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queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
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? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, blood, death, gore, child abuse mention
The Rose Society by Marie Lu is book two in the Young Elites series. This book was so much darker than the first book, but I still loved it! I love having a series all about the villain, and a villain Adelina certainly is.
We pick up with Adeline and her sister Violetta after she has been cast out from the Dagger Society. Adelina seeks to find more Elites to join her own society in order to take over Kenettra. Adelina's ambition has taken over as the darkness inside her grows. She finds Magiano, an elusive Elite who is a thief guided by greed and has the ability to mimic another Elite's power, and Sergio another Elite who was cast out of the Daggers and controls the rain and storms. Together they are a fearsome group with grey morals. Now they must defeat the Inquisition Axis and free the malfettos.
The Daggers are still reeling from the loss of their leader, but also want to defeat the Inquisition Axis. However, they are doing this by allying with the rival nation of Beldain and their Young Elite Queen. Rafaelle has also discovered something shattering about Elites and the consequences of their powers. Both groups clash as they fight for the same thing.
Adelina descends further into madness as her illusions become more unpredictable, and she struggles to figure what is real and what are just the whispers in her head. She's such a great character, although not someone we are particularly rooting for. I do like that this book doesn't clearly give us a good guy or a hero.
Looking forward to seeing how this story wraps up and what will be Adelina's (and Kenettra's) fate.
The Rose Society by Marie Lu is book two in the Young Elites series. This book was so much darker than the first book, but I still loved it! I love having a series all about the villain, and a villain Adelina certainly is.
We pick up with Adeline and her sister Violetta after she has been cast out from the Dagger Society. Adelina seeks to find more Elites to join her own society in order to take over Kenettra. Adelina's ambition has taken over as the darkness inside her grows. She finds Magiano, an elusive Elite who is a thief guided by greed and has the ability to mimic another Elite's power, and Sergio another Elite who was cast out of the Daggers and controls the rain and storms. Together they are a fearsome group with grey morals. Now they must defeat the Inquisition Axis and free the malfettos.
The Daggers are still reeling from the loss of their leader, but also want to defeat the Inquisition Axis. However, they are doing this by allying with the rival nation of Beldain and their Young Elite Queen. Rafaelle has also discovered something shattering about Elites and the consequences of their powers. Both groups clash as they fight for the same thing.
Adelina descends further into madness as her illusions become more unpredictable, and she struggles to figure what is real and what are just the whispers in her head. She's such a great character, although not someone we are particularly rooting for. I do like that this book doesn't clearly give us a good guy or a hero.
Looking forward to seeing how this story wraps up and what will be Adelina's (and Kenettra's) fate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse
tinysierra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Rose Society follows Adelina as she builds her own group of allies to fight back against the Inquisition.
The new characters were intriguing, and we get to see more of the Daggers as well.
The new characters were intriguing, and we get to see more of the Daggers as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, and Slavery
Minor: Colonisation
gracelang_09's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
rainbowbean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<b>Writing:</b>
I found the writing to be well crafted and loved that the author stayed away from weird nicknames for her characters and other typical YA writing. Love that the story is told from multiple POV's.
<b>World Building:</b>
Excellent world building but as this is a trilogy you need book 1 to fully understand the world.
<b>Trope Talk:</b>
The love triangle is expertly woven in a way that feels familiar but not cringey.
<b>Plot:</b>
I found the plot to be solid, creative, and interesting.
<b>Character Development:</b>
The main development centers around the main character. While other characters develop I feel that this book was primarily dedicated to Adelina and that was necessary.
<b>Main Character:</b>
Marie Lu has stretched me as a reader. I have never been so invested in a main character who I also hate because she is giving into evil. I struggled to like Adelina in the first book which was by design. She's antihero, a villain, but also used good reasoning and judgment on the situations she finds herself in It's rare we get a villain story where you want the villain to win. I still hope for redemption for her but I'm beyond curious to see which direction she goes in.
<b>Representation:</b>
Lots of representation here from race and status to LGBTQ
<b>Pace:</b>
Usually book 2 of any trilogy is a slow snooze to set up book 3. This was not the case here. It took off and stayed at a rapid pace that made it hard to put down.
<b>Ending:</b>
No spoilers but no real surprises in the ending which was fine. It was solid.
<b>Overall:</b>
Loved it and can't wait to crack open book 3 tonight
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and War
a_walton18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
readtildawn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Murder, and War
krijemseoddusana's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
pip72156907's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
man the first half of this was all filler but the second half picked up so damn fast I loved it. The scenes are so easy to picture and I always love it when a character turns dark! boring at first, but worth it for the whole book overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence and Grief
animetee's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death