The Rose Society by Marie Lu

4.5/5 Stars

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books

Published October 13, 2015

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 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? 

Lemme tell you, it has taken me almost a week and a half to finalize my thoughts on this book. The Rose Society was incredibly dark and gloomily pessimistic, something I'm not entirely used to when it comes to novels. Being a girl who is especially bubbly and effervescent, this was certainly something I had to get used to, but I liked it. Marie Lu was able to sculpt Adelina to her liking, changing her from someone with a glimmer of hope to someone completely devoid of light. It was very interesting to see how Marie Lu would play with the plot of this story, especially after the events of The Young Elites, but she beautifully crafted the story to her whelm.

Marie Lu does an excellent job of writing up Adelina to be an antihero - someone who is unlikable, selfish, and just downright frightening. What drew me to Adelina, however, was her drive for acceptance and that fear of losing everything. We continue to venture into Adelina's mind, learning more of her strive for vengeance and the hate that fuels her fire. With this comes the introduction of a new crew. Magiano is by far my favorite character in this book when I'm too busy struggling to wrap my mind around Adelina's motives. He brings a playful energy and is especially lovable. Magiano is able to offer Adelina the acceptance she craves, as well as some well needed light to balance out the darkness in her.

The writing continues to draw me in and startle me, leaving me ultimately astonished and wanting more. When Marie Lu spoke about writing this book, she specifically mentioned that it was her darkest novel yet - boy oh boy did she stick true to that. I was constantly shrinking back in fear of Adelina, yet my heart continued to reach out to her. It was definitely awesome to get to watch Adelina spiral out of control and transform into a full blown villain. Despite how badly I wanted her to reunite with her past, I was grateful Adelina was able to become her own person, no matter how troubled that person was. I felt every ounce of emotion that was put into this book, Lu never once easing on the sentiment. I expect the ending to this trilogy to be entirely heart wrenching and soul crushing. If you're looking for something different from the everyday happy novels out there, The Young Elites books are perfect for you. Enjoy!