Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas ~ Review

Source: Gifted from Nikki! (Obviously this doesn't affect my opinion in any way.)

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by 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.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Review...

I read Throne of Glass in the beginning of 2015--it was one of my first books of the year, if not the very first--and I LOVED it. I'd been nervous because, ya know, HYPE, but was so pleased when I fell for the story and the characters so fast. I finished the book totally on board with the TOG train.

...Then it took me over a year to pick up the next book. I have no excuse other than not being in a fantasy mood (I don't read high fantasy all that often, as you may or may not have noticed). But then around the end of the semester rolled around and I felt an urge to pick up a Sarah J. Maas book. So, logically, I picked up Crown of Midnight. Again, hype was an intimidating factor. Whenever I talked about how I was reading this book, so many people said this one was their favorite and/or that they LOVED it. I wanted so badly to enjoy this one as much as I did the first.

And, you know...I did. I enjoyed this book so much. It builds from where Throne of Glass ended, shaping Celaena's life as the King's Champion and showing how her relationships have adjusted to the change. Sarah J. Maas' writing is incredible, of course. She has a way with words that truly awes me, and crafted this story into one that was enjoyable and enthralling.

My reading experience was a fun one. I started the book slowly, savoring every page. It took me way longer than it should have to make it through the first half of the book, but I was loving it. Then I made it...oh, about halfway through...and then. Goodness. AND THEN. Ah. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I wouldn't say the second half was better than the first half, because I adored the entirety of Crown of Midnight, but I will say that the pace picked up big time the farther I got in the book. By the time I made it to the end...goodness. My heart. My soul. I don't even know. All I know is that it was AMAZING.

As for the characters, a magnificent thing happened in Crown of Midnight--I started loving Dorian. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate him before or anything. And I definitely don't ship him and Celaena now. But I was really taken with his character in this book. He is truly a great guy, and I am such a fan of the character he's shaped into. I, obviously, liked reading more Celaena. She's awesome, kickass, and all-around a great character to read about. We learned more about her in this book, both her past and just HER, and I look forward to more as the series continues. Lastly, there was Chaol. And I am in love. I seriously love that man. Like, even more than I did in Throne of Glass. He's humble and kind and caring and oh so many other positive adjectives. I am SO on board this ship.

Overall, Crown of Midnight was a well-written and all-around fabulous second installment in the Throne of Glass series that made me fall even more for these characters and their story. I truly look forward to reading Heir of Fire... once I'm brave enough to pick it up.

5 stars - An incredible, well-written, and all around fabulous second installment!