"Then Celaena and the King of Adarlan smiled at each other, and it was the most terrifying thing Dorian had ever seen." ~Dorian, Crown of Midnight
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?
Arya: Since I read Throne of Glass, I have literally been dying to get my hands on the sequel, and for all us sad readers... this book ends on a cliffhanger, and the next book doesn't come out until sometime in 2014. It makes for a sad Arya indeed...
While I read this, all I could think of was that idea that the second book of a series is always worse than the first. My response to that with this book? Completely untrue. This book had all the elements that addicted me to Throne of Glass: a terrifying villain, a butt-kicking heroine, sexy, protective men, a roller-coaster of emotions, from fear to excitement and mushiness. Of course, let's not forget one of the most important parts: a steamy romance. While I was reading this, Sarah took me through this insane ride of emotions, almost making me fear my own surroundings and looking in crooks and crannies. I loved every single minute of it.
The plot itself was insanely original, making my mind boggle with how she had managed to come up with this, but I was a bit busy reading the book at an insanely fast pace to notice. That was how much it captured my attention. I discovered new things from this castle of glass, a new hidden dungeon underneath the bowels of the clock tower, a new terrifying secret about Celeana that could tear apart the entire kingdom and threaten Adarlan itself. I was holding my breath throughout the entire novel. I loved it. Of course, there was also that terrifying monster that Maas seems to love creating so much. This one seemed a bit more... human than the last one, but no less terrifying. It always seems to me as if the way she does it, putting less detail into the description of the monster itself, seems to allow our minds to fill in the missing details and make it all the more terrifying. The humanity in the monster only seems to make the riddles that much more complicated, while also giving us a hint to untangling all these strings. There are so many riddles in this book that it just completely blew my mind away and made me constantly wonder how it was that she managed to put all this together. It's truly an art form, what she does. My heart almost broke later in the book though, when a special character died! I almost started crying right there. There were just so many twists and 'what the hell just happened' moments in this book. I loved every second of it.
There's also that little thing that I really love to talk about: romance. I honestly thought it was pretty intense this book, and I loved it! It was always there in the sidelines, even if it wasn't the main focus, and Sarah added in the absolute perfect amount, always drawing attention to the breathtaking romance but never making it the entire focus of the story. She also built up the tension between Chaol and Celaena perfectly, breaking their control and desire for each other in something that should be an art. However, that wasn't it! I've never been happy to see a relationship destroyed, but I was certainly happy to see this one fall. Most people understand this; seeing a happy relationship flourish is no longer any fun - or at least it isn't for me - and so, she killed it, just to bring it back up again at the very end. What a beautiful thing she's done for her readers! And for those who love Dorian, just when you think he and Celaena are completely done, hope rises up for you once more, leaving us unsure of who will be the man to have her in the end.
Of course, and now we come to that special time that everyone loves...
9.5 / 10 !!!
Oh yeah, guess what we found!!
I would have very much liked to add the actual video, but for some reason Blogger won't let me... ah well! Maybe Kay will have better luck. Until then, keep reading and discovering new worlds!
Much love,
~Arya
JUST LOOK AT THAT COVER !
