Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

189 reviews

kristanjenkins's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

literarymary95's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

After 6 years, I am reading this again and I am really enjoying it. Although Celaena's character seems a bit overpowered, I feel that her character (outside of her physical kick*ss abilities) is believable as she's only 18 and still figuring out life so she's going to make mistakes and live as a young and somewhat naive woman would.

I enjoyed the characterization of the other characters and I'm impressed that SJM manages to do a great job with working with 3 POVs. That's no easy feat.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and War

hxlleann's review against another edition

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

miss_berry315's review against another edition

mysterious

3.25

The storyline in this one was more interesting than TOG was, though it still kinda feels like a setup to the main stories we will get with these characters. 
Not a fan of

like 85% of the book being driven by the absolute lack of communication between Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian

Also didn't really like

the whole love triangle thing. Just thruple and be done with it y'all smh. ((Half joking 🤭))

I am very very happy that

Fleetfoot is alive and going to be taken care of by Dorian. SJM if something happens to that doggo I will write a strongly worded, tear-stained letter about it!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery and Injury/Injury detail

Dog:

gets hurt, but does not die.

puzzling_reader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

savage_book_review's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and War

mblanke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Updated Review (June 2024):

Still fantastic. Dorian really grew on me this time around, and all the little hints and bits of foreshadowing are really just so fun to catch on a reread. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Original Review (March 2023):

Rating: 5/5 stars.

Splendid, perfect, marvelous, a bunch more adjectives. I was already enjoying this series but this is definitely the one that truly hooked me after the midway point.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Torture

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

mrsjburgin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment