I LOVED THIS BOOK. The first one started a bit slow and like I said in my review, it was a bit repetitive, BUT man… this one was INCREDIBLE. I swear. “A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend.” In this book we pick up right where we left off in Throne of Glass. Celaena has been named the King’s Champion and she now must fulfill his every wish. His every evil wish: kill this, kill that, and Celaena can’t do anything about it… or can’t she? She’s been told to do anything and everything in her power to uncover the King’s plans and the evil that surrounds her and everyone she cares about. Good think she’s smart. This book was so, so, SO good. I absolutely loved it. The pace picked up a lot more than it did in the first book, so it was easier to get into the story. The character development was incredible. Every single character had me guessing what they were going to do next and sometimes they turned out to be completely different than I expected. Some others turned out to be exactly what I hoped they would be. The plot twists. OMG. I didn’t see some of them coming!!!!!!! So I was a bit shocked at first, but then realized how much sense they make to get the story going. And this world. Man, this world is just so freaking awesome. Every single detail is well-thought and they are so important to the story. I loved reading every single word of this book. Celaena keeps being her sarcastic and badass self, but in this book you get to see her in her element. She fights like a true assassin, so she can be scary as hell sometimes, but the beauty of this character is that she’s the combination of a badass woman and sweet girl. She is able to recognize the good and the bad. She knows what side she’s on, even if it takes her a bit longer to come to terms with it. I think I understood her a lot more in this book. I also loved seeing her letting her guard down for a bit, and it felt completely different from what happened before. The stolen looks and stolen kisses. Meaningful words and memories. It felt deeper in this book. And I loved it, because she managed to show her vulnerable side without being weak. Not that I would think that she’s weak, of course. “But he had no idea what sort of darkness lurked inside her, or what sort of monster she was willing to become in order to make things right.” Now, let me tell you a little more about the mess this book has made out of me. I’ve always talked about how strong I am when it comes to picking a boy in the books I read. It’s always easy. There’s always something to hate about one of the boys, making it easy for me to pick one and stay true to that one boy. But this? I knew this was going to be hard. I knew it the moment Dorian kissed her for the first time. I knew it the moment Chaol reacted out of passion and protectiveness. I knew it when I noticed both of these guy’s look towards Celaena. These two characters are beautiful and passionate and just so freaking lovable: One is pure heart and magic. He’s just sweet and attentive and such beautiful and trusting soul. There’s magic within him. There’s power that he doesn’t know exists yet, but I know he’s destined for good. He is good in all the ways his father is bad. “He would move on. Because he would not be like the ancient kings in the song and keep her for himself. She deserved a loyal, brave knight who saw her for what she was and did not fear her. And he deserved someone who would look at him like that, even if the love wouldn’t be the same, even if the girl wouldn’t be her.” The other one is all about protecting those he care about, no matter the cost, all without exaggerating. He’s all about giving them the best of him, and making sure they are ok. He recognizes his mistakes for what they are and knows when to give some space. He’s passionate and trust-worthy. He’s reliable, even when he thinks he’s not. “I worry because I care. Gods help me, I know I shouldn’t, but I do. So I will always tell you to be careful, because I will always care what happens.” And I think, no I know, it will only get harder as the story goes on. Now, the plot. OH MY GOD. There are a lot of things going on and you MUST pay attention to the details. They will show you the way to understand this amazing world and see it through the character’s eyes. Also, we have some shocking plot-twists that had me jumping up and down. Some I expected and some I didn’t, but that’s part of the beauty of this story. I love all the possibilities this book has given me. There are queens and kings in the making. There is love that goes deep, but even so, it’s still fragile. There are truths, half truths and lies. There are mysterious and different kinds of magic. I must thank you, Sarah J. Maas. You have created such a wonderful and magical place and characters. Each character and their story is interesting by itself, but as a whole, they manage to fit perfectly. This is definitely the kind of book that will keep you reading until there aren’t any more pages, and it will leave you wanting more. So, do I recommend this series? So far, YESSSSSSSSS.

*flails* This book was so good. I liked Throne of Glass, but I LOVED Crown of Midnight. (!!!) Watch out below for some spoilers if you haven't read Throne of Glass yet. Ten Likes/Dislikes: 1. (+) Celaena, the protagonist - Celaena and I haven't had the best of pasts. When I first read Throne of Glass, I thought she was too arrogant - so arrogant that I found it hard to identify with her, so arrogant that I never really believed in the danger that she faced. My wishes were granted, though: you do find out more of Celaena's past, and you do get more into her head in Crown of Midnight. She's still bold and brash, clever and witty, strong and assertive, and yes, quite able to defend herself (and thus proves herself as an assassin and King's Champion)--but where she shines in this novel, it's none of those things. It's when she finally shows some vulnerability, some doubt, some emotion, and that actually made me want to hug her. That got me rooting so much for her that it was nearly inconceivable that I didn't like her before. So if you loved Celaena in Throne of Glass, you will ache for her in this novel. If you weren't her greatest fan in Throne of Glass, maybe you'll like her in Crown of Midnight. 2. (+) World-building - You wanted more on Adarlan and life outside the court and in Rifthold? How about the political system? How about the magic and the King's nefarious plots? How about Elena's history and the beasts we found in Throne of Glass? There's that and much, much more. One of my favorite things about the Throne of Glass series is that there's so much to be discovered in the world, little details about the food and city that give it a different feel besides the usual medieval aspects of high fantasy. These are the kind of details that you can feel and appreciate as a reader but don't have to analyze (though Shannon does quite well in the linked blog post). Yeah, there are some epic fantasy cliches, but they never feel old and too much. Ms. Maas does a great job reinventing old tropes into her own world. 3. (+) Romance - Undoubtedly, the romance will anger some fans as Celaena makes a clear decision in this novel but isn't too tactful about that decision. Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of the non-interest (not just romantic-wise but also character-wise), so while I recognized that Celaena and Chosen One could have done better, I still reveled in the slow-burn that soon came to pass. Most of all, I was just happy that there wasn't the same level of love triangle as in the first book. Both Dorian and Chaol spend some parts in the beginning fantasizing or moping about Celaena but not for too long. And the best part of it is that the romance is one of a few things that forces development of these three characters and fits unexpectedly into the plot. This novel is a much darker, more mature novel than its predecessor, so if you were concerned about that in Throne of Glass, take this as a warning for Crown of Midnight, though I personally think that Ms. Maas was tasteful about both the action and the romance scenes. 4. (+) Plot - Ooh, wow. All the different plot threads of this beauty. The plot improved greatly from the Competition in the former book. There's still the loose threads introduced by the creatures Celaena previously encountered, the romantic threads, the threads of Celaena's past, Celaena as King's Champion, the King's plans and other events that are set into motion by all of the above. So much is happening in this novel, and all the threads come together beautifully. Some of the twists are a bit more predictable than others, but their predictability didn't take away any enjoyment (for me). 5. (+) Character Cast - Nehemia's friendship with Celaena is one of my favorite female friendships in YA. I especially love that it's made clear that Nehemia has her own motivations, her own set of beliefs--a past and a personality before she meets Celaena. Other side characters from Throne of Glass who I didn't expect to be reintroduced are brought back to reinvigorate the plot in unexpected ways. Some new characters are introduced, though am I allowed to consider a talking doorknob a character? 6. (+/-) Incorporation of Previous Work - Have you read the Throne of Glass prequel novellas? (Side note: they are being bound and made into a print book, if you're interested). If you haven't read them, there are some mentions in this novel that might confuse you (especially novella #2, in the desert). On principle, I dislike the feeling of inside jokes (from the novellas) that you won't understand as a regular reader and figured I ought to warn others of this, though I did think that Ms. Maas had a sneaky and cool way of incorporating the novellas and Throne of Glass (not just the events and relationships and plot details but other details I hadn't remembered until they came up again). 7. (+/-) Themes - I think this is a book that will make some fans cry and rage with its careful exploration of the domino effect of choices and manipulation. The themes of love and loss also come into play a lot more fully in this novel than they did in Throne of Glass. That being said, there was one event in particular that I personally didn't think sent the best of messages, though I'm still not sure what else could have happened to have had as propulsive of an effect on character development. 8. (+) Writing - The writing reminds me of that in Angelfall - not because they're from the same type of POV (they're not), but because they have a similar, cinematic effect that allows me, a non-visual reader, to picture clearly what is happening. There are a few fully-fledged narrative scenes and dream sequences, but overall they were so minor in light of the entire plot that I thought they actually sometimes helped. 9. (+) Pacing - This book starts with action and ends with a bang. There's really no dull moment or unused scene. A lot of things contribute double time towards building the tension for the climax. 10. (+) The Cover - I'm actually a fan of the new covers, though the pose for this one is quite awkward. On the flip side, you have Celaena in a dress, so you get both sides of her and the dramatic fiery colors work well for the book's content. All in all, Crown of Midnight does exactly what a sequel should do: advances the plot while developing the characters, world, and themes and maintaining high stakes. If you are a fan of Throne of Glass, you simply cannot miss out on Celaena's latest adventure. Highly recommended.