Crown of Midnight

Love this book, it is a great sequel and the story really evolves. Just four star because I felt like some part of the book were a bit slow and I sometimes had to focus to go through.
Also I feel like the author has difficulty to decide if she wants to focus on romance or on adventure and sometimes the global story suffer from it.
But I will def pick up the 3rd one to follow Celeana's adventures !!!

1a leitura:
1. Não gosto da persongem principal - Selena? Kaelena? Cealena?? Celaena?? Okay, esse nome é chato de ler! Ela teoricamente tem 19 anos e é toda badass, mas depois as atitudes dela são super inseguras e imaturas e parece uma personagem demasiado simples para a história! Não sei, mas qualquer coisa me irritava sobre a personagem, a maneira como ela era super independente e depois só fazia porcaria! Isso irritava-me imenso.

2. Não gostei do desenvolvimento da história - achei que metade do livro em termos de história foi uma seca e segunda metade demasiado confusa e rápida.

3. Problema dos triângulos amorosos e o fim! - Tipo, no primeiro livro ela estava com um rapaz, neste com o outro e no terceiro (segundo os spoilers) há um terceiro amor... “Miga, acalma as tits e vê se começas a seguir mais os problemas que te rodeiam do que a vida amorosa!” Não sei, não gostei do facto de se focar tanto no amor, mas depois desperdiçá-lo! Já agora, este foi o meu amor preferido dela - o Chaol <3.

2a leitura:
1. Continuo a não gostar da personagem principal... exatamente o mesmo sentimento que referi na 1a leitura. E aquela cena dela deixar o posto para ir dançar...? “miga, tu és a assassina mais prigosa,o que estás a fazer...?”. Senti várias vezes que a personalidade dela não correspondia às atitudes. Se ela fosse uma assassina “comum” e não “especial” acho que deixava menos questões.

2. Continuo a achar que o desenvolvimento é estanho. Primeira metade realmente foca-se demasiado no romance e segunda parte finalmente conta coisas mais interessantes.

3. Depois de ler novamente, já não acho que o Chaol é o amor perfeito, acho que ele é um pouco obsecado por ela e ao contrário do principe, não aceita que ela o deixou, apesar de ter mais razões para acabar com ele.

This book starts off with Celaena fulfilling her tasks as the King's Champion until her next task is to get rid of a person from her past. This makes her toy a very thin line between completing her task and also getting to know about the rebel movement building up against the King. She and Nehemia are still best of friends but their paths lead to different ways and to devastating consequences. Dorian is keeping secrets of his own which if revealed, could prove deadly. And Chaol has unwittingly fallen in love with the Assassin but still obeys the King. When all the secrets collide, all of their lives change in ways from which there is no coming back.

Celaena in this book definitely is more like the Assassin we have heard so much about till now. There are scenes where we see her deadly side and I was totally amazed. I also liked to see Celaena in love (though I don't like Chaol), making plans for her future and freedom just like any young girl. But the tragedy that occurs and the circumstances leading up to it left me reeling with terror because I was not expecting it. Just like Celaena, it took me a long time to get over the shock. Everything that happens in the book in the aftermath is thrilling and I loved the book more because of the action, the revelations and the fact that I had no clue where the story was going next.

This book also has a lot more world building including the history of Terrasen, it's conquest at the hand of the King, the possibilities for the King's dark powers and his future plans for the continent. Even though it was easy to figure out Celaena's true heritage through the subtle clues left here and there, I still enjoyed watching Chaol piece together the info and come to the conclusion.

I really really liked Dorian having powers because now he will have a much more larger role to play in probably defeating his father. As I love magic and when Dorian is currently the only magic wielder in the continent, it just makes me super excited and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Despite everything that happens, I can't make myself like Chaol. His loyalty to Dorian is commendable and I understand what he tried to do at the end but after all this time, the fact that he still thinks that the woman he loved might kill his best friend makes me mad. What the hell Chaol !!!!!

On the whole, this book is way better in terms of world building, fantasy elements and plot than ToG and has some great emotional moments that makes this a wonderful sequel. One thing that I realized, there is no going back for me and this is probably going to be one hell of a memorable series.

I am incoherent with how happy this book made me! This was the perfect follow up and it filled me with soooo much excitement for the whole series! If I write more it will end up as spoilery babble of fangirling, so I will stop there and just say, read this series! Do it! This one was even better than the first, which was wonderful.

Wow... Just wow.

I wrote the review for the first book in the series about a week ago and said it was one of my favourite fantasies of all time. This has equalled it, if not topped. Though I've not come out feeling quite as blown away as the first, it's a truly enticing read with every chapter delivering unparalleled drama, new twists and intrigue that make you want to just keep on reading.

I jumped straight from the first book to this, however, I'm going to take a break between this and third as I don't want to burn out the series. But I am so very looking forward to reading it!!

Crown of Midnight pretty much picked up where we left in Throne of Glass. Personally, I think the series is getting better and better with each chapter and book. The second book was full of twists and turns. You didn't know who to trust and who was an enemy. It was constantly changing and I loved every minute of it.

We start off with the King's Champion herself. Celaena has just won the competition and she is awaiting the King's orders to sign her contract. While this has been going on, she has been taking the names that the King has been giving her and killing the suspects that he wants gone. The is obviously part of her job and it is her job to not question the King on what people he wants to have eliminated. Although, she has been going behind the King's back and giving the suspects a chance to flee. When this happens, she finds a dead body and presents it to the King. This is on the behalf of Queen Elena herself. She has a task for Celeaea which involves going against the King's orders.

Even in the beginning, you can feel the attraction and connection between Celaena and Chaol. He makes sure to check up on her after her missions and goes with her to dinner. They even hang out with each other after dinner and read silently. Their friendship and “romance” (that they don't really know about) is growing with each day. I really enjoyed reading about their friendship. Celaena really needed someone to be there through the bad and the good. Chaol will take no crap from her and her actions. Unlike Dorian. I always thought he would just follow her around like a dog.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the kingdoms past and the wrongs that have happened. Celaena is tasked by the king to kill someone she knew when she was growing up; Archer. Archer is someone that she knew when she was younger and watched her become an assassin. She is tasked to kill him but she decides to find out any information she can from him about the organization the King does not approve of.

We learn a lot in the second book when it comes to everyones past. There are new stories to be told and secrets that come out but there are still some mysteries that need to be solved. We deal with a battle that is physical but also spiritually and mentally draining. There are hardships between Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian. Celaena's past is coming up more and more often. Sooner or later she will be found out. But by whom? She gives a hint to someone only she trusts. Chaol.

Overall, the second book was wonderful. I hated having to put it down when I needed to but I was able to finish it quickly in one afternoon. It was full of new adventures, love, and even some answers. The ending will leave you wanting more and making you curse for not realizing it yourself!

I would recommend picking up the second one if you have finished Throne of Glass because it is full of a new adventure between the characters. Each character grows and discovers new things about themselves. You will experience all of the emotions that they have to undergo.

Now I've hit my good reads target for 2017 I needed to have another focus to drive my reading till the end of the year and so I'm now trying to get through as many books in series I've started before the end of the year to try and increase my completed sets of series before the year is out. Having just started Throne of Glass a few weeks ago I decided now was the ideal time to delve back in and read Crown of Midnight, the second book in the series, before I forgot too much about it.

I enjoyed Throne of Glass and the story of Celeana Sardothien, the girl assassin who won the competition to become the King's Champion and his trained killer. Picking up immediately after the end of Throne of Glass we follow Celeana as she begins her new job and the demands the king makes upon her to dispatch his ‘enemies' on his behalf. All is not as it seems though as Celeana is struggling with the job as she begins to find that those she is sent to kill are not bad people but simply those who are trying their best to stop the power hungry King of Adarlan's ongoing monopoly of their lands and the death and destruction his power brings.

Struggling with her conscience we follow Celeana as she continues to build her friendships back in the Glass Castle. She is growing closer to the Head of the King's Guard, Chaol, and their feelings are moving towards something more than just friendship. Her best friend, Princess Nehemia, is helping her to understand the terror's that face her people now the King of Adarlan has taken over their lands and finally she is trying to stay away from the Crown Prince Dorian who she doesn't want to lead into danger through a close relationship with her.

This book was absolutely non-stop action. From the very first chapters it had me gripped. I liked Throne of Glass but Crown of Midnight really raised the bar on this series for me. I hadn't grasped what the hype around this series was really all about till I read this second instalment. Whereas book one spent quite a bit of time world building and had lots of characters who came in and then left again as part of the competition to find the King's Champion in Crown of Midnight we have a more tight knit cast, most of whom we have met before and we are all about expanding their stories and knitting them all together more.

This book was a reasonable read, at about 440 something pages but I read it in just over a day, sitting up to the small hours of the morning finishing it because I literally could not put it down. Every time I thought I'd caught my breath and it was calming down it would be off again in another direction full speed ahead. It has magic and mystery from the first book and we continue to explore the mysterious Wyrdmarks and how they link to the world of the past and present. We have a kick-ass heroine who is amazing to read about because you almost never quite know what she is going to do, you just know that it will be awesome. There is backstabbing and intrigue in the court of Adarlan, questions over who can be trusted and who cannot and that is one of my favourite aspects of the books. Finally there is a wonderful romantic element with the ongoing relationships Celeana has with both Chaol and Dorian.

The book ends with a really stunning revelation which sets up book 3 wonderfully and raises the excitement levels for what will happen next. It gives us a glimpse that the next instalment will expand the world even further and introduce even more aspects and characters than we've had before, including some Fae!

This book was really good, I liked it so much more than book 1, it hit all the points I needed it to and reassured me that this series does have the potential to live up to A Court of Thorns & Roses. It is a thoroughly deserved 5 out of 5 stars for this one.

Loveeeedddd it! Erm not much to say other than it is great. A perfect follow up from the last book and yet a great set-up for what's to come. I personally couldn't put it down! I was so invested in the story line and the characters, it was truly amazing.

SPOILERS

I have to say Chaol I am starting to distance from (I still l love him though!) as his actions don't follow the deep amount of emotion he is meant to have. For example, I needed more turmoil about her being an assassin, more turmoil about his loyalties that tear him in different directions to Dorian, Celaena and the King as well as more turmoil about returning home.

The fantasy bores me though as in the creatures aren't special that will make me remember them. There is nothing distinctive about this world than any other fantasy novel.

The elements of town needed to be explored more I think because as much as we have heard about the negative impacts of the King's takeover, we have yet to experience it. A great time would have been when she was stalking the Archer. The idea of him being a whore due to the desperate times as well as gut-wrenching stories that he has experienced whilst we still care for him could have been explored. This could have helped add to a reason behind his need for revenge against the king to make him kill Nehemia. This could have been developed into a much more enticing storyline and she could have visited the town to see the suffering. Thus far, the only true violence we have seen is the slaughter of the 500 men, but it was distant to us a reader as we had no connection to them and Endovier which I believe hasn't been as influential on her life as Mass is trying to portray. She should have nightmares detailing murder, rape, abuse and manipulation that is so intense, the reader cries out at her memories.

Furthermore, we switched to the King's perspective and it wasn't eerie enough for my liking. I wanted shivers at the thought process of the King rather than a forgettable moment.

However, all that being said, I loved the addition of the Mort and would love to see this being developed, it is an easy read that does get you hooked, I love Chaol even though he isn't living up to his potential and finally I adore the revenge and betrayal that I believe is flawless and executed beautifully.