Teaser Tuesday: The Rose Society by Marie Lu

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Rose Society by Marie Lu.

The Rose Society –
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

“You are powerful, mi Adelinetta,” she says, “but you have all the charisma of a burnt potato pudding.”
“I like burnt potato pudding. It’s smoky.”
— Chapter 6

On his fourth night as prisoner, the queen finally sends for him.
He goes in chains.
— Chapter 14

So much could be said about noble roses and the supposed queen of flowers ... and yet everyone will complain about thorns and scratches. If you’re looking for the beauty and the fragrant smell of roses, look elsewhere. But if you don’t mind the more vicious and pointy aspects of the flower, this specimen might be to your liking.
Flower talk and imagery aside, this is anything but a pretty and frothy story (but it still allows humour). Adelina is far from your nice girl next door with the benevolent magical powers and the path she entered, or depending on perspective was entered on in the last book only continues in its dark direction. Every villain is the hero of their own story and I like a well-layered character. In fact, from Adelina’s perspective it all makes perfect sense and it is very interesting to follow her reasoning and choices. But if you remove yourself from the immediate action and consider what just happend, this series will get you thinking about moral compasses and sympathetic judgement.
I can’t fully support any of the characters as all of them aren’t morally unblemished. Yet sometimes that is entirely too much to ask for and everyone will have to choose between their two or possibly more evils. I can imagine that this wasn’t easy to write and I keep admiring Marie Lu for her clever plotting and superb character building. Even though she clearly belongs to the guild of authors who collect their readers’ anguish.

Are there morally ambiguous characters you recommend who don’t necessarily twist reality until it supports their choices but who would be deemed as villains for their actions if the story was told from another perspective? Let’s hear from you in the comments.