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mrs_galaxywanderer091825 's review for:
The Midnight Star
by Marie Lu
This book was such a pleasure to read after a month of reading books that I didn't like or thought were okay. I'm happy to give this book a 4 star rating since it had a nicely written plot to make up for less action that the previous books. It was nice seeing more emotional sides of characters who up to this point have been pretty guarded. Nothing like facing possible death to prompt sharing of feelings! If I'm honest, I was kind of unsatisfied at the pace of the book as it felt like everything happened hastily. I know the situation the Elites were facing was dire and unpleasant to deal with but this book seemed a little too light sometimes. I'd have been willing to read a longer book in order to have delved into more emotions and maybe a few extra battles with each other, citizens who hate Elites, or assassins after Adelina would have been nice additions to the book too. Heck even more talking about romances within the book would have been nice to read about.
I did get a chapter that revealed how Enzo and Raffaele met, which I wanted in Book 2, but it wasn't as much as I would have liked. A little bit more into how their friendship developed would have been nice. Also I wouldn't have minded a chapter from Enzo's point of view. He was mentioned a lot by Adelina and Raffaele as they felt emotional connections and were dealing with the changes that have happened since his return from the Underworld, but what we had just didn't seem like enough. There was no real explanation for his change in behavior except what was provided for us. Hearing more about his struggle of living between two worlds would have been fascinating since we hear about Adelina's struggle with her illusions and reality.
Mrs. Lu's writing was really good throughout the book but the best part had to be the ending. What an ending! For the last 28-30 pages I was in tears. I have to say that I both loved and hated it at the same time. Adelina was a fantastic anti-hero as depending on how you take the story you can dislike or feel pity for her. All she wanted was acceptance and love but decisions she made and her powers made that quite difficult. Magiano was such a necessary character as he truly made Adelina shine and she the same for him. They both had hard lives and could be seen as unlikeable but together they became a great couple that I couldn't help but root to get together. Everyone needs someone like Magiano to see their good and bad sides but love them all the same.
Another reason the ending was so great was that I got a satisfied ending in regards to characters I had mixed feelings about. For example, I have mixed feelings about Raffaele as he seems to be a holier than thou type. I won't deny that he is beautiful, sensible, and powerful thanks to his gift but that doesn't mean he knows everything about people. He kept saying how Adelina "is beyond help" and believed her to be completely uncaring to those who don't serve a purpose for her plans. The ending I felt put him in his place a bit. I also like how it proved that Violetta is more than just a pretty face and is his equal in sensing people's emotional strings. Up until this point she always seemed to be a sidekick kind of character.
I really did enjoy reading this trilogy and it was memorable reading for me during the year and a half it took me to finish it. I would honestly have no problem recommending this series to those interested in a YA Fantasy series.
I did get a chapter that revealed how Enzo and Raffaele met, which I wanted in Book 2, but it wasn't as much as I would have liked. A little bit more into how their friendship developed would have been nice. Also I wouldn't have minded a chapter from Enzo's point of view. He was mentioned a lot by Adelina and Raffaele as they felt emotional connections and were dealing with the changes that have happened since his return from the Underworld, but what we had just didn't seem like enough. There was no real explanation for his change in behavior except what was provided for us. Hearing more about his struggle of living between two worlds would have been fascinating since we hear about Adelina's struggle with her illusions and reality.
Mrs. Lu's writing was really good throughout the book but the best part had to be the ending. What an ending! For the last 28-30 pages I was in tears. I have to say that I both loved and hated it at the same time. Adelina was a fantastic anti-hero as depending on how you take the story you can dislike or feel pity for her. All she wanted was acceptance and love but decisions she made and her powers made that quite difficult. Magiano was such a necessary character as he truly made Adelina shine and she the same for him. They both had hard lives and could be seen as unlikeable but together they became a great couple that I couldn't help but root to get together. Everyone needs someone like Magiano to see their good and bad sides but love them all the same.
Another reason the ending was so great was that I got a satisfied ending in regards to characters I had mixed feelings about. For example, I have mixed feelings about Raffaele as he seems to be a holier than thou type. I won't deny that he is beautiful, sensible, and powerful thanks to his gift but that doesn't mean he knows everything about people. He kept saying how Adelina "is beyond help" and believed her to be completely uncaring to those who don't serve a purpose for her plans. The ending I felt put him in his place a bit. I also like how it proved that Violetta is more than just a pretty face and is his equal in sensing people's emotional strings. Up until this point she always seemed to be a sidekick kind of character.
I really did enjoy reading this trilogy and it was memorable reading for me during the year and a half it took me to finish it. I would honestly have no problem recommending this series to those interested in a YA Fantasy series.