Eighteen-year-old Celaena
Sardothien is bold, daring and beautiful – the perfect seductress and
the greatest assassin her world has ever known. But though she won the
King’s contest and became his champion, Celaena has been granted neither
her liberty nor the freedom to follow her heart. The slavery of the
suffocating salt mines of Endovier that scarred her past is nothing
compared to a life bound to her darkest enemy, a king whose rule is so
dark and evil it is near impossible to defy. Celaena faces a choice that
is tearing her heart to pieces: kill in cold blood for a man she hates,
or risk sentencing those she loves to death. Celaena must decide what
she will fight for: survival, love or the future of a kingdom. Because
an assassin cannot have it all . . . And trying to may just destroy her.
“What does that mean?" he demanded.
She smiled sadly. "You'll figure it out. And when you do..." She shook her head, knowing she shouldn't say it, but doing it anyway. "When you do, I want you to remember that it wouldn't have made any difference to me. It's never made any difference to me when it came to you. I'll always pick you.”
I
am not going to lie I was not looking forward to reading this book. I
really had issues with the first book in this series and would have
never picked up the second book if I wasn’t a book blogger. I thought
the first book was misleading. It was about an assassin who never
killed anyone, who was arrogant and nasty and more interested in dresses
and boys. So it was with great reluctance that I picked up Crown of
Midnight.
I didn’t expect to love this book, I didn’t even expect to like it but I did. I adored it. It was a million times better than Throne of Glass and all the niggles I had with the first book were not a problem here. It was darker, more exciting and deadlier. There were some shock twists, a ton of action and breath-taking romance.
What made this book so much better than its predecessor was Celaena. She was so much better in this book. The arrogance was completely toned down as was the fashion obsession. She was meaner but also kinder and fairer. There was only one thing that annoyed me about her which I will get to later in this review. I actually liked her in this; I got behind her and cared for her which was something I never thought I would be able to do.
The romance was also a huge plus for me. In the first book it was a more Dorian centric triangle. In this one it focused more on a normal two person relationship between Celaena and Chaol. There are no words in any language that can adequately describe my love and adoration for Chaol. He is a huge part of why I loved this book so much and I don’t think I could continue the series if he wasn’t in it and if he wasn’t the love interest. It is so rare for me to be romance focused in a book, I normally dislike the romances in YA books but this one was breath-taking. Chaol’s feelings were so prominent, pure and clear. He is such a well-balanced character with many different emotions and conflicts but his love for Celaena was perfect.
She had the same feelings for him and it was the first time in both books that you saw her really let go with someone and be at ease. I adored them together and just couldn’t have it any other way. This brings me to the one thing about Celaena that annoyed me. At one point she believes a person she barely knows over Chaol a man she loves and trust. She then flies of the handle and completely loses it. I couldn’t understand why she believed this other person over him, why she didn’t even try to listen to Chaol’s side of the story. It was such a shame.
The ending was awesome and took this series to a brand new place. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. Despite disliking the first book in the series Crown of Midnight managed to blow me away. It was amazing and is probably one of the best books I have read so far this year.
I didn’t expect to love this book, I didn’t even expect to like it but I did. I adored it. It was a million times better than Throne of Glass and all the niggles I had with the first book were not a problem here. It was darker, more exciting and deadlier. There were some shock twists, a ton of action and breath-taking romance.
What made this book so much better than its predecessor was Celaena. She was so much better in this book. The arrogance was completely toned down as was the fashion obsession. She was meaner but also kinder and fairer. There was only one thing that annoyed me about her which I will get to later in this review. I actually liked her in this; I got behind her and cared for her which was something I never thought I would be able to do.
The romance was also a huge plus for me. In the first book it was a more Dorian centric triangle. In this one it focused more on a normal two person relationship between Celaena and Chaol. There are no words in any language that can adequately describe my love and adoration for Chaol. He is a huge part of why I loved this book so much and I don’t think I could continue the series if he wasn’t in it and if he wasn’t the love interest. It is so rare for me to be romance focused in a book, I normally dislike the romances in YA books but this one was breath-taking. Chaol’s feelings were so prominent, pure and clear. He is such a well-balanced character with many different emotions and conflicts but his love for Celaena was perfect.
She had the same feelings for him and it was the first time in both books that you saw her really let go with someone and be at ease. I adored them together and just couldn’t have it any other way. This brings me to the one thing about Celaena that annoyed me. At one point she believes a person she barely knows over Chaol a man she loves and trust. She then flies of the handle and completely loses it. I couldn’t understand why she believed this other person over him, why she didn’t even try to listen to Chaol’s side of the story. It was such a shame.
The ending was awesome and took this series to a brand new place. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. Despite disliking the first book in the series Crown of Midnight managed to blow me away. It was amazing and is probably one of the best books I have read so far this year.
Emotional, exciting and fun.
Crown of Midnight punches well above its predecessor and is one of the
fantasy YA books of the year.
5 stars
Published
August 15th 2013
by Bloomsbury Childrens. Free book provided in exchange for review. Image taken from Goodreads.
Review by Kate Phillips
Posts
I totally agree -- I loved this book. But, I also thought it didn't make sense that she believed what she had been told about Chaol. Without asking him. I didn't think that made sense. But it helped make the story....
ReplyDeleteWow I'm glad Crown of Midnight really turned your opinion around! I don't often hear of that! I didn't have any problems with the first book - I'm loving the series so far - so it was interesting to read your thoughts on both. Definitely this book took the series to the next level, and I'm glad there was no sequel slump here!
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