Crown of Midnight Review: Celaena

Book: Crown of Midnight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass

Standing: Book 2 (ongoing)

POV: third person by Celaena and Chaol and Dorian

Setting: Erilea

Genre: YA fantasy

Source: Physical Copy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 418

Release: August 27th, 2013

"A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend." 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. (Goodreads)

This was so beautiful, I think I'm going to cry. An absolutely stunning sequel!

Celaena Sardothie is now the king's personal Champion. She does his dirty work, ordered to assassinate any who oppose him. But Celaena isn't someone who likes to be used, especially by king whom she hates with all her heart. She wants freedom, but until she can get it, she plays a dangerous game with her targets and the king.

There were two very distinct parts of this book, and each part depicted two different aspects of the book. The first part explores Celaena's new reluctant life as the King's Champion. We get to uncover just how defiant Celaena is to the crown, and how she is able to maneuver around becoming the king's pawn. Her actions are ethically right, silently opposing the king. Admist her deadly assassin roles, Celaena is humanized by her love for material items like clothes and ribbons, books and chocolate. We also get a look into the love life of Celaena, and how far she is willing to go for others. 

The second part of the book is a complete evolution from the first part. A tragedy springs the book into its second phrase, and we get to see Celaena's character in a completely different light, much darker than before. Fuelled by a completely different motive than the first half, we follow Celaena as she begins to venture past her assassin duties of the King's Champion, going further into unveiling the king's true motives and schemes. What Celaena uncovers is a major turning point for the series as a whole, propelling us forward towards the next books. Another major revelation is made about Celaena's identity, and I must applaud Maas for so skillfully being able to keep us readers in the dark about it until now. Rather than being humanized by her material infatuations, Celaena is humanized in the second half by her physical being and grief.

"She wouldn't mind working with him--but not in the way Roland meant. Her way would include a dagger, a shovel, and an unmarked grave."

One unique thing about this book is the fact that all my ships are being destroyed. I've heard that it only gets worse from here on out, and seeing how devastated I was in this book, I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to survive the other books. This book is not lacking in the romance section, and there are quite a few steamy moments. This book is not a love triangle, regardless of what many may seem to think.

The character development of Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian was absolutely perfect. Celaena grows from a reluctant assassin to a full-on loathing and deadly person. You'd think that she's already as dangerous as it gets, right? Wrong. She becomes even deadlier by the end of the book, with powers unmatched to her original state. Chaol, as we see, is torn between his loyalty to the crown and to Celaena. He finds out that sometimes, you can't be loyal to both and still get away unscathed by either one. As for Dorian, he was the most surprising of them all. He goes through some very unsuspecting changes, changes which will definitely alter the fate of his kingdom. All three of them went through extensive character development in a realistic time frame and progression. Absolutely perfect.

This book will leave you torn to bits with the devastating romance, unsuspecting yet haunting character development, magic, and plot twists. Sarah J. Maas gives us just a small taste at the world that's waiting in her next books, along with a glimpse at the magnificent power Celaena is now capable of. This book is not to be missed, and will leave you craving for more. And if you're not craving for more after this book...you might have missed something key. Go read it again. Or, even if you are craving more, read it again or go read the next book.

Now, it's time for me to hunt down a copy of Heir to Fire...

"You have one sentence to convince me not to kill you all."