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Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)

Sarah J. Maas

Start date: August 4, 2014

Finish date: August 30, 2014

Discussion: Group Read

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What Members Thought

Dec 15, 2012 Renuka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, fantasy, adventure, romance, action, paranormal, magic, cliff-hangers, reviewed

AHAHAHAHA *maniacal laughter* I am in love with this book. SO MUCH IN LOVE. I mean Throne of Glass was great but this shattered everything into pieces and left me with my jaw hanging open. And there are still four more books.

So much happened but I can sense how much more is coming. It's all centered on an extraordinary storm named Celaena Sardothien. Also known as, Adarlan's Assassin who will kick your butt and look gorgeous while doing it. It's been a while since I've enjoyed reading a female AHAHAHAHA *maniacal laughter* I am in love with this book. SO MUCH IN LOVE. I mean Throne of Glass was great but this shattered everything into pieces and left me with my jaw hanging open. And there are still four more books.

So much happened but I can sense how much more is coming. It's all centered on an extraordinary storm named Celaena Sardothien. Also known as, Adarlan's Assassin who will kick your butt and look gorgeous while doing it. It's been a while since I've enjoyed reading a female character so much. Many main characters come off as very irritating and while Celaena is very vain, she's hilarious and downright scary. At first, I was confused. Why was this silly, pretentious, pretty girl named Adarlan's Assassin? She doesn't do anything but read, buy clothing and preen. But oh my god, she can kick butt. In this book, she becomes a force of nature.

Everything was fast, fever pitched, and incredible. The original structure of Throne of Glass was pretty good fantasy, lots of magic, crumbling kingdoms, etc. Nothing extraordinarily special, but still good. This kicked everything to the side and slammed the door open on some really unbelievable fantasy. There were some obvious plot twists, but there was a lot of other interesting stuff that I did not expect. Everything balanced really well, and it was just so gripping.

One of the good things about this book is that the romance is not necessary - but it sure makes it more fun to read. There is a minor love triangle, but there is also a part where Celaena blows everybody off, and just goes and does her own thing. Like "I AM A STRONG INDEPENDENT FEMALE WHO LIKES TO SHOP AND MURDER PEOPLE. FEAR ME AND LET ME EAT CHOCOLATE CAKE IN PEACE." Literally the greatest thing. Yeah Chaol is sexy and beautiful, and Dorian gets pretty interesting too. But Celaena takes center stage, and we begin to learn about her mysterious past *hint, hint.*

So now we have amazing characters, a fast fantasy plot, sexy romance, and what am I missing?...an interesting villainous group! Theres Baba Yellowlegs, the King, and a whole host of other interesting, twisted people. Even Celaena herself walks the line pretty closely. The whole thing is getting bigger and bigger, and there are a lot of new elements involved. Plus, Maas is not afraid to kill people, and have a lot of action occurring. So much happens, but she doesn't skip a beat.

I found myself holding on for dear life for most of the book, and I may have fallen out of my seat at various intervals. It's by far one of the best upcoming YA series, and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. I suggest you read it soon, and enjoy the rush.
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Oct 08, 2013 Christine Manzari rated it it was amazing

This book is EVERYTHING you could want out of a fantasy novel. It has action, adventure, good, evil, battles, romance, magic, mystery....it's so perfect I want to read it again right away. Throne of Glass was excellent, but this book just makes me swoon so hard. Loved it. Oh...and I sort of figured out Celeana's big secret (although I'm not sure Maas was trying to hide it from us very well, I think she wanted the reader to sort of know before it was revealed) but I have no idea what is going to ...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Kimberly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I-NEED-THE-NEXT-BOOK-IMMEDIATELY!!!
And I don't think five stars is enough for this book or the whole series, the story is just too good! Ok...wait....let me catch my breath. (*taking deep breath and releases*)

Hmm....where do I begin.....let's see, I don't think I can explain it in "detailed" or "non-detailed" in any way I try because so many events took place in this book which is all equally important. The ones that stood out would be (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 10, 2014 Bette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book.... So you know when you are reading a book and then you get an awful feeling like something bad is about to happen so you close the book and refuse to read on because you don't like where the book is going... yeah I felt that with this book.

Don't get me wrong I LOVED the book. But I feel so... betrayed. Everything I didn't want to happen, happened. I knew where the story was going, knew some of the twists (many I didn't expect and others I was confused about) but many of them I kinda This book.... So you know when you are reading a book and then you get an awful feeling like something bad is about to happen so you close the book and refuse to read on because you don't like where the book is going... yeah I felt that with this book.

Don't get me wrong I LOVED the book. But I feel so... betrayed. Everything I didn't want to happen, happened. I knew where the story was going, knew some of the twists (many I didn't expect and others I was confused about) but many of them I kinda figured out from the first book, just not the actual details.

*spoiler... kind of*

If you read till the end - yeah I knew the secret she had been hiding, I figured it out from the first book... I just didn't know it was THAT big of a secret.I also figured out most of the puzzles and clues dotted along the way (not that it was hard to, but it just felt a little predictable).

As for the love triangle, I did change my mind on who I liked more but this book also made me realise which one I wanted her to be with in the end. The love triangle is much more complicated than I realised though and it is one of the best triangles I have read... but then again I don't read many books where a love triangle makes up a lot of the plot. I have to say though this is woven so much into the story it would be hard not to have a love triangle since the 3 main characters (Celeana, Dorian & Chaol) are so much more developed and focused on their stories rather than Celeana and her immaturities.

Celeana is a difficult one. I do find her a little immature, as I did in the previous book. But I also have much more empathy and can understand why she is the way she is. I have so much more care for her than I realised.

There is also one bit I kinda skimmed because I found it a bit far-fetched and that is a character called Mort(I know out of everything in this book I found him to be the least believable... weird huh?) but as I read more and more of his encounters he grew on me so much I can't imagine the story without him. But I like those weird characters that most people dismiss. I guess I am weird like that.

If you liked the first book, this one is definitely better and much more emotional. There are some... weak parts but you can easily overlook or even forget about them. ...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Cassie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas' debut novel, was EASILY my favorite book of 2012. So you can probably understand why I had such high expectations for the sequel, Crown of Midnight. Such expectations often leave one dissappointed, but that never happened with this book. Crown of Midnight is pure gold. I just cant express how much I love Sarah's stories. In Throne of Glass, we have Celaena, the infamous assassin, fighting for her freedom and the "privilege" of becoming the King's Champion. Having Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas' debut novel, was EASILY my favorite book of 2012. So you can probably understand why I had such high expectations for the sequel, Crown of Midnight. Such expectations often leave one dissappointed, but that never happened with this book. Crown of Midnight is pure gold. I just cant express how much I love Sarah's stories. In Throne of Glass, we have Celaena, the infamous assassin, fighting for her freedom and the "privilege" of becoming the King's Champion. Having succeeded, her task is clear: eliminate any person the King sees as a threat to his empire.

While Throne of Glass was more about overcoming the odds, and recovery, Crown of Midnight is about trust and loyalty. Celanea knows she's far from loyal to the crown, but her very life depends on dispatching every single name put before her. She is also forced to keep her relationships in check--mainly her relationship with Chaol, Dorian, and Nehemia. As her closest companions, she knows what danger might befall them should she step out of line.

And yet, the risks Celanea takes shows us readers that she's NOT some cold hearted killer. She's an assassin, but she's also a human being. And a human being who feels greatly. Slowly, we see Celanea's wall of defense come tumbling down, and it's really a beautiful (and heartbreaking) thing.

For those readers who felt Celaena never showcased her assassin skills in Throne of Glass, know that Celaeena the assassin is in full form in Crown of Midnight. The book is, surprisingly, gruesome, from the opening scene to the last page. But it needed to be violent, and I'm glad that the editors didn't decide to "tone it down". I also believe Celaena's character is far more fleshed out and relatable. Same with Chaol. Dorian has changed too, but perhaps not for the better. He's less flirty, and I do miss the witty batters between him and Celaena. However, their distance is completely necessary and understandable. I don't fault the book for that. Especially when I'm actually *whispers* team Chaol.

This book is full of violence, swoon, and heartbreak. And believe me, this book will break your heart. t's such a well-paced, well-written novel--the perfect follow up to Throne of Glass. It's also made me that much more desperate to get my hands on the book three.

A side note to fictionpress readers: this plot line was never introduced in the original Queen of Glass tale. But having read it, I can't help but think how perfectly necessary it is for character development, plot development, and even world building. It's such a fantastic addition to this series. I honestly can't give this book enough praise. It's one of the best books I've read this year! ...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Katie_la_geek rated it really liked it · review of another edition

For this review and more visit my blog

I am not going to lie I was not looking forward to reading this book. I really had issues with the first book in this series and would have never picked up the second book if I wasn’t a book blogger. I thought the first book was misleading. It was about an assassin who never killed anyone, who was arrogant and nasty and more interested in dresses and boys. So it was with great reluctance that I picked up Crown of Midnight.

I didn’t expect to love this book, I

For this review and more visit my blog

I am not going to lie I was not looking forward to reading this book. I really had issues with the first book in this series and would have never picked up the second book if I wasn’t a book blogger. I thought the first book was misleading. It was about an assassin who never killed anyone, who was arrogant and nasty and more interested in dresses and boys. So it was with great reluctance that I picked up Crown of Midnight.

I didn’t expect to love this book, I didn’t even expect to like it but I did. I adored it. It was a million times better than Throne of Glass and all the niggles I had with the first book were not a problem here. It was darker, more exciting and deadlier. There were some shock twists, a ton of action and breath-taking romance.

What made this book so much better than its predecessor was Celaena. She was so much better in this book. The arrogance was completely toned down as was the fashion obsession. She was meaner but also kinder and fairer. There was only one thing that annoyed me about her which I will get to later in this review. I actually liked her in this; I got behind her and cared for her which was something I never thought I would be able to do.

The romance was also a huge plus for me. In the first book it was a more Dorian centric triangle. In this one it focused more on a normal two person relationship between Celaena and Chaol. There are no words in any language that can adequately describe my love and adoration for Chaol. He is a huge part of why I loved this book so much and I don’t think I could continue the series if he wasn’t in it and if he wasn’t the love interest. It is so rare for me to be romance focused in a book, I normally dislike the romances in YA books but this one was breath-taking. Chaol’s feelings were so prominent, pure and clear. He is such a well-balanced character with many different emotions and conflicts but his love for Celaena were perfect.

She had the same feelings for him and it was the first time in both books that you saw her really let go with someone and be at ease. I adored them together and just couldn’t have it any other way. This brings me to the one thing about Celaena that annoyed me. At one point she believes a person she barely knows over Chaol a man she loves and trust. She then flies of the handle and completely loses it. I couldn’t understand why she believed this other person over him, why she didn’t even try to listen to Chaol’s side of the story. It was such a shame.

The ending was awesome and took this series to a brand new place. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. Despite disliking the first book in the series Crown of Midnight managed to blow me away. It was amazing and is probably one of the best books I have read so far this year.

The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ...more

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Jun 14, 2014 Anna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-shelf, favorite-authors

Absolute fantasy perfection!

Chaol <3<3<3

I pretty much guessed that punch line about half way through the book but it was still awesome read at the end. Good thing book 3 is already out, because I'd probably rant about the ending if not!

Definitely one of my top new favorite series of the year!

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I'm immensely enjoying my reread-athon of the Throne of Glass series, it's great being back with these characters and I can't wait to rea ...more

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