The Rose Society (Young Elites, #2)

by Marie Lu

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu comes the second book in the exhilarating Young Elites series

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?

Bestselling author and New York Times proclaimed "hit factory" Marie Lu delivers another heart-pounding adventure in this exhilarating sequel to The Young Elites.

• ISBN10: 0399167846
• ISBN13: 9780399167843
• Publish Date: 13 October 2015 (first published 6 October 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: G.P.Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers'
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399167843

Reviews

[whisperingchapters]

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

[readingwithbecs]

Almost DNFed this one. I just did not care about Adelina. I was much more interested in Raffaele and Teren.
I'm not going to finish this series.

[Stephanie]

Maybe like a 3.5? There is just something here that stops me from not falling head-over-heels in love with this series, but I can't put my finger on it. Fast, easy read though.

[writehollydavis]

Beautifully written, haunting plot, and real characters. This series just keeps getting better!

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

*Review to come!*

[liz089]

I think this is an amazing story. The characters have so much depth and are soooo incredibly fascinating !! I love how the plot continued and kept surprising me !! Such a great series wow !!
Now I have to get the last book !! I have no idea how this is going to end, and I love that !!

[Ashley]

Incredibly strong second book!

Adelina was sooo deliciously evil. Some of my favourite quotes (and these perfectly illustrate how dark the book is):

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

"What is so great about being good?"

"I strike first from now on."

"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 will keep you alive. I will torture you.” My voice drops to a whisper. “Until your soul is dead.”

"Enzo inherited a throne. Giulietta relied on her royal blood. Queen Maeve rules Beldain because she was born to it. But true rulers are not born. We are made."

[ross91]

So, this was way better than the first one!
Adelina is a very interesting character to read about, I liked the fact that for once the main protagonist is neither moral nor perfect and I think her thoughts are always well written and very believable.
I loved Magiano, he is without any doubt my new favorite character, he is too precious for this world and I want him happy!
The daggers... I still don't like them, with the exception of Maeve. She seems interesting and I haven't completely understand her motives yet, so I hope we'll see more of her POVs in the next book.
Teren seemed forced at time, I feel like he doesn't have a place in the story anymore.
I believe this book has improved, but there are still some things that bother me: sadly the descriptions are still nonexistent and I don't understand the reason why Adelina's pov is in first person while the others are in third... This is not fluid at all.
Now I'm interested enough to read the next book.

[Sam@WLABB]

This one is dark. It's really hard standing by as Adelina spirals out of control, and the darkness consumes her. There were so many moments, when she showed signs of a better, lighter Adelina, but those moments were fleeting. This book is all about revenge. Adelina wants to avenge Enzo's death and the Daggers' betrayal. So she assembles her own group of Elites to do the job. One member is her sister, Violetta. We get to know Violetta really well. We get more insight into her past with Adelina, and watch their relationship change and grow. We also meet the famed Magiano, and I love him! (SHIP, SHIP, SHIP - That's all I need to say). Magiano is the light in Adelina's darkness, the calm in her storm. But, alas, her heart still beats for her lost prince (SOB!) Lots of action. Lots of fighting, with a high body count. Lots of plotting and twists and turns. I loved it!

[Mercy]

This book is the perfect example of what I expected about a sequel. I love the characters, the plot, the world building and especially I SO FUCKING LOVE ADELINA AMOUTERU AND HOW SHE'S A GREAT-DARKER-VILLAIN.
Marie Lu, please, do something even more great in the next one.