"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." From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. |
Review
The actual plot and worldbuilding is excellent as Maas builds on facts and clues from Throne of Glass to raise the stakes and draw the reader deeper into the story. Some aspects are predictable though, Maas’ foreshadowing regarding the clock tower is heavy-handed, and I’ve suspected the identity of Terrasen’s lost princess since TOG so the air of surprise accompanying this information fell flat for me.
Crown of Midnight is a huge improvement on Throne of Glass. Maas has clearly plotted this story out with great attention to detail but I found the characters lacking.