Review: Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

* SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the previous book, Restore Me. *

Defy Me (Shatter Me #5)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Not only has The Reestablishment publicly discredited Juliette’s ability to lead as Supreme Commander of North America, but they’ve also used the ensuing chaos as a distraction to capture her and Warner. Separated from one another, each clings to the hope that the other is still alive. Juliette and Warner are also both experiencing strange flashbacks that make them question whether they can trust their own memories. As The Reestablishment moves forward with their plan to turn Juliette into their ultimate weapon, Kenji must rely on help from an unlikely source to find her before that happens.

Review: I admit I was a tad nervous going into Defy Me because I’d just read Shadow Me, a novella from Kenji’s POV, and it wasn’t quite what I’d hoped it would be. Although I loved reading from his perspective, the novella didn’t delve into his backstory as much as I’d expected. Shadow Me was basically the last few chapters of the previous book, Restore Me, as told by Kenji. So I wasn’t sure what awaited in Defy Me, but I’m thrilled to say that it was one explosive roller coaster ride of a read.

Tahereh Mafi doubles down on the dystopia in this second book of the new trilogy. We find out just how terrifying The Reestablishment is and the lengths the supreme commanders will go to in order to cement their grip on the world. We’re talking genetically engineering their children and reprogramming them when necessary, among other extremes.

Restore Me ended in chaos, first with Juliette appearing to have killed a roomful of people and then her and Warner’s capture. In Defy Me, we discover that of course The Reestablishment orchestrated everything. Juliette once again becomes their science experiment in their quest to create the perfect weapon at all costs. There is literally nothing more important than maintaining their power, even their children’s lives.

Flashbacks play an important role in Defy Me, and once it becomes clear how they figure into the present, prepare for some serious heartbreak. The book keeps the intensity level on maximum high until nearly the end. There were many times when I was almost too afraid to continue reading because I feared for Juliette, Warner, Kenji, and their friends so much. The novel’s spot-on pacing, however, compelled me to keep turning the pages even when I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what might happen next in those pages.

The ending of Defy Me was a bit of a surprise, but in a good way. After everything that preceded it, I expected a cliffhanger, but this was a quieter close, though no less effective. I hope that the wait for the final book, Imagine Me, goes by as fast as the wait for Defy Me did because I need that last book like air.

All in All: I’m loving the continuation of this series so much. Defy Me did not disappoint.

Review: Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shadow Me (Shatter Me #4.5)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: As Juliette prepares to face the sector leaders of The Reestablishment as supreme commander, the rest of her world seems to be falling apart. Kenji tries to support his friend, but he has his own distractions to deal with. He needs to find his focus quickly, though, as Sector 45 is in danger of being obliterated.

Review: I LOVE Shatter Me’s resident smartass Kenji Kishimoto, so I was thrilled by the news that the newest Shatter Me novella, Shadow Me, would feature his POV. Kenji’s unfiltered, in-your-face snark is one of my favorite things about the series. Plus I was hoping to learn more of his backstory.

I was surprised that Shadow Me only touched on that briefly. Instead the novella is more of a retelling of the last few chapters of Restore Me from Kenji’s perspective. I was a bit disappointed by that. I didn’t feel we got to dive into his character the way that we did with Warner’s in the series' first novella, Destroy Me. With Kenji being the kind of person who freely shares whatever is on his mind, I’d hoped to gain more insight into that mind rather than just observing the chaos of the ending of Restore Me through his eyes.

While of course I enjoyed Kenji’s often hilarious take on everything and everyone—especially Warner—Shadow Me didn’t shed as much light on his character as I’d expected. I’d read if all over again, though, because: Kenji.

All in All: Not essential reading in order to follow the series, but no doubt Kenji fans will want to check this out.

Review: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Restore Me (Shatter Me #4)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Juliette is now supreme commander of The Reestablishment, ruling over all of the sectors of North America. She quickly finds, however, that the position entails so many more responsibilities than she ever imagined. Juliette also faces a possible threat from the other supreme commanders around the world for all of the upheaval she’s brought upon The Reestablishment, which seems determined to never release its hold on her.

Review: The continuation of series after they officially conclude makes me a bit apprehensive, especially when it’s a series that I absolutely loved, like Shatter Me. While what was then the final book, Ignite Me, left a few things unresolved, I was still satisfied with how the series ended. The news that there would be three new Shatter Me books gave me mixed feelings. I would never, ever say no to more Warner, but what if the new trilogy wasn’t as good as the original?

My skepticism was completely unwarranted because Restore Me turned out to be the Shatter Me book I didn’t know I needed. Reading this made me realize how much I’ve missed Tahereh Mafi’s gorgeous prose, Kenji’s hilarious snark, and Warner’s—well, everything about Warner. Since we’re discussing my favorite character in the series, both Warner and Juliette have POVs in Restore Me. EEK.

Reading the first page of Restore Me was like catching up with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while. I devoured this book, which is a very, very rare occurrence these days. Restore Me was that good. “Good” doesn’t do adequate justice here, not even close. This was an absolute page-turner that I flew through.

While reading the original trilogy, some aspects of the world-building didn’t fully materialize for me, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the series. Restore Me fills in some of those gaps, particularly regarding The Reestablishment. The rest of the world’s supreme commanders play a significant role here.

We also get a bit of backstory for Kenji and see Warner the most vulnerable he’s ever been. Restore Me is full of revelations that test Juliette and Warner’s still fairly new relationship. I felt for all three of them at various times, but the excerpts from Juliette’s journals that she kept while locked up in the asylum were thoroughly gut-wrenching.

Although Restore Me was an intense, chilling read that destroyed me in its final pages, I’m beyond elated that the series is back. Mafi brilliantly and seamlessly picks up her story where she left it in Ignite Me. It’s as though the series never ended, and we’re watching Juliette cope with the aftermath of the events in book three. If you’re at all wondering if Restore Me is worth a read, the answer is an unequivocal Y-E-S.

All in All: My favorite read of 2018 so far! Everything and everyone I loved about the previous Shatter Me books return, but Restore Me is in no way a rehash. The world expands, the characters continue to grow, and the Kenji one-liners are priceless.

Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

* SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers for Ignite Me, as well as for the previous books in the Shatter Me series. *

Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Juliette is lucky to be alive after taking a bullet to the chest, but the news that Omega Point—and possibly everyone in it—has been destroyed gives her little time to process what’s happened to her. She vows to obliterate The Reestablishment and its Supreme Commander, and she finds an unlikely ally in Warner. To carry out her mission, Juliette must finally learn to control her power because if she can manage to do so, not even the might of The Reestablishment will be able to stop her.

Review: This is going to be one of the messiest reviews I’ve written to date, and it just can’t be helped. Every time a series that I love comes to an end, I can’t assemble my thoughts for the review. I’ve had a few days to mull over Ignite Me, and I cannot. Find. The words. I try to go into every review with at least a rough outline of what I want to cover, but this book has thoroughly scattered my brain. Something else that I’m finding can’t be helped here: spoilers. I attempt to avoid them whenever possible, but I really don’t think I can discuss anything about this book without referring to specifics. I’m not even sure I can discuss anything coherently, so let’s see where this review goes.

In any other book/series, I don’t believe I would care much for Juliette. She’s often insecure, whiny, and too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice much else. Granted, she’s had a miserable life and her parents locked her up in an asylum, but after two books, I really needed her to pull herself together. At the end of Unravel Me, it appeared that she was finally going to ditch the moping and start taking some action. And she does—eventually. I’m still up in the air with my opinion of Juliette’s character progression in Ignite Me. Despite her vow to avenge the destruction of Omega Point, Timid Juliette hangs around for a bulk of the book. When the time comes to plot the overthrow of The Reestablishment, Juliette volunteers herself as the post-Reestablishment leader. Umm . . . what? This announcement was on the of the last things I expected from her, and maybe that was the point, but given how wrapped up in herself she is for most of the novel, I was rather skeptical of her leadership skills.

As I said before, in another book, Juliette would have tested my patience, but the series has always maintained an awareness of her flaws, mostly in the form of Kenji. I love Kenji. He’s become one of my favorite secondary characters ever for his sarcasm and frankness. Most importantly, he calls Juliette on her wishy-washiness. Every. Single. Time. Kenji has been the voice of reason throughout the series, and he doesn’t limit himself to getting on Juliette’s case, either. There’s another character for whom Kenji has a stern word or two (or three), and that character is Adam.

The biggest shock of Ignite Me was the absolute drubbing Adam’s character takes, and I say this without even being a member of Team Adam. There’s some definite foreshadowing of his transformation in Fracture Me, but I’d really believed that his doubts about his love for Juliette in that novella were meant to fuel the mystery over the resolution of the love triangle. I was so, so wrong. Almost everything he says to Juliette in Ignite Me is laced with eyebrow-raising viciousness, and although I might be able to cut Adam a bit of slack for being upset over a certain turn of events, I can’t excuse all that he says and does. I do feel bad for his fans because he started out as such a decent guy in Shatter Me.

I’ve always been somewhat confused about what’s going on in this world, and I have to say, it’s become less and less important as the series has gone on. Normally I would take a dystopian novel to task for a shortage of details about the world, but I didn’t fall in love with this series for its dystopian elements. I fell in love with it because of Tahereh Mafi’s beautiful prose and because of one man: Warner.

I lost any ability to rate this series based on non-Warner factors way back in Shatter Me, when he first arrived on the scene. And I make no apologies for that. Never have I become so obsessed with a single character in a book or series that I lived to read every page he was in. I really didn’t give two hoots about whether or not the resistance succeeded as long as Warner was okay. I also wasn’t really fazed by the slow build-up to the finale, and then the book’s hurried efforts to wrap everything up. I know I should mind these little things, but they didn’t take anything away from reading about Warner. I can’t help finding him utterly, utterly fascinating. I can't. Bravo to Mafi for writing such a complex, mesmerizing, and unforgettable character. Believe me, I could have easily devoted this entire review to Warner and why Ignite Me deserves five stars because of Warner.

So yeah, I’m giving Ignite Me five stars. Because of Warner. This wasn’t quite perfect in all areas, but it was in the one that counted, and that was enough for me. Reading Ignite Me made me extremely happy, as five star books usually do.

All in All: It’s all over! *Sobs* I’m going through a denial phase right now, where I keep rereading my favorite parts (*Ahem* Chapter 55). Reading this series has been a fantastic experience (Thank you, Warner!), and now you’ll have to excuse me because I need to go reread Chapter 55.

The Post-Ignite Me Post (Contains Spoilers!)

* THE MELISSA'S SPOILER WARNERING: *

If you have not read Ignite Me, DO NOT CONTINUE READING THIS POST. There are spoilers ahead! If you are still reading this and you have not read the book, STOP! Don't do this! Read the book and then come back! Please! For your own sake! You have been warnered. I better not hear you whining in the comments about how we ruined the book for you because The Melissa WILL CUT YOU!

To give you a chance to click away from this post if you need to, here's a photo of Melissa and Ally's dog, Tyler, to fill up some space before the rest of the post continues:

Last week, we (Melissa & Lee) collaborated on a post theorizing how the Shatter Me series would end. We both finished Ignite Me over the weekend and thought we'd discuss our reactions.

The Melissa: The Melissa was RIGHT! BAM! Mwahahaha!

Lee: Oh. So I see we have "The Melissa" back again today instead of plain, old, regular Melissa. Mind you, I am actually related to "The Melissa." Do you see what I have to deal with here?! And you know, Melissa (I refuse to acknowledge your "The" today), there is such a thing as an ungracious winner. This means you, Melissa.

The Melissa: The Melissa can't hear you over the sound of her rightness. Readers, don't let her fool you. If she had been right (which she wasn't), she'd be a lot worse! And she does enjoy my strangeness because it's entertaining! Anyway, I'll put my gloating aside (for now) to talk about Warner—I mean the book. I WAS RIGHT! Okay, I'm done for now.

Lee: I only finished reading Ignite Me on Saturday, thanks to the Post Office delivering our copies of the book a day late as well as being extra busy with work this past week. It's Sunday as I write this, and I'm still processing everything.

The Melissa: I was so mad the books were late. I almost set the mailbox on fire! Guaranteed Delivery means Guaranteed! That was the only thing that got me through my math class and IT WASN'T THERE! Then, The Melissa had to wait for Lee to finish. Stupid WORK! >:O

Lee: Just remember, it's thanks to work that you also got a copy of the book. Anyway, my brain is kind of a wreck after reading this. I love Tahereh Mafi's writin—it's just so . . . pretty. I obviously loved every word, sentence, and paragraph that pertained to Warner. And yet I also find myself . . . I don't know how to explain what I want to say. The book just kind of ended and felt a little anti-climactic in comparison to how long the build-up was to the finale.

The Melissa: I love TM's writing style. She's an artist! And while I loved everything about the book, I too found the ending to be a bit abrupt. Also, I was a little upset with how she treated Adam. It was like he was a different person. I felt like he was completely out of character. All of the Adam fans (including me) really got shafted. TM didn't just make Adam look bad, she made us look bad, too!

Lee: I've been utterly, ridiculously in love with Warner from the very beginning, but even I have to say that I was extremely surprised by the turnaround in Adam's character. I think it's really hard to like him in Ignite Me. Some of the things he says to Juliette . . . geez.

The Melissa: I really liked Adam in the first book and by Ignite Me, he wasn't Adam anymore! :( I was super happy to find out Warner wasn't a big meanie, though! Lee, I knew you liked Warner because he was psychotic. Did this new info change the way you thought of him?

Lee: No.

The Melissa: * stares expectantly *

Lee: I mean, you're 100% right. I loved Warner in Shatter Me because he came across as completely unhinged. But you know, I never once questioned his love for Juliette, even before you got to see that he had a human side in Destroy Me I loved where his character went over the span of the series, but I would still love him even if he had remained the Warner we first met in Shatter Me. Am I making sense anymore? Thinking about Warner renders me incoherent. God, I still have a review of Ignite Me to write. I got nothing! (BTW, this post was Melissa's idea. It's her way of worming out of writing a formal review of Ignite Me. I'm on to you, dear cousin!)

The Melissa: Hmm. You caught on sooner than expected. :-p I don't think I could write a review for this book without a ridiculous amount of spoilers!

Lee: Yeah, I'm definitely facing that problem. I do believe I'll be employing another spoiler warning when the review goes up. Switching gears, I'd like to share this little tidbit about Melissa. If you want to drive her to hysterics (the angry kind, not the haha kind), just text her some pics of some of the, er, more PG-13 pages from Ignite Me. (I may or may not have learned from firsthand experience that this is a guaranteed way to enrage Melissa.)

The Melissa: More liked rated R! The Melissa cannot handle the awko-taco scenes! Give me the hand holding and that's as far as I want it to go! I'm not old enough for that other stuff! :O

Lee: You are 18 now, Melissa.

The Melissa:

Lee: And on that note, we're going to wrap up this post. I am certainly basking in all the Warner love that Ignite Me showed him.

The Melissa: Remember, NO WHINING about spoilers! Peace out!

Lee: I apologize for Melissa's rudeness. She *thinks* she's hilarious.

The War Over Warner: How Will Ignite Me End?

Well hello there, fellow Shatter Me fans! It's Melissa and Lee here, gearing ourselves up to start reading this little prettiful today:

We looove this series a lot, and we wanted to do something special to mark its end. We considered shooting a vlog, but that involved an amount of work that appealed to no one. Instead, we've decided to write down our thoughts, conversation style, about the series coming to a conclusion. *Sniffle* We've been arguing quite a bit over what we think is going to happen, so this should be fun . . . .

The Melissa: Hello my peeps! After reading Fracture Me, I was rather infuriated to say the least. Don't worry, I have a whole rant to write about that shite! Before that, I had thought Adam and Juliette were meant to be together; now, not so much.

Lee: Gee, Melissa, you sound a little upset . . . .

The Melissa: The Melissa is very upset! WTF, man?! It's obvious that Tahereh Mafi used the novella to make Adam look like a douche tart so Warner can be with Juliette! >:0

Lee: Well, you know I have absolutely no problem with that, mwahaha! By the way, have I ever told you how much I love Warner, Melissa? I love him a lot. He may be just a tad psychotic, but I love him.

The Melissa: I like Warner, too, but it doesn't seem like he was supposed to get Juliette from the beginning! First book, without a doubt, it was Adam. But TM decided she liked Warner better and decided to get rid of Adam!

Lee: I don't think that's true. The conspiracy theorist in me says that TM just wants you to think that Juliette is going to end up with Warner, but ultimately, she'll go with Adam.

The Melissa: The second book and novellas are obviously a segue into Warner becoming Juliette's love interest.

Lee: Hey Melissa—remember Chapter 62 of Unravel Me? Yeah, I just went there. And I really, really don't think you should count Adam out. He's totally going to have an epiphany, realize he loves Juliette, and go after her.

The Melissa: Ewww! You sick bitch! You are unhealthily obsessed with that chapter! Anyway, Adam's brother is and always will be his first priority. That is not going to change. Juliette is Warner's number one and probably always will be. Juliette is broken; she needs someone to be fully devoted to her, and that person is Warner.

Lee: Language, Melissa, language! I would say that your strong reaction to the mere mention of Chapter 62 of Unravel Me means that you're attempting to hide something, i.e. your love of that chapter. Anyway, I actually agree that Warner is wholly devoted to Juliette, but I just have this gut feeling that his love for her is going to him hurt. Maybe literally.

The Melissa: Yup. I agree. With the bit about Warner getting hurt. NOT ABOUT CHAPTER-TOO-ADULT-FOR-THE-MELISSA. However, he will not die and they will be together forever.

Lee: Look, I'm all for Warner getting a lovely, happily ever after ending, but I don't see that happening because he doesn't have that kind of luck. Fracture Me was a setup to get readers to think Juliette didn't necessarily rank first in Adam's heart so that when he inevitably pulls himself together in Ignite Me, everyone will be surprised when he wins her heart back. So there.

The Melissa: You're theory is stupid!

Lee: You used the wrong "your." Who's stupid now?! Let's get back to the topic at hand.

The Melissa: NOOOO!!! In my extreme rage, I made the most horriblest of mistakes. Do you see what your stupidness is doing to me?!

Lee: I'm not the one referring to myself as "The Melissa." What is UP with that?!

The Melissa: The Melissa does not answer to you! But, just to clarify, it just kinda happened. Putting "the" in front of things seems so grand!

Lee: This "conversation" is collapsing quickly. Any final, Ignite Me-related thoughts?

The Melissa: I can't wait to gloat when I turn out to be right!

Lee: You mean you can't wait to sulk when you turn out to be wrong! It's OK. I won't remind you about it too often. Maybe only every 5 seconds.

The Melissa: I guess we'll just have to see. And the winner (me) will have a gloat post.

And just in case you need a refresher on the previous books/novellas in the series, here are their reviews:
• Shatter Me
• Destroy Me
• Unravel Me
• Fracture Me

Review: Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

* This review may contain spoilers for previous books in the Shatter Me series. *

Fracture Me (Shatter Me #2.5)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: As the resistance at Omega Point prepares to face the forces of The Reestablishment, Adam is preoccupied with other thoughts in addition to the forthcoming showdown. He fears for the safety of his younger brother, James, who is with him at Omega Point. And then there’s Juliette. So much has changed between the two of them, and a future together looks uncertain. When the battle begins, Adam must decide who is worth saving—and then live with the consequences of his choices.

Review: Disclaimer: I am a Warner woman, 100%. I don’t hate Adam. I don’t dislike Adam (though he did annoy me quite a bit by the end of this novella, but more on that shortly). He’s just not Warner. So while my pulse wasn’t exactly racing to read from Adam’s POV, I was very surprised by Fracture Me. Very. Surprised.

Adam practically seemed like a secondary character in Unravel Me, so getting a look inside his head in this novella was especially insightful. If there’s a single thing about him that you take away from Fracture Me, it’s how much he loves his little brother, James. Adam will do anything to protect him; James is everything to him. So, if Adam’s world revolves around keeping James safe, where does that leave Juliette?

The answer to that question is kind of hard to answer without spilling all the details of Adam’s thoughts. If you’ve read Unravel Me, then you know that Adam and Juliette aren’t exactly enjoying their very own Happily Ever After. What I did not expect, at all, were some of his feelings toward her, and I don’t mean in the romantic sense. During those times when he was so quiet in Unravel Me, he was apparently having these . . . illuminating musings.

Before reading Fracture Me, my opinion of Adam was neutral; he simply didn’t stand out. Now, though, I’m seeing him in a rather unflattering light, and I have to wonder what this means for everyone in the upcoming series finale, Ignite Me. Is the portrayal of Adam in Fracture Me designed to make you think that maybe he isn’t the right guy for Juliette after all? I mean, I was already rooting for Warner way back in the series (um, probably from the second he appeared on the page), so I didn’t need any convincing. What I’m afraid of is that I’m being led to believe that Warner might have a chance, only to have Adam sort out his heart and make a last minute comeback. Am I paranoid? Yes. It’s why I relate to Warner so much. And I swear, if things should end badly for him, I shall be writing a rant!

I know this review is on the scattered side, but that’s a pretty apt description of my feelings after reading this. Although I don’t think too highly of Adam now, I still very much enjoyed reading Fracture Me. Kenji gets in some good wisecracks, and Tahereh Mafi’s writing is top-notch, as usual. Am I glad I forked over the $2.99 for this? Absolutely.

All in All: Whether you love/hate Warner/Adam, if you love this series, you should read this.

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

* This review contains spoilers for the previous book, Shatter Me. *

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper

To Sum It Up: Juliette, Adam, and Kenji are safe for the moment at Omega Point, the hidden base of a resistance movement against The Reestablishment. Juliette is among others who, like her, possess a gift. Being at Omega Point—and out of Warner’s reach—isn’t without its challenges, however. Juliette struggles with her training to control her power, and she’s also troubled by the growing distance between her and Adam. Warner is still out there somewhere, too, searching for Juliette because, even though she put a bullet in him, he’s more determined than ever to have her by his side.

Review: Is it okay to give five stars to a book in which: the story starts rather slowly; the heroine frustrates you at times with her self-pitying whining; one-third of the love triangle has a fairly low profile this time around; and you inexplicably love the other, utterly deranged third of the triangle, and you know you should know better but you can’t help yourself and you’re pretty much basing the entire book’s rating on your love for him though it completely defies sound judgment and maybe your reviewing principles? I’m going to say yes. Yes, it is.

What a steaming bowl of insanity Unravel Me was! That is, once its momentum got going. I thought the first few chapters, which oriented you to Juliette’s new life at Omega Point, were kind of slow-moving. The pacing at the beginning wasn’t helped by Juliette’s moping, either. I’d expected her to be, I don’t know, at least a tad upbeat about escaping with Adam and discovering that there were other people who possessed special gifts. But no. Juliette is gloomy because she can’t yet wield her power at will, and she’s also gloomy because Adam is so gloomy for reasons he won’t share with her. If it hadn’t been for Kenji calling these two out for their angst fest and exhorting them to snap out of it, I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate them as much as I did. I love Kenji; he’s hilarious and to the point.

I was surprised to see Adam with a diminished role here. I mean, he’s there, but considering how he’s supposed to be a love interest and all, his presence is rather muted and is even eclipsed by Kenji’s. My feelings for Adam have always been neutral—I neither love him nor hate him—but aside from his part in a bombshell revelation, he’s not given much to do in Unravel Me.

I’m going to attempt to keep the requisite Warner paragraph from turning into an essay on how much I love him, but if you’ve read my reviews of Shatter Me and Destroy Me, you know that may not be possible. I didn’t think Warner could dominate the series any more than he already does, but once again, he’s pulled off the unexpected. Warner completely messed with my head in Unravel Me. Completely. And I loved it. I have abandoned all efforts to figure this guy out. When he told Juliette that he loved her in Shatter Me, I thought he was just raving like a madman. After reading Destroy Me and Unravel Me, though, I believe him. He truly feels that Juliette is the only person in the world who could ever understand him. As much as the novel may be about Juliette joining the resistance as it prepares to take on The Reestablishment, it’s also about finding out that there are many layers to Warner’s character. I’m not sure that he lets all of his walls down here because I think he’s too cunning for that, but he certainly allows Juliette to see him a lot less guarded than he usually is. And that right there is why I loved this book.

I wasn’t at all prepared for the plot twists in Unravel Me; they were so shocking that I needed some time to process each one. They also more than made up for the quiet opening that had me wondering if this was going to be as amazing as Shatter Me was. My concern was totally unfounded because Unravel Me was a head-spinning sequel that went in every direction except the one I thought it would go toward. My imagination is way too limited to make any predictions for the final book. As long as Warner is okay, I’ll be happy.

All in All: No second book disappointment here, especially on the Warner front. I know I’ve let him sway my opinion of this series, but I can’t help it. Besides, he’s not the type of character you can ignore, whether you want to give him your heart or punch him in the face. One thing you never feel for Warner is indifference.

Review: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

* This review contains spoilers for Shatter Me. *

Destroy Me (Shatter Me #1.5)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper

To Sum It Up: Recovering from the gunshot wound Juliette gave him, Warner plots to get her back—and to punish Adam. Both Warner’s injury and the escape of Juliette and two officers under his command have brought an unwelcome guest to Sector 45: the Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, who is also Warner’s father. When the Supreme Commander reveals that Juliette is nowhere near as important to The Reestablishment as she is to Warner, it becomes imperative for Warner to find her first.

Review: I’m still not sure what I think of between-series novellas overall, having only read one other, Cynthia Hand’s Radiant, prior to reading Destroy Me. I loved Hand’s Unearthly series, and so I purchased Radiant to tide me over as I waited for the release of the final Unearthly book. In the end, though, I didn’t find Radiant to be essential reading. I’d say that I have to be heavily invested in a series and/or one of its characters for these novellas to pique my interest, especially when I have to shell out a few bucks for them (I’m a bit of a cheapskate). When my cousin, a fellow Shatter Me fanatic, informed me that there was a novella written from Warner’s POV, I HAD to have it, no matter what it cost. This is Warner we’re talking about here, people.

I happened to love Warner in Shatter Me, propensity for insanity and all. He was the character who commandeered my attention and never let go of it. And I don’t think he’s going to relinquish it any time soon, either.

Destroy Me picks up immediately after Warner’s been shot by Juliette, and in typical Warner fashion, he loathes looking weak in front of his men. He also can’t quite wrap his head around the fact that Juliette pulled the trigger on him. As Warner recovers from his injury and focuses on finding Juliette—and Adam, whom Warner wants to kill with a ferocity that’s scary even by Warner standards—he reveals an entirely different and surprising side to his character. See, I loved the Warner I met in Shatter Me—arrogant, manipulative, and unhinged—so I can only imagine what reading Destroy Me was like for readers who hated him in Shatter Me. If, like me, you fell in love with Warner just as he was, don’t worry; he doesn’t magically morph into a hero overnight. What Destroy Me does is present him as a complex human being; there are so many facets to Warner than the outward appearance he’s constructed for himself as the Regent of Sector 45. It may be difficult to believe at first, but Warner is capable of feeling human emotions like love and hurt. In Destroy Me, he’s experiencing a lot of the latter.

I admit that it was tougher than usual for me to separate my feelings for a favorite character from my feelings about the book, or in this case, novella, as a whole. The part of me that wanted to rate Destroy Me based on emotion alone said, “Duh. It’s Warner. Five stars!” before I even started reading the Prologue. The more rational part of my brain says that this is an incredibly insightful look into the mind of a character who is otherwise not easy to read. Of course, it’s not as though Warner spills all his secrets here; he still leaves you plenty to speculate about.

And here I was thinking that I was only going to write a mini-review of Destroy Me. Ah, Warner. I do love talking about you.

All in All: If you love this series, and even if you don’t love Warner, you need to read this. Destroy Me just might make you rethink your opinion of him. If you already love Warner, then you’ll probably love him even more after reading this. I know I did.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
By Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper

To Sum It Up: Juliette Ferrars can kill with her touch, and it’s the reason why she’s been abandoned by her parents and locked up in an asylum. Clinging to her sanity, Juliette is suddenly taken from her four wall prison and brought before Warner, one of the sector heads for the ruling body known as The Reestablishment. Warner possesses an extremely keen interest in what Juliette can do, and she is horrified to learn that he wants to use her as a weapon. Juliette, however, would rather face the consequences for not cooperating, even death, than become the monster she’s always been labeled as.

Review: Shatter Me is one of those books that I’d seen mentioned everywhere and kept telling myself I was going to read, but other books always ended up jumping ahead of it on my to-read list. It wasn’t until my cousin read this and began nagging me to do the same that I cracked open my copy at last, albeit with some skepticism. I’d heard that the writing style was a little out of the ordinary, with strikeouts throughout the text. Lately I’ve also been laying off the dystopians somewhat, reading the occasional one when the mood strikes. So between the question marks surrounding the writing and whether this was going to be a dystopian that would click with me, Shatter Me had quite a bit to prove, but prove itself it did. Many, many times over.

My chief worry over the text strikeouts was that they were going to come off gimmicky, but I didn’t see them that way at all. They were used to excellent effect, and not so often that they were distracting. I loved the prose; I loved its flow and its imagery and how it sometimes seemed like poetry. It’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t put the book down; I was addicted to the writing and couldn’t read the book fast enough.

Although you get sufficient details of the world to assemble a picture that’s bleak—iron-fisted rule by a regime that rose to power on promises to make life better for its citizens but has failed to deliver on them—I found the dystopian element on the lighter side. Not that I’m complaining. How can I explain it? For me, the focus of the book was Juliette, her struggle not to lose her mind locked up in an asylum, and then her struggle not to let some crazy guy use her power for who knows what purpose except that it’s probably not good. For me, the world was secondary to all of this, and I had enough knowledge of it to get the idea of what it was like but not be overly concerned about the minutiae of it because my attention was elsewhere. Readers who prefer their dystopian aspects with a stronger emphasis may need a tad more from the world-building, though.

Poor Juliette has been in the asylum for close to a year because everyone, including her own parents, fears her deadly touch. Her despair, not only over her loneliness but also how she perceives herself as a freak, is gut-wrenching. All of her raw emotions—fear, desperation, and later determination not to be manipulated into becoming a weapon for The Reestablishment—are conveyed so vividly by the prose. Two things really struck me about Juliette’s character: how hard she fought to keep herself together in an environment that would have driven anyone over the edge, and her defiance in refusing to hurt others with her power, no matter how cruelly she’d been treated in her life.

Remember the crazy guy I alluded to earlier, the one who had plans for Juliette and her ability? That would be Warner, AKA the majority of the reason for this book’s rating. When a character takes hold of my brain the way Warner did/does, I cannot ignore how much what I felt for a particular character influenced my overall enjoyment of a book. I don’t think Warner and I even had a love-to-hate type thing going on. I loved that he was deranged. I loved how he took over the novel (at least for me) the very second he appeared. I loved that he was calculating and ruthless and didn’t care that everyone knew it. Did I mention that I loved how deranged Warner was? Look, I know that I’m pretty deranged for loving a character with personality traits as winning as Warner’s are. Common sense says that Adam, one of Warner’s soldiers and a face from Juliette’s past, would make a much better fictional boyfriend, but I’ve always been far more intrigued by the bad boys. I’m sticking with Warner.

Shatter Me had me absorbed from start to finish. Any doubts I had about it dissipated quickly. The beautiful prose, the tension, the action, and a certain character all combined to turn me into an instant fan of this series.

All in All: I absolutely loved this. So thanks, Melissa, for all of that nagging!

Cover Reveal: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! We are SUPER excited for this! We argue a lot about the boys (Melissa loves Adam and Warner, Lee is most decidedly Team Warner), but we both agree that we must have this on the day it's released in February, 2014.

Melissa Says: I wish I had flowers growing out of my eyelashes!

Lee Says: Melissa, you're such a weirdo. But the cover is pretty!