It was hard to care, she realized as she started the trek back to the castle. Incredibly hard to care, when you didn’t have anyone left to care about.

📖
The first half of the book is a slow burn. You're gathering information, bits and pieces that I didn't put together until the reveal at the end.

I found it a surprise to find out within the first few chapters that Celaena, as the King's Champion, had not killed a single person. Had instead faked their deaths and presented this to the King who accepted it. This is such a huge risk considering the threat the King gave to kill Chaol and Nehemia if she stepped out of line. Maybe I'm over thinking it - but part of me thought back to Throne of Glass when she said she wanted to be a healer. Maybe deep down, Celaena doesn't want to be an assassin?

And all of this—every death she faked, every lie she told—put them at risk. Nehemia shook her head but didn’t reply. Whenever the princess or Chaol or even Dorian looked at her like that, it was almost too much to bear. But they had to believe the lies, too. For their own safety

💖 The Main Relationship:
There is a lot of tension between Chaol, Dorian and Celaena left over from Throne of Glass. Slowly through out the first 40% of the book, we get those small moment of Celaena and Chaol getting along and I was fully invested.

Faster, never faltering, never breaking her stare.The rest of the world quieted into nothing. In that moment, after ten long years, Celaena looked at Chaol and realized she was home.

The moonlight and the garden and the golden glow from the ballroom blurred together, now miles away. “We’ll never be a normal boy and girl, will we?” she managed to say.“No,” he breathed, eyes blazing. “We won’t.”

It was so wonderful, warm, and heartwarming for that short run.

I'm still so upset that Celaena won't get past what happened. I thought Chaol was a perfect fit and felt so strongly for them. I felt like it had always been Chaol since she was taken out of Endovier. The quote below from Choal broke me:

He’d realized it the moment Celaena had turned to him in Nehemia’s bedroom. He had lost her. And she would never, in a thousand lifetimes, let him in again.

💖 Friendship:
Nehemia and Dorian's friendship was an important part of the book. Dorian in the first half to me felt jaded and hurt from being rejected by Celaena in Throne of Glass.

Nehemia and Celaena's friendship grew close and I was feeling so strongly connected with their bond. Nehemia was still fighting the good fight, trying to have conditions in Calaculla and Endovier as the conditions int he slave labor camps had become abhorrent. Nehemia was a voice of reason, understanding and motivation to Celeana.

I loved Nehemia and was so upset when she was murdered. I felt like it was a cheap plot point to create a catalyst of reaction to her plight and Celaena's. Couldn't there have been another way?

I still have so many questions with Nehemia. I felt like Nehemia knew who Celaena truly is. How did Nehemia actually know about the 10th anniversary of Celaena's parent's death?

I think that's why she was so blunt to Celeana, why she really called her a coward. I felt like Nehemia being the Princess Heir was a reflection of what Celeana would have been like if her parents were still alive.

While I agree with Nehemia below, it's such a deep cut that hurts my heart.

“And what is so wrong with wanting my freedom? Haven’t I suffered enough to deserve it? So what if the means are unpleasant?”
“I won’t deny that you have suffered, Elentiya, but there are thousands more who have also suffered—and suffered more. And they do not sell themselves to the king to get what they, too, deserve. With each person you kill, I am finding fewer and fewer excuses for remaining your friend.”

😱 That Big Reveal
If you're a clever one, you're probably pieced a few parts at this point. I was not, and enjoyed the ride of that last 25% of the book. It was only after going back through my annotations I could see those clues.

Has Dorian met Celaena/Aelin in the past as a child?

What sort of throne would he inherit someday? If the heir of Terrasen, Aelin Galathynius, had lived, would she have become a friend, an ally? His bride, perhaps?
He’d met her once, in the days before her kingdom became a charnel house. The memory was hazy, but she’d been a precocious, wild girl—and had set her nasty, brutish older cousin on him in order to teach Dorian a lesson for spilling tea on her dress.

Celaena's fae and is the heir of Terrasen! THAT IS HUGE!

There were many sassy, funny moments in the book but the latter half were so emotional and action-packed. I enjoyed Crown of midnight more than Throne of Glass, it was wonderfully written.

Now, on to Heir of Fire!

I have a read along everyone is welcome to joint if they like. It's open until 31st May 2025 next year.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/readalongs/c906d102-66c5-4fbd-b2dd-0367b8ee9f3b

Content Warnings

annikenr's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.75

Content Warnings

hannalizzy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Compared to the first book this one wasn’t as great, mostly because I felt it was a bit slow and I was so mad at why Celaena wrote off Chaol. I hate misunderstanding tropes, she went bezerk before she even talked to him about it, and Celaena is just so wishy washy about who she is, what she stands for, what she even wants. spoiler: she has no idea yet so we’ll see how the next one pans out for her

Content Warnings

barbarianmissy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Ok I had more fun with this one than the first one.

The truth bomb explosion at the end I had my suspicions about for the last 200 or so pages, but it was a great KABLAMO moment to end off the book with! I’m excited to go sailing across the sea for a family reunion!!!

One thing that bugs me in this series though is that no one trusts each other at all?! They’re all damned secret keepers! Like the three main characters never got told that team work makes the dream work??!! I feel like if they just talked it out or explained their plans before setting them in motion, then they could’ve solved their problems a lot faster!?!! I totally get why they don’t fully trust each other, but at the same time - as George Michael says “you gotta have faith”

Watch me say that and one of them brutally betrays the others in the future books lol - if it does, please just call me Baba Yellowlegs, clairvoyant evil witch beeyotch extraordinaire 💁‍♀️

Also, side note, I really thought this story was about to be a doggie snuff book and I was THIS CLOSE to throwing it across the room.

Anywho, time for the highly controversial reading timeline placement of ASSASSINS BLADE for a fun lil blast from the past of short stories and then I shall be back to find out what we’re doing with all of this crazy ass stuff going on!

WHOOP WHOOP

Content Warnings

mary_do_12's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging tense fast-paced

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

4.5

i have so much to say, so let me put this into a summary in 3 points:

1. AAGSAJSJFKEDKSKS
2. celaena, what THE ACTUAL FUCK?!
3. chaol please stfu. stop being annoying.

Content Warnings

lababyxx's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

mizchirfmanaged's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

** 4.5 Stars **

SJM took Throne of Glass and said, "You know what? What if we took the formulaic approach like we did with Throne of Glass and completely toss that out the window." and it WORKED. I saw another review that said the first half is kinda slow and exposition-y but then the back half picks up and you can't put the book down. I'd say the back half does more than that, it walks up and b*tch slaps you in the face and you just can't stop reading. That's what happened to me here, although I shouldn't be shocked after knowing about SJM's habit of making the last 100-200 pages making the reader beg for mercy.

We go from 1 dimensional characters in TOG to multi faceted, many of them having to make hard decisions that will affect everyone around them, and so much more. Their relationships are grown and tested. They behave much more like real , believable people who are trapped in a dictatorship and trying their best to walk the tightrope of obeying their king and deciding whether or not to support or join the revolution. We are introduced to new plot points that not only drive this novel, but will drive the rest of the series as well. We seriously go from book 1 reading as a YA novel and potential standalone to book 2 absolutely rocket launching what the rest of the series could be.

My only qualm was that, yes, it was slow to start but it definitely sets us up for a hell of an ending.

Will I re-read? I have to get through the rest of the series first but I definitely see myself picking this up again in the future
Will I continue the series? Hell yea!! already started Heir of Fire :)

Content Warnings

autumnrh's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

There were definitely some parts that were as slow as the first book but this was such a good sequel. So many more secrets that will definitely keep me glued to the rest of the series. The action in this one was way better than the first book in my opinion. It’s also really cool and kinda scary uncovering just how much The King knows, he is such a well written character in my opinion.

Content Warnings

More...