Reviews with content warning for Torture - Crown of Midnight

A satisfying follow-up to the first Throne of Glass book — this sets the rest of the series up well and excites me to see how the Maasiverse connects in.

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infjkiki's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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annamary54's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

chaol pisses me off, am i alone in this?? selfish mf that “wants to keep her safe” just makes decisions without consulting her. then GOTCHA ofc she’s the gd heir to the throne of teressen!! ofc she knows what’s going on and he just didn’t trust her omg. i’m annoyed with both male leads tbh. at the end of the first book i was team chaol, end of second book, team dorian kinda. more like team celeana going on her own journey. i gotta say, i was gooped and gagged cause i totally forgot about the missing princess. i read that foreshadowing on a plane so it really didn’t sink in. so i was mind blown by it. love that tho, maybe i should pay less attention when i read so the twists really gag me. fun read! and pretty quick at the end there.

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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'M GLAD I GIVE THIS SERIES ANOTHER CHANCE.

Maas improved his writing and honed everything that didn’t work in the first book, bringing the story forward.

I really enjoyed reading about Celaena’s character in this book. She’s a total badass, and it was amazing to witness her in action. Now I understand why everyone was afraid of her - she’s deadly. This book helped me to see how vulnerable she was when Chaol and Dorian took her out of jail. She’s such a complex character, and I didn’t fully appreciate that in the first book.

The relationship between Chaol and Celaena is natural and realistic. Chaol struggles with his own desires and fears. He tries to remain loyal to the crown and resist the temptation to be with Celaena. Unfortunately, this internal conflict leads him to make poor decisions. Resulting in him losing everything. The dynamic between Chaol and Celaena is reminiscent of Valek and Yelena’s relationship in Poison Study.

Dorian is a character that I had a little affection for. But in this book, he conquered me. At first, his presence doesn’t seem relevant. But, as the story progresses, his subplot takes on a lot of weight.

In the first book, I felt his relationship with Celeana was forced. However, in this book, their relationship is fluid and natural. They forged a meaningful and powerful friendship. They understand each other perfectly.

This book’s unexpected twists and turns pleasantly surprised me. The author’s approach to revealing the major plot twist was cleverly executed. The last pages are an emotional wreck. This secret impacts the relationship of Celeana with one of the other characters, changing the dynamic between them and setting the stage for the next book. It’s brilliant.

Crown of Midnight gets dark and bloody with betrayal, revelations, heartbreaks, twists, and turns. The story is way bigger and more complex than it seems. I’m so eager to get the other book.

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britwalsh16's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It’s not my favorite, but this book has officially gotten me invested in the series!

<spoilers>
I saw her true name coming, there were a lot of hints throughout the book. But the fact that she is fae, was a bit of a surprise, looking back, there were a few hints for that too, but I just missed them cause I was waiting for the name reveal.

But also, Dorian has magic? That was a shocker!!! I can’t wait to see how all the magic plays out!
</spoilers>

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ladydeathnesta's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had a harder time getting through this book than any other SJM book. That being said, it was still a good book, and vital to the storyline for the rest of the series. This book is definitely the turning point of the storyline.

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