hiding a secret, doing what’s right, or picking a side they all struggle with their internal conflict.
Writing Style
The writing style in this book was much better than in Throne of Glass. Sarah J Maas is absolutely coming into her own as a writer in this book. She’s finding her groove and figuring out where this story is going to go.
This book is 432 pages in 56 chapters that made for a quick 2 day read. While it was very easy to read and a bit fluffy at times the story was still good. The ending leaves the reader wondering what will happen next.
While this book was a bit slow to get into, I didn’t really start feeling it until about half way through, I had already known that it was a push through to get to the good part of the series. It’s after this that things start to get really good.
Crown of Midnight Book Review
As per usual my favorite character was Celaena, we see her grow a bit in this book. She faces yet another trauma in her life while also trying to heal from the pain she’s experienced before. Her character growth is starting to get interesting. We also see darkness in Celaena at this point and it’s a bit scary and interesting.
Look I really wanted Chaol to grow on me but this book just cemented him in the I do not like pile of characters. He makes a lot of mistakes and bad calls in this story. While I don’t think some of what happened to him was an appropriate response, his decisions forced that hand.
Surprisingly Kaltain makes an appearance or two in this book and I found myself taking pity on her and what she’s going through. While before she was a spoiled courtier, now I feel like maybe she’s the one who was used and wronged.
It was nice to get out of the castle and into Rifthold for a bit but I wish we had seen a bit more of Adarlan in this book. It got a bit boring to only be in one area. While the world building is still fantastic I just wish we could have seen a bit more from it.
The plot was a bit predictable in the beginning but there was a fantastic twist in the end that leaves you ready to read the next book. That was a nice addition to this series. While the last book left a few questions wanting answers there wasn’t a lot that pushes you into reading the next book.
This book throws you into the story towards the end that makes you excited to get to the next part to see how our characters will deal with it.
Since this series starts off as one thing and is transitioned into another, I make my recommendation based on the entire series. If you like flawed characters, the fae, mate romance, rebel and revolution stories, this series is for you.
Crown of Midnight Rating
Before I rate this book I want to give you a bit of background about what my rankings mean. I typically read books that I check out through the Libby app with my local library or through Kindle Unlimited.
I rarely buy ebooks unless they are cheaply priced or on sale. I also very rarely buy physical copies of books. I’m a bit of a minimalist so I have to absolutely adore a book to buy a physical copy that will be proudly displayed in my home.
So my ranking system is as follows:
- 5 Stars equals I am buying a physical copy of this book. I will read this book at least 10 more times, it is the best ever.
- 4 stars equals a great book. I might buy an ebook version when it’s on sale so that I can re-read it at least one more time.
- 3 stars equals a good book. I likely won’t read again but I appreciate the story.
- 2 stars equals “Meh.” I will not read this book again, it had a lot of problems and I did not care for it.
- 1 star equals a bad book. I barely finished this book and I will never recommend anyone waste valuable book reading time on this book.
- 0 stars is a did not finish book. I will never finish that book and it is banished.
Crown of Midnight gets a 3. While the ending solidifies my desire to move forward with the series, how many people really want to spend 6 hours trying to get through a book before you actually get into it. I had hoped this book would have been much better than Throne of Glass but it just wasn’t.
Likes:
- Celaena’s growth.
- The mystery of what is hidden within the castle.
- Dorian and his fear of what is happening to him.
Dislikes:
- Chaol’s behavior.
- The “spicy” scenes with Chaol and Celaena were just horrible, even by young adult standards.
- Having to read most of the book before really getting into it.
Final Thoughts on Crown of Midnight
I know the author is taking a story she wrote 10-11 years prior to this and trying to create something great from it so I’m willing to overlook some of the more cringe or boring parts of the book. Reading this series is like watching a child grow, we are seeing Sarah J Maas turn into a fantastic epic fantasy series writer.
I am really glad that I read her other books before the first two in this series, otherwise I may have never given her a chance. I view these two books as just the beginning, the prequel, the first seasons of something fantastic.
The end of this book really proves that big and fantastic things are coming in the series. It reaches in, grabs you, and says, “you’re mine now.”
Have you read Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite book boards.
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