Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Author: Sarah J Maas
Published: August 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 418 {paperback}

Review on Goodreads

Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing

Naturally, this was just as amazing the second time around as the first. And the cliff hanger just as devastating as I remember.

Crown of Midnight

I confess I’m genuinely impressed how enjoyable these are to read a second time around. I first read these back when they came out so I was a good bit younger and my main fear has been that I might be too far into adulthood to enjoy teenager Celaena. BUT NOPE. Can confirm: am still a child.

This review will obviously contain spoilers for book one so skedaddle if you don’t want to be spoiled. In fact, this is actually going to contain spoilers for this book too, I simply must discuss it all. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Book two sees Celaena as the King’s Champion and for the most part of this book, she is tasked with assassination tasks from the king (I mean, this is what she was hired for). Except Celaena really doesn’t like the king (duh) and does not do his bidding. She fakes the death of every single person and gives them the chance to smuggle themselves into safety.

Then she is tasked with assassinating someone she used to know, a courtesan: Archer Finn. She struggles to convince him to leave and there is a whole lot of intrigue, deception and ANGRY moments that follow. But we have a few other storylines paralleling Celaena’s moral fight.

Namely, the monster stalking the palace. Celaena works out that there a creature somewhere in the palace who I’m pretty sure is killing people (or am I confusing that with book one?) but she is intrigued by the secrets the palace holds. We spend much time exploring the library and uncovered the truth within books and secret passageways.

Magic is a prominent theme in this book and is the main development in the story from book one which is essentially introducing the characters. I love how slowly Maas brings magic into this story especially as we know just how important it is later in the books. We learn both that Celaena is half-fae and the long lost queen of Terrasen, as well as the fact that Dorian has magic.

Why This is Worth Re-Reading

The thing I loved the most whilst re-reading this was revisiting the relationship dynamics between the characters. Obviously being reminded what happened with the nitty gritty of who and when and why, was fantastic in re-setting the scene for me and getting me excited about the story again. But the love triangle between Celaena, Chaol and Dorian is sizzling and tingling and all the good things.

I still love Chaol much more the second time around but, in contrast, my VERY pro-Chaol feelings after book one, I understand after book two why I loved Dorian so much. I stand by my past self, and I really am team Dorian. His torment between wanting to be a good prince and a good person and wrangling with inner turmoil upon realising he has magic is heartbreaking and gorgeous all at once.

The whole tragedy with Nehemia’s death and the brutal fall out that follows between Celaena and Chaol is a spectacular introduction to the drama that Maas has in store for the rest of the series. I love how complicated the relationships become and I love the depth of grief that is added to Celaena’s already tragic character development. Surely this very real and relatable side to her is what makes us all love her so much.

Summary

We know this amazing. We know we love Sarah J Maas. And re-reading this series is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the characters and being by their side as they go through the massive revelations that are within book two. I’m anxious about moving on to book three because I know that the first time around, that was when the pace slowed for me as Sarah J Maas expanded her world-building. Fingers crossed!!