Crown of Midnight, or how to redeem an okay fantasy series

I wasn’t planning on doing lengthy reviews here. English isn’t my first language, I have a hard time putting what I’m feeling into words, and I was always a reader more than I ever was a writer. With that said, Crown of Midnight exceeded my expectations so much, I had to give it a proper review. So here we go!

Book Title: Crown of Midnight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

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.

MY THOUGHTS

Let’s start at the beginning. I said in my January wrap up I was expecting to hate Throne of Glass, and at first I did. I wasn’t completely enamored by the story when I finished it, but I was into it enough to pick of Crown of Midnight, and thank God I did. It’s like Throne of Glass was a cheesy TV series’ pilot that people generally hate, and then it turns into an award winning series. Just like that.

Sarah J. Maas really matured as a writer, and her characters did as well. The weaker points of TOG, like Celaena obsession with appearances and the confusing world building, were left behind. The overused love lines and romance turned into an action packed book, with adult drama, a fantastic main character and even more fantastic secondary characters. The politics and understanding of everything the author created took a whole new level.

I seriously don’t know how much I can say without getting into spoilers. But prepare for a new kind of book, I daresay even the Young Adult aspects – as in, predictable YA tropes – disappear completely and leave room for an amazing story. Also brace yourselves, the plot twists are real, and just when you think you learned it all about Erilea, Chaol, Dorian, Nehemia and even Celaena, Maas just comes back with something even more juicy.

If I could describe Crown of Midnight into two words, it would be mouth-opener, if that’s a thing. You won’t be able to put it down, not at first, not in the middle, and certainly not in the end.

So, you finished Throne of Glass, kind-of-but-not-really liked it, and you’re wondering if you should continue the series? Let me help you out: read Crown of Midnight, read Crown of Midnight, read Crown of Midnight. You won’t have any more doubts once you finish it.

Please now allow me for a fangirl moment, because... CHAO, CHAOL, CHAAAAAOOOOL, CHAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Overall, do I recommend?

Yes, yes, yes, yes and YES! Again, if you're here because you're debating on whether or not to read Crown of Midnight right after reading Throne of Glass, consider picking COM up. I promise, it'll be worth it!