I've Always Wanted Something Like This.

Hey world! Did I forget to blog again? Woopsidaisy! It's just that I was reading some really good books, and you know how hard it is to put those down! More on that later, now it's time for me to get right into blogging because I haven't done it in a while. So, goodbye introductory paragraph! If we miss you, we'll just read it again later. Oh, by the way, this is the start of a marathon.

So, a time so long ago I'd really not like to mention it I finished this book called Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. It is book two of the Throne of Glass series, with book three coming out in September. There are four companion novellas published together in a separate book, hardback, paperback, all that jazz. The amazon link is here, but the audible isn't the best one I've ever heard. Kind of...loud and jumpy for such a smooth and quietly intense tone. 

Summaryish: It's been several...dare I say it...weeks, and frankly I don't really feel like summarizing, so I'm just going to say that after winning the competition to become the king's champion, Celaena is doing her job, but she's far from loyal. As mysteries in the castle grow and hidden magics rise to the surface,  Celaena not only must keep dark secrets where they belong, but she must also find a way to save...you know...everyone. That was a really bad summary, but I did warn you.

Review: Is it possible that this book is better than the first one? Yes, definitely! It flows magically, if you'll pardon the pun, and as I've already mention, the quietly intense tone is enrapturing. Tearing my eyes away from the pages was almost painful, and I'm surprised I came away without a multitude of paper cuts. But now that I have talked about all the good things - pacing, tone, story, action - I must tell about the continuing problem of foreshadowing. It's a major issue, and I don't mean not enough of it, I mean way too much! Something I wasn't supposed to know until the last page of this book, I figured out very close to the beginning of the first one. So while I was gripping the pages at the action, I never once gasped in surprise or shock, which is something I really enjoy. I mean, yeesh, Celaena takes FOREVER to figure out the most obvious things!

About the Title:

I'm wondering what it has to do with anything. Yes, there was a slightly important crown and yes, there were stars involved with it. But that was, like, half a page, and it didn't really matter in the end because it came to nothing anyway. I get the whole mystery and intrigue of it, and the way that it needed to resemble the title of the first one, but I think maybe "Door of Blood" or "Eyes of Secrets" would have worked much much better. Because, Crown of Midnight? That just doesn't make sense.

How'd you like that last paragraph? Maybe the ending paragraph can just be whatever I'm in the mood for at the time.

Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.