Me on The Rose Society

Title: The Rose Society
Author: Marie Lu
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

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 flees Kenettra with her sister 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?

The Rose Society is a series of steps closer to revenge, but as Adelina moves, as she acts, she finds she's falling deeper and deeper into the shadows. Into the whispers. But will she be able to stay in control? Or have they already consumed too much of her heart?

Adelina is dark and dangerous, her mind full of whispers that are not in her own voice. Her heart full of anger and plans for revenge against those who have hurt her, harmed her, cast her aside. Tried to kill her. For her, this is the walk down the stone staircase into the darkness, into evil and obsession. Into, possibly, insanity. She pushes and pushes her illusions, weaving them around those around her, harming them, killing them. What does this mean for her mind?

But Adelina's isn't the only plot, the only plan, the only point of view readers can see. There's Raffaele, still hopeful for the future, still grieving for Enzo, still hoping that he and the Daggers will find a way to save the downtrodden of Kenettra. Perhaps he will, with the assistance of this new Queen of Beldain. As somber as the situation is, as dangerous as it becomes, there's still hope in him. Until a quick discovery of his. There's Teren, still feeding from his obsessions. Queen Giulietta, the woman he's been in love with for years, the woman he would do anything for. Exterminating the malfettos of Kenettra, hating them because of the bad omen they represent, even though he is one of them. Even though he is an Elite with an ability. He hated Enzo, he hates the Daggers, he hates Adelina, and he hates himself.

This is a descent into madness, into anger and sorrow and the hard, cold nugget of desire that burns in Adelina. The desire for revenge, to get her own back at Raffaele and the Daggers for casting her out, for placing the blame for Enzo's death on her shoulders. To get her own back at Teren, the one who at first lured her then betrayed her. A must-read, along with the first book, at what turns a victim into a villain and how destructive and damaging the hot thirst for revenge can be. Adelina is heading towards the end, but will she stay in control? Or will the shadows overwhelm her, turning her into their vessel?

(I received a finished copy of this book as a gift.)