Title: The Rose Society (The Young Elites #2)Author: Marie Lu
Pub. Date: Oct. 13, 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 395 pgs
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.
Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.
But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness?
Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.
But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness?
Review:
I'll admit that I was a little worried about this sequel. I loved the first book so much...in fact the first novel blew my mind. So while I was expecting something that would be even better than the first book, I didn't want to get my hopes up, only to be disappointed (like I have before). But I'm happy to say that this book was everything I could ever have wanted and more!! Not only was this book better than the The Young Elites, which I didn't think was possible, but Marie Lu took the story in a direction I was never expecting. Every single page was filled with heart-pounding, exciting adventures that made me never want to put this book down. However, the best part of this book is how effortlessly the words that Marie Lu has written flow off of the page. It's almost lyrical and simply gorgeous writing.
The one aspect of the first book that I absolutely loved was the fact that Adelina isn't your typical hero. In fact, she's not really a hero at all because you could tell the dark road she was headed down by the end of the last novel. Regardless, Adelina wasn't completely "dark" yet, and the book remained relatively mild and subdued. But The Rose Society follows Adelina's descent into true darkness, and Marie Lu takes the reader on an exciting foray of Adelina's spiral into becoming someone we should hate- a villain of sorts- but can't help but feel sympathy for. Everything she does is rooted in anger and is for selfish reasons, but at the same time, you understand why she is behaving in the way she is.
There are several new POVs in this novel, which added to the excitement of the story. At first, I wasn't sure I how I felt about this addition to the story, but Ms. Lu pulled it off effortlessly. It never once slowed the story down, and it added another element to the story that was genuinely interesting. I liked the breaks from Adelina's mind, and it made me see other characters in a different light.
The ending of this book is spectacular! This is exactly how a second book should end, as it sets up the next story perfectly by dropping a bombshell that you won't see coming, but also not ending on a cliffhanger (THANK GOD!). The wait for the final book in this series will be torture because I want to know where the story will go from here, and what will become of these characters that I have loved from the start! I know that Marie Lu will produce yet another amazing story and provide the perfect conclusion to this series! Don't miss out on this installment in The Young Elites series!
The one aspect of the first book that I absolutely loved was the fact that Adelina isn't your typical hero. In fact, she's not really a hero at all because you could tell the dark road she was headed down by the end of the last novel. Regardless, Adelina wasn't completely "dark" yet, and the book remained relatively mild and subdued. But The Rose Society follows Adelina's descent into true darkness, and Marie Lu takes the reader on an exciting foray of Adelina's spiral into becoming someone we should hate- a villain of sorts- but can't help but feel sympathy for. Everything she does is rooted in anger and is for selfish reasons, but at the same time, you understand why she is behaving in the way she is.
There are several new POVs in this novel, which added to the excitement of the story. At first, I wasn't sure I how I felt about this addition to the story, but Ms. Lu pulled it off effortlessly. It never once slowed the story down, and it added another element to the story that was genuinely interesting. I liked the breaks from Adelina's mind, and it made me see other characters in a different light.
The ending of this book is spectacular! This is exactly how a second book should end, as it sets up the next story perfectly by dropping a bombshell that you won't see coming, but also not ending on a cliffhanger (THANK GOD!). The wait for the final book in this series will be torture because I want to know where the story will go from here, and what will become of these characters that I have loved from the start! I know that Marie Lu will produce yet another amazing story and provide the perfect conclusion to this series! Don't miss out on this installment in The Young Elites series!
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
It's a January read!!! I'm glad you liked it! I hope I don't get disappointed when I read it but most reviews are quite good so... maybe a new favorite series? :D
ReplyDeleteDo we know when the 3rd comes out yet?
Laura @ psilovethatbook
I don't think you'll be disappointed. It definitely has a different feel to it than the first one, but it's soooo good.
DeleteAll I can find about when the 3rd comes out is 2016 :( I'm hoping they release more info on it soon though because I am so eager to get my hands on it!!
~Cassie
OOh nice!! I still need to read this one! I am just forever behind on all the series! LOL! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks! You definitely need to read this series haha. I'm so behind because of school so I'm hoping that over break I can read her Legend series because I've heard such amazing things about that one as well. There's just never enough time for reading lol!
Delete~Cassie
OMG!!! What an AWESOME review, girl!! I LOVE the way you write! And the fact that you discussed several aspects of the book without including many spoilers....well, KUDOS to you!!
ReplyDeleteI featured this novel in one of my WOW posts some months back. I haven't read the first one in the series, but, of course, I definitely want to! From what you say in your review, this is an absolutely AMAZING series. Note to self: READ THESE BOOKS. Another New Year's resolution!
Thanks for your thoughts!! : )
Thank you so much for your kind words :) This made me smile! This definitely is a MUST read, so add it to your TBR as soon as you can!! I hope you love it as much a I did :)
Delete~Cassie