{REVIEW} The Young Elites by Marie Lu

THE YOUNG ELITES
by Marie Lu

 

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pub Date: Aug 25, 2015
Publisher: Speak
Length: 384 pages
Spoilers: Marked
Goodreads ♦ Amazon($9.33)

 

 

 

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Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars–they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

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Predictable
Ugh. Another predictable ass story in the YA fantasy genre. Literally nothing about this story was unique. Everything has been done before, leaving the story uninteresting to read. None of the ‘surprises’ were shocking. They were obvious. They were expected and it really took me a lot to keep reading this story. I honestly debated DNFing this book.

MC
What on earth was that? The main character’s motivation was kind of unbelievable. Just because people have family doesn’t mean that they have to love or care about their family. If you don’t give me a reason to believe that someone cares about their family member in the book, I ain’t gonna believe it and I didn’t believe it here. And because Adelina’s motivation was whack, so was she as a character and so was the entire plot.

Stereotypical
Goodness gracious. Each of these characters was like the token character of a typical YA fantasy story. The brooding male that the MC falls for. The other character who dislikes the main character, but whom the brooding male trusts. The– okay. No spoilers for those who might not have read this, but literally nothing in here is original. Each of these characters was plucked straight out of other stories and while the main character, Adelina, might have had something unique about her, I just couldn’t believe any of it for me to care.

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Romance
You kidding me? Honestly, are you kidding me with that pathetic, epically forced, completely fake romance sub-plot? There was NOTHING between them. The only thing between Adelina and Enzo was MAGIC. Every time they got close, it was just MAGIC. No real chemistry. Aka it’s a false relationship. Totally not worth putting in the book.

Teren
This is your main antagonist? A dude who is just like the people he’s hunting except for the fact that he’s a love-sick puppy going after his ex-best friend’s sister?! Good god this is petty and dumb. 

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