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vaniavela's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This bloody, twisted and dark trilogy has come to an end. Once again, I must highlight the incredible complexity of the characters.
Alina is the epitome of the anti-hero. She is ruthless and destroys everything she steps on. We have seen her suffer, longing for her success and happiness and yet deep down we know she is completely lost.
Teren has shown more layers to her character. In a world that pushes you to believe in an idea, guilt can make you think unimaginable things. The only difference is who does actually act on those thoughts.
Magiano, what have they done to you? I craved his presence, I needed more of his story and his ambitions. Every time he appeared on the page, I found myself smiling for this clever, devious thief. Even after all, his happiness is all I wanted and after this ending I feel he will never get what he wanted.
Raffaele, dear, you deserved so much more happiness than that. I wanted you to find love with Enzo, the chemistry between the two of you was exceptional. I could breathe in all the love, care and attention you had for each other, even though you were not a (canon) couple.
Enzo, I needed more from you. I wished you wouldn't leave my side, but as always, I'm just lying to myself. Maybe in another life, you will get what you deserve, but for now, we all must accept what was done.
Violetta, my sweet angel, tell the story. Your soul, so pure but corrupted by suffering, deserved so much more than what you received. I will never forget your beautiful heart and your wholesome love for your sister.
To the rest of you, I rest today with the heartbreaking news that I will never hear from you again. Lucent, I hope you finally had the romance you had longed for. Sergio, your initiative was there, I sensed it through the pages. It wasn't you, it was time that didn't let you have the girl you wanted so much.
Marie Lu, you destroy me more and more. You kill your readers every time you write. I can't get this bittersweet taste out of my mouth, what have you done my wonderful author?
So many deaths in this trilogy I can't stop thinking, were they really necessary?
This trilogy has been a wild ride. When I read the last chapter and closed this book, I understood the meaning of the title. My heart was broken and recovered so many times during this book that it is beyond repair.
The Young Elites, this is not the last time we will see each other.
TW: ableism, blood, body horror, child abuse, confinement, death, death of a parent, gore, torture, violence, bigotry, imprisonment, physical abuse, eye removal due to illness, mass death,slavery, rape, hallucinations, knife violence, stabbing, shipwreck, war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Murder, Body horror, and Slavery
noellelovesbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
- Child sex work
- Hallucinations & delusions
- Murder & attempted murder
- Torture
- Drowning
- Forced conscription
- War & rebellion themes
- Animal death
- Loss of loved ones [on page]
- Self-harm, suicidal ideations, and suicide attempt [on page]
In this final installment, though we mostly see things through Adelina’s eyes, we bounce between six different perspectives as they face a new challenge, that will require them to work together. What will it take for the different Elite to put their past behind them as they head towards a threat that affects them all?
Having loved seeing Adelina grow from a broken and scared young girl to a conquering Queen…I was extremely nervous to read this book. Fantasy series are notorious for emotionally destroying me in their final installment…but I needed to see how this story ended. I found myself cuddled in bed as this book repeatedly had me crying.
There were a few things that happened, in book two, that I thought would be explained further in this book but sadly weren’t mentioned. I’m wondering if they were meant to be explored more but were forgotten? Although I LOVED having most of the story about Adelina I do wish all of the books would have given us a little more history and story to each of the other characters we follow.
Of course, I had a completely unrealistic hope for how this book would end…which didn’t come to pass but I was left still happy with how Lu decided to end it. I feel like I’m still processing so I may have more to add later, you know how those “late-night about to fall asleep” thoughts hit, but for now I’ll that’s all I’ve got. A YA trilogy with interesting world-building and complex characters…I’ll definitely be re-reading this series in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Blood, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Torture, and Violence
ken_mcmurdie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Reading this reminded me of reading the Legend trilogy (and Champion), like, 7 years ago.
Especially since the ending fucked me up (so, so good).
Especially since the ending fucked me up (so, so good).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, and Torture
aseel_reads's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending of this book/series!! I thought it was well-done. I also really enjoyed the incorporation of more myths/folklore/gods etc into the story, it was really great to see it and was done super well!! I think it was a bit slow during the middle, while other parts felt rushed, however, still really liked this!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Torture, Violence, Self harm, and Confinement
Minor: Child abuse
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