Crown If Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

   Crown Of Midnight is the second book in the Throne Of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, and picks up about six months after Throne Of Glass. Celaena is now the King's Champion and is going around killing his enemies with no questions asked, or so it seems. After reading and absolutely loving Throne Of Glass, I instantly wanted to read Crown Of Midnight and it was amazing.

     When the book first opens up, Celaena is stalking her next target and it can easily be assumed that she kills him and his wife. She returns to Rifthold to prove to the king that she has completed her latest task. Both Dorian, Nehemiah, and Chaol seem put off that she is killing for the king and mention it a few different times. This irritated me a bit because, Celaena was doing what she needed to do in order to survive and keep people alive. I loved finding out that Celaena wasn't actually killing her targets but, was actually letting them live as long as they left Adarlan and gave her something to prove that she had killed them (i.e. the lord's ring).

     I really liked the budding and then eventually romantic relationship between Chaol and Celaena and thought that they were really cute and good together. The build up to it was really well done and I feel like it wasn't rushed as so many romances often can be. I was so scared when Chaol got kidnapped and then heartbroken when Celaena blamed him for Nehemiah's murder. Even though Celaena spends a good portion of the book mad at him, it was nice to see them work together and put aside their differences at the end.

     I didn't like that Chaol had her sent away at the end but, understood why he did it. Even after finding out everything he did about her he still loves her. I love these two together but, I don't feel like they will last in the long run unfortunately. Oh, and can I just say, I will forever love Chaol for jumping through a portal to another world after a creepy ass monster to save a dog. He had no idea what he was walking into but, went after Fleetfoot anyway.

    I was so angry when Nehemiah was murdered and really didn't see the whole point of it. In the end the reason for it was that she was an annoyance to a minister on the king's council and that irritated me to no end. Not to mention that Graves was the one who actually killed her. However, Celaena did kill him and I felt slightly better. Only, then Celaena discovers that Nehemiah actually orchestrated the whole thing herself in order to get Celaena to fight against the King.

     I didn't like how Celaena instantly blamed Chaol and hated him for it when the only thing he was at fault for was not telling Celaena about the threat. He didn't want her dead but, Celaena acted as though he was the one to kill her. Even if he had warned theming stationed guards to protect her, in the end she was going to die to further her agenda.

     In Throne Of Glass, I thought the catacombs and tunnels hidden behind the tapestry in Celaena's room were really creepy but, they were so much creepier in Crown Of Midnight. The creature that Celaena and Dorian accidentally release was absolutely terrifying. Seeing this creature, that had been locked away for years, made me wonder what else could be in the catacombs and what other secrets it holds.

     I thought it was an interesting twist that Dorian has magical powers and that Nehemiah brought them to the surface. His powers are extremely strong and he doesn't quite have control of them yet, so it'll be interesting to see how he handles it in the next book. He will have to be extremely careful, because if the wrong person finds out about his powers it could mean his death. I wonder if the King of Adarland would kill his on for having magic or try to use him as a weapon.

     There were several times throughout this book where I was suspecting that Celaena was actually Aelin, and though it wasn't surprising when it was revealed that she was indeed Aelin, I loved the potential of where this will take the story. What I wasn't expecting was for Celaena/Aelin to be a Fae with powers. There has been a little mention Fae throughout the series so far but, not enough that I was expecting this. This just makes me like this series even more than I already do.

     Throne Of Glass was a really good book and Crown Of Midnight was an amazing follow up. I had planned on reading a different book after this one but, I'm going to have to read Heir Of Fire first because, I just need to know what happens next and can't wait to see where the story goes after this. I can officially say I'm addicted to Sarah J. Maas. Here's to hoping Heir Of Fire continues to make this series phenomenal.

Rating: 5/5 stars