Crown of Midnight Audiobook
By: Sarah J. Maas
Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans
Published by: Audible Inc. 11/05/2013
She is the greatest assassin her world has ever known. But does she have the heart of a killer?
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. But Calaena is far from loyal to the crown. Keeping up the charade – while pretending to do the king’s bidding – will test her skills in an entirely new way. And it certainly isn’t the only point of confusion for the young girl. Because though she’s made her choice between Dorian and Chaol, the ways of the heart are never simple…
©2013 Sarah J. Maas (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Crown of Midnight Audiobook Sample
My thoughts
My first Audiobook of the year was Throne of Glass, the first book in this series, and though I decided not to review on its own, this will be a review of both books.
In Throne of Glass, Ms. Maas sets all the pieces in play. Right away we get introduced to the heroine, Celaena Sardotien; a slave deadly assassin that has been offered a chance at her freedom in exchange for becoming the son of the king’s champion, with the purpose of entering a competition where the next Royal assassin will be chosen. That is an offer Celaena can’t refuse.
In her point of view, we get taken to a world where magic has been banned, and a tyrant, evil man holds the kingdom. Here is where the fight to restore good will begin.
Right away she’s taken to the castle where her training will begin, but nothing is what it seems, there’s a lot more in play than her freedom, and as the pieces begin falling into place, a world of intrigue, magic, evil, love, friendship and purpose begins to develop.
In Throne of Glass, we meet Dario, the handsome prince and good hearted noble, and the Captain of the guard, Chaol; an honorable and loyal to a fault, but a drool-worthy character. These two will pull Calaena’s heart strings….
I only gave Throne of Glass 4 Hearts, while I wasn’t completely blown away by it; I was intrigued enough to download the next book right away…And wow! Crown of Midnight just blew my mind!
Whatever I thought it was missing in the first book, I completely got in Crown of Midnight. The action, the mystery, the romance, twist and turns are brilliant! It kept me absorbed from beginning to end.
There were some great moments in Throne of Glass, but they got quickly squashed either by a silly reaction and arrogance from the heroine or a too modern dialogue that I felt out of place for the story. On the other hand, the second book was impeccable, and I can say it was brilliant in its entirety.
The tint of arrogance of Celaena’s that bothered me in the first book, turned to admiration an awe for her character, I love when a heroine is quietly efficient, and I can connect with her vulnerabilities.
Not only we get more character development in the second installment, but it’s almost as if the author got a firmer grip on her world and characters and Oh boy!! She delivers!
I won’t go much into the story; this is a continuation, and it must be read in order. I can only tell you that you have to get book one, and even if you don’t find it fascinating, and just “good” as I did, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed….. You’ll love book # 2.
If you have already read or listened to book one, don’t wait any longer and get this book ASAP. The characters, action, tragic moments, revelations and mystery are putting this series on the “best fantasy I’ve listened” list.
Crown of Midnight is where the series starts to…. Almost merit its comparisons to Game of Thrones. I can see why some peeps might have been a little deflated with Throne of Glass, but if you make it to this book you’ll start to love the series as a whole.
No ending or closing in this book, but more questions, and a brute push that brings your anticipation for the next book to a painful level. To say that I’m dying to get “NOW” the following book would be a gross understatement.
All in all, this is a fabulous, gripping, exciting and emotional listen. Not for the faint of heart.
The Author
Sarah J. Maas.
Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight Audiobook Narration
Elizabeth Evans
Throne of Glass Audiobook Sample
When I listened to the interpretation of Throne of Glass by Elizabeth Evans I was a little disappointed, I thought she needed to have made a bigger differentiation between the characters, especially the males. There were moments when, Chaol, sounded just like Celaena, and I found it very distracting.
I was reading and listening (whispersync) I have to say that my inner voice for Celaena was a lot softer and less arrogant than Ms. Evans’. I felt she pushed the arrogance a little too much, making it a little harder to connect and like the heroine. There’s a big difference between arrogance and confidence.
I had to keep reminding myself that Celaena was only an 18 year-old
Nevertheless, she was excellent at transmitting the mood of the novel, she easily placed me into the story; her timing was excellent. I gave her four stars for her performance.
Crown of Midnight
I don’t know if she got better, or I got used to her interpretation of the characters, but Crown of Midnight was an excellent delivery, not once did I get confused, and I followed the dialogue without any distractions.
I loved how perfectly she placed me right in the middle of the action, and into the heroine’s frame of mind.
Just as the author did, she also seemed to have gotten a stronger handle of the characters, their personalities were perfectly depicted.
As more creepy characters are added to the story, Ms. Evans array of voices begins to display her talent.
In the end, her performance of the second book was all A’s for me and five flaming hearts.
Reviewed by
Latest posts by Loupe Duffy (see all)
- Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop 2019 - December 14, 2019
- Spooktacular Giveaway HOP 2019 - October 14, 2019
- Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop 2019 - April 15, 2019
- 2018 Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop - December 14, 2018
- Gratitude Giveaway 2018 - November 14, 2018
