Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (August 27, 2013)
How I got this book: Bought
Links: Amazon Goodreads
Blurb from Goodreads:
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.
My rating: 3.5/5 Stars – Could’ve been better, but I liked it overall.
Review:
I have feelings about Crown of Midnight, some good and some bad. Let’s start with the good. First of all, the romance between Celaena and Chaol is swoon-worthy. I seriously loved every minute of it. And, out of this, something unexpected happens: Dorian matures into this amazing character, developing his own unique storyline and relationship with Celaena that ultimately became one of my favorite parts of the whole book. It’s also satisfying to finally see Celaena kill some people (‘cause, you know, she’s supposed to be an assassin), rectifying one of my biggest problems with the first book. Overall, Crown of Midnight is exciting and deeply emotional. Even though I can see the broad strokes of the story laid out ahead (and the big “surprise” at the end isn’t a surprise at all if you’ve been paying attention), I still have no idea where the plot of book three will take our main characters. I can’t wait to find out.
Now for the reasons why I can’t quite give this book five stars. The magic system isn’t explained all that well, and, once again, the quality of writing isn’t always consistent. But those are minor issues compared to the major bone I have to pick: the death of a major character. This person was one of the highlights of the series for me, and their death is used as nothing more than way to tug on readers’ heartstrings and jumpstart Celaena into action. That’s it. The author just got rid of one of her most compelling characters – one with mountains of potential – and for what? This person could have been so much more than just a martyr. What a waste and a disservice.
Despite my reservations, I still enjoyed Crown of Midnight, and I think fans of the first book will be pleased. I’m extremely interested to see what happens in book three, Heir of Fire, coming out in September.
Reading Order:
- Throne of Glass – read my 3.5 Star review
- Crown of Midnight
- Heir of Fire – coming September 2, 2014
Also reviewed at:
Lesley's Reading Heaven 