Crown of Midnight - Sarah J Maas

"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.”

This is the second book in Sarah J Maas’s “Throne of Glass” series. I read the first book before I started this blog and it took my library ages to get their hands on it because I live in the Styx!:)

I loved this book, might even be better than the first book as we explore more of Celaena’s real assassin personality. The pace was definitely action driven. I'm not kidding when I'm saying that so much happened and some many plots started to unfold before my eyes. Crown of Midnight was a page-turner through and through and there was never a dull moment.

Maas is brave enough here to allow the main characters to make mistakes, do the wrong things and test our ability to like them. Well, I don't know about you, but the new dimensions to their personalities, their faults and weaknesses, only served to make me like them more. Dorian surprised me most of all. In Throne of Glass, Dorian feels like something of a plot tool, a pretty little obstacle to Celaena and Chaol's romance. The scenes with him felt like filler between the parts I was actually waiting for. Not in Crown of Midnight! In this, Dorian emerges as an interesting character with secrets of his own; he makes sacrifices for the people he loves and his importance to the bigger story starts to become apparent.

Celaena is a badass! I wouldn't mess with her in a thousand years. We finally see her wild and deadly side that wasn't fully explored in Throne of Glass. Sure, she's still that sassy, arrogant and sarcastic girl, but above all, she's an assassin. A ruthless killer and when the ones she loves are in danger or threatened, she's unforgiving. That part of her really gives you goosebumps. Oh, and let's not forget when she's out for revenge. One word: lethal.

Nehemia was such a great support for Celaena, even if she had her own agenda. The princess is one of those selfless characters that would give everything up for the sake of her people. She's fair, ambitious and dedicated. She's the key-player that sets things in motion in this sequel but in a gut-wrenching way.

The villain we love to hate: the King of Adarlan, Dorian's father. His plans turn out to be down-right evil and unnatural. I loathe him because he's so willing to exploit everyone around him for his own sake.

The world-building was exquisite! We learn so much more about Erilea, Adarlan and the history of the country. We delve deeper into the Fae magic. It's a top-notch high fantasy world, coupled with a darker atmosphere, mystery, magic and amazing characters. The result is a certain recipe for epicness, one that Sarah J. Mass gorgeously creates with her impressive writing skills.

Crown of Midnight was an excellent follow-up that might not end in a claw-your-eyes-out sort of cliff-hanger, but it will make you crave the next instalment like air.

Age rating 13+. Gruesome is parts.