The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #1
Published October 7th 2014 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating:
Synopsis:
I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But 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.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
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Before I read The Young Elites, I didn’t realise how much I miss books about characters with superpowers. It reminds me of the Shatter Me series which I love and the X-men movies.
Marie Lu created a cast of complex characters. They are neither good nor bad but are always advancing forward with their goal. In fact, I was surprised when there is an anti-hero in the making. Adeline is wild, untameable, and lost. She doesn’t know what to do with her powers which are overwhelming her. Her powers are consuming everything good and kind in her, filling her thoughts with evil and malice. There’s no guessing what she will do when she’s cornered, and the last few chapters definitely displayed that side of her.
“Everyone has darkness inside them, however hidden.”
Everyone else were interesting too. There are the Reaper, the Messenger, the Architect, the Windwalker, the Star Thief and the Spider. Each has their own unique powers and role. I do wish there were more character buildings for them because they weren’t mentioned that frequently unless it involved Adeline and/or Enzo. I would like to know their stories and where they came from.
With how it left off at the end, I’m dying to know what will happen next. Marie Lu completed book one with a dangling carrot, and I’m desperate to pick up The Rose Society. Now that everything is going south for the Young Elites, I wonder what’s their next step.
“Be true to yourself. But that’s something everyone says and no one means. No one wants you to be yourself. They want you to be the version of yourself that they like.”
spoilers for the young elites:
- who’s power do you think is the more powerful one? adeline’s or violetta’s?
➳ i think it’s pretty cool that you can control the fear in people and manifest it right in front of their eyes. but it hints at the darkness in adeline aka when she got so overwhelmed by her anger and accidentally killed dante when it was her decision to not tell the elites and betrayed them for that one time only.
➳ violetta’s power is sick too. she could suppress someone from using their power, and they’re defenceless for others to take. however, it’s quite a dick move to suppress adeline’s powers just because you want to protect yourself. i mean, she’s your sister, you guys are supposed to protect her but your actions inflicted so much pain and agony and abuse on your sister..
- this whole enzo and adeline thing, still don’t know what to feel about it. enzo might be momentarily distracted by adeline because she looked like his former lover, and adeline has too much shit to handle for her to add another problem to her list. plus, she was a betrayer, and she did kill one of them.
- why the fuck did this happen?? she freaking caused the death of the prince. the only person who was capable of taking back the throne. oh god.
spoilers for the young elites:
- who’s power do you think is the more powerful one? adeline’s or violetta’s?
- ➳ i think it’s pretty cool that you can control the fear in people and manifest it right in front of their eyes. but it hints at the darkness in adeline aka when she got so overwhelmed by her anger and accidentally killed dante when it was her decision to not tell the elites and betrayed them for that one time only.
- ➳ violetta’s power is sick too. she could suppress someone from using their power, and they’re defenceless for others to take. however, it’s quite a dick move to suppress adeline’s powers just because you want to protect yourself. i mean, she’s your sister, you guys are supposed to protect her but your actions inflicted so much pain and agony and abuse on your sister..
- this whole enzo and adeline thing, still don’t know what to feel about it. enzo might be momentarily distracted by adeline because she looked like his former lover, and adeline has too much shit to handle for her to add another problem to her list. plus, she was a betrayer, and she did kill one of them.
- why the fuck did this happen?? she freaking caused the death of the prince. the only person who was capable of taking back the throne. oh god.
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Be sure to read The Young Elites before proceeding to the next review of The Rose Society!
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The Rose Society by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #2
Published October 13th 2015 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating:
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 flees Kenettra with her sister 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?
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Adelina’s journey to becoming a ruthless, merciless villain was emotionally draining. While I didn’t want to see her turn evil, it was fascinating to see how she battled with her darkness. The circumstances forced her to be the way she became. On the path of revenge, Adelina spiralled and turned into an anti-hero. She was betrayed by the people she thought she could trust. Happening at the same time, Adelina’s power was gradually consuming her. The whispers were changing her attitude and beliefs.
It wasn’t fun watching the Daggers fight against Adelina since they were allies in The Young Elites. Because of what had happened, they were against each other now. Adeline took a sharp turn into bitterness and darkness.
“Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, so she destroyed them all.”
New characters introduced in book two were fascinating, especially Maeve whose power is resurrection. Magiano is a potential love interest for Adelina. Even though Enzo died, I still had lingering thoughts of him and Adelina being together. Therefore, Magiano’s appearance and his forwardness caught me a little off guard so I’m unsure about this budding romance yet.
Overall, the main highlight The Rose Society was Adelina’s change in character. Consumed by her vengeance against those who wronged her, there was no knowing if Adelina has any limits. Will I like Adelina when she’s good or do I want her evil? Either way, I’m excited to see how things pan out in The Midnight Star.
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Be sure to read The Rose Society before proceeding to the next review of The Midnight Star!
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The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites #3
Published October 11th 2016 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating:
Synopsis:
There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.
Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained.
When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.
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Before reading the book, I wondered how “The Midnight Star” was going to be applied into the story. Since “The Young Elites” were the ones with powers and “The Rose Society” was Adelina’s name for the followers, I was waiting for an explanation for “The Midnight Star” and little did I know how much this link would affect me.
Marie Lu fantastically wrapped up The Young Elites trilogy. Although the ending literally broke me and I started crying buckets of tears, my love for it is overflowing. Marie Lu was ruthless. She didn’t care about my feelings, or any reader, at all. I shouldn’t have finished the book at 2am because The Midnight Star wrecked me, and I woke up with swollen eyes later that day. If there was one thing, I thought the world-building was slightly lacking however, I didn’t really mind since my focus was more on the characters.
“After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.”
Adelina’s character development was amazing. She went from an abused, innocent young girl in The Young Elites to a vicious usurper in The Rose Society and then just wanting everything to end in The Midnight Star. Most of her defiant actions, I think, were caused by the whispers that haunted her. I loved that there were still some good in her. Combating her own moral dilemmas and internal conflicts, Adelina’s complex character was a pleasure to read.
Sick and tired of being underestimated and looked down upon, and all the shitty things the non-marked people put her and her kind through, she just wanted to give everything back a million fold. I won’t go into spoilers here but we finally saw more of Adelina’s true feelings after a while. She wasn’t as tough or as vicious as she tried to portray herself to be. She was consistently fighting between the devil and the angel, the whispers and her own innate kindness.
I got emotional whenever Adelina reflected her soured relationship with the Daggers and her sister, Violetta. Adelina became extremely paranoid, thinking that everything was going to assassinate her. She felt threatened all the time and her distress was exacerbated by the whispers.
“To those who, in spite of everything, still choose goodness”
My thoughts about the Adeilna and Magiano combination totally changed when I got to know more about him. Magiano balanced Adelina’s darkness with humor, jokes, music, patience, love and sweetness. He showed her how love could be when it was reciprocated by the right person. I love Magiano for Adelina.
Overall, I cried a great deal, loved a great deal. The ending and epilogue killed me. While Marie Lu toyed with my feelings and then shattered my heart, I still love her.
spoilers for the young elites:
- teren’s story was a tragic tale. i think he just got misguided at a young age and didn’t know how to go back since nobody was there for him after his father died from the blood fever. he just wanted to get rid of his powers that he welcomed death as a reprieve. he went away so peacefully despite being hurt so badly. i feel bad for him. ugh. he was such a good ally. AND i didn’t even like him before this! what the heck, marie lu, what kind of magic are you using on me?
- adelina breaking down crying, grieving about violetta’s death, got me sobbing too. they didn’t have any time together, practically no time for them to reconcile! it’s so sad. adelina just didn’t care and just cried in front of everyone she swore to never show any sign of pain. oh, that got me in the heart.😭😭😭
- can’t talk about magiano without feeling so fucking bad and crying my eyes out. 😭 i should’ve expected it when YA characters start to talk about the future. most of the time it means one of them or both wouldn’t see the light of day anymore but i was so invested that this just glossed past me. after the exchange of life and death between adelina and violetta, when the people who lived appeared, and magiano realised that adelina wasn’t with them, and when violetta told him what adelina did, and he just nodded and sunk to the ground, I FUCKING CRIED AGAIN.💔💔
❝ Oh, Magiano. I will miss all the days we will never have, all the moments we will never share. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me.
❝ Please, I whisper, and my voice comes out as quiet as a ghost’s. Tell Magiano I love him. Tell him I’m sorry. That I’m grateful.
❝ “I’m going to follow her, of course,” Magiano says. “As the night sky turns. When she appears on the other side of the world, I will be there, and when she returns here, so will I.”
- all these lines broke me; my heart was torn out. i know their romance only begun recently but i believe it’s genuine. they need more fucking time together. WHY CAN’T SHE BE ALIVE? NOT JUST WHEN HER CONSTELLATION IS OUT?!
crying over my ice cream
- THAT LITTLE EPILOGUE PART AT THE END WITH “THE MIDNIGHT STAR, A FOLKLORE”. OH MY HEART. THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR ME CAUSE I’M TYPING THIS WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE.
- one good news: maeve and lucent got together and married!!!! i’m so happy~~~~ they deserve happiness after so long.
spoilers for the young elites:
- teren’s story was a tragic tale. i think he just got misguided at a young age and didn’t know how to go back since nobody was there for him after his father died from the blood fever. he just wanted to get rid of his powers that he welcomed death as a reprieve. he went away so peacefully despite being hurt so badly. i feel bad for him. ugh. he was such a good ally. AND i didn’t even like him before this! what the heck, marie lu, what kind of magic are you using on me?
- adelina breaking down crying, grieving about violetta’s death, got me sobbing too. they didn’t have any time together, practically no time for them to reconcile! it’s so sad. adelina just didn’t care and just cried in front of everyone she swore to never show any sign of pain. oh, that got me in the heart.😭😭😭
- can’t talk about magiano without feeling so fucking bad and crying my eyes out. 😭 i should’ve expected it when YA characters start to talk about the future. most of the time it means one of them or both wouldn’t see the light of day anymore but i was so invested that this just glossed past me. after the exchange of life and death between adelina and violetta, when the people who lived appeared, and magiano realised that adelina wasn’t with them, and when violetta told him what adelina did, and he just nodded and sunk to the ground, I FUCKING CRIED AGAIN.💔💔
- all these lines broke me; my heart was torn out. i know their romance only begun recently but i believe it’s genuine. they need more fucking time together. WHY CAN’T SHE BE ALIVE? NOT JUST WHEN HER CONSTELLATION IS OUT?! crying over my ice cream
- THAT LITTLE EPILOGUE PART AT THE END WITH “THE MIDNIGHT STAR, A FOLKLORE”. OH MY HEART. THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR ME CAUSE I’M TYPING THIS WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE.
- one good news: maeve and lucent got together and married!!!! i’m so happy~~~~ they deserve happiness after so long.
- ❝ Oh, Magiano. I will miss all the days we will never have, all the moments we will never share. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me.
- ❝ Please, I whisper, and my voice comes out as quiet as a ghost’s. Tell Magiano I love him. Tell him I’m sorry. That I’m grateful.
- ❝ “I’m going to follow her, of course,” Magiano says. “As the night sky turns. When she appears on the other side of the world, I will be there, and when she returns here, so will I.”
thisbellereadstoo.wordpress.com 
I only read your review for TYE since I haven’t read the series yet, but love your review! I always want to pick this up since it’s an anti-hero story so it’s good to see that the element doesn’t disappoint.
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thank you, tasya! i hope you pick up the rest of the trilogy. it’s one that i didn’t expect myself to love.
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I think I’ve said this a THOUSAND times already, but I LOVE this trilogy SO much!!!!😍😍 It’s one of the most powerful I’ve ever read and most of all, it has one of the best female characters ever!!!! makes me happy that you ended up having such a positive experience with these books, sweetie.😭✨
AWESOME REVIEWS!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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❤️❤️ thank you, sofii! i love the young elites trilogy too. before starting it, i didn’t even think that i would be so mesmerised by the books. marie lu definitely got me there.
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