Book Review: The Rose Society
I give this book 3 ½ stars, rounded up to four. It was crazy and unlike any fantasy book I’ve read before but for some reason I didn’t love it as much as everyone else does.
Continue reading for more details.
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.
Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she flees Kenettra with her sister to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers who nearly killed her.
But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good when her very existence depends on darkness?
Review:
In this book, Adelina has become even darker, devious, and ruthless. She longs to kill and gain power to be the one that everyone obeys and fears. I’ve never read a book with the main character/hero portrayed as this cruel and heartless. It almost felt as if I was reading from the villain’s point of view. Though, I would never consider Adelina as a complete villain as she has the right intentions…she just goes too far sometimes as the darker side of her mind fills her head with the wrong ideas. There were some moments where I really disliked Adelina for some decisions she made but then moments would come where I’d see her more human side of her even through the darkness that was spiraling out of control in her mind which would make me hate her less. The author did a fabulous job creating such a complex character, in general I loved most of the characters in this series so far. They were perfect in the way they were able to play out their purpose in the story properly.
“But true rulers are not born. We are made.”
I really enjoyed the appearance of new characters in this book, especially Magiano’s. While Enzo and Adelina’s chemistry was based on how they went together because both of them were dark and full of power, Magiano balanced Adelina’s darkness very well. While Adelina aligns with Fear and Fury, Magiano aligns with Joy. Enzo fed her darkness and passion while Magiano calmed her. Magiano also supported her completely once she won him over. I wish the author focused a bit more on their relationship because I enjoyed the moments they had together.
“We are drawn to stories,” he says in a soft voice, “and every scar carries one.”
Violetta’s character was also important as she had a big role in supporting Adelina to form this society and reassured her when needed. Her powers of taking away the powers of other Elites come in useful to stop Adelina when she’s losing control of her illusions. Violetta is logical and patient along with being very caring as she wants to help and protect her sister which made her presence needed for Adelina.
The plot of the story was quite interesting and things that happened in this book were different from other fantasy books as I would never expect them to happen in general. Though I did predict multiple things that happened in this book at the beginning so that made the book less exciting for me. Once my predictions were confirmed, it just felt like a lot of waiting to get to those points in the book and see how things would play out. This is why, to me, the plot was kind of boring, especially the first half (after she recruited Magiano officially), and I found myself not really engaged in the plot. I would have to push myself to read on and didn’t find myself reaching for the book anytime I was free. Once I got to the turning point of the book, the plot did get better and I enjoyed the book more. There were some things I also didn’t predict, which were minor things but still had relevance to the plot. The plot felt like it had more depth in the second half as I got to see how these unique aspects of this story played out and the ending was surprising but it made sense. I have to say, the author put a lot of depth into the plot overall and seems like she really thought it over a lot.
“When you’re all alone in a world that hates and fears you, you want to find others like yourself. New friends. Elite friends.”
The point of views in this story play such an important aspect of keeping the plot moving or else then it would have been even more difficult to get to the climax of the story. Raffeale’s pov, especially, is significant in this book (even more than in the first one). We also get some new perspectives which continue to add onto the plot. In general, I enjoyed seeing what the Daggers were up to at the same time as the Roses as I don’t think my heart was ready to give them up that easily. I really enjoyed their friendship and closeness in book 1.
Overall, I enjoyed the second half of the book which is why I gave it 3 ½ stars. I found it to be harder to get through the first part of this book than the first half of the first book which is why I decided to cut down half a star from giving it a full four. Other than that, this book was quite enjoyable and was filled with more action and darkness than the first.
“What is so great about being good?”
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