Book review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Finished reading: 30 January 2024
Rating out of five: 3.75/5

The second book in the Throne of Glass series, and I’m going to be honest right out the bat, Crown of Midnight took me a bit of time to read and get into. However, as the story progressed, I could feel myself pulling my way up closer to a potential 4/5 rating, but we just didn’t quite make it.

We’re heading into Throne of Glass spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read the first book yet, so if you haven’t, you’ve been warned! Otherwise, if you have read the first book of the series, then let’s get right into it.

While it shouldn’t be surprising, Celaena Sardothien—our protagonist in this series—won the role of King’s Champion and while there was a moment where it felt like she might, she most certainly didn’t die.

You can easily predict that since there’s six more books in the series, and she is on the cover of five of them.

Anyway, that’s not the point of the story. In fact, Crown of Midnight follows Celaena as she performs ‘assassinations’ at the order of the King against his enemies. If you recall from my review of Throne of Glass, the King isn’t a nice lad, so it shouldn’t be surprising that his enemies are actually OK people.

And while Celaena might have the reputation of the ‘deadliest assassin in Adarlan’, don’t think she doesn’t have a heart—these ‘assassinations’ are faked, and she helps sneak the targets out of Adarlan.

A risky move for someone trying to not get on the wrong side of the King.

It’s when Celaena is given the target of the suspected rebel leader, Archer Finn, that sets a domino effect of events that result in great loss, heartbreak, as well as the discovery of the ‘keys’ that will help unlock the trapped magic turned ‘off’ by the king 10 years ago.

Oh, and another point about Archer Finn. This rebel movement he is suspected to be the leader of is set out to try and track down the lost princess, Aelin Galathynius. If the stories are true and Aelin is found, she is the rightful heir of Terrasen, and so she is the last hope to restore the kingdom and bring down the tyrannical rule of the King.

And then of course there’s the whole romance part of this story too. Celaena and Dorian had their moment in the sun in Throne of Glass, but it becomes pretty obvious as we make our way through Crown of Midnight that Chaol may be the way to go for Celaena.

That is until a fatal…mistake… miscommunication… miss…. Something? Anyway, there is a moment in this story—without spoiling it for you—that leads to a moment that feels like they can’t come back from it.

But maybe they can? What is the strongest force in the world other than love?

Anyway, you throw in some romantic drama, incredibly sad moments, betrayal, sacrifice, and a whole lot of magic in a world that supposedly shouldn’t have any, and you get yourself a pretty good sequel to Throne of Glass.

So, what did I like? The romance. While I don’t want to spoil it for those who have yet to read this book, let’s just say I’m pretty happy this story didn’t do something that would’ve felt a bit too predictable and cliché, which was for the protagonist to go for the Prince. And, the reasons for this not happening actually make a lot of sense, so if it had gone down that route, I think I would’ve been a bit annoyed.

I’m on the fence with the inclusion of the magic loopholes. While Wyrdmarks were introduced to us and used to quite good effect in Throne of Glass, they’re getting a lot more time in the spotlight in this one. We learn a bunch more about them, and they’re a pretty cool idea.

But, the whole point is that magic shouldn’t exist. And while I like the idea that it’s ‘leaking through’ and that there is a loophole to it, it also does annoy me a little bit.

I also really enjoy the raw emotions in this book. I mentioned in my review of Throne of Glass that Celaena would complain about benign things and that the book had its cringey moments. While it still has its moments (remember, it is a Young Adult book, so it’s bound to happen), I was pretty impressed on how dark some of the scenes got.

It was also a good reminder as to why Celaena is known as the deadliest assassin. While she had her ruthless moments in the first book, Crown of Midnight brings this out a bit more, and I’ll admit it was in those moments I felt the most hooked in. 

But, what didn’t I like? I’ve already mentioned my feelings about the magic seeping through and the use of Wyrdmarks. It’s not necessarily that I don’t like this, but just seems like maybe magic wasn’t that hard to tap into if you knew where to look.

And, the big twist/reveal at the end… I don’t think this was foreshadowed very well as I figured it out very early on. Some of the scenes and references to people… it just felt a bit flimsy in trying to cover up the big news.

You can probably tell I’m trying to tip-toe around this, but I don’t want to spoil it for those who don’t know… but maybe you’ll figure it out as fast as I did!

But while that was very predictable for me, there were some parts of the story that weren’t as predictable and shocked me… so, you win some, you lose some.

Also, don’t get me started on how frustrated I get when I read about people who just don’t say things straight! As someone who works professionally in communications and understands the importance of clear communications, it will never not irk me when I read about fights between characters that would just be fixed if they just said what they needed to say.

Overall, this story does stack up quite well, but it didn’t quite reach the same level as the first book for me. But it’s a good sequel and really sets us up well for the third instalment: Heir of Fire.

What did you think? Do you think this is better than Throne of Glass, or do you agree with how I felt? Let me know in the comments!