Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: Five stars
Series: Throne of Glass #2
Date published: August 15, 2013
Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

I love Crown of Midnight and I love Sarah J. Maas. Crown of Midnight was fantastic. It begins with Celaena as the King's Champion, dramatically bringing in heads to the king. I loved how dramatic and harsh Celaena is. She's not your average heroine - she's better. It's not long until you find out that she's not actually killing the targets the king gives her, but helping them flee. This part of Celaena shows us that even though she's the Champion, she's not just going to be a cog in the machine. She won't just blindly follow what he tells her to do, even though she's risking her life, Chaol's life, and the life of Nehemia and her family. It's a very dangerous game she's playing and it brings a whole new element into the Throne of Glass series.

Her target throughout this novel is Archer Finn, courtesan who Celaena also used to be around when she was younger. Because of this fact, we got a little more insight into Celaena's old world before Endovier. Not much, but it was refreshing to see a piece of her past.

I also liked how Celaena and Chaol's budding romance was written. I really believed that they were in love. I felt it on every single page. I don't think I can say more about it without giving away spoilers.

All I can say is that Crown of Midnight is such a well-written novel. The pacing is on point, and I found myself a little impressed with how well Maas pulled it off. There's romance, intrigue, murder, magical creatures, a witch, heartbreaking moments, and moments that'll have you so happy and feeling satisfied. I can't wait to get started on the next novel in the series, Heir of Fire.