Review: Crown of Midnight

Book Two of the Throne of Glass series
By Sarah J. Maas
Available now from Bloomsbury
Review copy
Read my review of Throne of Glass 

It feels very strange to read two words in a book you've never read before and think, "Oh yes, I remember that!"  Much was made when THRONE OF GLASS came out about the original version appearing on FictionPress.  I think that CROWN OF MIDNIGHT actually draws more material from that first draft.  It made for an interesting reading experience at times.

Calaena has fully recovered physically from her time in the mines.  Now that she's the King's Champion and back in fighting form, her main job is supposed to be assassinating enemies of the crown.  Given that Calaena isn't that fond of the crown, she is unsurprisingly not doing exactly what she's supposed to.  It's risky, because if the king catches her committing treason, he'll also kill Chaol and Nehemia.

I loved how many big moments there are in CROWN OF MIDNIGHT.  It starts fairly quiet, with hints of political maneuvering and an increased intensity in the romantic storyline that ends the love triangle.  Then something happens that changes the status quo for the characters quite a bit.  After that, there's quite a bit of action.  There's also sinister revelations about the king (yes, he can get worse) and a return of the love triangle, in a far more complicated form.

I found CROWN OF MIDNIGHT to be a thoroughly satisfying read.  My quibbles were minor at best.  Roland is introduced and then does almost nothing, probably to be an important character in the next book.  Calaena doesn't ask one very important question she should about the assignments she's given from the king, although perhaps she'll realize it in the next book.  But really, CROWN OF MIDNIGHT is a fun read for anyone looking for an action-packed fantasy with a heroine who has a thing for fashion, chocolate cake, and killing people with pointy things.

I've heard rumors that this will be a six-book series, but I'm not sure if that's true.  I was expecting this to just be a trilogy and to wrap up in the next book.  Either way, I'll definitely be back for the third book about Adarlan's Assassin and her many personal and professional difficulties.