Name: The midnight star
ISBN: 9780399167850

Marie Lu

"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."--provided by publisher.

The midnight star

Where will you go, when the clock strikes twelve?

What will you do, when you face yourself?

How will you live, knowing what you've done?

How will you die, if your soul's already gone?

"We were never meant to exist, Adelina," he says. "And we will never exist again. But we cannot take the entire world with us." He meets my gaze. "No matter how it has wronged us."

Author used italics a lot back in the day.

 means when they gain power and call it altruism, isn't it? I'm just not afraid to admit it."

Said the man to the sun, "How I wish you could shine your light on every day of my life!" Said the sun to the man, "But only with the rain and the night could you recognise my light."

I am death. And through death, I understand life.

After she was gone, I sheathed her sword at my belt, draped her cloak over my shoulders, carried her heart in my arms, and, somehow, went on.

"It is time for me to go. There are adventures waiting for me."

The fact that Marie Lu went from this to Warcross in a year still stuns me.

Well, that hurt. It is the ending that it needed to have but it doesn’t make it less painful. I admit that I cried a tear or two even though I already knew the ending.

This is the story of a villain, her origin and her redemption. It is so complex, layered and beautiful in a certain way.

Andrea

Well, that hurt. It is the ending that it needed to have but it doesn’t make it less painful. I admit that I cried a tear or two even though I already knew the ending.

This is the story of a villain, her origin and her redemption. It is so complex, layered and beautiful in a certain way.

Jamieson

“Some say that, once upon a time, she had a prince, a father, a society of friends. Others say that she was once a wicked queen, a worker of illusions, a girl who brought darkness across the lands. Still others say that she once had a sister, and that she loved her dearly. Perhaps all of these are true.”


I absolutely adore this entire series and for me, this was a fairly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I think Marie Lu is great at endings, she leaves them open-ended enough you can add to the world in your head beyond the story, but closed enough you have closure and aren't wondering what happened to all the characters. So I definitely appreciated the ending of this series, it wrapped up most of the story and the characters well, but my main disappointment is that I felt some characters stories were left a little hanging and the storyline took a weird direction which I didn't feel was foreshadowed enough. 




One of my first issues with this book was that the ending took a little turn towards a plot direction that seemed out of place to me. While the first two books focussed on the characters, and especially Adelina's quest for power, the third introduced a complication and fantasy element that wasn't explored much until this book. While it was foreshadowed a tiny bit at the end of The Rose Society, I still felt a little thrown off when this element came into play - and plot wise it did feel a little messy. It's easy to recover from, and it's not like it's so totally wild it ruined the story, but I did think it threw things off a little. 

My other complaint was that I was a little dissatisfied with some of the charaters storylines - specifically Enzo's and Raffaele's and Mauve and Lucents. Raffaele and Enzo just deserved more closure and I wanted more about what happened to Raffaele after - and Mauve and Lucent weren't in it enough. 


  “You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”


But beside all that I really liked the conclusion to this trilogy. The characters remained as diabolical and twisted as they were earlier in the series - Adelina's arc came to a conclusion in a way I was really satisfied with, and I also really liked the addition of Magiano and his role in this book. 

I've always praised this book for it's ambiguous characters and morally grey situations and that trend definitely continues throughout this series. Characters make decisions and change their behaviours and it's definitely open to discussion as to who deserved their ending, who didn't and who is truly good or evil. I love that about this series, and I love that Marie Lu didn't give us definitive answers. The beautify of this series is it's ambiguity and how open-ended it is. I'm so glad Marie Lu maintained that to the end. 

The ending of this book is very controversial, but I personally was okay with it and it left me satisfied. This entire series I hold so close to my heart, and I wish less people dnf'ed it right at the start before it really gets good. 

This series is full of flawed, complex characters who aren't all trying to make the right decision. It subverts so many tropes and presents us with characters who are motivated by greed, anger, hate, jealousy and fear, but also love and want and a sharp desire for justice. Truly, I think this is one of the most original series in ya, with characters who don't fit into the typical YA tropes but exist for their own benefit and act in a way that purely is to satisfy their own needs. On top of that it has amazing representation, worldbuiding and plot which never got boring for me.

I know I am literally the LAST person to read this series, but if you still haven't you definitely should. It's one of my favourite series now and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. 


  “You are a light,” she replies gently. “And when you shine, you shine bright.”

Adelina pikir, tiada lagi penderitaan. Dia telah membalas dendam pada mereka yang mengkhianatinya. Sang Serigala putih memenangi takhta Kenettra, tapi seiring bertambahnya kekuasaan, dia menjadi semakin kejam. Kegelapan dalam dirinya semakin tak terkendali, ingin menghancurkan semua yang ada di dekat Adelina. Kemudian ancaman baru muncul, dan Adelina beserta para Mawar mau tak mau harus bekerja sama dengan para Belati untuk menghadapinya. Namun, aliansi mereka yang sarat kecurigaan dan pengkhianatan mungkin lebih berbahaya dari apa pun. Bagaimanakah nasib para Elite selanjutnya? [Mizan Fantasi, Fantasi, Science, Fiction, Remaja, Terjemahan, Indonesia]

The Midnight Star

Stef

Setelah slump seminggu akhirnya kemarin bisa menyelesaikan baca sekali duduk. 2/3 bagian bener-bener bikin emosinal, bittersweet ending nya udah pas sama cerita nya. Sebagai buku penutup series TYE, The Midnight Star bener-bener memuaskan. Dan terjemahan nya juga lumayan meski ada beberapa typo di beberapa bagian.

tina

The Midnight Star wasn't Marie Lu's best work. In fact, it was actually her worst. I've been a fan of Marie Lu ever since the Legend trilogy so I know what she's capable of. I know that she is capable of writing a better conclusion to The Young Elites trilogy. I'm not saying this book was bad. It wasn't. This book wasn't badly written. Maybe those who haven't read Marie Lu's first trilogy would even love it. My main concern is that this could've had a better plotline. This book could've went deeper, could've been more interesting, and could've been longer. 

Sad to say I actually am disappointed. But I know Marie Lu can do better. Despite all this, if she wrote another book again, I'd be the first one to buy it. 

  “After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.”

Haley Murray

Gisela Ayala 

I want to give this book 5 stars because this book and the whole series deserve it... but I'm giving it 4 because I'm not too happy with the ending. I'm content. Just not too happy. Although it is beautiful what happened, I feel like Adelina deserved so much more. 

Whether you see her as the villain or a heroine, she is both to me. She was not scared to be loyal to those she loved and was betrayed by all except one. Even family betrayed her, which sadly happens a lot. Yet she persevered and for that reason, I think she deserved more. 

Marie Lu's writing had me feeling so many feelings and I don't want to give too many details away. I'm still reeling from all these emotions I experienced from reading this book and series as a whole, so I don't think I can give a comprehensive review. I'll be in bed clutching the book crying hysterically. Have a good night.

Sven Test

This book and my heart and these characters and just no coherent thoughts, people! *sobs*

jess

HOOOO HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT. 

(This review may contain spoilers, I've tried to spoil the obvious things but. I suck.)

This book series was really, really, really good. It's refreshing to see in a world of YA which tends towards lighter morality. I'm not saying that dark = good, but to have such a compelling antihero and a cast of characters who are just as morally ambiguous as she is - it's nice. It's interesting. Adelina is, without a doubt, one of the best antiheroes I've seen. She's dark and ruthless and unforgiving but she has such strong motivations for being so awful that you sympathise with her anyways. A lot of how she is is a reaction to her abuse and betrayal - how she doesn't want to give up her powers because they're her defence; how her father keeps appearing in her hallucinations. A lot of it she can't help, because her own powers are taking over her. She's a fascinating character. 

And the other characters are just as fascinating. Magiano, Teren, Raffaele, Maeve, Violetta ... my favorites are Raffaele, Magiano, Violetta, and surprisingly, Teren. You saw that he was more than just another villain by the first book. This one expanded so much on him that you really understood his motivations and felt sorry for him, even though you know he's done awful things in his life. Adelina and Teren really are two sides of the same coin. They finally saw eye to eye in this book. Violetta! Violetta, as always, was radiant. I love her a lot. She is strength in quiet and softness. It's so good. 

I love how Lu wove the delicate web of relationships because no one was completely committed to another person. Yet through betrayals and hatred, characters you would never expect to ally did, and they saved each others lives, and they mourned for those who we'd thought were on the other side. It was incredible. 

Also, the death toll. Fuck. Some of those were completely unexpected. I felt like I had the breath knocked out of me (view spoiler)[when Teren died. I saw Violetta coming about halfway through; I knew Enzo was going to bite it, but Teren. If anything, I'd thought he would have been redeemed. But going back on the Adelina|Teren thing: it makes sense. Both die. Both pay the price for their crimes in death. All the deaths made sense. None of them seemed extraneous, but no one lived when they shouldn't have - which is something that's rare in books, the perfect balance. *cough* Fred and Leo (hide spoiler)]

The ending - holy shit. (view spoiler)[I expected her to die from the beginning; it felt like simply having her live was too nice. It wouldn't give her the retribution or the punishment she deserved. But I wasn't expecting it to happen like that - I wasn't expecting her to trade her life for Violetta's. The choices both sisters make in the final few pages shows the strength of their bond and their love for each other. Adelina gives up everything she's ever dreamed up for her sister, and Violetta has such incredible love in her heart that even though Adelina has hurt her over and over again, and many more, she does the best she can. 

Keeping whether Adelina truly comes back because of Violetta's bargain on the ambiguous side was a good choice; it allows readers to decide what actually happens rather than: Magiano found Adelina and they lived happily ever after. 

Sidenote: I love that the only couple that gets a solid, direct happy ending is a f/f couple thank you Marie Lu for this and thank you for not killing off Raffaele because GOSH he was my favorite and I guess yeah thanks for not killing off the queer characters. (hide spoiler)]

"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 the darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy everything. When a new danger appears, Adelina must join the Daggers on a perilous quest in order to save herself and preserve her empire. But this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger . . ."

june

Livia

** spoiler alert **
           *sigh* this is a pretty short one
I want more Raffaele towards the end
I want to see Enzo being done right
I want more of Magiano's personality other than just being a loyal puppy to Adelina
I want Adelina to get penance for what she had done
I want more conflict at the end.

Sophia Lazari

** spoiler alert **
           3.5⭐️ 
while my ideal ending would be different, I feel like ending the series like this was fair. I enjoyed the books a lot, I loved to read about Adelina and her story, and if the multiverse is real, I hope Magiano found her in the stars. 
ps: i caught me off guard how much what happened to Teren affected me💔.

overall series rating 4/5⭐️

The thrilling finale to the New York Times bestselling Young Elites series from “hit factory” Marie Lu 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. #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu concludes Adelina's story with this haunting and hypnotizing final installment to the Young Elites series.

Stefanie Sugia

"After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light."
I'm finally done with the series! It took me quite a while to start writing this review because I was occupied with a lot of other things, so I'll try my best to recall back my initial feelings about this book. I personally enjoyed The Midnight Star better than the second book, 
  The Rose Society
. Despite all the madness and crazy things that happened, I think Marie Lu managed to wrap up this series quite nicely. The writing is, as always, enjoyable; but I'm still not fully invested in the world building and the characters until the end. I don't know why, but I just wasn't emotionally invested enough. I think only Magiano managed to tug at my heartstrings a little bit. Anyways, I'm just glad I get to finish this series even though I wasn't fully satisfied with it. I know a lot of people loved this series, but unfortunately I don't feel the same way 🤔.
  "None of us are saints. We can all do better."

  "Someday, when I am nothing but dust and wind, what tale will they tell about me?"
After Adelina's victory in the previous book, she continued to reign over people by inducing fear in people's hearts—which causes a lot of people to despise her and tried to kill her. However, with her power growing stronger, she managed to torture and kill those people easily, threatening others who are trying to harm her. At this point, I just feel like she's completely lost beyond redemption. I decided to stop hoping that she will come to her senses and turn back from her evil conquest. Until towards the end of their mission, Adelina is finally given a last chance for redemption. I won't spoil anything for those of you who haven't read it yet, but I was quite surprised by the turn of events at the end of this book. I would say it's bittersweet; but since I'm not too attached to any of the characters in this book, it didn't leave a deep impression in me.

The other characters felt a bit bland in this book; Enzo who was risen from the dead didn't serve much purpose in this final book—which I was quite disappointed about. Magiano is still the sweetest of them all, but doesn't really play a huge role in the storyline as well. The only character that surprised me (in a good way) was Teren. Throughout the first and second book, Teren is depicted as the antagonist who wishes all Elites to be executed. And in this book, I can truly see that he's a man who is true to his life purpose. The Midnight Star made me see Teren in a different light. I think that was a nice twist to the story, because his presence gives a really tense vibe since we never know what he's going to do. Some of the scenes are really intense and was able to entertain me, but the book as a whole was just okay for me personally."There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen."
  "Why are we doing this, anyway? To preserve my own life, and yours—but what has the world ever done for us in order to deserve our sacrifice?"
As I said earlier, I'm quite happy with how Marie Lu decided to end the series. The book managed to maintain its' dark and somber theme until the end. I'm quite proud of myself for finishing this series after leaving it sitting in my bookshelves for so long. I might pick up Marie Lu's other books in the future because I definitely enjoyed her writing style. But for now, I need a break from the fantasy world and all its' crazy acts 😂."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."

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2019/0...

Sabina Brandiu

I just finished this masterpiece 5 minutes ago, I believe and my heart is shattered in one million pieces. I am speechless and have too many things to say at the same time. 

 Throughout the series, I had deep feelings of uncertainty about Adelina caused by multiple factors. Her surprisingly broad behavior was an exclusivity from my point of view and because of the fact that I have not read books with the villain as the main character, I was trying to understand my own thoughts about the situation. After deeply evaluating myself, I got to the final conclusion that she was "a light made out of darkness". I feel incredibly proud for thinking about that briliant idea.

 The action of the book was impressevely captivating, making me feel amazed by the pure emotions that were developed. Even if the emotions that were dominating Adelina's filled-with-darkness soul were sadness and fury, they were completely pure, making her a god's daughter, a young elite. 

Something definitely mentionable is the fierce war that is taking place in Adelina's mind, the internal conflict that is quickly consuming her from the inside to the outside, drastically changing her perpective multiple times throughout the book. She succesfully succeeds fighting against these evil thoughts for a couple of times, thinking lucidly, especially at the end of the book, where she feels like she has to return at least a life out of the hundreds that she mercilessly took. Her own.

The plot was so perfectly built that when a totally interesting actions was ending, another plot twist was taking place, making me obsessed with the book.

 Adelina becomes the queen in volume 2 but she is deeply unhappy and alone, her loud and thirsty-for-power voices streaming in her ears. She realises the terrifying risk that all young elites are exposed to and she deceides to find her sister that left because of the burst-of-power that Adelina could not control. War is still a filling element that created the dynamic. 

 The conflicts are being pushed away for the sake of saving young elites and innocents, saving what the gods could not save. Adelina's old team among with the new one start the journey that has as main purpose to get in the under-world. The plot only get more tangled from here.

MAGIANO!!! Wow. I thought that Enzo was something (he was nothing but dead) but Magiano is the elegant but slightly arrogant, handsome but a incredibly skilled robber, a young elite and boyfriend material, ALL IN ONE. 
"I,m always ready for you, amore mio". He was showing the purest affection and acceptance to Adelina, giving her the love that no one ever gave to her, making her feeling like a shining star, not like the materialisation of darkness itself. His backstory WAS TOTALLY HEARTBREAKING.
"You are so full of light! You are attached by happiness, and I am by fear and fury. If you could read my thoughts, you would surely turn your back" "You are a thousand things, mi Adelinetta"

The Teren's implication was, without any form of doubt, suspicious and slightly concerning because I knew what he was capable of. It turns out I was about to be heart-broken. He was an essential element in the mission thay the Young Elites had and he accepted to respect his role. As an COMPELTELY unexpected result, he is fighting with his entire spirit and body, giving his precious last breath for a cause that he never thought he would. "Now, I am forgiven" I wait for his chest to lift again, but is does not"


"Fear is my sword. My sword, my strenght"

She was portrayed as this alarmingly cruel and unforgiving individual, making everyone around her to be COMPLETELY affraid of her, spreading fear like a deadly desease. She was severely traumatized by her past victims, the never-stopping voices being actually them, always haunting her around. But when her sister dies because of her own destinguised powers, she is determined to save her for all costs so she does not only gives up on her abilities but on the never-coming-back and incredibly precious life.
 "A soul must be replaced with another soul"

 " I wil not see another sunrise of another sunset. I will not see again the stars and I will not feel the wind on my face."

 "After taking all this lives, my punishment is to give one back"

"She is my sister, forever, even in death, even after it"

"OH, Magiano! I will miss all the days thay we won't have, all fhe moments that we won't share Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!"

" It has been my purpose since the beginning: to save myself, acting like I was saving the world"

"Over me, Moritas covers me in her arms, covering me with a blanket of darkness" 

The end of this complete masterpiece was DEFINITELY PERFECT. Turning it into a never-dying legend, just like Adelina that will never die, but live forever as a star on the nightsky.

Alexa Jade

** spoiler alert **
           this book just erased the events of the second?????? and al the deaths and sacrifice at the end???? I am confusion.

Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman

Elif Gültekin

I am NEVER going to read Mariel Lu again. I am crying womaaaan... you destroy my heart

Ella Zegarra

When she appears on the other side of the world, I will be there, and when she returns here, so will I.

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Qué cerebro. Esta es la clase de libro que te hace dar cuenta que no podrás ni en tus más grandes ambiciones, escribir. Tiene un mundo bien construido, unos personajes bien desarrollados y romance con el drama justo para mantener tu corazón shipper doliendo. The Midnight Star para mí ha tenido un final satisfactoria aunque doloroso. Es cruel, pero estético, pone a prueba tu imaginación, pero con escenarios sencillos de imaginar, no te hace sentir fuera de lugar con lo que pintas en tu cabeza. 


  


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Maria

2.5 звезды

середина опять какая-то провисшая. героиня неприятная, и тем хуже, что основное поветствование ведется от ее лица. а еще ее постоянно мучают галлюцинации, и читать диалоги с голосами в голове совсем прям нет сил никаких (я пролистывала)

плюсик только за то, что объяснили origins of the powers и вывели сюжет на кофликт смертного с божественным

4.5 stars. My least favourite of the trilogy, but not by much.

The last third of it, right before the ending kind of dragged for me, but the rest was amazing!!

And the ending. I thought I knew what was going to happen and I kinda did but I DID NOT see that one coming. I am forever crying about it.

Marie Lu, you crafted an amazingly original trilogy and my definitive female protagonist. Thank you.

daisy

Someday, when I am nothing but dust and wind, what tale will they tell about me?

Sophia De La Garza

4 stars. My least favorite out of the trilogy but still really good. ALSO, THAT ENDING MAKES ME SOB! 
RTC