The Young Elites by Marie Lu

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

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.

Let me start off by saying, I have only read the first too books in the Legend Trilogy, and while I don't hate them, I don't really love them either. I love Marie Lu's writing style though. The Young Elites grabbed my attention right away. Magic has always been a weakness for me and the idea of the fever, markings, and the Elites was really intriguing to me.

I think Marie Lu did a great job of introducing the world and the stakes with the Inquisitors and the Daggers. I loved the little snippets of information at the beginning of every chapter. Though small, it really added to the world and my understanding. It is also interesting the time period that this book takes place in. We are basically in Juno of 1361. This added lords and servants to the fantasy element of the book.

This book was told with very interesting POVs. Basically we had Adelina's first person and then third person with Teren, Enzo, and Raffaele. At times I wanted more from Enzo and Raffaele since we mostly saw things from Adelina's perspective. But having Teren's side was great because we saw the “bad” side and what they were up to. The storyline between Teren and Giulietta showed just how complex this world and the malfettos were.

I found it slightly predictable what Teren's secrets were, but I see why they were important. i also think he is going to have a large part to play later in the trilogy. This book was a great start to the trilogy and I can't wait to see where it is going. This book definitely exceeded by expectations and for me was better than The Legend Trilogy.

That ending was so not fair. Between the introduction of a brand new character that was clearly involved from the beginning to the result of the battle. Completely unfair, especially because now I have to wait.

Solid 4.5/5 Stars.