Publisher: Bloomsbury Publication Date: August 27th 2013
Pages: 432
Source: ALA Annual 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Goodreads
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 wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book or not when I picked it up. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Throne of Glass, but I was interested in where the story would go. I enjoyed the action and the competition atmosphere in the last book, but I had had some issues with the characters and the romance. I'm glad that I continued this book because I did some parts more than I did in the last book.
Like in the last book the names were horrible to try to figure out. I still, after reading both Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight don't know how to pronounce the main character's name: Celaena, and there are a few other names thrown in that were hard to figure out as well. This is a bookish pet-peeve of mine in general, and this book is one of best examples of that.
The way the story continued was kind of hard to follow. There were several stories going on at once in the book, and it didn't really feel like there was one major plot at any point. With all of the things going on the book became kind of jumpy. There was a lot of talk of magic. I feel like there wasn't enough magic in the last book for magic to be so prominent in this story, it seems like this is a whole new story all together.
I really liked how things were still being revealed throughout the story about the characters and the setting. There was a huge tidbit that was revealed at the end of the book that made it all the more interesting, but also lead to a cliff-hanger...
I felt the same about romance in this book as I did about it in Throne of Glass. I felt like Celaena was swooning over every guy she saw, and when she did get in a serious relationship, she ended it extremely quickly for seemingly no reason. This doesn't seem to happen much in other books so it's kind of surprising how the main character in this book is such a flirt.
I'm not exactly sure if this is the series for me anymore. The writing and the story just isn't developed to my tastes.
Aww, I was kind of hoping this would be a more positive review, since I felt the same about Throne of Glass as you. I had heard that this was better than the first, but I'm sorry that wasn't the case for you! I seriously dislike how some characters have ridiculously difficult names to pronounce. I've honestly given up with Celaena's name, and just say it like 'Selena'. It's too hard to try and figure it out everytime I see the name. =P
ReplyDeleteI also really dislike disjointed plots, since it's hard for me to be motivated to continue on in the story if everything is so confusing and seemingly not connected. Also, I barely even recall anything about magic with the Throne of Glass...
Also, I am glad SOMEONE feels the same about the romance aspect! I thought she was a pretty big flirt in the last book, and considering she's a flipping ASSASSIN, I don't get why this is happening. It sucks that this problem only gets worse in this one. :/
Wonderful review, Erika! I may give this one a try, JUST to see how the story progresses. But I'll be drastically lowering my expectations.