I still enjoy much of Maas’ writing and characterization. I still like Celaena a lot as the main character and protagonist. Here’s a quick summary of how I feel about this sequel versus the first book. And some fairly predictable high fantasy shenanigans. Along the way, there is also some smooching and some murder. She’s trying to be a scholar and a warrior and a mage and a rogue, like a one-person DnD party, and it’s not working out for her. She’s trying to figure out his endgame, trying to connect the dots between his successful conquest of most of Erilea and the disappearance of magic. She is supposed to be killing his enemies. Celaena Sardothien is now firmly entrenched as the King of Adarlan’s royal assassin, aka King’s Champion.

Still, I did buy … all … the books … so I figured I should keep going, at least for now.Ĭrown of Midnight picks up a few months after Throne of Glass ends. Maas and her handling of portrayals of sexuality, etc., more so in the latest books of her other fantasy series. In the elapsed time I’ve seen some criticism of Sarah J. “Sometime soon” has arrived four months on, which is actually very fast in Ben reading terms for carrying on with your typical series. (Switch back to your normal “I am reading Kara’s review” voice now.) It leaves me even more excited to read the next book-I’m not picking it up right away, but obviously it’ll be sometime soon. He’s much more involved in what is happening in Erilea and in the supernatural aspects of the story, and I really liked this glimpse. at the very end of the book, we learn he has a much deeper game. As much as I liked the friendship, the romance part of the book did little for me … it seemed superfluous-you could have cropped out the romance elements here and still have a fine book. I also liked the positive female friendship between Celaena and Nehemia. I didn’t necessarily like Celaena as a person, but I cared what happened to her.

I very much respect an author who can create an unlikable protagonist and make me enjoy their journey and their story, and that is the case here.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas