The Midnight Star

The Young Elites #3

by Marie Lu

There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained.

When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia, Young Adult Fantasy, Fiction, Magic

316 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2016

About the author

[Note: Many apologies, but I'm woefully bad at checking my Goodreads emails! If you'd like to send a note/msg, please catch me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Marie_Lu . Thanks!]

I write young adult novels, and have a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, I was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was an Art Director at a video game company. Now I shuffle around at home and talk to myself a lot. :)

I graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently live in LA, where I spend my time stuck on the freeways.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Not invincible after all, little wolf?"

I only wish this book was longer. After all the violence, emotions and drama of this series, this final installment was a good hundred pages too short for me (and it's not often I say that). True, it pretty much ended the way I expected, the only way it really could, but the journey there has been bloody, twisted, and a whole lot of fun.

The end of the last book threw a dark little twist at us and I couldn't wait to find out more about Adelina's state of mind in The Midnight Star. Would she redeem herself? Would she continue spiralling into darkness, becoming ever more consumed by her desire for power? As this book opens, we see just how far gone she is. Now a powerful queen, she rules with fear and pain.

Adelina, herself, makes this story so gripping. She is the perfect antihero. Despicable, and yet so easy to sympathize with. Lu ties us to her pain and suffering, so that we want her to succeed and find happiness even as she causes so much destruction. In fact, it is the twisted, somewhat evil characters that drive this series. Even the repulsive Teren fascinates. Here, we see more of his story, which develops a complex layer to his loathsome character. I always kind of loved to hate him, and here I also kind of just loved him. A little bit. Shh, don't judge me.

Parts of this book are creepy; other parts are sad, but without being overly-sentimental. The death toll creeps up and all lives lost hit me hard. Lu has gotten better at crafting those perfectly subtle scenes that tug at my heart strings far more than any melodramatic heartbreak ever could. It's quietly sad. And somehow that hurts most of all.

I thought the conclusion was inevitable, though it was no less perfect because of its predictability. No less effective. Afterwards, Lu closes the story with a small folk tale from the future: the immortal story of the White Wolf, who may have been a courageous hero or a cruel villain. Depending which version of the story you've heard.

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[Natalie Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sometimes I can't tell if my madness is what's conjuring these images, twisting my confidence. So I try to ignore them, as always. What does it matter if I'm mad? I have a hundred ships. Twenty thousand soldiers. My Roses at my side. I am queen."

I think the series peaked at The Rose Society. After that spine-chilling ending and months of waiting for The Midnight Star to show (I actually had to wait three weeks more because Book Depository fucked up), the end product seems rather underwhelming. I closed the book thinking, "Is that it?"and didn't spend any more time time pondering over the characters and themes. When I finished Champion on the other hand, I was inconsolable for the rest of the night.

I sort of anticipated the ending, but I didn't expect it go down the way it did. It ruins the dark, morally grey aspect the marketing team keeps selling The Young Elites as. Adelina is evil! She's an anti-heroine! In reality, she's a young girl who lost her way, but always belonged to the light. She's not a villain-in-making; she's a villain looking for redemption. Marie Lu made her a little too sympathetic. Maybe my personal definition of antihero is to blame, but when I think morally questionable, I think Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows. I think Tyrion Lannister or Daenerys Targaryen. The best villains don't seek to redeem themselves because they don't see anything to redeem.



Am I a horrible person for wanting Adelina to stay dead? It would have added to the legend of the White Wolf. Was she a good ruler? A bad one? Depends on which story you hear.

And it's not fair leaving Magiano in this limbo state. She can only return at night, right? What's he supposed to do for the rest of his life? Keep following her through the night, wanting but never fully having?

The Midnight Star is pretty short in terms of finales, too. Only 311 pages. That's usually a bad sign because it means there's not a lot of story to tell, and what little there is will be stretched out like pasta. But here, there's a lot of story that's left out.

Magiano could have been developed more. His backstory, ambitions, and everything that makes a character are barely touched upon. He went from being a clever, loyal thief with his own agenda in The Rose Society to Generic Love Interest #101. The kind that will take a bullet for the protagonist without the much needed development for justification. I suppose he grew closer to Adelina in the year's time between the events of The Rose Society and The Midnight Star, but it ain't canon unless it's on the page.

Raffaele and Enzo, and Lucent and Maeve are other examples. You can't just throw these LGBT couples at us, say, "I did representation!" and not develop them into well-crafted pairings with their own pulse and heartbeat. To be fair, Violetta and Sergio don't get much fleshing out either, so it's a matter of time, not skill. But dammit, if Six of Crows can develop three realistic, individual fandom-worthy pairings in two books, then The Young Elites can do it in three.

The magic/religion elements were just weird. I don't even want to talk about it. Feel free to engage me in the comments though.



Adelina and Violetta's relationship was one of the few bright spots. Even though they're apart for a large part of the narrative, their sisterly bond continues to flourish and grow. The climax is all about them. Not Magiano, not Enzo, not Sergio. Just two sisters. That scene near the end was magnificent and why I ultimately rated this four stars. I like books that tear my heart in two.

"'Sisters forever,' Violetta declared, in her tiny, young voice.

Until death, even in death, even beyond."

My review of The Young Elites
My review of The Rose Society

[Fari · Rating 4 out of 5]

You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.

Good News & Bad News: Marie Lu knows how to end her trilogies with a bang but also knows how to kill her readers. I feel as though I am not even alive anymore. I am writing this review after my death, my funeral was yesterday and I’m surprised how good the Wi-Fi is, considering I’m in a coffin. (Okay, this scenario is running away from me, let’s stop.)

Marie Lu’s endings, both Champion and The Midnight Star, have been very bittersweet. I'm usually hesitant to read endings of series and trilogies because it can all go horribly wrong and ruin the series. However, I now know I really don't have to worry about that with Marie Lu's endings. They do not leave things hanging and give readers the proper closure they deserve but oh my gosh, do they destroy the reader’s heart anyway. In my opinion, Midnight Star was even better than Champion, so if you’ve read that and are about to read MS, strap yourselves in! It felt as though my heart had been broken a million and 1 times but has only been healed a million.

I am the nightmare.

This book starts epically. It is intense and dark and gruesome and makes you heart beat out of your chest. It was shorter than Rose Society and much more fast-paced, which I appreciated. I am not joking when I say that I missed my station and rode the TTC for two more stops before realising that I had been so caught up in an intense scene that I had forgotten about the real world. I am ashamed (because how Fari? why?) but I also applaud Marie Lu (because how Marie? Why?).

None of us are saints. We can all do better.

This book I think was very plot driven with certain characters’ arcs. I do wish we got some more quality character development and interactions, though. The cast of characters in this trilogy is pretty big and I don’t think Marie Lu used that aspect to its full potential.

While we got to know some characters extremely well and they had character arcs to cry and die for, some characters I still barely know the names of, even after 3 books. Some characters I know in depth and some characters I forget exist until Marie Lu mentions them (which might be about once every 50 pages). I’m not talking about minor, minor characters, btw. I’m talking about side characters being treated as minor, minor characters. There are characters from Young Elites group, like Michael, and Sergio from Adelina’s own Rose Society, who I barely know even though they are there in various/most scenes. I just wish that wasn’t the case. I think some important characters were created to serve only one purpose and after that was done, they were there on the sidelines but were rarely mentioned or developed as characters.

After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.

I definitely don’t hate that romance in this book, or even the trilogy, but I didn’t really care for until the very end of this book. Which was slightly strange because I loved both Adelina and both of the guys she showed interest in. (Not that there is a love triangle in this book, just in general in the trilogy) I also wanted more of the queen and Lucent’s love and how they had to fight for it because that was extremely interesting. We got very little of that, which was disappointing; I wanted Marie Lu to explore their relationship just a little bit more. It was only mentioned about two to three times in the book, though.

We are doomed to be forever young.

This book definitely is a step up from Rose Society and receives a glowing 4/5 stars. It was action-packed and feels-inducing but certain aspects I wanted explored were not explored.
If you liked Legend, READ THIS TRILOGY. If you were meh about Legend, still give this trilogy a chance.

[jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘to those who, in spite of everything, still choose goodness.’

ughhh. im not crying, you are… even from the opening dedication, i knew this book was going to be something else.

and i will admit, i really had to think about how i felt after i finished the last page of this final instalment. because this was not the conclusion i was hoping for, or even expecting. but after some reflection, i realised maybe it was the resolution that was needed. and heres why.

even though the storyline doesnt really feel connected to the first two books, even though the world building ive been waiting ages for feels like an out-of-place dump of random information, and even though the death of enzo (and many other characters) was completely glanced over and not properly acknowledged as it should have been, i realised the point of this series is not about any of that. it isnt about the plot direction or the world building. these books are about one thing, and one thing only.

and that is the development of adelina.

those who have read this series will know what i mean. to explain the depth of the changes she goes through would make this review so much longer than it needs to be. in this book, she makes the comment, ‘after a lifetime of darkness, i want to leave something behind that is made of light.’ and i swear, when i read the final epilogue and understood the touching significance of the title, i could feel my heart just swell in size. i may not have liked adelina very much as a character, but i cannot deny that she has had one of the most outstanding character arcs i have ever read. and so to me, looking at this book in terms of how i feel about the conclusion in regard to adelinas story, well, then that is what makes it worth something.

↠ 4.5 stars

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending was so bittersweet. I think I loved it.

The first half of the book was a little boring for me, and I had some issues with several things that happened, but all in all, I'm satisfied with this conclusion. It wasn't what I expected, that's for sure.

And YES I shed a tear or two.

[Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

”The day will come when we strike you down,” she’s saying. “Mark my words. We will haunt your nightmares.”
I clench my fists and fling an illusion of pain across her body. “I am the nightmare.”

Ohh this was so nice to read! Do you remember how much I liked the “Rose Society” because all the characters were so morally grey and no one was entirely bad or good? Well, this final book was even more intriguing and I loved that I couldn’t decide whether I liked them or hated them. XD The funny thing is that some of those characters, mostly Teren and Adelina, are ruthless and cruel while they pursue their goals, yet they are still insecure and wounded by their past. Sure, they maintain a tough and unemotional exterior but deep down within them they are as vulnerable as everyone else!

I think it’s exactly that inner conflict which appeals to me so much! Marie Lu made it impossible to choose a side because if it comes down to it there is no noble or right side to choose. Neither of them is perfect, they all follow their own path and act according to their own set of rules. Admittedly some of them with more compassion than others, but in the end they all do their own thing, weighting advantage against disadvantage, using their people and resources as a means to an end.

This of course led to a lot of distrust and tension between the diverse cast of characters and I wouldn’t be me if I wouldn’t have enjoyed their animosity and distrust with gusto! ;-P I literally live and breathe for situations like that so I was a very happy camper indeed, basking in their potential for conflict. (must be the cunning faerie in me! *lol*) Anyway, let’s not dwell on the faerie that’s inside of me but go to the fun part of my review instead! ;-)

The characters:

Welcome to my “Spoilery spoiler section”! If you don’t want to know what happens in the book I suggest you don’t read any further, because if you do, you’ll be spoiled without mercy. *lol* If you still decide to read on: Don’t say I didn’t warn you! It’s at your own risk! ;-P

Adelina:

”What does it matter if I’m mad? I have a hundred ships. Twenty thousand soldiers. My Roses at my side. I am queen.”

And here I thought that Adelina was already dark in “The Rose Society”. Well, seems like I’ve been wrong. There is always a possibility to step up your game. ;-) At the beginning of this book Adelina isn’t only the Queen of Kenettra but also conquered the Sealands and thus has become the Queen of the Sealands as well. She’s ruthless, harsh and has absolutely no compassion for the people that hurt her so much. In fact she’s become exactly what Teren and the Inquisition were for her and the worst part: She even enjoys it. Talk about monsters that are created! >_< Still, there’s some humanity left in her and every once in a while Magiano manages to coax it out of her. It’s not enough to genuinely like her, but it also makes it very difficult to dislike her for her actions. *lol* Damn! Marie Lu, you wrote her well! XD

Raffaele:

”We were never meant to exist, Adelina,” he says. “And we will never exist again. But we cannot take the entire world with us.” He meets my gaze. “No matter how it has wronged us.”

Ohh, my Raffaele!!! I still love this boy to bits and pieces and this time around we were even able to see a great deal of his inner strength. Enzo’s pain and suffering hurt him so much, yet he still tried to be there for him and did his best to keep him away from the abyss of the underworld. In the end the goddess of death claimed his love though and jeez, how much I suffered with him when Enzo died!!! Despite everything that happened he wasn’t filled with bitterness though. He still tried to do the right thing and took care not only of his daggers but also of the rest of the world. Hell, he was so brave facing the goddess of death! I can’t even!!! I JUST LOVE MY BOY!!! <333

”We are here to save those like ourselves,” Raffaele answers. He must be afraid of her, as are we all, but his voice stays steady and gentle, unrelenting. “We are here to save the mortal world.”

Teren:

”Trusting me,” Teren murmurs, “is a dangerous game, mi Adelinetta.”

I know this might sound strange but I actually felt sorry for Teren! XD Even though he didn’t show it and hid it behind his typical acid comments it was still obvious that the death of Guilietta broke him. He was just a shell of his former self and it truly hurt me to see him like that. There wasn’t much he believed in but he loved Guilietta and he despised malfettos like himself. Within a few moments Adelina managed to turn his entire world upside down and I can’t even imagine the self-hatred he had to deal with while he was imprisoned in his cell. In the end he did the right thing though and I think he might actually be happy now. Well, at least I hope he is. >_<

Violetta:

”You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”

Well, Violetta’s development was certainly unexpected. I mean I expected her to seek out the daggers after what Adelina did to her at the end of “The Rose Society” but I definitely didn’t expect her to get ill so fast. It was so sad when she died and the moment Adelina realized it broke my heart. T_T After everything that happened I’m glad that Adelina decided to trade her life for hers though. I’m sure Violetta is a good queen and with Raffaele at her side they might as well have many years of peace and prosperity. =))

Magiano:

”As he sailed away into the dawn, he made himself two promises.
One: He would always have a name, and that name would be Magiano.
And two: No matter what happened, he would carry joy with him. Almost as if he were carrying her.”

Interestingly enough, Magiano seemed to be the only one who didn’t suffer all too much from the use of his abilities. Was it because he could only mimic the powers of others and therefore didn’t have a specific kind of ability that would have hastened his deterioration? I don’t know, but whatever it was I’m grateful for it. Aside from Violetta he was the only person Adelina listened to and I don’t even want to know what she would have done without his steady presence at her side. Maybe burned everything without a second glance. *lol* Well, anyway! It was really nice to finally get a little bit of his backstory and I soaked it up like a greedy sponge. Poor Magiano though! He would have deserved so much better than what he got in the end. =(((

The relationships:

Adelina & Magiano:

”You paint me as a saint,” he murmurs. “But I aligned with greed solely to prevent that.”

I loved this ship and all their interactions! <333 They could have been so great together if only Adelina’s whispers wouldn’t have controlled her actions so much! *sighs* I really wish they would have had a chance to be happy together but Marie Lu obviously had another story in mind. >_< Gosh, it broke my heart that Adelina is the Midnight Star now and that Magiano couldn’t spend his entire life with her. Still, the legend at the end of the book gave me hope and I want to believe that those meetings actually happened and that they found their way back to each other in the end! T_T So sad and tragic and bittersweet! *sniff*

Adelina & Teren:

”You don’t deserve to wear her face,” he whispers.
I smile bitterly. “Let’s not forget who killed her. You destroy all that you touch.”
“Well,” he whispers back, returning my smile. “Then we have much in common.”

Ha! There is no love lost between those two but I think they eventually managed to make their peace. I mean at the end of the book Adelina hopes that Teren will be happy in the underworld and Teren helped her to survive long enough to restore the balance of their world so I guess they both got what they wanted even though it had a slightly different outcome than they imagined…

Raffaele & Enzo:

”He can sense the agony hovering over the prince, and the feeling scalds his own heart as surely as if he were wounded himself.”

Okay, it’s official! Marie Lu didn’t hear my prayers and decided to crush my ship! T_T WHY??!!! It makes me so sad that their relationship had no chance to bloom and I’m deeply wounded by the fact that my precious Raffaele didn’t even get a single kiss or at least an “I love you.” from the lips of the love of his life! *sniff* I’m so sad; I’m going to hide in a corner and lick my wounds now. T_T

Violetta & Adelina:

”After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.” Both of her hands cup my face. Violetta stares at me with a look of determination, and then she brings me to her and hugs me close. “You are a light,” she replies gently. “And when you shine, you shine bright.”

I loved the relationship between those two! <333 They had their arguments and troubles but through it all that they were still two sisters that cared about each other deeply!!! Plus Violetta truly was Adelina’s conscience! I’m so proud of Adelina for choosing to give her life for Violetta, to give it to her willingly because she loves her sister and wants her to live the life she never had! She could have decided to go back herself but she wanted Violetta to live! That is love!!! <333 That is compassion, a sacrifice and altruism and GAH!!! I’m so proud of Adelina!!! But also sad… so sad that it had to end like that. >_<

Despite my broken heart I still think that this last book was a good conclusion to the entire series. Marie Lu didn’t give me the happily ever after I wished for but she definitely managed to keep my attention and after all the turmoils the characters had to go through she even ended it on a positive and hopeful note. I’m not happy but I’m satisfied and that has to count for something, right?! *lol*

______________________________

PREVIEW:

So I’ve already reached the last book of this amazing series and it feels like I read this in a year! (Which I probably did, because I think I finished the first book at the beginning of this year?! *lol*)

Either way, I’m really looking forward to read “The Midnight Star”. I want to know what happens to those two different groups, especially after the ending of “The Rose Society”.
Plus you all know why I actually read this series.

The reason is one name and one name alone:
Raffaele Laurent Bessette

I love him so damn much! <333
This said, let’s jump right into the fun! ;-)

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75, but I'm rounding it down to three all the same because Marie Lu can do so much better, and this book left such a bad taste in my mouth, I'll need a Nutella-based diet for the rest of my life.

"These are only rumors, of course, and make little more than a story to tell around the fire. But it is told. And thus they live on."

•The first book in this series, The Young Elites is among my all-time favourite books. This simple fact, I think, tells enough about how much I cared and how many hopes I had for this conlcusion. This obviously compels me to wonder, were said hopes too high? Was I too enthusiastic? Was it my fault, or the book's? Because, my fellow readers, The Midnight Star felt very- no, way too underwhelming.
If you rapidly scroll down this page, you will find that, when the title was revealed, my reaction was one of excitement, yes, but mixed with some perplexity about its utter diversity from the other two in the series. As I said in that occasion, it is my impression that it has literally nothing to do with those. It doesn't even seem to belong to the same series. Well, now I can say that the title was indeed symptomatic, as The Midnight Star, under many points of views, has little in common with both The Young Elites and the The Rose Society. The continuity was disrupted. The causes/reasons are manifold.

•I've already pointed out that Marie Lu, in this book, appears to be rather below par. In this final installment, there's none of the liveliness of writing and characterization she let us get used to: the characters are dull, the storytelling is dull, the plot is dull. The only things worth mentioning that actually take place and happen are all condensed in the last page, and they don't even feel squeezed - but probably we should have gleaned that, for the author, very little was left to said. From where? The number of pages, basically a handful of them, which did make me suspicious at first. And indeed, the shortness of the book does not help in softening my judgement - if anything, it adds to my confusion.

•The dynamics between the characters used to be subtle and yet soulful- absolutely spectacular. Where did that go? All of them do exactly what you already expect them to do, say exactly what you already expect them to say. Boring. Nothing at all is added to their characterizations, with no exception. Magiano and Adelina, for one thing: I did not think it as possible to feel such a black, sad nothing for a couple I used to ship so hard. And further on, where is Adelina's depth? Where is her struggle? And I do not need to be showed illusions and nightmares. Show me her heart, because I cannot see it anymore.
For heaven's sake, where is the pathos?

•The deaths, not necessarily in chronological order.
1) Enzo'd (definitive) death: horrifyingly anticlimactic. And throughout the previous chapters, this character (I'm not even revealing the gender; see how good I am?) had barely uttered a word. If that's the right way to handle a character, I should probably stop studying literature because clearly my efforts have been devastatingly fruitless up to now.
2) Teren's death: it seems almost wrong to even comment on this one because this character basically had no role in this book. It was there, but nothing would have changed if it weren't.
3) Violetta's just-joking-death: so let me understand, I really am supposed to think it didn't happen only in order to provide an excuse so Adelina's kind-of-death could happen?
4) And finally, Adelina's death. I must admit I am rather conflicted about this one. I won't try to say it wasn't beautiful in its own way, but I can't help wondering, was it necessary? Or better, was it necessary like this, in this circumstance? What I mean is, it was pretty obvious it was going to happen. I was prepared, I was even favourable to it - I knew it was one of the ways, the most powerful one at that, in which this ending could really become meaningful. But the way it happened- it was just trivial and trite, run-of-the-mill. It was supposed to be such a strong and significant act, and its supposed-ness was exactly what made it devoid of significance. Like, you tried so hard, but in the end it didn't matter.

•(Part of the following criticism, I acknowledge it, is due to my very personal taste, so feel free to not consider it if you're trying to decide whether to read the book and you feel you don't mind about this specific detail.)
The thing is: why do the gods obviously have to win? Not counting the fact that the divine element was trotted out a bit arbitrarily, in my opinion, just kind of like when all the cutest guys already have a date for prom (and would never have so much as looked at you in the first place) and you've got to settle for the one mediocre offer you get. Anyway, the point is that the gods win, men submit. I do not agree that that should be a given, also because (and here restarts the wannabe-objective critique), is it really believable that not one of the most powerful Elites in the known world even just tries to think of a way around it? In a rush to get to the (rushed) conclusion, everyone, the author for one, forgot what "alternative" means. Too simplistic, too clumsy, too hurried. And, for my taste, too preconceived too.

•What I utterly adored was the idea of the story that lived on. That's a motif I've always loved. It was physiological.

➽ Until I put down all the things that had bothered me, I hadn't realized The Midnight Star had left me so disappointed. The Elites series still is and will remain one of my absolute favorites, but I don't think I could ever get back to thinking of it in the terms of sheer perfection I associated it to before. This ending was handled far too sloppily for me to turn a blind eye, and I won't recover from this quickly; but I'll sill kill everyone who dares deny Adelina Amouteru is one of the greatest and best-written characters of young-adult literature.


PRE-READING
EDIT 30/07/16: First chapter here!
http://www.bustle.com/articles/171783...
I am afraid to read and I'm dying for it at same time. How is that possible?

EDIT 25/01/16: I feel like this title has absolutely nothing to do with the other two but I like it all the same.

EDIT 14/11/15: This one scares me so much it's actually giving me nightmares. I swear it is. Marie Lu has stolen my nighttime. Now tell me, how on earth is that possible?
Man, this woman.

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘]

I'm glad to inform you of the creation of the Official Magiano's Protection Society!

Don't hesitate and join now! if you think you satisfy the required conditions!

➊ You think that sarcasm makes everything better.

➋ You have a soft spot for tricksters and thieves.

➌ You agree that really, stealing a formidable lute is an achievement to be proud of (DUH).

➍ You love your inner darkness as much as the next person (maybe more), but you reserve yourself the right to fall for the adorable (but mischievous) half-mad* light all the same. Alright, rooting for Adelina to be darker (this is me) and for Magiano to not suffer can seem impossible far-stretched, but hey, I love my contradictions.

Welcome, everyone.

* This remains to be seen I don't care I love him.

[Kainat 《HUFFLEPUFF & PROUD》]

“We are doomed to be forever young.”

The Young Elites.

The Rose Society.

I DO NOT MEAN TO DISCOURAGE ANYONE BY THIS .
This is just me being overprotective. Even though i enjoyed the first two book immensely, i will not be finishing this series. I spoiled myself about the entire book, and i couldn't be more happier that i did. I have already returned my book back to the store.

Farewell, Master Teren Santoro, and MI ADELINETTA. <3
This is not what i wanted for you,
and i refuse to accept this horrific end.
Goodbye, my young elites.



Pre-review
Just gonna say it right now: I don't like Magiano. DO NOT CARE ABOUT HIM AT ALL! I don't think he is funny. I do't think he is charming. Even his name is stupid. I find him pretty annoying. TBH i pretty much dislike everyone except Teren and Adelina.

[the burning dreamer. · Rating 2 out of 5]

PHEW.
Why, if that wasn't the most laborious reading process of my life if ever I had one.

...okay, that's an exaggeration.
(noitsnot)

“The whispers taunt me. 'Why? Why?'

It’s a question they ask over and over again. And my answer is always the same.

'Shut the fuckity fuck up.'

But no matter how many times I answer the whispers, they keep asking, because they don’t believe me.”

(okyesitis)

Miiiight have tweaked the quote a little bit there, but that's how it bloody should've been. Sorry for just spoiling literally 70% of the book, but this is for your own good. I shit you not, you cannot go five pages without Adelina and her damn whispers and illusions plaguing you once again AAARGUUGHHHHH.



How is it that a writer manages to give me the story I wanted and I'm still left bored and unsatisfied? Bad writing, that's what I tell you.

NOW BEFORE ANYONE DECIDES TO RUN AT ME WITH A BATTLESWORD, HEAR ME OUT. I gave her a shot, I really did. But after reading three books, I've realized that while she's got imagination on her side, Marie Lu is simply not a good writer. (Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion and not the holy universal truth. )

Her one redeeming quality lies in the fact that she can create a YA-perfect story... she just doesn't know how to tell one. In a way that doesn't hold the power to bore you to death at least.

Bland writing's been a constant throughout the entirety of the series, so you must be wondering, what made The Rose Society so special for me? (92.8% chance you're not actually wondering that but hey, now you know.) And the reason behind that is simple: that book made me FEEL.

No, it still didn't have much improvement to offer in the writing department, but at least there were characters to make up for it. Characters with complexities, with evolving relationships and most significantly—people worth caring about. I found myself forming a connection with sweet ol' Magiano, a brilliant new addition to the crew; with Violetta, who I gave about 0.1 shits about before; with Enzo and what could have been; with Rafaelle who just really, really needs a bear-hug; and heck, even with Teren of all folks, someone I'd loathed with a passion in the first book.

And then those very same characters took a nosedive right into flatland here. I honestly don't know why or where or what went wrong with this one, but everything just fell flat. Anything remotely exciting only pops up in the last fifty pages or so and by that point, I'd already stopped giving a damn about anyone. Especially Adelina. There are antiheroes you inexplicably seem to love and then there are antiheroes you just want to use as your personal punching bags.

I'll let you guess which category she falls into.



It's like the longer I kept on reading, the more I ceased to care. Which is why it ended up taking three whole painstaking months to finally get this jig over with.

Despite all the shit that happens along the way, the fault lies not within the story, not at all. Truth be told, this is almost exactly the way I'd have ended it myself! But none of that matters when the execution isn't done right. You can use all the right ingredients and mix it as you like, but only a good chef knows how to spice it up and present a dish that makes you go W O W. And with what we get in The Midnight Star—let's just say Gordon Ramsay would not be amused.



Final rating: 1.5 stars
__________________________

Book songs: Exhile & Brother by Eastghost
__________________________

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie and say this wasn't a sad book. I also felt like maybe there should have been a little bit more to it. I felt like it was - here you go, some evilness, some prophecies, some deaths, the end.



That being said, I'm sort of glad it didn't drag out like some books. Marie Lu got to the point of all things and brought it to where it was supposed to go. I really want to put a wonderful myth from the book in my review but that will give away too much.

I have loved Adelina through the whole book. Yes, she did evil things, but look at all the evil things that were done to her and her kind. She just couldn't forget them. She also had kindness in her. We see in through out the books here and there and especially in this book. She did one of the most selfless acts of all time.

I have nothing else to say. I'm just sad. But that myth I was talking about, it's the only bright star for me. When you read the book you will know what I mean.

MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List

[Drcong O ' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I refuse to accept this ending, goodbye.

[Stacee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved Adelina from the very beginning of this series. I love that she's ruthless and doesn't apologize for going after what she wants. Sure she's maybe a bit crazy and definitely mean, but I have rooted for her from the first page.

This portion of the journey is not what I was expecting. I love where Marie went with it and the choices she made.

Yes, I'm being intentionally vague.
Yes, I had a serious case of the feels.
Yes, it will be worth the wait.

**Huge thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Kassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful conclusion to this series, I love how Marie Lu does endings <3

[Andreea Pop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might edit the rating later, because I am influenced by that wonderful ending -- which, to be honest, was the highlight of the entire book. I'm a bit conflicted, yet satisfied. I think I expected more, possibly from the whole series. My initial expectations and desires, to read a villain's tale, one filled with cunning and cleverness and ruthlessness, did somewhat materialize but combined with a dose of madness that partially stripped the beauty of the concept. I'm not gonna lie -- in terms of plot, this finale was not grand. It seemed to drag and when the novel is quite short, you have a double problem. Sometimes I turned reading this into a chore, because I knew if I put it on indefinite hold, I'll never finish it.

The end of The Young Elites journey is bittersweet. My heart broke yet again as certain characters followed their predictable destinies and I appreciated the lovely, heartwarming conjuring of new and past relationships, be it amorous or platonic. Originality and myth is etched into the last pages and I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Good-bye, mi Adelinetta. Good-bye, Roses and Daggers. You were wonderful.

[✨ jami ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Some say that, once upon a time, she had a prince, a father, a society of friends. Others say that she was once a wicked queen, a worker of illusions, a girl who brought darkness across the lands. Still others say that she once had a sister, and that she loved her dearly. Perhaps all of these are true.”

I absolutely adore this entire series and for me, this was a fairly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I think Marie Lu is great at endings, she leaves them open-ended enough you can add to the world in your head beyond the story, but closed enough you have closure and aren't wondering what happened to all the characters. So I definitely appreciated the ending of this series, it wrapped up most of the story and the characters well, but my main disappointment is that I felt some characters stories were left a little hanging and the storyline took a weird direction which I didn't feel was foreshadowed enough.




One of my first issues with this book was that the ending took a little turn towards a plot direction that seemed out of place to me. While the first two books focussed on the characters, and especially Adelina's quest for power, the third introduced a complication and fantasy element that wasn't explored much until this book. While it was foreshadowed a tiny bit at the end of The Rose Society, I still felt a little thrown off when this element came into play - and plot wise it did feel a little messy. It's easy to recover from, and it's not like it's so totally wild it ruined the story, but I did think it threw things off a little.

My other complaint was that I was a little dissatisfied with some of the charaters storylines - specifically Enzo's and Raffaele's and Mauve and Lucents. Raffaele and Enzo just deserved more closure and I wanted more about what happened to Raffaele after - and Mauve and Lucent weren't in it enough.

“You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”

But beside all that I really liked the conclusion to this trilogy. The characters remained as diabolical and twisted as they were earlier in the series - Adelina's arc came to a conclusion in a way I was really satisfied with, and I also really liked the addition of Magiano and his role in this book.

I've always praised this book for it's ambiguous characters and morally grey situations and that trend definitely continues throughout this series. Characters make decisions and change their behaviours and it's definitely open to discussion as to who deserved their ending, who didn't and who is truly good or evil. I love that about this series, and I love that Marie Lu didn't give us definitive answers. The beautify of this series is it's ambiguity and how open-ended it is. I'm so glad Marie Lu maintained that to the end.

The ending of this book is very controversial, but I personally was okay with it and it left me satisfied. This entire series I hold so close to my heart, and I wish less people dnf'ed it right at the start before it really gets good.

This series is full of flawed, complex characters who aren't all trying to make the right decision. It subverts so many tropes and presents us with characters who are motivated by greed, anger, hate, jealousy and fear, but also love and want and a sharp desire for justice. Truly, I think this is one of the most original series in ya, with characters who don't fit into the typical YA tropes but exist for their own benefit and act in a way that purely is to satisfy their own needs. On top of that it has amazing representation, worldbuiding and plot which never got boring for me.

I know I am literally the LAST person to read this series, but if you still haven't you definitely should. It's one of my favourite series now and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

“You are a light,” she replies gently. “And when you shine, you shine bright.”

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Where will you go, when the clock strikes twelve?
What will you do, when you face yourself?
How will you live, knowing what you’ve done?
How will you die, if your soul’s already gone?”

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.”
After her victory Adelina is now queen of Kenettra. But one city is not enough. Slowly she conquers other cities, other countries.
Soon she rules with fear and darkness.
As the war between the two groups go on something dark settles around the world.
Taking something from the Underworld has its price and now the Young Elite sees the world pay its depth.
This book was so filled with action, love, revenge, betrayal and darkness.
We see enemies and allies, and we see them change their positions.
This was a perfect ending for the trilogy. ♥️
P.S. I even cried in the end. And I never cry.

Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adelina is still one of my favorite characters of all time. Marie Lu did a great work creating her. The voices in her head, the illusions, the darkness - all of them are slowly trying to take over control. Conquering all those countries, all these cities and bringing fear over the people, so they obey, take its toll.
The feeling of loneliness, the fear of betrayal is hunting her every step she takes. All of that made her such a realistic, dark and twisted character. Also the character development was just fascinating!
The other characters, new and old, are also created in a perfect, realistic way. I fell in love with a cute thief always looking out for Adelina.

World ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The new cities, the new powers - all of that turns into dust when looking at the places that appear in this book. There’s something beyond the mortal world that mixes with it.
Something that only Elites can see.

Relationships ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“His lips touch my forehead, then my mouth.
And then, as if he understands me better than anyone in the world, he whispers, “It will make this night a little less dark.”
I can only repeat it: “my love” will forever be my weakness.
And the guy saying it to Adelina is it to.
The way he always makes her smile, the way he cares for her and tries to make everything better for her.
He’s probably the most adorable, cute and wonderful guy in this world. ♥️
Even though the relationship between Adelina and her sister is weakened it takes a different level in this book.
In the end they’re both the only family they have.

Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I need to say: this book isn’t filled with as many quotes as the other two books, but it’s still rather filled with it.
The way Marie Lu writes is beautiful and addictive and now she is one of my favorite authors because of that trilogy.
“After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.”

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You are a light,” she replies gently. “And when you shine, you shine bright.”

I'm speechless. The ending is purely beautiful and inspirational. I loved Magiano, Adelina and Sergio, these characters are virile and push the story forward efficiently that I can't see how this book can be this good without them. Marie Lu managed to link the myth of Gods and Goddesses with the superpowers of the Elites very well, power always comes with a prize and it must be paid sooner or later.




This was all the feels before I started reading The Midnight Stars. My heart was full of darkness. I wanted to see Adelina exact her revenge and claim what she wanted, but at some point, I felt it overwhelmed me, the darkness was so thick and crushed my lungs until it was hard to breath. There're many unnecessary fillers made me question the things that happened in this book without foreshadowing, too, and this is why The Midnight Star is my least favorite of all.

“There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.”

One year passed since The Rose Society and Adelina built her kingdom on blood and cruelty. She gets what she wants, yet she always wants more. I had a hunch then that this was going to be her downfall, and I've never guessed wrong. Adelina is beyond redemption as Raffaele tells Violetta. Her heart is so rotten, and I didn't understand why Magiano was still beside her. Perhaps he loves her ? I think so. But there's something between their relationship making me speculate that Magiano is the only one who loves Adeliana, but on the other hand she fool herself heavily that she loves him. Despite the fact that she's just lonely and wants somone to hold on to, in my opinion, her love for Magiano is not real.



As for Terren, his obsession for his queen is deep and struck me in my chest for what he's done for human racial purity. I get attached to his charcter more than the others, even Enzo, his dark side is palpable and captured my attention entirely. Magiano, I loved his playful side, and the way he soothes Adelina broke my heart. His development slowly proceeds, which showed me that I didn't ship the wrong guy.

“She walks to the boy, tilts her head up at him, and smiles. He bends down to kiss her. Then he helps her onto the horse, and she rides away with him to a faraway place, until they can no longer be seen.”

Although Violetta is not my favorite character, she still steals the scene in this book. Her character is a conflict to her sister's wicked mind. While Adelina wants to find her sister among the war she wages, she still blames her for what happened in the last book. This confused me sometimes, yet I could understand why she was like this.

“Even now, decades later, I fear nothing so much as the open ocean at night, with darkness stretching around me in every direction.”

The actual rating of The Midnight Star isn't 4 stars after all, it's more like 3.85 stars for me if I compared this with The Young Elites. But I still enjoyed it. It's a perfect ending to this unputdownable series.



https://goo.gl/z93Sx2

[Anja H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.75 OTHERWORLDLY STARS*

"There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.”

Nope. Nope. Nooooope.
This book has me sooooo damn conflicted, I don't even know where to start with this review or how to wrap my head around everything that's happened and that this trilogy just officially ended!
I don't even know whether I freaking love or absolutely loathe that godforsaken ending, I'm just completely in shock right now.

This is still one of the darkest series I have ever read, hands down. Despite the fact that we saw Adelina change from an insecure girl who just wanted to be loved to a tyrannical, cruel woman, I never really hated or disliked her. That's a feat that not everyone can accomplish! Even though she became so dark and twisted, she was still likeable. I loved that in the end she slowly let go of her darkness again, and that ending was absolutely perfect yet heartbreaking for her at the same time!
Also, don't even get me started on Magiano because I could just rant on and on about how much I love him, but I'll spare you all from that and just say that he's an absolutely wonderful character that I fell in love with from the first moment he appeared. Forget Enzo, I'm team Magiano!

It was great to see all the major characters from all the previous books come together to surpass the big final hurdle that was this book. They had to put their differences aside, whether they were rivals, enemies or friends. I feel like lots of lessons could be learned from these books and The Young Elites will forever go down as one of my favorite book trilogies in history.

The one thing I can say for certain right now is that Marie Lu is one hell of a brilliant writer and I'm reading whatever she publishes next!

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We were never meant to exist, Adelina," he says. "And we will never exist again. But we cannot take the entire world with us." He meets my gaze. "No matter how it has wronged us."

As has been said, we are a part of the books we read, and the books we read become a part of us.

Well if that is true, I can honestly say, a part of me is missing. This book stole a part of me and I don't think I will ever get it back. And you know what? That's okay. It is sad, painful, undoubtedly beautiful and terribly bittersweet; but somehow that's okay.

This book proves to me once again that Marie Lu must enjoy making me suffer. Secretly, she is somewhere hiding away feeding off my suffering. While this book was rather short in comparison to the others, I think it kept the story tight and moving continuously. Though to be perfectly honest I certainly would not have minded a few more chapters. Because I love these characters and this story so much.

As we've come to expect from Marie Lu she takes all the wonderfully complex characters, conflicts and themes we've come to love and really drives them home. This book is nothing short of amazing.

Adelina and Magiano
These two are everything!


“No one is forcing you to stay here, of course, in service to me. You are free to come and go as you wish. You’re a Elite, after all. The greatest of mankind.”

Magino frowns. “No,” he agrees. “No one is forcing me to stay.”
---
“Do you still remember the fire? Under the stars?” he asks, suddenly shy, and I feel innocent for the first time in a long while.

“I remember what we were doing,” I reply with a small smile.

A laugh escapes his lips. Then his expression turns serious. “You asked me whether or not I miss my old life,” he whispers, his voice now hoarse. “Do you know what I miss the most? That night.”

My heart skips a beat, aching in sudden sadness. “And what about the girl you once sat beside, on that night? Do you miss her too?”

“She is still here,” he answers. “That is why I stay.”
---
“You are so full of light,” I say after a moment. “You align with joy, and I with fear and fury. If you could see into my thoughts, you would surely turn away. So why would you stay with me, even if we return to Kenettra and resume our lives?”

“You paint me as a saint,” he murmurs. “But I aligned with greed solely to prevent that.”

Even now, he can make my lips twitch with a smile. “I’m serious, Magiano.”

“As am I. None of us are saints. I have seen your darkness, yes, and know your struggle. I won’t deny it.” He touches my chin with one hand. At this gesture, the whispers seem to settle, pushed away where I can’t hear them. “But you are also passionate and ambitious and loyal. You are a thousand things, mi Adelinetta, not just one. Do not reduce yourself to that.”

As I have said before, Magiano is Adelina’s light. He sees her, all of her, and he is unafraid. He quiets the dark whispers in her mind. He keeps the nightmares at bay. But most importantly, he loves her. Until the very end he loves her, even in death.

“I’m going to follow her, of course,” Magiano says. “As the night sky turns. When she appears on the other side of the world, I will be there, and when she returns here, so will I.”

Enzo and Adelina
I do not doubt that these two loved each other once. But their love was not built to last. This book proves that. Both Enzo and Adelina have darkness, ambition, and fire in their hearts. Neither of them needed more of it. While they may have loved each other, they did not need each other.

And that is reflected quite well in this book, just as Magiano became Adelina’s light, Enzo had found his light long ago.

Raffaele wonders whom Enzo is thinking about. It is not Adelina, but a girl long gone, from a happier time in his past.
---
He turns his head weakly in the direction of the ocean. The black pools in his eyes finally vanish, and a name drifts from his lips. He says it so quietly I nearly miss it. It is not my name, but the name of another girl, one he had known and loved long ago.

Enzo may have been Adelina's first love, but clearly, he was not the love of her life and she was surely not his.

Teren and Adelina
I can't say these two had anything close to a good relationship. But I suppose I can say they had a sort of understanding. Two people who could see the monster inside the other. Two people who were in constant battle with inner demons. In another life, perhaps, they could have been friends.
Teren is dead, and I do not know why I cry for him.
I have killed and destroyed too. I have hurt. Perhaps we have always been one and the same, just as he used to tell me. And now that he's gone, I feel a sudden rush of exhaustion, a freeing grief. His death marks the end of a long chapter in my life.

Raffaele and Adelina
I missed these two. They were so sweet for most of the first book, and then got completely wrecked by the end of the first book and much of second. However, we finally see some hope for these two in this book. Because Raffaele finally recognizes, that despite his best intentions, he hurt Adelina more than he could have imagined. When he turned his back on her he never imagined that that meant saying goodbye to the girl he once knew. Perhaps, if he had helped, embraced her instead of sending her away things would have been different. And a life of what ifs is the most painful kind.

It is my fault, what Adelina has become. My fault that it is too late.
---
The first time Raffaele ever saw Adelina, it was a stormy-wracked night that changed her life and, indeed, the world. He recalls looking down from the window in his Dalia lodging to see a girl with silver-bright hair, conjuring an illusion of darkness such that he had never seen. He remembers the day she first came to his chambers in Estenzia, when Enzo was still alive and she was still innocent, and the way she looked up at him with her uncertain, damaged gaze. He remembers her test, and what he said to Enzo that night. How long ago that had been. How he had judged her wrongly.

Raffaele looks around the clearing, searching for one last figure. He looks high and low hoping for footprints in the snow or shadows in the forest line. He wishes he could still sense the energy of the living, could pinpoint where she is. But even then, he knows that he would arrive at the same answer as the others.

Adelina is gone.
But in the end, I think they finally understood each other, finally forgave each other.

Adelina and Violetta
It's the third and final book, yet I am still not sure how I feel about these two. Actually, that's not true. I know how I feel about them, I just feel like I may be in the minority.

I understand the familial love, truly I do. But still, I cannot bring myself to fully like Violetta. And I think that stems primarily from the fact that I love Adelina so much. She's made a lot of mistakes, a lot, but she led a very hard life. She suffered more than anyone should ever have to, and no matter how many times Adelina or anyone else reminds me how much Violetta loved her, I will say this, Violetta never did anything to help protect Adelina from their father. Violetta may be goodness and she may be light, but I think that is greatly due to the fact that for most of her life all she has ever received is love. Love from her father, love from her sister, from all her suitors and nearly everyone she meets. And while I appreciate her goodness, she lacks the one thing I look for above all else, strength. The strength to stand up for something, the willingness to go against the accepted norm. The will to fight for what she believes and knows is right. It constantly felt like Adelina was the only one fighting, and Violetta was just along for the ride.

And in the end, once again, it was Adelina who made the greatest sacrifice. When I got to the end I was left thinking, what did Violetta do that she earned this end? What has she sacrificed? Adelina, Enzo, Raffaele, and even Teren, all suffered so much. They'd lived through so much and they all certainly deserved better than they got. I suppose, however, that at least in the end Violetta finally did something I appreciated. She finally fought for her sister in her own way. Though I will always feel Violetta never fought for Adelina as much as Adelina fought for her, and that is my problem. Nevertheless, I loved Adelina until the very end and, like Magiano, I respected her decision.

It is important to note that it takes a great book to make me appreciate and fully reflect on its characters and storyline. This book does just that.

Despite my lingering heartache, I can say this book is an absolute gem. I loved every second of it and would be more than willing to ride along for this journey again. As I've said, the ending is very bittersweet. But I truly appreciated how Marie Lu concluded this magnificent journey. The ending made sense, it was in character and this was the kind of story and end that legends are made of.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

On 10/13/15
I just finished the Rose Society, what do I do with my life. Whispers in my head "You wait a year for your little White Wolf to come back and kill more people."
1/25/16
This has a name now.
Cool.
10/12/16
I just finished Midnight Star, what do I do with my life. Whispers in my head "Look at the stars for the White Wolf"

[Nash (all too unwell) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”

5 ⭐

Calm me

Hi. My heart has *kind of * healed and now IM ready to talk abt it. Even thinking abt this book makes me wanna cry. This book was soo good yet so heartbreaking at the same time.Marie Lu has broke my heart.

Enraged me

HOW DARE U GIVE ME SUCH AN ENDING AND EXPECT ME TO BE ALL RIGHT!!!!!!
HOW DARE U..AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH



*takes a deep breath*


Plot

There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina finally has what she wants - Power and respect. Her reign as the white wolf is successful. But she is not alright. Her power is growing out of control and threatening her life. Keeping her away from her loved ones, she grows darker and more murderous.
Forced to join with the members of the Dagger society, she and her roses work hard to find a solution to the problem that seeks to threaten the life of every Elite.
Will she succeed or will she be lost to the darkness forever?


Writing

“You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”

(I already wrote this at the beginning but its sooo good so I'm giving it here again )

If u dont know already from my review for Young Elites and Rose Society , I love Marie Lu's writing and this book was no exception. There was a flow to the story and her characterization is awesome. The plotting of this story is like perfect. Everything in this story has a proper explanation.I really wanna read more of Marie Lu's work so give me some recs in the comments!!


Romance

“She walks to the boy, tilts her head up at him, and smiles. He bends down to kiss her. Then he helps her onto the horse, and she rides away with him to a faraway place, until they can no longer be seen.

These are only rumors, of course, and make little more than a story to tell around the fire. But it is told. And thus they live on.”


Calm me

Wow! The romance was really good in this book. It was beautiful and soo pure. I loved it soo much. Magiano and Adelina are good for each other. every time Adelina went out of control.....Magiano brought her back. They are one of my biggest ships!

Enraged me

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.THIS IS LITERALLY TEH BEST PART OF THE BOOK I LOVE IT SOO MUCH AHHH I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP EVEN IF IT MEANS DEATH
THAT ENDING. ADJSKLDJFHUDAKHCNILS
HOW DARE YOU. MAGIANO AND ADELINA WILL NOW NEVER BE TOGETHER. HE HAS TO WAIT FOR HER LIKE EVERY MOON FR HER TO COME 😨😨😭😭😭


Characters

Adelina

“After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.”

I LOVE ADELINA. She such a great MC. She is morally black and struggles with herself. In this book, we see her fight with darkness and at no point does he gives up. I adore her and I wanna be as strong as her (minus all the killing and evil. Hmm mayb that too)
After tht ending I have huge respect for her. 💖


Magiano

“I’m going to follow her, of course,” Magiano says. “As the night sky turns. When she appears on the other side of the world, I will be there, and when she returns here, so will I.”

I have no words. Literally none.
I just love him too much that it cant be expressed by words. He's soo perfect and good. The way he cares for Adelina even after everyone left her.



Even after she becomes a star, he follows her every night. OMG IM NOT CRYING U ARE-


Teren never in any world that I thought I would like him and mourn him. He's dead nd my heart is broken 💔

Raffaele is - . Idk what to tell you. I loved him in the first. Kinda hated him in the second. Now i love him again. I have come a full circle. But he's a great character!
He killed Enzo, or something in the form of Enzo fro Adelina so that's great!
And don't even get me started on Enzo because I will legit cry -

Violetta is a great sister. I loved her! I felt super bad for her in the previous book but she seemed okay in this book!
She died and came back. I was scared that Magiano and Violetta would end up together, but he moved away and she didn't want him because she was still thinking abt Adelina so that's great!


Final thoughts

As you can see, I have way too many feelings abt this book. The only time I felt thsi sad was when I read Allegiant and War storm. So yeah, if u have read tht, u get my feelings.



But aside frm my feelings I think this trilogy is great work!
There is a lot we can learn from these books! We see strong characters battling difficulties, we see them correcting their mistakes. I loved that here!

So now while I go cry, u better go and read these books so that we can cry together!



Other books in this trilogy

Young Elites
Rose Society



My rating system:

5⭐ - I loved it soo much! New favorite
4⭐ - It was really good! But something was missing
3⭐ - It was nice..but had more potential
2⭐ - I did not like it at all!... It could have been soo much better
1⭐ - Nope. Just No. I hate it

[stu · Rating 4 out of 5]

P.S before we start I'm trying out a new format for my review(s) so hopefully you like it!, and i don't mind some feedback on it! <3

THE MIDNIGHT STAR THE THIRD AND LAST BOOK IN THE YOUNG ELITES TRILOGY A BOOK THAT ALL I WISHED FOR WAS AN HAPPY-ISH ENDING BUT WHAT DID I GET PAIN DUN DUN DUNNN

HALLO HOOMANS TODAY WE ARE GONNA INTERVIEW ME ON THE MIDNIGHT STAR BY MARIE LU

I AM SHANNON UR INTERVIEWER FOR TODAY
(Credits to my best friend in irl life for the name)

Shannon: Hallo
Me: Hai

Shannon: Before we start I'm going to list the trigger warnings for this book for reasons I have no idea but anyway TRIGGER WARNINGS - Child sex work, Hallucinations, delusions, Murder, attempted murder, Torture, Drowning, Forced conscription, War, rebellion themes & Animal death

And also this is full of spoilers so if you want to read this but not get spoiled here what you should not read- the plot explanation, gif break and romance

So now that whatever that was is over, let's start!

Are ya ready to talk about the emotional roller coaster, the midnight star was?
Me: Imma never be ready but Imma gonna have to sometime so ya sure

Shannon: HOOMANS IT'S PLOT TIME!
Me: ALRIGHT LET'S GO! WOO

The plot of the book starts of with Adelina who is queen, and has conquered quite a few kingdoms, she is manifesto as hopefully you guys know now. She was about to get another kingdom under her grasp but she kept remembering what her sister had said that her manifesto powers would be the death of her. Anyway so turns out Violetta was with the young elites helping them a bit. They met and Raffaele said that they had to return all there manifesto powers back to the gods.

Of couse Adelina didn't agree at first but then she did, and they also had to get Teren out of prison to help bc he was needed, so Adelina decided to make him her bodygaurd, which he did a good job of. There were like 7 people who were there bc they needed to be. They travelled to some mountain which kinda like radiated energy and apparently manifesto's were drawn to it.

Turns out that the energy let to the underworld where they sorta met the gods, the gods asked them to give there powers back to them and they'd live peacefully I guess. Of course Adelina was very hesitant about it, but she ended up going through it, she also decided to exchange her life for Violetta bc on the way Violetta died. So at the end Adelina technically died and Violetta lived.

Shannon: GREATLY EXPLAINED, NOW LET'S MOVE ON TO UR THOUGHTS ON THE PLOT

Me: Sounds about right, ok so I loved the plot a lot, it was definatly not what I was expecting at all, so I liked it a lot. I loved the journey that happened and some of the things that were kept a mystery were explained like the gods part which I may of forgetten was part of the trilogy. :D I do think that if the book was longer it would've been better a little as in the plot.

Shannon: WOW-

Now let's move on to something else

Wait let's have a little quote break first, see ya guys very very soon!

~QUOTE BREAK~
Quote break a break where we share quotes from the book, ones that are good not terrible senseless quote, well every once in a while there's also terrible senseless quotes but that's beside the point

The Qu0te Guy aka Billy: For right now we are gonna have 3 quotes

oops wait 2 now it seems, anyways

QUOTE 1:

“After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light.”"
Comments: no comments

QUOTE 2:

“You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others.”
Comments: no comments

Technically difficulties it seems there are no comments for either of the quotes *grunts* Oh well.

SHANNON BACK TO YOU

Shannon: Hallo welcome back, now we're gonna talk about writing style
Me: OOH I'M EXCITED :D
Shannon: GREAT! :D. WRITING STYLE TIME

Me: Well I loved the writing style. It was very addictive and made me finish the book in kinda one sitting, though I wasn't expecting any less from Marie Lu since her writing style has always been one of favs. The writing wasn't hard to understand or confusing at any point which was really good since I didn't have to focus too much and re-read things!

Shannon: I didn't know you could be so insightful wow your full of surprises :D
Me: Thank u <3

Shannon: Now time to move on to your viewers fav part the character well it might not be all of your fav parts but it is mine! Do you have an order you would like to talk about the characters?
Me: Not really
Shannon: Okay so I'll state the character and you'll say your thoughts about him or her
Me: Sounds great!

Shannon: Let's start with Adelina bc i'm curious about your thoughts
Me: Ok, Adelina is well in the beginning i felt sympathy for me *chokes* i know right? but then i don't think she's became evil but I don't think she was the good gal i thought she was. I have a love-hate relationship with her which by now i think was self explanatory.



Shannon: Interesting, now Violetta
Me: I have no idea how to talk about Violetta but let's hope whatever I say makes sense, Violetta is well in the beginning i though she was some pretty little brat, but then i found out she's not she is actually kinda the opposite though she is supposedly still pretty she was not a brat at all, she actually really cared for her sister. So when Adelina got super mad at Violetta and Violetta left i felt super bad for her.



Shannon: Ooh, now let's move on to Magiano
Me: OOH I like him, so this may be easy for me or not, Magiano. So I AM UTTERLY OBSESSED WITH HIS PERSONALLITY BC I LOVE IT, HE'S SO COOL AND OUTGOING. Also I think he looks like an hawaian guy which seems interesting.



Shannon: Wow that was not what I was expecting, how about Raffaele now?
Me: Raffaele, Raffaele, Raffaele, He is well I don't like how he looks, bc I thought he'd look more handsome like the book descibed him, but otherwise I kinda like him like there are points in the book when I want to kill him and there also points in the book where I want to hug him, so how do I put that into one feeling, I can't unless someone here can sum it all up.



Shannon: Cool, what do you think of Maeve?
Me: I have absolutely no idea, but I'm gonna try, Maeve so she is my least fav, bc I just don't like her personality and I also maybe don't like how she looks. She's to stern i don't like that, bc it's annoying and boring



Shannon: Interesting, now one of the Last is Teren,
Me: Teren okay so Teren and I have a very complicated relationship, I may or may not be in love with Teren since the second book when he was evil. I maybe might've been very mad at myself for liking Teren I mean he's the villain the mean guy, but I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH HIM, LOVE HIM A LOTT SO MUCH. so that sums up that. Anyway i also think he has a complex personality which I really like.



Shannon: Well that took an unexpected twist, And now we are finally done since we both agreed that adding Enzo to this wasn't gonna end up being a good talk since he was barely in the book!

I think you and I both need a break so now we are gonna call Jimmy to have the gif break.

ENJOY THE GIF BREAK

~GIF BREAK~
Gif break a break to mess around with gifs with our one and only gif guy Jimmy, well actually it's more like random reactions to things in the book even though we may not have come across the topic yet

The Gif Guy aka Jimmy: Hallo welcome to the Gif Break, yass i did a better introduction than my brother Billy, I WIN BILLY, *Looks at camera embarrassed* So uh well we are gonna have 3, no wait 2 gifs that show a reaction for something in the book.

GIF REACTION 1
This one is for the ending

Comments: Lmaoo

GIF REACTION 2
This one is for when Violetta died

Comments: no comments

That was the tiny Gif break! Now. . .

BACK TO YOU SHANNON

Shannon: Thank you Jimmy! Now we will move onto the juicy part you all have been waiting for the ROMANCE
Me: Funn!

Shannon: Your time to go all whatever you go when talking about the romance!
Me: Great!, the romance was awesome though i'd love for it to actually happen by that I mean Adelina and Magiano end up together because i think there an interesting together and I would be curious to know how there relationship would progress into the one and only love *Daydreams about it*

Shannon: That was totally a wild ride, very wild :), now time for the ENDING The part I've been very eagerly waiting to start. I am wondering what the ending did to break you, you ready?
Me: I will never be ready to talk about the ending of the book, but here we go, the ending. so in a weird way i kinda knew what was going to happen at the end, not because I was spoiled but because the book was pointing towards it, so i guess i wasn't that surprised but I also was very surprised, i think im being confusing now. The ending still shocked me, and i was still sad. Marie Lu has a way to make all her book's ending very surprising or sad, usually ones that leave me emotionally scarred for a while.

Shannon: Wow that such an emotional roller coaster for you and us. Okay now one thing before we start the next thing it seems. Sadly we are getting to the end of the first ever review interview nearly not there yet but still. Now one of the last things today is the kinda one of the most important things the RATING EXPLANATION
Me: Oooh i forgot about this, guess I'm improvising *laughs nervously*

Shannon: Okay this is gonna be interesting, let's start, just so everyone is clear what did you rate it?
Me: I rated the book 4 stars

Shannon: Now that, that is out of the way you may begin
Me: Cool, so i rated the book 4 stars bc i read it so fast, whenever I read a book very fast it means the book is very addictive but also something in the writing is making me read it so fast that probably end up skipping a ton of words and maybe even something that happened. Other than that i found it pretty fast paced which was good, and I loved most of the characters they all seemed diverse which was awesome!

Shannon: Okay, before we end our wonderful review interview of the midnight star I have some last minute questions!
Me: Okay
Shannon: Great! How long did it take you to read this?
Me: 3 hours, im myself shocked
Shannon: Did you lose any sleep in reading this?
Me: Yup it was Saturday night which meant school Sunday and I stayed up till 1 am finishing it!
Shannon: Who's your fav character the person you love does not count?
Me: Uhh. . . Magiano
Shannon: Okay, Who's your least fav character?
Me: Maeve for sure
Shannon: Second last question, Who is your lover from this book?
Me: *Sighs* TEREN
Shannon: Last question, What is your fav piece of fanart you have found for the Midnight Star?
Me: Can you hold it on the screen, please?
Shannon: Sure!

(This fanart is of Raffaele crying over Enzo dying)
Shannon: Well this piece for fanart was totally an amazing wonder!

And that concludes that, well folks we had a great review interview today, hope you enjoyed our first ever review interview!

GOODBYE Y'ALL

Cast of review of the midnight star by Marie Lu: There are also exclusive photo's off the cast members except me
~Shannon~

~Me~
NO PHOTO
~Billy~

~Jimmy~


Names of cast created by:
Shannon: My BFF irl
Me: uhh it's self explanatory
Billy: Niha
Jimmy: Niha

Thanks for reading the first ever review interview by Blobbie/Stuti Studios! :). Hopefully you liked it! :)

If you want you could check out my Spotify Playlist I made on the young elites trilogy Young Elites Trilogy Spotify Playlist

Pinterest | Spotify
------------------------------
MARIE LU, YOU FOUND A WAY TO RUIN ME AGAIN

I’m still processing what I just read, 😳👀🥺🤧

[Anna the Annonymous Android · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
Book Three of The Young Elites series
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all that she’s achieved.

Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite and the very world they live in. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Bestselling author Marie Lu concludes Adelina's story with this haunting and hypnotizing final installment to the Young Elites series.

What I Liked:

***SPOILER-FREE REVIEW. There may be spoilers if you haven't read The Young Elites or The Rose Society, but you're safe in terms of The Midnight Star.***

The Midnight Star is an intense, dark, and thrilling conclusion to a fascinating and utterly unique fantasy series. I am blown away by Marie Lu's storytelling, her writing, and her stories in general. I don't typically read books so dark (at least in Young Adult), but I couldn't resist this series. And I'm glad I didn't - it was a magnificent and heartbreaking trilogy.

This final novel starts about a year or so after the end of The Rose Society (so it's been about two years since the beginning of The Young Elites). Adelina is suffering from the voices and hallucinations and nightmares, even more so than usual. But she's also very successful in her conquests - she is now the Queen of the Sealands, and she wants more. But every newly conquered territory fails to have what Adelina is looking for - her sister, who fled. And every new territory brings more and more assassination attempts, and more cruelty from Adelina. But there is a growing danger that is bigger than conquering lands and finding Violetta, and Adelina will find herself in the middle of the problem. To stop this growing chaos, she must learn to trust the Daggers that she has grown to hate. Sacrifices must be made, lives must be lost, and darkness will threaten to consume Adelina and the world, once and for all.

Upon finishing this book, I was speechless. My heart hurt, but it was also full to bursting. This book is not a happy and fluffy novel. There is only one way that this book could end (with variations), and it could not involve a cookie-cutter perfect HEA. I love how Lu put everything together, how she led readers to the ending, how everything fell apart and then bonded again.

Adelina gets more and more... villainous, shall we say? She's an antihero, a villain in this series. She's a cruel queen; she makes the laws very lenient for the marked, but harsh to the point of death for the unmarked. For all the times that she was hurt by the unmarked, she wants them to suffer by the hands of the marked. Adelina has become a ruthless tyrant, and everything fears her, hates her, and/or wants to kill her. Those who serve her, can they be trusted?

And yet, even though Adelina is quite the villain, we can clearly see just how human she once was, and still is. In her heart, she is doing what she thinks is right, but she is not naive or misguided. She wants to do right by the marked, which means punishing the unmarked (in her mind). We see her struggling with her hallucinations, with her unstable powers, with her feelings for Magiano and her grip on humanity. Honestly, as tyrannical and cruel as Adelina was in this book, she was also extremely human. My heart broke for her over and over. She deteriorates slowly but surely, in terms of her power (and her mind, a little), and it's sad to see how she lets her Elite power and her political power get to her.

This book is told in Adelina's first-person POV, as well as Raffaele's third-person POV. There are one or two chapters that are written in another character's third-person POV, but Adelina's first-person and Raffaele's third-person POV are the most important and most prevalent ones. I loved reading from Adelina's POV, but I also liked seeing another perspective. This mode of storytelling isn't my favorite (dual POV is fine but switching from first- to third-person is a little weird), but I think it works well in this trilogy.

The cast of secondary characters is relatively the same as in the previous books, with a few new ones here and there. I loved Magiano - he is probably my favorite character in the book. I need to reread The Young Elites and see how he came about in the series (I remember him from The Rose Society but not The Young Elites). Violetta is important in this book, but not present all the time. I didn't love her or hate her. Magiano and Sergio, are two of the best characters in this book.

I love Lu's writing, and the world-building of this book. Lu has a quality of writing that isn't quite lyrical, but it flows so well and has a rhythm to it. And her craftsmanship is so perfect - the world-building, the characters, the setting, the plot. Seriously, I'm having trouble finding flaws (not that I'm looking for them, specifically!).

There is romance in this book, and it's probably the strongest and most shippiest in this book than the other two. If you've read The Young Elites and The Rose Society, then you know the pair... Adelina and Magiano. There are some really sweet scenes in this book, which you wouldn't expect because Adelina is so ruthless. Magiano loves her, and while Adelina is purposeful in her cruelty, she loves him too.

I won't say a word about the ending, or even the plot and major events leading up to the climax... just know that you will be interested and hanging on to the edge of your seat and wanting to know how things will end. The ending crept up on me and I knew it was going to happen. But I liked how it happened. Lu knows how to deliver a powerful ending that is equal parts dark and light.

What I Did Not Like:

This isn't something negative about the book, but more of a suggestion - I highly recommend doing a reread of The Young Elites and The Rose Society (or at least The Rose Society) before reading this one. Lu does a good job of getting us back into the story (with recall and whatnot), but it would be immensely helpful to reread the books!

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this book, and series in general. It is a very dark series (seriously though. Adelina is all kinds of cruel and cold), so if you're not into antiheroes and such, then maybe don't go for this one. And if you need a perfect HEA, then maybe avoid the series. The ending is good though, and it's exactly what the series needed. In any case, this is a really well-written fantasy series, and one that I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Rating:

4.5 stars. I'm rounding down to 4 stars (I have to, given certain things that I liked but didn't like but can't say here because spoilers), but I really enjoyed this book. I think it's my favorite of the series? It's hard to say. All of the books were so good!










April 2016 EDIT: COVER!!!!!!!





I. Need. It. Dyyyyiiiiinnnngggg from The Rose Society.

Did you see my review of The Rose Society ? GO SEE WHY I AM DYING.


GIMMEEEEEEEE BOOK THREEEEEE.

EDIT (January 19th, 2016): WE HAVE A TITLE!!!! The Midnight Star!!!!

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

"We can all do better."
We can all do better.

So, here I am, feeling emo as fuck after that ending.



Things I expected from The Midnight Star:

• some sort of a happy, or at least, meaningful ending
• lots of epicness and crazy battles
• something different that wasn't in the other books

What I got:

Well, I definitely got something new/different from this book.... a boring first half. There's a lot of words I could use to describe this series, and I never thought boring would be one of them. I literally felt like nothing happened in the first 50%- nothing of importance anyway.

Lots of battles or epicness? Not reaaally. I mean very few people can fight Adelina, and even less want to. And there was like two scenes where I thought things would get crazy, but still.. the scenes were short and boring.

The ending... no spoilers here, but it left me partially regretting starting the series. I didn't feel anything for a good 90% of the book and then suddenly.. PAIN. Nothing that I wanted to happen actually happened, and I'm cool with that, but either way everything felt meaningless. I'm literally not elaborating on this at all because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, so if you wanna know what happens: continue reading.

SPOILER ZONE, BEWARE:

me when Enzo died:



me when Violetta died:



me when Teren died:



me when Adelina sacrifices herself for Violetta:



So basically the only two interesting and complex characters died, and Violetta gets to live. I really couldn't care less about her, so I was kinda pissed that Adelina did that, but at the same time I know I would do the same for my sister so I can't hate.

It is a little disappointing because I feel like so many authors go in this direction, and it's so meaningless.

In the end everyone just goes back to how they were before the fever, the Young Elites are erased, Magiano lives on while the love of his life is gone, and Violetta becomes queen. And all this happens in like the last two chapters, while the rest of the story is about Adelina conquering lands for no reason at all. So what was the point of everything then?

[Pang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told you, I love the first two books, they are dark and intense in the way that I like and enjoy very much. But this book? I found the plot not that interesting. The book is shot, but take me quite long to finish. How can this happen??? I feel like the characters kinda lack their fascinating persinalities which I love, or maybe the story is just so-so that it didnt grab me.

In spite of I LOVE the characters in this series, but after I face their fates their death. I didnt shocked. I was like "What? really??" I didnt get emotional, I was confused and mad cux I WANT MORE! Their dead should be more epic ugh I REALLY WANT MORE!

Okay, I did get emotional at the climax scenes. Only the love between Adelina and Violetta that made me almost cry. I feel it. But for the other fates and the plot, I dont know how to explain it. UGH.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart is breaking...

[Nasom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm I don't know how I feel about this book. My real rating is between 3.5 to 4. I did like the plot and the unification of previous enemies for the good of the world but I wasn't satisfied with the characters.

There were a lot of supporting characters that were more prominent in previous books but were pushed aside in this. Majority of the book involves Adelina struggling with the whispers in her head. I felt like they focused too much on that. Like we get it! She hears things. It became repetitive.

We did get a glimpse of Teren's (love of my life) past which I liked because I always wanted to know what caused him to be the way he was.

Also, I wanted more romance especially for Raffaele giving his past. I didn't care for Adelina's romance because she was honestly a terrible person (which I guess she was meant to be) and I did not understand why someone as joyous as her love interest would be in love with her.

It ends in a bittersweet way. I knew it wasn't going to end in a happily ever after giving the history of the series so it was expected.

[Mizuki · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. I never meant to give this series such low rating, the writing alone is far more decent than many other YA books out there to say the least. But damn! There is no lying to myself. Due to the following points, The Midnight Star is not a good YA fantasy novel:

(1) The political contexts in the story have gone from poorly construed to down right ridiculous:

If anyone told you The Young Elites series shares anything remotely similar with A Game of Thrones or Mistborn, they are freaking lying.

For example, two newly ascended young rulers, Adelina and Maeve are free to leave their kingdoms behind FOR MONTHS and no one has ever tried to overthrow them!



(2) It really is something when the author admits at the Acknowledgement that the Main Character, Adelina, is actually herself:

I. Have. No. Freaking. Word!

...and being an Angst Sue isn't even the worst of Adelina's problems, I promise you.

I can't stress this point enough: Adelina is not a realistic villain, nor is she a capable ruler, she isn't even smart enough to rule anything, not for long anyway. How she had managed to become queen and hold onto her power is completely beyond me. She is selfish, she is angry with her life, she is angry with everyone and with the Daggers' so-called 'betrayal', she wants to take her pain and bitterness out on everyone; all of the above only make her a butthurt loser, not a villain.

To say the least, I hate losers like her.

(3) The lack of conflicts:

Where the hell is the conflict? I had expected the Elites to fight among themselves but this never happens. Everyone just be friendly with each other and goes on a quest to save the world, no hard feeling whatsoever. There isn't even a final showdown.

(4) The wasteful and meaningless characters' death:

I have expected important characters to die, but I hate how those characters' deaths are delivered: Enzo died in the most uneventful way (I feel that Ms. Lu just didn't want Enzo in the story anymore so she just killed him off without much planning), Teren got killed by some random monsters and he didn't even try to take Adelina and a few other Elites down with him before he died?

Don't even get me started with how Adelina suddenly becomes a saint and sacrifices her life in exchange for her sister Violetta's! This part is just freaking awful!

(5) The romance/the hints of romance:

For the love of Hell, would Ms. Lu just please stop trying to pair her characters up and write romantic interaction among them!? Her 'romance scenes' are always as emotional and touching as a piece of rock.

LGTB couples (mainly Maeve/Lucent and Raffaele/Enzo) are thrown into the story to show OMG this series is SO INCLUSIVE! But in this book, NOTHING has been done about these couples! So, what is the point anyway?

On the side note, I am not convicted by the sisterly love between Adelina and Violetta neither. Adelina is an awful sister anyway and Violetta is so filled with goodness that she is no better than a Mary Sue.

(6) The story feels rushed:

A lot of details and background information have simply been ignored or glossed over throughout the story, the mythology jumps in and out of the story at random, I have a feeling that Ms. Lu had simply become bored and uninterested with her story when she penned this final book.

(7) The ending:

I mean, how unrealistic and ridiculous can this ending get!? as a queen Adelina had treated at least half of her subjects like craps but in the end those same people simply accept Adelina's sister (who is now without any superhuman power) as their new queen?


(Link: http://vampirekiki.deviantart.com/art...)

Plus Natalie's review reminds me the epilogue of this book hints that Adelina isn't dead for real, she somehow manages to become a midnight star and meets Magiano again! What kind of half-hearted bullshit ending is that!?

The Final Words: Marie Lu claims in the Acknowledgement part this series is the hardest thing she has ever written, my reaction to it is still to LOL. I am sorry, Ms. Lu, you can't fool me. I can barely see enough effort in this story of yours to justify your claim.

Six YA books came and went, I'd thought: maybe, just maybe, Marie Lu would have matured as an author, but judging from how The Midnight Star has turned out, it's silly for me to think she would improve.

Review for The Young Elites: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Review for The Rose Society: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Extra: well written YA fantasy novel with remotely believable world building and court's politic: Mistwood and its sequel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)