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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I could have guessed I wouldn't care for The Young Elite based solely on the fact that "The Young Elite" is a terribly lame, ham-fisted name for a band of teenage superheroes. It sounds like a Ralph Lauren campaign, not a political rebellion.
Book Two charts good-girl-turned-bad Adelina's rise to power. Her crew becomes - wait for it - The Rose Society. Uugghh, that is just as bad! This sounds like the world's worst fantasy football league. Even her cohorts, like her sister Violetta, who can silence other Elites' powers, have names like the Puppet Master. How Seventies Batman and completely uninspired of you.
So, I don't care about a book that can't bother to cleverly name itself or anything in it. Adelina's Rose Society still wants the same revolution the Young Elites, only now Adelina has to be in charge BECAUSE THEY WERE SO MEAN TO HER. No one ever loved her, they had the gall to name her betrayal exactly what it was, welp and waaaaah, etc. Adelina’s egomania is only possible because she is the most inherently powerful. Great - more rewarding bad behavior. A story through a villain's eyes could be so cool, but she's have to own her villainy. Adelina spends every other moment being so misunderstood and wimpy that her power seems like a tantrum from a kid who can't stop crying.
(There are some Caraval parallels here. The same abusive father character who makes Tella a shallow twit makes Adelina a brat throwing a fit in the cereal aisle at Target. I prefer my wronged daughters brilliant and righteous, like Mor in ACTOAR.)
No Book Three, Midnight Star, for me. Though that name alone is superior to anything I've read in this series so far.
Book Two charts good-girl-turned-bad Adelina's rise to power. Her crew becomes - wait for it - The Rose Society. Uugghh, that is just as bad! This sounds like the world's worst fantasy football league. Even her cohorts, like her sister Violetta, who can silence other Elites' powers, have names like the Puppet Master. How Seventies Batman and completely uninspired of you.
So, I don't care about a book that can't bother to cleverly name itself or anything in it. Adelina's Rose Society still wants the same revolution the Young Elites, only now Adelina has to be in charge BECAUSE THEY WERE SO MEAN TO HER. No one ever loved her, they had the gall to name her betrayal exactly what it was, welp and waaaaah, etc. Adelina’s egomania is only possible because she is the most inherently powerful. Great - more rewarding bad behavior. A story through a villain's eyes could be so cool, but she's have to own her villainy. Adelina spends every other moment being so misunderstood and wimpy that her power seems like a tantrum from a kid who can't stop crying.
(There are some Caraval parallels here. The same abusive father character who makes Tella a shallow twit makes Adelina a brat throwing a fit in the cereal aisle at Target. I prefer my wronged daughters brilliant and righteous, like Mor in ACTOAR.)
No Book Three, Midnight Star, for me. Though that name alone is superior to anything I've read in this series so far.
Way better than the first book, glad I gave it a go despite not being thrilled by the first one.
— 4.5 + 0.5 (for the last page of the book) stars
i feel emotionally drained after i finished this book. wait, actually, no, i want to cry my eyes out until i can't feel anything anymore, reach through the pages of the book and wrap adelina up in the warmest blanket i knit myself , slaps enzo in the face.
i was constantly battling between who's side of the story should i trust: we have stories coming from both sides, each weaving in the line between truths and lies and i love how this book challenged me (and my morals. and possibly psychologically, my psych lecturer will give me a pat at the back for this, i didn't even do as much as thinking during class as i did reading this book)
can we talk about the last chapter, or even the last page of the book? i reread it until the page is wet caused by the sweat of my palm. that whole chapter wrecked me of any emotions i have left at that point, i read the ~200 pages of it in one sitting and now i'm just sitting here trying to think of what to say. now that i've finished it, all my mind could think of is: what was that ending? why is she like this? why is the whole world against me? against adelina? is what she did right? is what the daggers do to her right? did they deserve it? did adelina deserve it?
i swear after this i won't be able to sleep whilst my mind churns with trying to grasp the different kinds of stories i've heard from both sides of the party (i'm still bitter af about the daggers don't touch me)
i feel emotionally drained after i finished this book. wait, actually, no, i want to cry my eyes out until i can't feel anything anymore, reach through the pages of the book and wrap adelina up in the warmest blanket i knit myself , slaps enzo in the face.
i was constantly battling between who's side of the story should i trust: we have stories coming from both sides, each weaving in the line between truths and lies and i love how this book challenged me (and my morals. and possibly psychologically, my psych lecturer will give me a pat at the back for this, i didn't even do as much as thinking during class as i did reading this book)
can we talk about the last chapter, or even the last page of the book? i reread it until the page is wet caused by the sweat of my palm. that whole chapter wrecked me of any emotions i have left at that point, i read the ~200 pages of it in one sitting and now i'm just sitting here trying to think of what to say. now that i've finished it, all my mind could think of is: what was that ending? why is she like this? why is the whole world against me? against adelina? is what she did right? is what the daggers do to her right? did they deserve it? did adelina deserve it?
i swear after this i won't be able to sleep whilst my mind churns with trying to grasp the different kinds of stories i've heard from both sides of the party (i'm still bitter af about the daggers don't touch me)
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was very fast paced and on one hand it is great. There is always something happening that is needed for the plot. On the other hand, I wanted to slow down for a few moments. I wanted to get to know more these new allies and really connect with them. But everything went so fast that we even reached a love triangle. It was unnecessary but the ending was nice. A good wrap up.
The writing was a bit confusing at times. Having different povs in this book doesn't really help because it takes away all the tension. For example, where we saw Raffaele talk about their plan and what they going to do and a few chapters later the same information gets into Adelina's hands, snd we get word for word again. It was too easy st times.
The writing was a bit confusing at times. Having different povs in this book doesn't really help because it takes away all the tension. For example, where we saw Raffaele talk about their plan and what they going to do and a few chapters later the same information gets into Adelina's hands, snd we get word for word again. It was too easy st times.
Once Upon a Time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.
In this second instalment of the Young Elites series, Marie Lu goes darker as we delve further into Adelina Amouteru's head and discover the plans that she has laid for the future. She's fled Kenettra, the city where other malfettos have been hunted down by the Inquisitors and the newly crowned Queen Giulietta, for Merroutas in search for a powerful malfetto whose name has been whispered in tales. Adelina now knows how easily the Young Elites in the Dagger Society had betrayed her and she's now thirsting for revenge and for a society of her own. Magiano, the Young Elite that Adelina has been hearing about, is the first Young Elite that she wishes to collect for her society. But Magiano isn't easily convinced about the need to join her society and Adelina will have to impress him in order to bring him into her fold.
Meanwhile, her former friends at the Dagger Society have plans of their own. Raffaele, the beautiful young courtesan who had welcomed Adelina into their society, is now the de facto leader of the Dagger Society. However, he knows that he's ill-suited for the role, for he does not have the same strength or conviction as their previous leader had. But he is now all that they have left and now they are seeking an alliance with Queen Maeve of Beldain, a ruler of an icy land who treats malfettos with reverence and detests how Kenettra treats its own.
Adelina's agenda and her plans for revenge is not compatible with the Dagger Society's plans for the future. When the two met each other again, only one can conquer Kenettra's throne and defeat the bloodthirsty Teren Santoro, the Lead Inquisitor who has taken something precious from all of them. Meanwhile Teren remains entirely convinced about his mission in life, about the need to cleanse Kenettra of all malfettos who are abominations in his mind.
The Rose Society is jampacked with action and political intrigue, as each camp has their own agenda to push forward and they intersect with each other in the most unexpected of manners. Adelina remains an anti-hero, who has truly captured my heart, even though she continues to do things that are unspeakably horrible but feels no regret for them. And yet, at its heart, she is more or less the same girl who's stinging from all the rejection and hate that she's had to face thus far. Only now, she's determined to hurt everyone who has hurt her back:
Why can't I be like that? Why can't I be the father who just shrugs off the love of his daughter? Why can't I be the Lead Inquisitor who enjoys watching his pleading victims burn at the stake? Why can't I be the one who befriends a lonely, lost girl and then casts her out? Why can't I be the one to strike first, to hit so early and with such fury that my enemies cower before they can ever think of turning on me?
What is so great about being good?
And I loved every moment of her dark perspective, of how her plans for revenge collide with the Dagger Society's plans to take down Teren and to ensure the safety of all the Young Elites that live in Kenettra. And even though Adelina constantly tells herself that she has some noble purpose for her actions, the truth is that she is every bit as self-centred and vengeful as she has ever been.
Aside from Adelina's fantastic characterisation, all the other characters in the book are fully fleshed out as well. There's Raffaele, who has misgivings about making an alliance with Maeve, but believes that he has no other options. There's Teren, whose fevered belief in the evil that the malfettos pose has caused his hold on his sanity to tip ever closer towards the loss of control. And of course, there is the tragic figure at the centre of it all. There's also Magiano, who's greedy and impulsive but also endlessly cheerful, who seems to care about Adelina in some capacity aside from the power that she wields.
Spoiler
There's a plan to bring Enzo back from the dead, using Maeve's powers which was foreshadowed at the end of the book. And sure, Enzo is brought back but he really does not seem like the same person that he used to be. And Lu gets to show off Adelina's cunning, in her switcharoo to get Enzo bonded to her, as well as Adelina's selfishness in making the situation all about her again.The world-building continues to expand in this book, as we get introduced to new lands and new cultures and how they treat the Young Elites of their lands. I think this tends to be a trend with Marie Lu's books because at the end of [b:Champion|14290364|Champion (Legend, #3)|Marie Lu|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1382652310s/14290364.jpg|19931517], she had introduced a lot of backstory and had created a very realistic, alternate world.
Spoiler
And now that Adelina has ascended Kenettra's throne, effectively cutting off Enzo's chances to be King, she is going to have to deal with more politics than ever before. And of course, Adelina is going to have to deal with her fall-out from her sister Violetta and how her control over her sanity is starting to slip as well and with Raffaele and Violetta's discovery that the Young Elite's use of their powers will only cause them to die faster.The Rose Society is an action-filled read, with many twists and turns along the journey. Marie Lu is a masterful storyteller and I can't wait for her next creation!
It might be stupid, but the only reason I didn’t like this book was because of how Adelina kept talking about Enzo. Like, please shut up you barely knew him and y’all were boring as fuck together.
I did Magiano, though.
I did Magiano, though.
Everything I wanted and more. I was kind of excited at the prospect of the main love interest staying dead, but I do understand why Enzo came back (answer=to make us hurt more). I just really need the next book. I don't even want to write a review for this because if you aren't already reading Marie Lu's books, just trust me, you're missing out.
2.5 stars.
I didn't like this that much at all. My biggest issue with it is Adelina her self. I just don't understand her and I can't feel for her.
I know that she is supposed to be a little bit unlikeable but to me it just got annoying and some of the decisions that she made I just couldn't get behind because I would never do that myself.
Obviously, I didn't completely hate because I did give it 2.5 stars. What I did like about this book are the side characters. I love Magiano. He is my babe. And I also really like learning about all the different powers that the Elites have.
I will also say that this book did definitely not suffer from the second book syndrome. It has a very interesting plot and it never gets boring because nothing happens. Everything happens in this book.
Those are the things that gave it a higher rating.
I will still continue with the last book because I did like the first one and I want to know how it ends.
I didn't like this that much at all. My biggest issue with it is Adelina her self. I just don't understand her and I can't feel for her.
I know that she is supposed to be a little bit unlikeable but to me it just got annoying and some of the decisions that she made I just couldn't get behind because I would never do that myself.
Obviously, I didn't completely hate because I did give it 2.5 stars. What I did like about this book are the side characters. I love Magiano. He is my babe. And I also really like learning about all the different powers that the Elites have.
I will also say that this book did definitely not suffer from the second book syndrome. It has a very interesting plot and it never gets boring because nothing happens. Everything happens in this book.
Those are the things that gave it a higher rating.
I will still continue with the last book because I did like the first one and I want to know how it ends.
I don't know man. Maybe I read this at the wrong time. I mean I really liked The Young Elites but this was just lacking in nearly every department. I am the odd on out on this book. Most reviews I see are 4 or 5 stars and I'm just like, "Meh..."
What I liked:
1. The title because people it sounds so epic. I love it.
2. The cover!! I like wolves so the whole white wolf persona and the cover were to my liking.
3. MAGIANO or however you spell his name. He's a new favorite. He's kind of like Hunter from Agents of Shield and err someone else I can't think of. Is it weird that I actually ship him with Violetta instead of Adelina? Because I do.
4. Violetta. I just like her a lot okay.
5. The quotes sprinkled throughout the book at the beginning of the "chapters."
What I didn't like: I didn't hate anything...it just seemed like everything could have been better.
1. The world building: for whatever reason i couldn't stay focused enough to absorb the writing enough to be able to see the places in mind's eye. The map is great but I'm not a huge fan of the world.
2. Characters: my main issue is that I'm not connecting with ANY of the characters or really liking any except the two I've already mentioned. Despite this, I am curious to see how Adelina is like at the end of the series. But right now I just don't like her and I don't enjoy hating her like I've done with other villains.
3. The romance. I'm not on board with any of these ships. It probably has to do with the fact that I don't really care for the characters.
I don't hate this book but I don't love it either. I will read the third book because I am curious enough but I don't know if I'll ever reread or purchase this series.
What I liked:
1. The title because people it sounds so epic. I love it.
2. The cover!! I like wolves so the whole white wolf persona and the cover were to my liking.
3. MAGIANO or however you spell his name. He's a new favorite. He's kind of like Hunter from Agents of Shield and err someone else I can't think of. Is it weird that I actually ship him with Violetta instead of Adelina? Because I do.
4. Violetta. I just like her a lot okay.
5. The quotes sprinkled throughout the book at the beginning of the "chapters."
What I didn't like: I didn't hate anything...it just seemed like everything could have been better.
1. The world building: for whatever reason i couldn't stay focused enough to absorb the writing enough to be able to see the places in mind's eye. The map is great but I'm not a huge fan of the world.
2. Characters: my main issue is that I'm not connecting with ANY of the characters or really liking any except the two I've already mentioned. Despite this, I am curious to see how Adelina is like at the end of the series. But right now I just don't like her and I don't enjoy hating her like I've done with other villains.
3. The romance. I'm not on board with any of these ships. It probably has to do with the fact that I don't really care for the characters.
I don't hate this book but I don't love it either. I will read the third book because I am curious enough but I don't know if I'll ever reread or purchase this series.