Book Review: Crown Of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Book: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J. Maas
File type: paperback
Release date: August 15, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

synopsis: 
An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

I started loving this book as soon as I came across this:

"Her lovely dresses and ornate clothes were gone, replaced by an unforgiving,close-cut black tunic and pants, her hair pulled back in a long braid that fell into the folds of that dark cloak she was always wearing..."

You see, when I met Celaena Sardothien, I thought that she was the most vain and stupid 'assassin' that I had ever come across. In fact, if you think about it, there was nothing really assassin-y about her. All she cared about was how pretty she looked and how ugly everybody else were. There was this one time when I actually found her badass, but even that moment was quickly overpowered by her absolutely mental attitude.

And now? I guess, we never really got to know her. It makes sense. It was the first book. If Ms.Maas had played all her cards right at the start then would Crown of Midnight be CROWN OF MIDNIGHT?
Because holy hell, this book is absofreakinglutely fantastic. There were so many times when I kept on wondering if I was reading the sequel of the previous book or some other random book. Seriously. This was so unexpected.

At this stage, even if there were any flaws, I don't think I noticed any one of them because I was so busy picking up my jaw from where it fell on the ground. I think I was in this perpetual state of gaping and gawking throughout the entire book. There were those twists. There was Chaol (OMG, you girls. I know WHAT you guys were talking about. *fans herself*). Then there was Celaena. I think I have even started to like Dorian as well. But, Celaena stole the show.

She was so BADASS. I can't even begin to tell you how much my insides were quaking whenever she went into her assassin mode.

"It was war upon them all. Let them tremble in fear at what they had awoken."

I loved this Celaena. I loved her choices, her decisions, her thoughts, her ideas because they made sense. I understood why she did what she did and there was never a moment when I felt that I needed to scream at her. She was so so good.

Chaol and Dorian. I remember not finding either of them appealing in Throne Of Glass. Given a choice, yes, I would have always gone with the captain but, like I said before, I never found any of them appealing. They were these characters that had been placed there for the sole purpose of a love triangle and I just couldn't bring myself to care about them. And now? HOLY CRAP. Dudes, where have you been?
Chaol and Dorian are very different from each other. While Dorian may come across as a person who's much softer in his demeanour, it's safe to say that it was Dorian's and not Chaol's decisions and ideas that I thought were much more rational. Chaol on the other hand, is all man and awesomeness. IF Chaol enticed your hormones in ToG then in CoM, he will entice your soul. I just..I just...I just don't know what more to say?

It really is hard to write a review about something you truly truly love because sometimes what you feel is so hard to explain and put into words. There were so many things in Crown of Midnight that had me shaking and jumping. I love me some actions and it was full of it. There were so many mysteries and so much of love, that I still get a bit choked when I think about it. Many times during the book when I was doing my side business of guessing the storyline, I just kept on wondering if everything was as predictable as it seems, but NO! Ms. Maas made sure that she twists you in her coil of awesomeness every which way and that you love it! And love it, I did.

Everything is so much better in this one. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL. I never want to let go of this book. This book has raised the bar to such an extent that if the third book doesn't outdo this one then I would be left heartbroken.

You made me like you Celaena. I want you to make me love you. I want to love you. For all I know, I probably do.

My review is such a hotch-potch of thoughts and emotions. I start writing about something and then I start remembering my experience with the book and then I start thinking about something else and then I start writing about that! So I apologize if this review seems a tad incoherent.

Did I tell you how much I loved the characters? I think I already did. But I have so many emotions right now and I just do not want to stop. No character was perfect. They had their good and bad days and when they felt happy, I genuinely felt elated but when it came their misery, I swear, my heart broke every single time with each and every blow. Did I mention the storyline? I think I did that too! I just want you all to know that this was one hell of a blockbuster and that if you didn't read this one then you will be missing out on a very successful book.

If you are a person who was initially very skeptical about reading this one? DON'T BE. Forget your apprehension and just dive into it. And for those who loved it, you're all bookie-clairvoyants. You just knew that this was going to be awesome.

"We'll never be a normal boy and girl,will we?" she managed to say. "No", he breathed, eyes blazing. "We won't."

*sighs*

DAMN YOU 2014.