Do I need to read the first book before Crown of Midnight?

Crown of Midnight is the second book in the Throne of Glass series and continues the story directly from the first book. Reading Throne of Glass beforehand is essential to understand the characters' motivations and the ongoing plot.

Does Crown of Midnight end on a cliffhanger?

The book concludes with significant developments that set up future conflicts and character arcs, leaving readers eager for the next installment in the series.

Is Nehemia really killed in Crown of Midnight?

Yes. Nehemia's death is real, deliberate, and not reversed. She is killed near the midpoint of the novel, and her loss is the catalyst for Celaena's most significant emotional and plot transformation in the book. Maas has described this as the moment the series stopped being willing to protect its characters.

What do the Wyrdmarks do, and why do they matter?

Wyrdmarks are an ancient system of magical symbols that interact with the Wyrd — the fundamental force binding the world together. In Crown of Midnight they are shown to open portals, summon creatures, and interface with Wyrdkeys — three objects of immense power that become central to the series's overarching conflict. The mythology established here expands across every subsequent book.

What is the twist at the end of Crown of Midnight?

The novel confirms that Celaena Sardothien is Aelin Galathynius — the lost queen of Terrasen, who has been living under a false identity since childhood. This reveal recontextualises everything about the character across the first two books and sets the direction for the rest of the series.

Does the romance between Celaena and Chaol resolve or fall apart?

It falls apart — substantially and painfully. The events of Crown of Midnight, including what Celaena discovers about Chaol's role in Nehemia's death (indirect but real), and the revelation of her true identity, create a rift that the series does not close in any simple way. Chaol's arc continues in Tower of Dawn.

Why do many readers consider Crown of Midnight the best book in the series?

It is the instalment where Maas's world-building, character work, and plotting reach the level the series sustains for the rest of its run. The escalation from Throne of Glass is sharp — more deaths, higher stakes, more complex moral questions — and the central twist is earned rather than arbitrary. It's also the book that makes the earlier, lighter tone of Throne of Glass look retrospectively deliberate.

Crown of Midnight

Reader reviews of Crown of Midnight

Rahma Gh · 2026-08-11T07:06:14.000000Z

I needed a few days to recover from that last chapter so here’s my review (finally) : The character development in this book is INSANE ! As for Celaena, I love who she became in this book, more brilliant, fierce and capable of everything. Sadly I got THAT last chapter plot twist kind of spoiled / predicted 💔 Still, I’m not saying that it didn’t get me though !! It left me staring at the wall questioning everything I read.. Oh and I finished this book in 2 days and that’s how fast paced it is ! Can’t wait to dive more into this world, to know what lurks underneath the glass castle, the secrets that lie beneath its king and Celena’s journey, backstory and everything in between ❤️ 6 ⭐️

Fantasy Young Adult

Pages: 336
Published: 2013
Language: English

Synopsis

Having won the king's tournament, Celaena Sardothien now serves as Adarlan's royal champion — officially an assassin bound to the Crown, dispatched to silence the king's enemies. In practice, she is deceiving him. The men she is sent to kill are not dying; she is faking their deaths and letting them escape.

But maintaining that deception becomes more dangerous as the king's suspicions grow and the stakes of what she is hiding rise beyond her own survival. Meanwhile, her closest friend Nehemia is pursuing her own agenda at court — one that carries consequences Celaena will not see coming until it is too late.

The world of Throne of Glass expands decisively in this second instalment, which introduces Wyrdmarks, ancient magic, and the first glimpse of the larger war that will define the series. Crown of Midnight is the book in which the series shifts register — darker, more complex, and unwilling to soften its losses.