Name: Helena's review of The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2) by Marie Lu
Item: The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2)
Rating: 5
Author: Helena

Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru's heart is set on 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. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her. But Adelina is no heroine. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends at 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?

The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2)

Known and feared as the White Wolf, Adelina Amouteru and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. But as Adelina's powers (fed only by fear and hate) start to grow beyond her control, she also distrusts 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?

a young elites novel

The Rose society

Beside me, Magiano whirls and launches into the air. His braids are swept behind his shoulders by gusts of wind, soaked through and glittering with rain and ocean, and in this instant, I do not see a mortal, but the angel of Joy, his wild ecstacy permeating everything around him, his power overwhelming. I can see him taking in a deep breath of air. He is surrounded by Elites. His power has reached its height.

And the world continues as if she had never existed.

She makes a move toward me, but stops when Magiano clicks his tongue in disapproval. He flashes his teeth in a grin. "Careful," he says to her. "I keep my blades very sharp. It's a nervous habit."

"We are drawn to stories," he says in a soft voice, "and every scar carries one."

They tell me that you have been crying in your sleep. Do not grieve our separation, my love, for our reunion will come just as swiftly.

, to hit so early and with such fury that my enemies cower before they can ever think of turning on me?

I made mistakes. I trusted both too little and too much. But, by the gods, I tried so hard. I gave everything I had.

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

Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Maya Alexandrova

Helena

it’s all pain. beginning to end. there you go.

Ryan 

** spoiler alert **
           I thought it would be a 4.25 stars but it's at the cusp of it and my rating falls somewhere between 4 and 4.25. The ending HURT ME like everything happening at once and so many deaths, SO MANY DEATHS. I literally have no idea what's going to happen in the next book and I'm scared. IDK HOW TO FEEL ABOUT THE ENDING MAN

Ivan

OH MY!! What a way to continue the love I had on the previous book. After reading this, I finally realized that I'm in love with her writing! Her stories are fast-paced, yet never miss the world bulding, the characters development, and of course-- the romance (which is very little here and I'm glad it is). 

Adelina, the main character, is also the villain and yet I could understand why she behaves like that. I like how badass she is, but I also like that there is still softness in her heart for her former friends (at least she thought). In fact, I want the Daggers to apologize to her, to understand her. 

Marie Lu has crafted her characters beautifully here compared to the Legend series. More characters are present here but I thought they played their roles very well for the story's progress. Need I mention that I could see resemblance on the anime  Charlotte?  haha!


Anyway, book three, please come sooner!

Enjoyable if you don't think too hard. Also because we have a fmc villain.

alexandra

i'm so frustrated and confused WHAT THE HELL MARIE LU UGH

(i'll have a full review up soon!)

"Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her. Now Adelina Amouteru is turning down the bitter path of revenge. Known and feared as the White Wolf, she searches for other Young Elites to build up her own army. Her goal: strike down the Inquisition Axis who nearly killed her. But make no mistake -- Adelina is no heroine. Her powers are growing beyond her control and she trusts no one. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can she be good when her very existence depends on darkness?" -- Back cover.

The Rose Society

Fatima Kadri 

Beatrix Haase

I liked this book so much better than The Young Elites by Marie Lu. I felt like it was much stronger than the Young Elites. 

Adelina became so much darker in this book that it kind of makes me feel really odd. I really like Adelina and I love her character but she just can do stuff that makes me think, "Yeah, okay, I guess you can think like that." I feel like there was like an odd feeling whenever I read her like that. 

This book was really good though. I thought that Marie Lu had a strong feeling for all the characters in this book. I feel like Adelina, Violetta, Magiano, and Sergio are awesome. I loved them. I felt like they had this really cool connection. Adelina has feelings for Enzo you can tell, you can also tell though that she has feelings for Magiono. Even though she doesn't see it. 

5/5 this book was so much more powerful in this book then the 1st book. The characters and the plot is really coming together and I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out. 

xoxo,
Bebe

Jamieson

"Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all."


It's only taken me five months to review this! Everything is fine!

When I read this trilogy in January I instantly fell in love with it. I was shocked I'd heard so many negative reviews because I adored it - the tone, the characters, the plot, the complexity and the darkness of it. Six months on I still do feel as much passion and love for this series as I did then - and I really want to reread it even though I just finished it. So I think thats a testament of how much I truly do enjoy this series. 


  
  

  


( by bpdrosalies on tumblr)

The Young Elites is a dark fantasy following Adelina Amoteru, a girl who finds out she has the power to create illusions. In this high fantasy world, a plague swept through the land years ago and deformed those who were afflicted, but it also gave some of the afflicted powers. Adelina, one of these so called "malfetto" joins a team of other powered teens called The Young Elites. 

The Rose Society has a much darker tone then The Young Elites, and follows Adelina down a path of destruction and chaos - both her own destruction and those who have wronged her. Plagued by dark thoughts and fuelled by her own rage - Adelina completely destroys the naive girl she was in The Young Elites and develops into a leader and power of her own, she's most definitely a force to be reckoned with. 


  “Fear motivates, more than love or ambition or joy. Fear is more powerful than anything else in the world. I have spent so long yearning for things—for love, for acceptance—that I do not really need. I need nothing except the submission that comes with fear. I do not know why it took me so long to learn this.” 


I absolutely adore this series for it's complex characters and subtle characterisation. The series focusses heavily on the characters morality and their relationships with eachother. This is an anti-hero story and journey, and some have even described it as a villain origin story. Those descriptions feel authentic to me, but it is more subtle then that. The portrayal of every character even the "good" ones as being morally ambiguous excited me - I liked that their characterization isn't in your face, and the inclusion of Adelina as an unreliable narrator made the lines on who you should trust and not trust a little blurry. 

It's also a really diverse series Adelina and her sister are both dark-skinned woc and Adelina is vision impaired. There's a side relationship between two female characters, and Magiano - a new character introduced and Adelina's love interest is a black moc. Raffaele is a bisexual moc and there's also many other side characters who are poc. Lots of the characters also have physical disabilities caused by the plague. I love this kind of diversity, especially in fantasy. 

The plot is exciting - we see Adelina going out and assembling a new crew to rival the one left behind. We also see some darker themes emerging - necromancy, war and destruction. I adore large cast stories, so the introduction of another group was a huge plus from me. There is plenty of emotion here too, scenes that made me genuinely upset or feel deeply for the affected characters. I am in awe of Marie Lu's ability to create such great scenes - whether they be action, romantic or emotional ones. 

I also enjoy the subversion of tropes in The Young Elites. For example, the "coming for the throne" trope we always see -- a ragtag group of people are going to overthrow the oppressive regime and kingdom and take control of the government. This is completely subverted, with Adelina - an oppressive and cruel monarch coming to overthrow a legitimate government. I also really liked the parallels and commentary on the treatment of minorities in our own society and the consequences people experience personally from being oppressed, abused and mistreated. 

Adelina is a unique and interesting main character, who's unapologetically nasty and knows it. She definitely struggles with herself a lot, but she's an incredibly powerful woman who has suffered and been mistreated but has come back for everything and I do think her character is really complex and often people don't see it that way which is such a shame. She's a great character. 

I also love the side characters so much, especially Raffaele - who's honestly 
  A BISEXUAL ICON
 But I love his character so much, and how he was introduced as the 'wise' and 'caring' adult figure of the group - but how his character is inverted and twisted and revealed for what he truly is - a little manipulative, ruthless and powerful in his own way. 


  

( one of my favourite pieces of fanart EVER by itsiparwing on tumblr)

I honestly adore this series it is like crack cocaine to me. Everything about it I find enjoyable and exciting and fresh. 

Marie Lu masterfully creates worlds and people who surprise you and make you care for them even though you know they're not the best people ever. The Young Elites is an exciting and unique series in the ya genre, which portrays characters who constantly flicker - they're eternally ambiguous and just when you think you're looking at them the right way they do something to surprise you. 

I have such an eternal love and appreciation for this series, and it saddens me that so many people dnf it since I don't understand that at all. I cannot wait to finally buy these books (need them in my life and line of sight) and to reread them probably over and over. 


  “Why feel guilty for something that isn't your fault?
Because I loved him. And now he is gone.”

Ivy X

I liked this a lot more than Young Elites. Why? Adelina has grown more powerful and she learned to work with her powers. She recognizes what she was not doing in the first book but continues forth with her warped way of viewing things and trying to make things adapt to her. She has stopped adapting to the world around her. 

I loved the many different plots and Enzo's reappearance. I loved how it was one scheme upon the other. Giulietta's character was short-lived but she was such a fascinating character to me. She was so calculating and the glimpses into how she tried to poison her brother as children shows that she has darkness and ambition in her that would be amazing to look into. 
Her relationship with Teren was so interesting too. They were constantly struggling between different ideals, different strategies, and so forth. Giulietta is calculating while Teren blindly believes in God's will to rid all malfettos. Their differences ended up with Teren turning on Giulietta due to Adelina's illusions. 
But the way Teren acted upon realizing what happened was very heartbreaking. He was brainwashed into his mindset by the very woman he loved and then he couldn't comprehend/accept why Giulietta would suddenly go against everything she's told him. Then he turned on the woman he loved because of another malfetto which only fueled his anger. But in the end, when he couldn't win the fight, he falls not because he lost the battle but because of heartbreak. That's why I think there should be a novella about Giulietta and Teren. Their relationship is so complicated and both of their characters are so different and interesting. 

I also liked Adelina a lot more in this book because she learned to rely on others and also because she completely went crazy. It's a weird reason to like someone. But there is something so fascinating about someone who has gone insane. There is something so dark and sinister about her that made me fall in love with this character. She's hearing voices in her head and seeing things that are twisted and scary. She's justifying her own actions and wronging others because of her own delusions. Especially at the end. She is starting to go batshit crazy. The beauty of a lot of stories in regards to royals is when their life seems picture-perfect but is in fact not. Giulietta's weaknesses as she stood high up in the throne brought her her downfall. Adelina's need for her powers to sit on that throne is causing her to go crazy. Adelina's character is very similar to Queen Levana (from the Lunar Chronicles novella). They both think they have the best interests at heart and they do all the wrong things for love only to go crazy. Then they both end up on a quest to kill, destroy, and to get revenge. I love how Adelina begins to realize she's losing grip on herself when Violetta leaves and then she is triggered by the way everyone looks at her like she's gone mad...and instead of trying to fight this darkness like most protagonists would, she gives up on herself and dives deeper into the darkness. The crown she wears is what many desire for but it is a hollow crown and brings no satisfaction. 
There's something so beautiful and complicated about the ending. You just want to see how crazy she gets later on while trying to hold on to her allies, her powers, her throne, and herself.

Pada suatu ketika, seorang gadis memiliki ayah, pangeran, dan sekelompok teman. Kemudian mereka mengkhianatinya, dan dia pun menghancurkan mereka semua. Setelah terusir dari Perkumpulan Belati, Adelina Amouteru membuat tandingannya, yakni Perkumpulan Mawar. Di antara para Elite Muda yang berhasil dia rekrut ada Magiano Sang Pencuri dan Sergio Sang Penenun Hujan. Dengan bantuan para Mawar, Adelina bermaksud membalas dendam pada Teren dan Aksis Inkuisisi, serta merebut takhta Kerajaan Kenettra. Ini bukan hal mudah, karena Perkumpulan Belati bekerja sama dengan Maeve, Ratu Beldain yang juga mengincar takhta Kenettra. Ketika pertempuran besar semakin dekat, Adelina tidak hanya harus menghadapi musuh-musuh dari luar, tapi juga dari dalam dirinya sendiri. Terkadang dia tidak dapat mengendalikan kekuatan, dan ilusi-ilusi yang dia ciptakan berbalik menyerangnya. Bisakah Adelina menuntaskan aksi balas dendamnya sebelum kegelapan menghancurkan dirinya? [Mizan Publishing, Fantasi, Novel, Terjemahan, Fantasy, Indonesia]

The Young Elites #2

Stef

After finished this one, I just wanna give a lot of hug to Adelina. 😭😭😭😭 

Full review to come soon~ I need to finish the last book in this series and wrap up my all dark feelling after read this one. 😭

Emily B

3.75 STARS:

This is an interesting case for me. I read the first book years ago and just never continued the story. I didn't reread the first, but I did look up a summary and remembered quite a lot somehow, so I was able to follow easily. I think I liked this about as much as the first.

There's really not much wrong with the book. The plot is mostly intriguing, the characters are interesting to follow, and there are plenty of twists. I also appreciated the new characters that were introduced, and I felt they added some interesting dynamics. I think the reason I'm lowering my rating this much is simply because the second half was far more intriguing than the first. For the first half, I ended up liking other people's POV chapters more than Adelina. This was strange for me, because usually I cannot get enough of murderous women in my stories.

 I think it might have been because of two things. First, the other chapters are in the third-person. For some reason, I felt that this decision made those chapters seem more mature than Adelina's first-person. Second, for the first half of the book, I just found their plot lines more interesting. Adelina doesn't really do much in the first half.

The second half is why I raised my rating from a 3 star. Things finally started happening with Adelina, and I found myself much more invested. The story suddenly seemed to get darker, and the last few chapters were non-stop action. I also really liked where the ending left off. It was satisfying, yet left some things open for the sequel.

Overall, I thought that this was a solid book. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would, but I think I will eventually finish the series. I'd check it out if you're interested. It's definitely not bad!

tina

If I could describe The Rose Society using colors, I'd use the colors black and gray. 

The aura of this book was so dark. Darker than anything I've ever read. Witnessing Adelina be consumed by the darkness was so hard. My heart ached for her and for the other characters. 

I did really enjoy this book, I just didn't like what was happening to the characters. They're basically on the verge of destruction and it's just so hard to witness that. I do actually think that this is better than the first book. It has more action on it, and Adelina's scarier here. 

That last part gave chills to my whole body. That part was so freaking scary. And it just builds up a lot for the third and final installment. I do have theories for this book. I think I know how this is going to end but I don't want to quickly conclude that that's what's really gonna happen. I mean, we'll never know. Authors are unpredictable. 



01/24/2016:

I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED. 

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. 

I JUST CAN'T.

*SITS ON THE FLOOR, THEN STARES AT THE WALL*

*ROCKS BACK AND FORTH*

HOLY CRAP. THAT WAS BRILLIANT.

This was sooo much better than the first book! Adelina is a reluctant heroine no more, and I enjoyed the extremely dark vibes she sent my way. I NEED BOOK THREE ASAP

Kelsey Joëlle

Unfortunately this book wasn’t as good as the first one in my opinion. It was still a really strong story with fantastic characters and a good plot, but it felt all a bit.... dry. I don’t know how to say it differently. It took me a while to get trough the book, just because it was not as good as I expected it to be. I’m happy I’ve finished it though, because it was worth the time. I enjoyed the ending and I will read book three

Thais Souza Passos

** spoiler alert **
           OH MY GOD!!! JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH!!! THIS BOOK GOT ME SO #!@#$%$@!#$@!#$$ 
Let's talk about how much Adelina grew from the first book to this. Let's talk about how much anger and hate and darkness she has inside herself. Let's talk about HOW BADASS SHE IS IN THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! AND OMG, AND ENZO COMING BACK, AND FIGHTING HER, AND WHEN HE REMEMBERS HER, AND THEN WHEN THEY FINALLY REALIZE THEY CAN'T BE TOGETHER!!! AND HOW ABOUT LUCENT AND MAEVE!!!!!!!!!!! AND TEREN E GIULIETTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND MAGIANO AND ADELINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 HOLY SAINTS, I AM SCREAMING SO HARD RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR EXISTING, SHOUTING CAPITALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book was SO GOOD, I don’t know if I like it better than the first one or not, but, I definitely laughed a few times, however, this book completely BROKE ME! I did not see any of the ending coming, Whenever I had had like 50 pages left I was beginning to think that I wasn’t going to cry during the finale, 

(I have to admit I cried before the ending came)

I was wrong, but, if you like fantasy, YA, a bit of romance as the subplot, definitely give this trilogy a try, it’s honestly one of my favorite things I’ve ever read, because of how different it is, also, I’m not sure if you could label this book as a part of the love triangle trope, but, I guess that’s not really happening anymore.... 

Britney lace

This book was SO GOOD, I don’t know if I like it better than the first one or not, but, I definitely laughed a few times, however, this book completely BROKE ME! I did not see any of the ending coming, Whenever I had had like 50 pages left I was beginning to think that I wasn’t going to cry during the finale, 

(I have to admit I cried before the ending came)

I was wrong, but, if you like fantasy, YA, a bit of romance as the subplot, definitely give this trilogy a try, it’s honestly one of my favorite things I’ve ever read, because of how different it is, also, I’m not sure if you could label this book as a part of the love triangle trope, but, I guess that’s not really happening anymore.... 

Gisela Ayala 

I know we are supposed to cheer when good triumphs over evil or when love conquers all, but... I find myself rooting for the darkness that is in Adelina to take over. How is that possible? How does Marie Lu take us down this dark road and want it? I thought the first book was dark, but the second one is definitely darker. 

Adelina is coming into her powers more and more each day. All she every wanted was to be a part of a group, feel wanted and appreciated. All she got was betrayal, and I don't blame her for going down the twisted path she is on. Just like Adelina, I find myself reasoning with her darkness and like it when she fuels her bitterness. Her reasons are genuine but don't get me wrong, it does get scary. But I also understand, and maybe from now on I'll understand villains just a bit more than I used to. They are such complex characters, more so than heroes. And who is to say that they aren't they heroes of their story? Adelina seems like a hero at times to me more than any of the other Daggers. She is only doing what most people are scared of doing. Most "good" characters or heroes will try to be the bigger person and not get back at a friend or an enemy even when they get the chance. Oh , but Adelina takes the chance and I love her for it. 

I also really enjoyed her imperfect relationship with her sister and how their characters interacted. Family isn't always the most reliable and Marie Lu definitely pointed that out with Violetta and Adelina. 

And Magiano... sigh.... I need more of him in the next book. 

This book had me cringing and smiling with pleasure all at the same time, making me realize that maybe we all have a little darkness in us if we are able to relate to a character like Adelina or at least understand her.

Sven Test

I loved this one even more than the first! My heart was going crazy over everything happening! It was exhilarating, for sure!

Nicole Dykeman

I really wish I could have read this right after finishing Young Elites, because I literally could not remember what happened in the first book. I definitely waited too long. I read a summary or two to get the gist, and I remembered after that, but I barely remembered characters like Lucent and Gemma. I think that this is why the first part of the book was difficult for me to get through, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars and not 5.

Anyways, I did actually really enjoy this. This entire story is incredibly dark. Adelina is a protagonist that I love to hate. She makes awful choices and does awful things, and I'm at least half-rooting for her even when I don't want to. 

Violetta is a lot more present in this book than the first, and I've decided she's my least favorite. She's incredibly annoying, and I simply don't like her at all. Not in a way like "I hate the antagonist!" But like, "This character always says irrelevant things and I wish they would go away!"

I do love Magiano though. I remember loving Enzo in the last book, but after reading this one, Magiano is a thousand times more my favorite. 

Hopefully I don't wait too long to read the last book.

jess

** spoiler alert **
           This went up a star because of the ending. I love Adelina's character and how terrible she is. I love that she went from ambiguous morality to a character that is almost unambiguously bad - she hurts her sister, she kills her friends, she takes the throne. She kills and she is unflinchingly cruel about it, which is a nice break from the Good/Bad narrative most YA novels have. The ending really made this book, and I am looking forwards to the next installment of The Young Elites.

Livia

** spoiler alert **
           3.5

I'mma just go straight on with pros and cons
Pros
1. So much more action
2. ENZO
3. MAGIANO, our darling walking meme
4. Adelina being a badass villain
5. Violetta
6. A much more interesting plot
Cons
1. Adelina and her 'whispers' annoyed the heck outta me
2. ENZO, why is he treated like that T-T
3. GEMMA deserve better, 2k19
4. Magiano is legit there just to become Adelina's loyal puppy
5. Also also, poor Violetta

Maya Alexandrova &
The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2) by Marie Lu

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Maya Alexandrova &The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2) by Marie Lu

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Maya Alexandrova &
The Rose Society (The Young Elites book 2) by Marie Lu