Book Review: The Rose Society by Marie Lu

Series: The Young Elites
Genre: YA | Fantasy
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
My rating: 

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?

Actual Rating: 3,5 

I guess it's time to write this review. I kind of still don't know what to say, I'm pretty torn about it.

The Young Elites is one of my favourite books. One of the main reason I loved it is because it's so different from other YA fantasy books.
It's really dark and the characters are so complex and twisted.

I was super excited for the sequel, but when I finally started it, something felt off.
I'm not saying I didn't like it, but it wasn't as good as the first one. I wasn't as gripped by it as I was with TYE and when I had to put the book down for school I wasn't dying to get back home and continue reading.

Adelina definitely got more twisted in this book, her POV was so much darker than at the beginning of her journey. I loved it, because she didn't pretend to be something else, she was up front about her dark side.
But in the end I didn't enjoy her chapters that much, I even got bored. I can't exactly say what it was that eventually did it for me, but there are a couple things that I just didn't like.

Like Violetta. I couldn't stand her. While I do see that she only wants what is best for her sister, I came to dislike her a lot. She didn't fit in with the other characters, and she just annoyed me.

Then there is Maeve. I couldn't stand her either. She seemed like a really flat character, had no personality and her chapters bored me to death.

Next point, the love-trinagle. I know that it's not exactly a love triangle, but it did feel like it at times, and it really bothered me.
I loved TYE because it was so different from other YA books, and then in the sequel we get this love-triangle trope.
Additionaly, I wasn't Magiano's biggest fan. He is a pretty interesting character, no doubt. And I do like him, but he didn't blow me away. And his relationship with Adelina... well, while it was nice that she had someone, I didn't really see any chemistry between them. There was no real spark (no pun intended).

Now, the things I loved:

The storyline. Marie Lu, I applaud you. The plot-twist were just amazing. And the ending? Cruel.

Raffaele. He was one of my favourite characters in the first book, and in TRS he was as amazing as in TYE. His chapters were probably the ones I enjoyed the most. He just kept breaking my heart.

Teren. Favourite character number two. He's just such an interesting and complex villain, I love how we got to see more of him. But definitely not enough.

 Overall, it was a decent sequel, but it still disappointed me. I just expected much more. Still, I am excited to see what happens next.

ABOUT MAGGI
Holidays started, so she will read as much as she can. Her ears are still ringing from the Imagine Dragons concert she was at yesterday (where Dan Reynolds told her she is beautiful). Her life is pretty nice currently.
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