A review by knitreadkate
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely tore through the last 25% of the book - what an ending! 

SJM has a thing for big reveals in the second book.


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
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