Friday 26 July 2013

Crown of Midnight - Sarah J Maas


Pages: 417
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: 15th August 2013
Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles in the Series: Throne of Glass

Crowned by evil.
Bound by duty.
Divided by love.

The assassin is back – and she’s burning with rage in the blazing-hot sequel to Throne of Glass.

Celaena Sardothein, royal assassin, is the King of Erilea’s deadliest weapon. She must win her freedom through his enemies’ blood – but she cannot bear to kill for the crown. And every death Celaena fakes, every lie she tells, puts those she loves at risk.

Torn between her two protectors – a captain and a prince – and battling a dark force far greater than the king, Celaena must decide what she will fight for: her liberty, her heart, or the fate of a kingdom...

With Throne of Glass being one of my favourite books last year, I was both dying to read Crown of Midnight and also dreading it in case it didn’t live up to book one. I was again proved to myself that I’m an idiot.

I just...wow. I don’t even really know where to start; so much happened! The danger, threat and tension were amped up by at least 150% from Throne of Glass and I could barely put the book down to eat or drink. I was thinking about it within seconds of waking up and I started reading as soon as I could.

One of my favourite things about Crown of Midnight was the rise of the idea of magic in Erilea. After being banished ten years ago, there were tantalising hints and spashes of what it would mean for it to return and I gobbled it up. With this came realisations for lots of characters, especially Dorian and Chaol, of the reality of the world they’d been living in under the rule of the current King of Adarlan. Minds were changed, allegiances were decided and internal wars were fought, and it’s only the second book in the series. I became a lot fonder of Dorian in this instalment and I think he has amazing promise and strength and I’m really looking forward to seeing him come into his own in future books.

I felt I got to know the characters a lot more in depth this time, especially Chaol. He was a stoic mystery for most of Throne of Glass but now I know how he feels, how he thinks and what he wants and it enabled me to make a decision between Dorian and Chaol; something I couldn’t do, let alone guess the outcome of, in the first book. Chaol in case you’re wondering, even with the events of Crown of Midnight...

Two epic quests were launched in this book that will definitely keep what I think is a six book series rolling along at a break-neck pace with plenty of shocks, surprises and revelations to keep me on my toes. I am a little disappointed at how different I think book three will be, but then again, I don’t know when Maas will pick up book three against the end of Crown of Midnight...

With an ending that left me gaping in shock, my heart battered and my knuckles white, Crown of Midnight was a brilliant sequel and I can’t wait to be back in Celaena’s world again.

Thank you to Bloomsbury/NetGalley for the review copy!

Sophie

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