Ho - ly - crap. Are you reading this series yet? If not, get on that stat. Whereas I loved Throne of Glass and only had one minor issue with the whole book that ultimately didn't take away from my enjoyment at all... Crown of Midnight does it so much better. This book is amazing. I loved every second of it, and putting it down was physically painful. And writing this review is even more painful, because... how am I supposed to achieve a good review without spoiling anything? Ugh.
Crown of Midnight is split into two parts. The first focuses on Celaena adjusting to her role as the King's Champion, taking out the targets and.... the romance. Chaol and Celaena. I can't with them. So perfect. Seriously. This romance is amazing, and I don't say that often. Think perfect build up, perfect tension, perfect banter, perfect feels, and I still don't come close to doing the two of them justice. You need to read this love story. It's just... extraordinary. Thanks to them, my standard for romance is soaring through the roof. It's called OTP. I can't get enough of these two. Let's go on a mini-GIF adventure!
At the end of part one and into part two, the action kicks it up a notch. My hesitance with Throne of Glass was that it never really shocked me. Crown of Midnight fixed this. Think plot twists, thrilling action-packed battles, intrigue, mystery, and a story that for a while you really don't know where it's going - in a good way. I can't go into it for fear of spoilers so... magic, demons, secrets, DEATH, vengeance. That's how I can sum up the plot. At parts, it totally ripped my heart up. I had tears in my eyes. I was gasping, screaming, furiously turning the pages. The ending kind of broke my heart and at the same time made me absolutely desperate for the next book. WHY MUST IT BE A YEAR? *cries*
And the very, very end (as in, very last page)? I totally called that halfway through, but mostly because I considered it while reading and thought it would be so awesome if it happened. And it did. So it wasn't too surprising, but I was cheering with my fist in the air. All in all, the plot was awesome and addictive, and I loved every bit of it.
Across the board, Chaol, Celaena, and Dorian get more and more depth as characters. I love reading about each of them, because it's really this gradual progression of getting to know them. It's wonderfully crafted. And it's not just our heroes, but also the side characters and villains. I love how Sarah J. Maas crafts her characters. I couldn't call a single one of them one-dimensional. That's major talent right there.
The writing is still super fluid and compelling, and the world building keeps improving!! Of course I can't really get into that either, for fear of spoilers. Umm... magic, lineage, politics, and more. asdjfkl; I'm sorry this review is such a fail. But just, just... read this book. Start the series. Get to this book. It's worth it.
Well. I somehow managed to keep that spoiler free. But sadly this very badly represents the book. TL;DR: THIS BOOK IS AWESOME READ IT *KEYBOARD SMASH*. Then repeat that 203845 times. That's this review. Summed up. Celaena is one of my favorite main characters of all time. Celaena and Chaol are one of my favorite couples of all time. This series is one of my favorites of all time. That's reason enough to give it a shot, right?
YOU. YES, YOU.
A special thanks x 1 million to Judith, who managed to stumble across this book in Amsterdam before it was released officially and deigned to buy and ship me a copy. You are amazing. You don't even know.