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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sooooo boring and I actively disliked everyone. A quarter star for one engaging reveal. Will definitely not be continuing the series.
3 Stars.
For the first 200 pages I was contemplating DNF'ing this book. I didn't care about the story, I thought the main character was annoying. I didn't feel any attachment to the plot whatsoever.
The last third of the book peaked my interest. I started to appreciate the characters growth and change over time and how the readers got to see everything have effect on the main character. I've never read a book quite like this and I am curious where the series will go. I might continue on and read the next book.
For the first 200 pages I was contemplating DNF'ing this book. I didn't care about the story, I thought the main character was annoying. I didn't feel any attachment to the plot whatsoever.
The last third of the book peaked my interest. I started to appreciate the characters growth and change over time and how the readers got to see everything have effect on the main character. I've never read a book quite like this and I am curious where the series will go. I might continue on and read the next book.
Reading this was like living in one of Adelina's illusions. It was utterly sensational, a tapestry of colour.
Also I REALLY liked the fact that it's told by a villian. I've been waiting SO long for this.
Also I REALLY liked the fact that it's told by a villian. I've been waiting SO long for this.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If anyone would ask me what I thought of Marie Lu's sexy new book The Young Elites, i'd reply with five words: dark fantasy at it's finest. I absolutely could not put this book down! It was like X-Men meets Game of Thrones meets Throne of Glass meets Cruel Beauty meets.. arrghh nevermind. Why don't I just give you five reasons why The Young Elites deserves that five-word praise? Here we go..
1. The Malfettos. A decade ago, a deadly illness called the Blood Fever swept through the nation, killing thousands of people. The few who survived the fever, mostly children, were left with strange scars that marked them as outcasts and bad luck to society. However, some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
In an X-Men kind of universe, the Malfettos would be the mutants. Shunned by society and deemed as "bad luck" as an excuse to hide the king's negligence in ruling his kingdom, innocent malfettos have been killed left and right. That doesn't make them weaklings though- most of the Young Elites are pretty kick-ass! What I loved about the malfettos is that their origin was never fully explained and there's still so much secrecy surrounding the Young Elites.
2. Adelina Amouteru. Adelina -freakin- Amouteru. Don't let her regal name fool you because this girl has gone through hell and back, losing her mother to the Blood Fever and having to spend her whole life answering to her abusive and sadistic father's beck and call. Because of her harsh experiences, there is a great darkness inside Adelina that threatens to consume her and will not hesitate to kill. Adelina isn't the typical heroine protagonist- she's clearly drawn to evil and darkness, and her heart calls out for vengeance no matter what the means, but there's this tiny spark in her that tries to control the darkness. She's pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself.
“I am Adelina Amouteru. I belong to no one. On this night, I swear to you that I will rise above everything you’ve ever taught me. I will become a force that this world has never known. I will come into such power that none will dare hurt me again.”
3. The Dagger Society. When the Inquisition held Adelina at the stake for the murder of her father, a group of Young Elites whisked in and saved her. Basically the X-Men of their world, The Dagger Society dedicate their lives to reinstating the rights of the malfettos and overthrowing the king and queen. Led by a sword-fighting fire wielder named Enzo Valenciano, the group sees murder as a means to an end and will kill anyone who gets in their way. I loved reading about them and their different abilities- there's Ezio with his ability to control fire, a male courtesan who can sense the abilities of other malfettos, a windwalker who can control air, a girl who can steal the will of any animal, a boy who can bend any object to his will, and one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.
Adelina trains to become on of the Daggers and this opens up whole different worlds for her, and in turn for us. Through the society, I was whisked to a world with flying manta rays in the sky, a beautiful pleasure court, underground tunnels, and devious plots.
4. The plot and world-building. Marie Lu packed everything into this book: darkness, family, magic, powers, action-packed swordfights, sexy romance, deception, betrayal; most of the plot is centered around political intrigue packed with a lot of players. I never knew what was going to happen next and I couldn't stop turning the pages. She weaved a whole new seamless world to perfectly back all of it up, too. I learned something new about their world as the story progresses, and it opens up a lot of roads leading to places outside Adelina's kingdom- places I can't wait to read more of.
5. The epilogue. THAT EPILOGUE. THAT SNEAKY SNEAKY CLIFF HANGER EPILOGUE. I can't say much without spoiling, but it's definitely a massive game-changer! A few hints? Princess. Different Kingdom. Prince. Underworld. Confused? I am too! And I need book two right this instant!
So yup, those are the five things that instantly made me Marie Lu's slave. Anything for book two. ANYTHING. Kidding aside, or not-so-kidding aside, The Young Elites isn't perfect, but it's a definite must-read for people looking for a dark fantasy with political intrigue and a fast paced adrenaline-filled plot.
1. The Malfettos. A decade ago, a deadly illness called the Blood Fever swept through the nation, killing thousands of people. The few who survived the fever, mostly children, were left with strange scars that marked them as outcasts and bad luck to society. However, some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
In an X-Men kind of universe, the Malfettos would be the mutants. Shunned by society and deemed as "bad luck" as an excuse to hide the king's negligence in ruling his kingdom, innocent malfettos have been killed left and right. That doesn't make them weaklings though- most of the Young Elites are pretty kick-ass! What I loved about the malfettos is that their origin was never fully explained and there's still so much secrecy surrounding the Young Elites.
2. Adelina Amouteru. Adelina -freakin- Amouteru. Don't let her regal name fool you because this girl has gone through hell and back, losing her mother to the Blood Fever and having to spend her whole life answering to her abusive and sadistic father's beck and call. Because of her harsh experiences, there is a great darkness inside Adelina that threatens to consume her and will not hesitate to kill. Adelina isn't the typical heroine protagonist- she's clearly drawn to evil and darkness, and her heart calls out for vengeance no matter what the means, but there's this tiny spark in her that tries to control the darkness. She's pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself.
“I am Adelina Amouteru. I belong to no one. On this night, I swear to you that I will rise above everything you’ve ever taught me. I will become a force that this world has never known. I will come into such power that none will dare hurt me again.”
3. The Dagger Society. When the Inquisition held Adelina at the stake for the murder of her father, a group of Young Elites whisked in and saved her. Basically the X-Men of their world, The Dagger Society dedicate their lives to reinstating the rights of the malfettos and overthrowing the king and queen. Led by a sword-fighting fire wielder named Enzo Valenciano, the group sees murder as a means to an end and will kill anyone who gets in their way. I loved reading about them and their different abilities- there's Ezio with his ability to control fire, a male courtesan who can sense the abilities of other malfettos, a windwalker who can control air, a girl who can steal the will of any animal, a boy who can bend any object to his will, and one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen.
Adelina trains to become on of the Daggers and this opens up whole different worlds for her, and in turn for us. Through the society, I was whisked to a world with flying manta rays in the sky, a beautiful pleasure court, underground tunnels, and devious plots.
4. The plot and world-building. Marie Lu packed everything into this book: darkness, family, magic, powers, action-packed swordfights, sexy romance, deception, betrayal; most of the plot is centered around political intrigue packed with a lot of players. I never knew what was going to happen next and I couldn't stop turning the pages. She weaved a whole new seamless world to perfectly back all of it up, too. I learned something new about their world as the story progresses, and it opens up a lot of roads leading to places outside Adelina's kingdom- places I can't wait to read more of.
5. The epilogue. THAT EPILOGUE. THAT SNEAKY SNEAKY CLIFF HANGER EPILOGUE. I can't say much without spoiling, but it's definitely a massive game-changer! A few hints? Princess. Different Kingdom. Prince. Underworld. Confused? I am too! And I need book two right this instant!
So yup, those are the five things that instantly made me Marie Lu's slave. Anything for book two. ANYTHING. Kidding aside, or not-so-kidding aside, The Young Elites isn't perfect, but it's a definite must-read for people looking for a dark fantasy with political intrigue and a fast paced adrenaline-filled plot.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this one yesterday and I thought it was pretty awesome! I loved how the main character is not afraid to share her true, dark feelings, and I was really rooting for her to get the revenge she was seeking. I can't wait to read what happens next!
This book is really a 4.25 star rating for me.
"The Young Elites" by Mrs. Marie Lu packs a big punch to people who read it (whether that punch is bad or good depends on the reader). For me that punch was good and it left my emotions all jumbled together by the time I reached the end. It was a difficult book to put down.
The characters all have secrets and hidden agendas; this is literally a book where nothing is as it seems as everyone has a disguise. I for one liked the complexity but at times it seemed the complexity of the characters and the situations they were in made this book a bit too busy and hectic. It became overwhelming and confusing at points throughout the book, but everything can't together in a way that made sense to me.
I found myself frustrated and even angry at some of the characters in this book because of all their hidden layers. I just wanted someone to be authentic and in the end there seems to be only one character (Michel) who is authentic. [I'm not sure if this is true though because he's hardly in the book. We don't know much about him except what someone has observed of him currently or in the past.] Still I did grow to care about most of the characters and was saddened by the ending. Admittingly I'm disappointed in how the ending turned out but I understand it. I found myself rooting for certain outcomes in relationships among the characters and was saddened when they didn't happen. Upon reflection I see how this book has to end the way it does even if it's not how I wanted. It's realistic and maybe even necessary for character growth. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the trilogy to see what happens next. It'll be interesting to see what happens among all the relationships since they've changed so much in this book.
"The Young Elites" by Mrs. Marie Lu packs a big punch to people who read it (whether that punch is bad or good depends on the reader). For me that punch was good and it left my emotions all jumbled together by the time I reached the end. It was a difficult book to put down.
The characters all have secrets and hidden agendas; this is literally a book where nothing is as it seems as everyone has a disguise. I for one liked the complexity but at times it seemed the complexity of the characters and the situations they were in made this book a bit too busy and hectic. It became overwhelming and confusing at points throughout the book, but everything can't together in a way that made sense to me.
I found myself frustrated and even angry at some of the characters in this book because of all their hidden layers. I just wanted someone to be authentic and in the end there seems to be only one character (Michel) who is authentic. [I'm not sure if this is true though because he's hardly in the book. We don't know much about him except what someone has observed of him currently or in the past.] Still I did grow to care about most of the characters and was saddened by the ending. Admittingly I'm disappointed in how the ending turned out but I understand it. I found myself rooting for certain outcomes in relationships among the characters and was saddened when they didn't happen. Upon reflection I see how this book has to end the way it does even if it's not how I wanted. It's realistic and maybe even necessary for character growth. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the trilogy to see what happens next. It'll be interesting to see what happens among all the relationships since they've changed so much in this book.