Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas - A Book Review

To follow on from my review of the first Throne of Glass book, here is my review of Crown of Midnight. If you have not read the previous review click here. Also there may be spoilers ahead, so just keep that in mind!

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Crown of Midnight is my favourite book in the Throne of Glass series and follows on directly from the events of Throne of Glass, with Celaena becoming really developed as a character and where we really start to get into the wider story. We really begin to gain a better understanding of Celaena's character and her past.

Celaena takes on her role as the King's Assassin for a King that she despises - after the events of surviving the trials during the contest we saw unfold in the first book. Her role does cause friction between her and her friends - Chaol and Dorian - as they struggle to understand why Celaena would work for a man that killed her entire family. Celaena secretly has her own agenda as she is tasked with killing one of the courts most popular male consorts, a young man who Celaena trained with as a child.

Celaena begins to unearth dark secrets about the king while the other characters in this book go about their daily lives, with Celaena being forced to confront her past and who she truly is. This is something that she has run away from for so many years.

The characters we met in Throne of Glass start to show us their true colours, with my opinions changing on Chaol and Dorian as the story developed. I found that I really liked Dorian a lot more in this book and while i did root for Chaol initially, he quickly fell out of my good books when he struggled to cope with what Celaena truly is. Chaol - Celaena's love interest in Throne of Glass - is someone very much championed for in the first book, since he has a sense of simplicity and warmth about him that made him highly attractive. However, Chaol seemed to really struggle with who Celaena was in this book, which leaves the reader wondering if he was truly the one for her. On the other hand, Dorian, the Crown Prince and a close confidante to Celaena - began to mature and grow as a person. This somewhat brought him and Celaena together.

And as for Celaena, I really enjoyed watching her go from a girl who worked at the whim of others to a young and powerful heroine. We are finally shown why she is considered Adarlan's most Famous Assassin now that she has some freedom to manoeuvre. Despite the strong woman she has become, we are still shown her weaknesses in this story, but she comes across as strong and confident, as well as being willing to sacrifice everything for the person she loves. At the same time, she does not let this love define her in any way.

The pacing in this book was incredible; it rarely felt like we were being forced into a plot twist at any point. I found the story really enjoyable and it was a brilliant sequel to the first story.

Maas delivers a strong sequel that offers hard hitting and jaw dropping revelations throughout. If you liked Throne of Glass then you will LOVE Crown of Midnight. While its not a massive epic story like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, it is a great read and I really struggled to put it down! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an enjoyable read.