The Rose Society by Marie Lu
Genre: Fantasy
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Series: The Young Elites (#1)

Wow. Just wow. I read The Young Elites earlier on in the year and wasn’t completely sold on it, but I was still pumped to see how the story progressed. Can I just say I loved it? Is that enough? Of course not! So let’s go into some of the more finer details as to why I thought The Rose Society was better than The Young Elites. That’s right, no second book syndrome here, folks.

1. More characters. The final chapter of The Young Elites introduced a new and mysterious female ruler, and she doesn’t play a huge role in this book, but she is LGBTQ so YES. The majority of the plot follows Adelina’s quest to find more Elites to create a new band of followers, so there are even more Elites to fall in love with! My favourites are Luce and Magiano.
2. All of the rulers are bad-ass women. I mean, c’mon. That’s incredibly empowering.
3. Love triangles…ish. Totally not a bad thing. Adelina and Magiano are rocking a Victoria Schwab/Maria V. Snyder kind of relationship chemistry. Which I am. All. About. Adelina’s story isn’t one where romance is necessary, but it’s also not something I’m going to mark it down for or anything. The romance is kind of like a gender bend version of Beauty and the Beast – I don’t think anyone would object to that? – so it adds to the story and Adeline’s development, rather than taking away from what’s really important.
4. DARKNESS. Seriously, if you thought The Young Elites was dark then be warned. I didn’t get an overwhelming feeling of darkness from Adelina in the first book, and originally I was a little disappointed because everyone bigger it so much that she would be a protagonist unlike any other. Now, this is true. Adelina’s come such a long way, both in good terms and bad. Without giving away any spoilers, the past haunts her a lot, and she doesn’t really know how to handle that yet. On one hand, she likes it, on the other it’s going to drive her crazy. There’s one scene in particular at the end of the book, where Adelina fights with Violetta, and I was so ridiculously tense. Like, damn, Adelina is not to be messed with. She’s a little bit of a monster, and she knows it.
5. Fight scenes! I always imagine the fight scenes playing out as if they were an online RPG. Magiano: use copy attack! That sort of thing. There’s a lot of battling in The Rose Society. You’ve got Meave VS Adelina VS Giulietta. All of them want the big money. They all think they’re right, and they all think they’re the most powerful. But who is…?
6. Big reveals. There’s one particularly HUGE one about the young elites as a group and I clapped my hand over my mouth in surprise. I mean…I should’ve seen it coming but I just DIDN’T. And now I have no idea how this is going to impact of the final book, but I know it’s going to rock the boat and maybe even capsize it. So read to be entertained, read to be surprised and read to bite your nails and cling to the edge of your seat.

Overall, I am EXTREMELY excited to read The Midnight Star to find out how this incredible series is going to conclude. I have high hopes for the finale because I really enjoyed Champion, so I know Marie Lu can do a bittersweet but satisfying ending. Can I have it now, please?