Book Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Mass

*This is the second book in a series. If you haven't read Throne of Glass. Then don't read this review as there are spoilers.

Buy This Book
Throne of Glass #2
Pages: 432
Published: August 2013
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads Synopsis...
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul 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.
 
Review...
I really enjoyed the second book in this series. Although theres something stopping me from really loving it. And Im not sure what. Maybe book three will win me over completely.

Crown of Midnight was so much better than Throne of Glass. First of all, the love triangle is gone! I was so happy when it went away, and also really surprised. I fully expected the author to keep it around longer, and I couldn't be happier that she decided not to. 

Secondly, we finally got to see Celaena being all assassin like. I have never been so happy that someone starting killing people. (Ok maybe I have) This is the bad ass character I was looking for in the first book. Finally the author decided to show and not just tell me, how awesome and strong the main character is.

Also the fantasy aspect of the story is developing more, and that is only good news. I cant wait for it to become an even bigger part of the story. But I really like where its going right now.

There were some things that I didn't like, the first of which was the romance. I just found it to be so dull, and uninteresting. Mostly because of who she chose. Don't get me wrong, I want her to be with the person she chose. He is definitely right for her. I just wish he weren't so boring as a character.

The start of the book is also kinda slow, especially compared to the rest of the book. Which is full of action and excitement. Also I was a bit underwhelmed by the end. I knew it was coming, and it just felt a bit messy and rushed.

With that said I still really enjoyed this book, and look forward to book 3.  

4/5

Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

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Throne of Glass #1
Pages: 426
Published: August 2012
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads Synopsis...
Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?
 
Review...
This is going to be one of those reviews, where I say that I really liked a book. And then proceed to tell you the many things I didnt like.

Throne of Glass was a really enjoyable read. The writing style was fun, and kept me interested the whole way through. You also get to see the story through not only Celaena's eyes, but also Captain Westfall and Prince Dorian. It was great to be able to see what they were doing away from each other, especially as they were major parts of the story.

Another thing I really liked about the story was Celaena. She is this bad ass assassin, who can kill you and look amazing doing it. She embraces her looks and femininity, using them to her advantage. Also she was such a strong willed and stubborn character, even in precarious situations. And she loved to read. Need I say more.

Ok so those are the things I liked, now the things I didnt.

Unnecessary love triangle: Oh love triangles, how you plague me. The one that appeared in this story was expected, and turned out to be unoriginal and kind of dull. Mainly because it caused me no uncertainty. I knew who she would chose eventually. I wasn't worried, I wasn't rooting for the underdog. Because I knew it would be useless. (And I was right) Why couldn't they just be friends? Oh I know, because its YA. 

Implied Violence instead of actual violence: Basically I wanted more violence. Maas continually describes violent or action scenes after they have finished. The challenges were often skimmed over, in favor of the aforesaid useless love triangle. Also Celaena doesn't really get enough chances to show us her assassin side. Its something we always know about, but don't experience enough.

Slightly implausible: There were some situations, like the Prince being left alone with an assassin. That just didnt seem like they would actually happen. Also the whole challenge scenario also seems a bit dubious. Would a king actually allow an assassin or criminal to work closly with him, and have a high position in the kingdom. Then after a few years let them go free. I dont know about that.

So like I said at the beginning, I had my misgivings about this book. But I still enjoyed it, and I will definitely continue to read about Celaena the assassin.

4/5