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. (Via Goodreads.com)
Pages: 418
Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Review:
My brain is still trying to compute what exactly happened throughout the course of Crown of Midnight. Typically, I am really good at figuring out plot twists, but Crown of Midnight took me for a loop. Looking back, I should have been able to somewhat grasp the plot twist, but I only figured it out immediately before the reveal.
Crown of Midnight picks up a few weeks after the ending of Throne of Glass and features a lot more gore than readers encountered in Throne of Glass. I really enjoyed reading Throne of Glass in January, but Crown of Midnight was even better; I was more familiar with the world and was able to drive straight into the story, unlike Throne of Glass where I had to take my time digesting the world. Although I loved Crown of Midnight, I rated it a 4.5/5 stars verses a 5/5 stars because, like my experience reading Throne of Glass, I felt as though there was something separating me from being fully immersed into the story.
Instead of the title, Crown of Midnight, the book should have been titled, Let's Exclude Dorian From Everything We Do. I absolutely adore Dorian and his character is much stronger than Chaol or Celaena let on. I understand he is the crowned prince and one of their duties is to protect him, but he should not be treated like a delicate flower and be ignored by his closest friends. Dorian has magic and his assistance would be useful from time to time, especially with the knowledge his father could possibly hold not one Wyrdkey, but two. I do not understand why Celaena did not tell Dorian she is part Fae, it might have helped him feel less like a freak-of-nature.
Obviously from my declaration of love for Dorian above, I am on Team Dorian. Dorian and Celaena have a undeniable spark and connection that runs deeper than she is willing to admit. I am extremely surprised Celaena never though to get closer to Dorian since she is the lost Queen of Terrasen. It appears Celaena does not want to embrace her heritage but strategically she should; if they ever want to reclaim Erilea and return the power back to each individual country, the ruler must change. I am assuming the king must be immortal from the Wyrdkey or will eventually assassinate Dorian because once Dorian reaches power, he will return Erilea to the way it originally was. Dorian's younger brother, Hollin, takes after his father and is slowly being turned into a ruthless leader just like their father; while Dorian is nothing of the sort. It would only make sense for Celaena to get closer and at least pretend to be in love with Dorian if she ever wants to reach the throne and the change that will follow; however, she wants nothing of the sort.
While Celaena is a strong female character that I much admire for her take-no-crap attitude, I must agree with Nehemia when she called Celaena a coward. Celaena is the only hope Erilea has in order to resist Adarlan's power. I am curious to find out what exactly happened that made Celaena's candle burn out on helping the rest of the country. Celaena has such a fire when it comes to seeking revenge, what traumatic event happened that prevented her from avenging her parent's death? It seems very unlike Celaena.
Speaking of the name Celaena, it makes sense why Celaena always chants, "My name is Celaena Sardothien and I will not be afraid." I always assumed that was a phrase she used to remind herself who is was and what she was fighting for; however, I now realize, she was trying to remember who she is supposed to be no matter what happens.
Coming back to the love triangle, I have no idea how it will end. Crown of Midnight made Chaol and Celaena fans want to cheer with joy, but they were eventually lead to cry in confusion. Fans of Dorian and Celaena were given nothing; I sometimes wonder if he is even a contender anymore. Although I want to see Dorian and Celaena make it out on top, I just want Dorian to be happy. It seems as though Celaena and Chaol are content at excluding Dorian and I would prefer Celaena and Chaol together verses Celaena and Dorian if that is the way Dorian will continue to be treated by them. All I want is for Dorian to find someone who returns his feelings in the same intensity as he dishes them out. I am curious to read about the mysterious Rowan character in Heir of Fire that seems to have everyone talking.
Crown of Midnight left me with so many more questions than answers. I am extremely excited to start Heir of Fire after I finish my advanced copy of Richelle Mead's, Soundless. I hope at least a few of my questions will be answered in Heir of Fire and I am fascinated to see where the story leads. Crown of Midnight left me feeling a thousand different emotions in the same sitting, I am nervous to see how many emotions Heir of Fire will stir up.
- The Assassins Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1- #0.5) & Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
- Event Review: ApollyCon 2015
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| (Me, Sarah J. Maas) Photo taken at ApollyCon 2015 |
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