Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Goodreads Blurb

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.
Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 
Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

There are no words for how much I loved this sequel. In fact, I honestly hadn't planned on writing a review at all...and then I finished it. All. The. Feels.

First of all, Celaena has become my favorite heroine ever. She's complex in a way I've never seen and I love her so absolutely much. Cold, arrogant, and completely badass, she's the kind of heroine we don't run into often. But then there's her softer side, the one that loves books and clothes, and is always in desperate need for a sweet.
And yet, she's always on the edge, waiting for something to tip her over. And, well, when it did, my heart hurt for her. This was the Celaena everyone else had heard about, the ruthless one that crept in the shadows. Was it wrong that I sort of loved this version of her too though?

Much to my chagrin, there's...there's no love triangle in this. Which, I guess, is a good thing, except I was on the wrong side of it. Dorian didn't really pop up as much as I wanted, and I will always be on his side.
Chaol and Celaena's relationship was sweet and it was deeply explored in Crown of Midnight (a little too much perhaps?) and I loved how they were both independent but had a small weakness when it came to each other.
We learn a lot more about Chaol than before and it turns out it's not only Celaena who's deciding where her loyalties lie. Chaol's been loyal to his kingdom for years, but Celaena makes him ask questions he doesn't really know the answers to.

As for the plot, there are no words for how much I loved it. While the main focus seemed to be the romance, there were still so many creepy happenings, more riddles, more clues, and, well, more blood. There were some twists that shocked me to the core, and others that made me giggle hysterically. The giant twist was predictable to me though, but I still sort of loved it. And it explained so much about Celaena. Although, you know, it's making me practically dying for book three.

There are honestly no words for how much I loved Crown of Midnight and it absolutely killed me every time I had to close the book for classes. (School, getting in the way of bookish needs since 1234) It's a brilliant sequel, enthralling from the first page. Maas is practically magical in the way she tells Celaena's story and you can't help but fall in love with all our characters and the world all over again.
I'll just be here, rocking in my corner, waiting for book three.

Pages: 432

Genre: High Fantasy

Series: Throne of Glass #2

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Release Date: Aug 27, 2013

Rating: 10/5 stars