Would you guys outcast me if I say I’m only reading this because I finished ACOTAR and The Crescent City?
I have a confession to make. I am new to this fantasy-fiction novel and LOVED Crescent City when it came out, so much so that I blurted my thoughts right after reading those.
My journey continued as I fell in love with Rhysand from the ACOTAR series. Still, all these had to end with ACOSF… not when I have another series to grab – Throne of Glass in order.
Sarah J. Maas usually writes real fictional characters. You wouldn’t find these people in the real world because, honestly, they wouldn’t survive with that attitude.
I’ve read the first book, including The Assasin’s Blade; this will need me time. I’m not quite digging this series’s characters or vibe, but I’m only one book(s) in. Let’s see what the Crown of Midnight Summary holds for you.
Oh, and I document my reactions and opinions while reading the Throne of Glass book 2, so I can’t promise that this book will be all sunshine and strawberries – if you are in for brutally honest verdicts, you can have your seat here.
Crown of Midnight Summary (Spoilers Ahead)
I told you, I’m an ACOTAR and Crescent City girl. My expectations are already sky-high despite my repeated shots to not feel that way. I want this Throne of Glass book 2 to absorb my thoughts that my life has no meaning after I finish it – you know what I mean? You might just be crazy, too.
The book is massive with God-knows-how-many pages (450 pages) and chapters (56 chapters), which got me thinking… SJM doesn’t frankly write books under 600 pages.
When she does, you know shit’s going down. That got me thinking if I’m wasting my time with this one because that first one wasn’t so pulling, either.
Thanks to my friend for motivating (bullying) me into reading this one, as she repeatedly told me Celaena Sardothien would make me remember her name, even if that’s not hers.
Girl, are you okay? Am I getting spoilers? A spicy one? Okay, I’m in.
In 10 Seconds, at least 20 People Died!
This is happening right now as we speak and write.
Celaena Sardothien is now the King’s Champion, which means she is the King’s personal assassin. She is now bound to carry out all orders of the King with no free will.
Now, as far as I know, Celaena, that thing should bother her to the core. Remember the time when all she wanted was freedom? That doesn’t seem so relevant here.
She’s killing people left and right while bringing a part of them to the King as proof that she, indeed, killed the targeted people. Yikes, that’s literally slain.
I’m sensing a change of plans here – she is asked to kill Archer Finn now and somehow knows that guy from her trainee days. She’s currently on a mission. But I know from that POV that something isn’t what it’s being shown…
Got you, Celaena wasn’t killing anybody. She is fooling the King and bringing pieces of dead bodies of already dead people. She would go to her target person and give them the choice of fleeing or getting killed, and the choice is always the same– everybody wants to live.
But if you think about it, it’s a lot of work – change your name, flee, and never contact anyone ever, live on another entity’s identity – I’d just rather die.
Y’all Have been Waiting for This
I know some (most) of you are here for the spice, and don’t lie to me – I know what Sarah J. Maas delivers.
Celaena and Chaol are still friends. In fact, we will see more than that pretty soon because girl has been spilling tea to him like diarrhea.
Hence, it’s clear that she trusts him. Dorian, uhm, I feel sorry for the Celaena-Dorian shippers. This ship was hijacked by Chaol at the port.
Chaol and Celaena will have their moments in this book, for sure. Their chemistry is unmatchable, but let me tell you, this is too good to be true. I feel the ship’s been sailing way too fast, and there’s a sinking moment waiting in the ocean.
Some of the Storylines are straight-up creepy
We get to see Lord Roland, also Dorian’s cousin, and there is something weird about him.
And yeah, I was right. He slept with Chaol’s love interest. Chaol doesn’t like him, and neither do I. He will surely be on the ‘villain’s’ side in the latter part of the book.
I’m honestly shaken that Farran killed Sam and how Celaena is dealing with it. Farran was killed by Wesley, who was killed by Arobynn later on. Yes, everyone’s been killing and getting killed.
This tomb and the door knob thing creeped me out. I don’t want to see some random-ass door knob speaking in codes and riddles when I need to save my ‘mate’s’ life in a few seconds.
But again, we meet those two creepy characters with secret dealings–something we have yet to discover. I’m now at the part where Celaena has been assigned to kill someone she already knew from the past – I have a feeling something will go down.
Yeah, Archer is weird. Celaena is cool enough to tell him that he’s gonna get killed, and he has two choices – to flee or to die. He says he needs time to arrange everything, and that’s understandable.
Okay, here’s some brand new information: Who’s Aelin Galathynius now?
You’re getting too predictable, SJM.
The lore of Wyrdkeys
It is only with the eye that one can see rightly.
This line almost cost our girlie her life. She was attacked by a demon in the library, but she defended herself, killed the target, and went to Chaol for help. Everything got sorted right after.
But I’ve still yet to understand this wyrdkey’s story. It turns out it opens up the Wrydgates, which act like a portal to different realms and one of the ways that the demons and enemies are entering Celaena’s world.
These Wrydkeys are separated into three parts – and made three of the rings to give to the three Kings, which means the King possesses one of them. Now, Celaena has to bring them all together so that she can open portals to do weird stuff – talking to dead people.
Love Nehemia and hated what she did to herself
Nehemia dies, okay? Stop whining.
And that’s not easy to process when her last words to Celaena were, you’re a coward. This whole thing was planned to instigate Celaena against Chaol and delay their partnership.
And it worked. Nehemia was taken for questioning which Chaol knew. What he didn’t know was that Nehemia was about to get killed, not questioned, and the blame will be on him. And who’s behind that?
Archer. I told you, that guy was shady.
I completely understand the desperation to meet your deceased loved ones, so Celaena opened one of the portals to see Nehemia. Nehemia accepted her fate so I guess this is the last time we see her.
Nehemia was a good girl. I genuinely feel bad for Celaena (and Dorian because I swear they had something going on).
But it’s okay. Celaena suspected that Grave killed Nehemia, so she rushed to the scene and smacked the hell out of that dude and ended up killing her.
When Celaena rescues Chaol because he was taken by the rebels, she gets the news in a way that portrays Chaol as the traitor. I swear Chaol would get killed that day, and the only thing stopping Celaena was Dorian’s power.
Yeah, Dorian has something special in him.
Dorian is a Whole New Chapter
He’s cute and all, and now he has magic too?
I know Dorian is powerful and all, but this is something different.
Apparently, after that meeting with his dad and the team, Dorian was super angry. He punched the wall (apparently something that alpha-ego-masculine males do when they’re angry). He cracked that stone that exploded the window. Now that’s a LOT.
But the only drawback is that he doesn’t understand what it is or know how to control this power. Nehemia is confirmed because he has powers within him, and they’re rare.
But he doesn’t stop there. He goes to Baba Yellowlegs to get answers to his questions. By the way, Celaena kills Baba YellowLeg; he wasn’t that good of a character, either.
Celaena is a Fae
She was singing a song in front of Nehemia’s grave in a language no one knows – the ancient fae language.
Also, when that crusty demon took her dog through the portal, and Chaol ran behind him, Celaena had to jump into the situation with them. She transformed into a Fae form, confirming that Celaena still has to discover.
Um, so Celaena is now a fae, and if I connect the dots … I’ll tell you later.
Chaol is a little too close to Celaena
Celaena is the world’s most feared assassin, yet she trusts Chaol with her mind and soul. I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that Chaol is this honest and nice. Something seems off about him.
If you thought ‘too close’ was about the spicy scenes, you’re just like me, girlie, and I got your back. Yes, there are more than enough scenes for you to give at least 4 out of 5, and some of the moments are sweet.
I’d give the romance a 4.5/5, and I have my reasons. I like romances with tragic lore. Celaena and Chaol had that misunderstanding twist to ending the chapter, with Celaena spilling all of the tea to Chaol before she left for another realm for a better future.
I just hope Chaol doesn’t pull up any traitor stunt over here.
My Suspicions were Right
Remember how we were getting brand new information like Celaena is a fae? Does she have some kind of power that still feels unknown?
She was also singing an old song of fae people in front of Nehemia’s grave that no one had ever heard of. She also was a part of a rebel group in the past and, secretly, in the present.
Are you connecting the dots?
We have our own Aelin Galathynius.
I knew this was Sarah J. Maas’s classic way of revealing something important, but this was predictable. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t even read fantasy fiction as much.
Analyzing Crown of Midnight Characters
Celaena or Aelin? Aelin or Celaena? I’m having a complex problem.
Why, you ask? Because this girl changed her entire personality with that name. Throughout the whole book, she has been on my love-hate clock.
I questioned her morals when she was killing everyone at the beginning of this book. When that turned out to be a bluff, okay, on my okayish list again.
Then I saw her trusting that Chaol guy was too much in the middle, and at the end of this book, I’m questioning her analytical skills again. She is literally the most feared assassin of all time in the whole world, only to get fooled by a walking red flag.
I refuse to accept this. We refuse to accept this. I think SJM got the message and did a straight-up 180 to the plot – introducing Aelin Galathynius. I can assure you this is gonna be a badass character and literal rightful heir to the throne. So, Throne of Glass? The dots are connected.
You ask me about Dorian now. Dorian was a nice guy in the previous books, but I’m not sure of him in this one.
But obviously, I trust him more than Chaol. I didn’t like him compared to what he was in the previous book. Still, as for his personal development and his friendship with Celaena, he was unbeatable.
When he discovered he might possess a rare magic within him to the point of accepting that he could not control it and seek help, he was open to everything.
That proved that he had zero ego, unlike our girlies’ love interest. Even though Chaol is partly annoying, Dorian still saves him from Celaena’s wrath, almost killing him.
He incredibly supported Nehemia’s situation, and I respect him for that. Again, someone’s ego could never be.
I still think Dorian has some feeling left for Celaena, but again, I was stubborn, suspecting him with Nehemia. Nehemia’s dead now, so I guess we just start gotta pray for our little boy.
I wanted to take a whole paragraph to tribute to Nehemia. She was a sweet lady, but not in a way that makes you go ‘aw,’’ in a way that brings tears to your eyes for her generosity.
I remember reading a paragraph about Nehemia from someone else’s POV in the Calaculla mines, and that illustrates how some people used to think of her as a ray of hope.
That’s just sad. Even the part where Celaena opens the portal just to see Nehemia one last time broke my heart because I remember her last words to Celaena were, ‘You’re a coward.’ Yeah, that hurt.
Onto my long-awaited character of all time – Chaol Westfall, the perfect example of ‘If you’re hot, you can get away with anything’ (I swear these Crown of Midnight characters only bring the worst out of me).
Okay, I wouldn’t say I hate him, but he’s a grey character, and his arc was so well-written it will get your blood boil in real life. I feel like Chaol’s the type of person to let emotions win over logic in times of war.
Even though he was a complete gentleman to Celaena in Throne of Glass book 2, I get bad vibes from him.
We will see more of him in the latter books but in a slightly negative role since he is so fond of the King and his job’s morality – again, a grey character. Let’s see what he has to offer in the next book.
Should You Read Crown of Midnight Book?
One-in-all opinion – I liked the book; it wasn’t boring, but if I compare it to ACOTAR Series or the Crescent City, I would choose them over this one any day because I like my stories a little mixed with banter and fun. That is not something you’d find in here.
I wish the tension was less and the plot was less dramatic. I already told you the Crown of Midnight chapter summary in the plot reviews. There was just … never enough plot to begin with.
Celeana came, Dorian had powers, Wrydkey’s mystery was solved, Nehemia died, Chaol almost died, and Celaena bid goodbye – Yes, that was the whole Crown of Midnight plot.
I think this is a good read for lousy days, but I’m hoping for more from Tower of Dawn – the cover looks promising – but I’m half sold.