Review: The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3)

I don’t know if there’s anything worse than having a book that you’ve soooo looked forward to for a while, letting you completely down. And unfortunately, that’s what happened to me with The Midnight Star (The Young Elites, #3) by Marie Lu.

The thrilling finale to the New York Times bestselling Young Elites series from “hit factory” 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 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.

The Good

• Side Characters – With what little time they were actually given, they completely stole the show. I will forever appreciate how well fleshed out these characters were. They each have their own personalities, background history, and personal wants and goals. These people were a saving grace for this book, and if it weren’t for them, I probably would have given this book only 1  star.
• Background Chapters – I thought this was a fantastic way to give us glimpses to the history of all of the characters. It helped humanize them more and give reasons as to why they are the way that they are.
• The Epilogue – The most beautifully written piece of the entire series. Yup, I cried. SUE ME.

The Bad

• Adelina – Okay, I get that her powers are literally driving her crazy, but she is no longer the interesting antiheroine that she was in the previous books. In this book, she is just a shell of her former glory. I couldn’t stand her, nor did I really care what was going to happen to her. I just realized that I didn’t like her anymore and I think that made me not enjoy the entire book as much.
• Pacing – This book felt completely rushed to me. There was no buildup, no emotional pull. I almost feel like this was one of those series that the buildup was phenomenal, but the author completely lost their way when it came to finally reach the climax. It’s like Lu was a) tired of the story and just wanted it over with, b) had to hurry and make the deadline, or c) realized that she forgot to plan her ending and scribbled the first idea that came to her head. And in case you’re wondering, none of these is a good answer. This book needed at least another 100 pages to actually attempt to make the story complete.
• The Climax – That was a pathetic excuse for a climax, especially compared to the endings of the previous two books. It was boring and completely unsuspenseful. Major characters died and I was just like, oh well, and that shouldn’t be a normal reaction. I actually skimmed the over it, if I’m being honest. I guess I just expected so much better from you, Lu.

Y’all, I just couldn’t with this book. I had been looking forward to it for soooooo long, and this is how I’m repaid?! So disappointing. And why the hell wasn’t Enzo focused on more?!?!?!?!?!?

Final Verdict: 2/5 Stars

Have you The Midnight Star yet? What are your thoughts on it? Am I being too harsh? Inquiring minds want to know!