Review: Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just under one week has passed since I finished Crown of Midnight and in the mean time I've been frantically listening to the audio book for Heir of Fire in preparation for the release of Queen of Shadows. Although my initial reaction of shock and excitement to COM has slightly subsided, I'm still quite heavily invested in the characters and the story and stand by my rating of 5 stars.

Here's why:

Sarah J. Maas has completely changed my mind not only about her ability as a writer and story-teller, but also of the quality and necessity of the story being told. Now, I say "necessity" because just one book prior, Throne of Glass, I was completely unconvinced and quite annoyed that yet another author was writing a supposed "fantasy" or even "high fantasy" that feels so much like yet another angsty love story merely disguised as fantasy - to me, there was more jealousy and love triangles than actual world-building, magic and lore, not to mention a lack of character development. I had enjoyed it enough to give TOG 3 stars, but had little hope for the following books.

It took months for me to finally pick up Crown of Midnight, I just hadn't cared enough for the characters to find out what happened next. But with the release of the fourth book approaching and everyone's excited banter I decided to give the series another shot.

I was blown away.

It starts off slow, building steadily, as piece after piece of information about the pasts and carefully guarded secrets of the characters are revealed. Motives are discussed and explored, the plot becomes more and more tangled and hard to predict. Throughout I felt a growing dread and tension as we learn just what is at stake for everyone should the King of Adarlan succeed. I grew to love and respect Celaena, to cheer and root for Chaol, and to fear for and worry over Dorian and Nehemia.

All of the missing pieces from TOG--the lack of a developed world and magic and the backstories to many of the main characters--were presented with such detail and care in COM, much to my relief. It's not like I enjoy giving books less-than favorable ratings nor did I want to knock Maas's writing before - I genuinely want to enjoy each book I read and try to find the good in everything. So, not surprisingly with all the hype surrounding TOG I was definitely disappointed. There was potential, for sure, but little else to hold my interest.

I could not be happier to say that Crown of Midnight is an excellent book. It took me on a wild ride through darkened tunnels and dungeons where monsters lurk, through to the highest ecstasies of love and passion, and down again into the depths of utter despair of loss. Magic explodes off the pages, friendships are cemented and then broken. Each chapter is built upon the next and an entire world is opened up before us.

I am thrilled that Maas has changed my mind and stolen my heart for this series. In one book she managed to convince me that her writing is worth 5 stars instead of 3. It is beautifully and lovingly written, the detail thoughtful and the characters so wonderfully real. This is also what I mean when I say above that this story is a "necessity" because that is how this story feels to me, like it is necessary. The story truly leaps off the page and demands to be both written and read. I adore this world and these characters and I will definitely be finishing this series.
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