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A review by deena_
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
4.0
4½ stars ☆
i think my new favorite series has been unlocked, thanks to this book. i apologize for the person i'll become once i get my hands on the next book. this book will have me down on my knees, no doubt in that. it's one of a kind that'd have you saying 'one more chapter' and end up keeping you up all night. it's physically impossible not to get immersed in this. if i had dwelled on the decision of whether to continue this series or not after the first book, this would have wiped it all clean; i'm a thousand times convinced. this is the exact kind of action-packed fantasy with a sprinkle of friendship and romance i needed in my life.
« after surviving the deadly trails, celeana serdothein takes on her role as the king of aderlan's assassin. she is to eliminate whoever gets in the evil king's way on his direct orders, no questions asked. her new role causes her to grow apart from her friends since they all are on edge with her questionable motives; but celeana has hidden agendas of her own, to uncover secrets of the crown and put down the unknown force that has its claws wrapped around the king's glass castle. »
all sorts of wild magic unwinds itself in this book, and it was way more promising in the action area than the previous one with far too dangerous enemies and unexpected allies. the book had a strong start that slowly built up to the climax, it's sure to get you hooked. this book helped getting a better understanding of the characters; new perspectives were brought up along with new characters. my opinions about them changed drastically throughout the entire book. some major characters who made fewer appearances in the previous book were portrayed here in a captivating manner that makes you want to learn their stories as well.
➳・ most of all, we get to see a new side of celeana. i don't know if it was just me or if she actually did a 360-degree personality flip here, but whatever it was, i absolutely enjoyed it. celeana in this book is what i've envisioned as the daggar-wielding, sharp-tongued, and sharp-witted unstoppable force of a woman, the skilled assassin who dresses to kill and happens to have an unhealthy obsession with chocolate cakes. she'd make literal heads drop with a smile on her face and look so badass doing it. her shift from being a self-absorbed person to carrying out the dead warrior queen's will to protect the kingdom from the one ruling it was remarkable. i'd say it again: celeana doesn't need a love interest to appear interesting; she plays the strong individual card well enough.
➳・ dorian havilliard stole many hearts this time around. he's precious and needs to be protected at all costs. in this book, we see him overcoming his fears and defending his opinions in front of the king. the guy hasn't got a single bad bone in his body, and i hated how he was treated at times. he'd use his charm as a defence mechanism while struggling on his own; he valued friendship over his duties and all other things. he supported celeana every chance he got and secretly searched for ways to master his newfound strange powers that could get him in a lot of trouble in a kingdom where magic is banned.
➳・ chaol westfall is the main love interest in this book. i wouldn't say it's a ship i wished would sail, but i didn't have any objections either. the important thing is that chaol and celeana made a great team; one held another up in times of need and that's all i needed. he had a lot of conflicts of his own, but at the end of the day, celeana found comfort in him, he made her dream of a better world. with him, she could forget everything and pretend to be an ordinary girl. the romance part necessarily didn't change much of it. they cared for each other but they also had their priorities straight and knew when to act on them. it was indeed a refreshing change.
➳・ there were other characters like princess nehemia who received much attention; i came to adore her so much, i have since the first book. she has the heart of a true queen; she loved her people fiercely and even went as far as to stay close to their greatest enemy to obtain secrets that'd be his undoing. she always encouraged celeana to use her skills for something bigger and better and provided her all the help she could.
the fall of the golden trio:
celeana, dorian and chaol had so many misunderstandings and secrets, it drove me crazy. their friendship was the best thing to ever happen, i was so sad how it all turned out in this book. i missed them spending time together. when things go well between chaol and celeana, in a way or another, dorian is pushed behind and when celeana and dorian start bonding up, chaol would be the one left behind. sometimes they would just all fight and stop talking altogether. if only they trusted each other a little more and talked things out, we could've been blessed with some amazing content and avoided the resentment.
overall, an amazing read, i had so much fun reading it. if you're looking for a series to keep you occupied for a long while without a second doubt about whether it'd be good, i suggest trying out this one. this series has some great elements, and it just gets better with each book.
“She’d learned the only skills that could keep her safe. To escape death, she’d become death.”
i think my new favorite series has been unlocked, thanks to this book. i apologize for the person i'll become once i get my hands on the next book. this book will have me down on my knees, no doubt in that. it's one of a kind that'd have you saying 'one more chapter' and end up keeping you up all night. it's physically impossible not to get immersed in this. if i had dwelled on the decision of whether to continue this series or not after the first book, this would have wiped it all clean; i'm a thousand times convinced. this is the exact kind of action-packed fantasy with a sprinkle of friendship and romance i needed in my life.
« after surviving the deadly trails, celeana serdothein takes on her role as the king of aderlan's assassin. she is to eliminate whoever gets in the evil king's way on his direct orders, no questions asked. her new role causes her to grow apart from her friends since they all are on edge with her questionable motives; but celeana has hidden agendas of her own, to uncover secrets of the crown and put down the unknown force that has its claws wrapped around the king's glass castle. »
all sorts of wild magic unwinds itself in this book, and it was way more promising in the action area than the previous one with far too dangerous enemies and unexpected allies. the book had a strong start that slowly built up to the climax, it's sure to get you hooked. this book helped getting a better understanding of the characters; new perspectives were brought up along with new characters. my opinions about them changed drastically throughout the entire book. some major characters who made fewer appearances in the previous book were portrayed here in a captivating manner that makes you want to learn their stories as well.
➳・ most of all, we get to see a new side of celeana. i don't know if it was just me or if she actually did a 360-degree personality flip here, but whatever it was, i absolutely enjoyed it. celeana in this book is what i've envisioned as the daggar-wielding, sharp-tongued, and sharp-witted unstoppable force of a woman, the skilled assassin who dresses to kill and happens to have an unhealthy obsession with chocolate cakes. she'd make literal heads drop with a smile on her face and look so badass doing it. her shift from being a self-absorbed person to carrying out the dead warrior queen's will to protect the kingdom from the one ruling it was remarkable. i'd say it again: celeana doesn't need a love interest to appear interesting; she plays the strong individual card well enough.
➳・ dorian havilliard stole many hearts this time around. he's precious and needs to be protected at all costs. in this book, we see him overcoming his fears and defending his opinions in front of the king. the guy hasn't got a single bad bone in his body, and i hated how he was treated at times. he'd use his charm as a defence mechanism while struggling on his own; he valued friendship over his duties and all other things. he supported celeana every chance he got and secretly searched for ways to master his newfound strange powers that could get him in a lot of trouble in a kingdom where magic is banned.
➳・ chaol westfall is the main love interest in this book. i wouldn't say it's a ship i wished would sail, but i didn't have any objections either. the important thing is that chaol and celeana made a great team; one held another up in times of need and that's all i needed. he had a lot of conflicts of his own, but at the end of the day, celeana found comfort in him, he made her dream of a better world. with him, she could forget everything and pretend to be an ordinary girl. the romance part necessarily didn't change much of it. they cared for each other but they also had their priorities straight and knew when to act on them. it was indeed a refreshing change.
➳・ there were other characters like princess nehemia who received much attention; i came to adore her so much, i have since the first book. she has the heart of a true queen; she loved her people fiercely and even went as far as to stay close to their greatest enemy to obtain secrets that'd be his undoing. she always encouraged celeana to use her skills for something bigger and better and provided her all the help she could.
the fall of the golden trio:
celeana, dorian and chaol had so many misunderstandings and secrets, it drove me crazy. their friendship was the best thing to ever happen, i was so sad how it all turned out in this book. i missed them spending time together. when things go well between chaol and celeana, in a way or another, dorian is pushed behind and when celeana and dorian start bonding up, chaol would be the one left behind. sometimes they would just all fight and stop talking altogether. if only they trusted each other a little more and talked things out, we could've been blessed with some amazing content and avoided the resentment.
overall, an amazing read, i had so much fun reading it. if you're looking for a series to keep you occupied for a long while without a second doubt about whether it'd be good, i suggest trying out this one. this series has some great elements, and it just gets better with each book.