This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclaimer here.
This review contains minor setup spoilers for Throne of Glass but no plot spoilers for Crown of Midnight itself.
There’s a moment early in Crown of Midnight — within the first fifty pages — where you realise this isn’t the same book as Throne of Glass. The tone has shifted. The stakes feel real. And Celaena Sardothien, assassin extraordinaire, is no longer playing games.
This is the book that turns Throne of Glass from a decent YA fantasy series into something considerably more ambitious. And if you’re wondering whether to push on after a middling experience with book one, the answer is: yes. Start with this one.
What’s It About?
Picking up shortly after Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight sees Celaena installed as the King’s Champion — meaning she’s supposed to be his personal assassin, carrying out executions on command. Naturally, things are not quite as they appear.
Without spoiling anything, what follows involves political intrigue, a deepening mystery about the magic that’s supposedly been eradicated from the kingdom, and the kinds of character revelations that make you immediately want to reread book one looking for clues you missed.
The romance threads from book one continue here, and Maas handles them with more confidence. The will-they-won’t-they dynamic actually builds to something, and crucially, it matters to the plot rather than existing alongside it.
What Works
The pacing is sharper than Throne of Glass. Maas has found her footing and the book moves. Action scenes are genuinely exciting. The mystery at the centre of the plot is well-constructed — there are clues laid throughout that reward attentive readers, and the reveal lands with proper weight.
Celaena herself is better here. She was compelling in book one but often felt performatively mysterious. In Crown of Midnight she becomes a real person — funny, dangerous, occasionally idiotic in the way people in love tend to be, and genuinely frightening when the situation calls for it.
The final act is where the book earns its reputation. I’m not going to describe what happens. But there’s a sequence in the last hundred pages that is among the most emotionally impactful things Maas has written — and she wrote it in her second published novel, which is genuinely impressive.
What Doesn’t Quite Work
The middle section drags slightly. There’s a period where Maas is clearly setting up future books — laying groundwork, establishing mythology — and it’s the one stretch where momentum dips. It recovers, but it’s noticeable.
Some secondary characters remain underdeveloped at this stage. That improves significantly in later books, but here a few of them are still primarily serving plot functions rather than feeling fully realised.
Should You Read It?
If you read Throne of Glass and came away thinking “fine, but I’m not sure what the fuss is about” — yes. This is the book the fuss is about.
If you loved Throne of Glass — also yes, obviously.
Crown of Midnight is the moment Maas commits to the darker, more complex story she was clearly building toward, and it’s a compelling commitment.
Rating: 4/5
Rated 4.4 Stars on Amazon. Buy Crown of Midnight here.
You Might Also Like
- Throne of Glass Series in Order
- Heir of Fire Review
- Sarah J. Maas Books in Order
- 31 Best Fantasy Books You Need To Read Today
Check out Sunset In the East — a mind-bending short story collection from Ben Luxon.
