Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Crown of Midnight

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

62 reviews

jnterhune's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’m loving this series, this book was awesome, a fast read, keeping me up at night, so wild you have to read with a friend cause you will want to talk about it, loved the overall whole story never found it dull or boring, gives everything you want excited to keep reading this story and rollercoaster! LOVE LOVE LOVE

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krosebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Similar to the first book in the Throne of Glass series, I was really intrigued in the beginning then the end kind of lost me. I don’t know if I’m still learning the universe and it’s making it harder to get into the harder concepts or what.

Good book loved the twist

Chaol learning about Celeana’s heritage

. I found Chaol to be the most interesting character in this book because of his

struggle to choose sides between his loyalty to the kingdom and Celeana

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ameydireads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

“It was war upon them all. Let them tremble in fear at what they had awoken.”

I was hoping to see more of Celaena’s skills as an assassin and this book definitely fulfilled that! There is so much happening and we learn more about the magic in this world. I do like that both Dorian and Celaena are such avid readers, lol.

I was so invested in Dorian’s arc. He is my favourite character without any doubt. We already know that he is a good guy, but there’s more to him and this made me like him even more. His journey in discovering

his magical ability was interesting. It’s not easy to understand this part of him, let alone accept it, especially when his father could have him killed for it.

Can’t wait to read more about this in the other books. I wouldn’t mind having more Dorian and less Celaena, oops. AND why do we still have this love triangle…

Celaena is still guided by Elena. What I don’t understand is why Elena’s hints are so cryptic. Especially now that time is of the essence, I would expect Elena to give as much crucial information as possible to set Celaena on the right path. Instead, she’s sent on a treasure hunt, only to discover at the end that

the king has beaten her to the first Wyrdkey.

But sure, anything for a plot I guess. Or is it all part of a bigger plan for Celaena? I also wonder what kind of troubles Celaena’s actions will bring in the future.

Killing a witch and opening a Wyrdgate are big enough problems that cannot be ignored.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book started off slow, but the pace picked up as the second part drew near. In the second part of the story, grief plays a central role and I found that very interesting. It’s difficult to experience the loss of a loved one. Grief is definitely neither pleasant nor rational, but eventually it has some upsides as well. You might think I'm crazy, so allow me to explain! Grief makes one think about the meaning of life and creates a new perspective. It reminds one of their path and goal in life. If there were none to begin with, it provides an opportunity to set a path or goal. This is what Celaena experiences as well. Celaena is not always a pleasant character and her grief only made it worse. At times, I found her annoying and immature, but then I realised that this is normal when someone’s grieving and of course she is still very young.
“It was hard to care, she realised as she started the trek back to the castle. Incredibly hard to care, when you don't have anyone left to care about.”

We were also in for a bit of a surprise! There will be a big secret revealed at the end, IYKYK. Not fully a surprise I have to say as there were so many clues and suggestions dropped over time, making it possible to piece it all together.
“To escape death, she’d become death.”

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hxlleann's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

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lqne's review against another edition

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bad writing

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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

As with my 'Throne of Glass' listen, I do think I got more out of the physical book (which I have reviewed previously) - my reading pace means I can work my way through the plot quickly and keep things moving, but listening at a predetermined speed means this feels a lot slower. This one is also a LOT of worldbuilding and set up for the main story arc, and this early on there are a lot of unanswered questions, which also drags the narrative down.

I'll say it now; I don't really get all the shade people throw at Chaol. No, he isn't my favourite character, but I get the sense that he genuinely just wants to do the right thing for his country, himself and his friends. He may not always achieve the desired result, but it's not him being malicious, it's just how he's wired. The audiobook for me only reinforces this view.

I appreciate that the 'reveal' in this doesn't come as a surprise to me as this was a reread, but if it was I think I'd have had a bigger reaction to it by reading the physical book. The narration is as good as ever, but there's just something about this section that falls a bit flat for me - it doesn't give me that heightened heartbeat or that build up and crash of a wave that should come from a big moment.

In accordance with SJM's instructions, Assassin's Blade is up next.

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