Series Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Hello, fellow book friends! Recently, (as in several years ago…) one of my friends suggested that I read Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. Then we found out a fourth book was coming out in March 2018, and thus I decided to read the series and see what all her fangirling was all about. Let’s just say… she was right! So, I am combining all of their reviews into one post (except for the newest book, Restore Me). Are you ready to discover an incredible series?

Shatter Me (book #1)

• Link to excerpt on Goodreads
• I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this, but it seemed interesting I guess. I had fairly high expectations though, because my friend loved it so much, and it must be alright if there is another book being written several years later.
• Let’s talk characters! (My favorite!!) First, there’s Juliette. She is kind of crazy. Like, been locked in a room by herself for 264 days crazy. But she’s lovable anyways, which is kind of strange.
• Juliette really changes a lot throughout the book, and that’s partly why I liked it so much. She goes from an insecure, scared girl to a stronger, more certain young lady by the end of the story. And it’s quite obvious, because her narrative changes drastically. In the beginning it is more choppy and erratic. By the end, she is able to form more cohesive thoughts that really show how much she changed.
• Haha, I almost forgot that she can kill people with her touch. Isn’t that neat! If she touches the skin of another person, she will hurt and potentially kill them. That’s why she’s locked up.
• I really liked the style at the beginning! It was a very good representation of what Juliette thought and felt. It added an awesome effect that made the story seem more accurate and realistic.
• The rest of the writing was awesome as well, since it was poetic, very descriptive, and gave Juliette an incredible personality.
• Then there’s Adam. Oh, Adam. He seems cool, but also kind of distant at first. He is put into Juliette’s cell, and she is both afraid and very interested in him. He is something new and foreign to her, and he turns out to be different than she expected.
• Adam by himself is very lovable and charming. He is the obvious love interest for Juliette, and he seems perfect for her. I began to enjoy reading about them together and seeing how much they cared for each other.
• Later, there’s Kenji. He became one of my favorite characters as the series went on. He comes about later in the story, but I want to talk about him anyways. He is really funny and lighthearted and I really began to like him towards the end of this book.
• Finally, there’s Warner. He is… interesting. I hated him at first. He decides to take Juliette out of her cell and to his massive home of luxury, which doesn’t go over well with Juliette. He is the commander of Sector 45, and he lives in a very different word than the other people of the Sector. He tries to bring Juliette into that world, but it only shows that he is cruel, evil, and uncaring.
• The story takes place in a dystopian society called The Reestablishment. They took over the world a few years ago, and are very corrupt. I really liked the idea of this society, but I feel there could have been more.
• Overall, I really loved the book! The characters are amazing, and their transformations are wonderful! The story flows pretty smoothly, and it is a great start of an awesome series!

*There may be spoilers to previous books in the upcoming reviews.*

Unravel Me (book #2)

• Link to excerpt on Goodreads
• This book was much less exciting for me, but it still had some interesting aspects.
• The character transformations are soooo important to this story, and Unravel Me really shows how each character grows and changes. Juliette’s voice continues to become more mature and less like a crazy girl who was stuck in a cement cell. She continues he growth from the first book and is learning more about who she is and who she can become.
• And there’s Adam. This is where him and his importance to Juliette start to go downhill. He kind of turns into a clingy child. About half way through the book, I was just done  with him. He is whiny and very determined to win Juliette back, but she has moved on to better things.
• HELLO, WARNER!!
• As Adam becomes less important, Warner starts to catch Juliette’s eye. She starts to gain interest in him as little tidbits about him are revealed, showing he may not be the cruel monster we saw in book one.
• I liked how Juliette transferred her interests, but the time it took for her to do so was a bit unnecessary. It took too long for her to transition, and those pages were kind of boring. Again, there wasn’t a whole lot of action, especially for the size of the book.
• Like the first book, there is little information about the Reestablishment or their current world. I would have loved to learn more about it, and that would have spiced up the dull pages in the middle of the story.
• Though some parts were a little boring, there were actually several big moments in the story that were almost like mini cliffhangers at the end of chapters. I’m not going to say much about them, but they have big consequences and play a huge role in the story.
• We see even more of Kenji and his humor in book two, which is greatly appreciated. He’s probably one of my favorite characters of any of the books I’ve read. I just love him and how he is always lighthearted and fun to be around. He kind of reminds me of Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles.
• There is more information about Omega Point and its goals. Much of the story takes place there, and I can begin to see more of how it operates and what their plans are. I felt Omega Point was kind of dull, but it had its place in the story.
• Overall, Unravel Me is a good transition kind of book, as it moves the readers smoothly from book one to book three. There’s not a whole lot of action, but there are many aspects that are vital to the series. If you enjoyed Shatter Me, it is definitely worth continuing the series!

Ignite Me (book #3)

• Link to excerpt on Goodreads
• I honestly can’t imagine what it would have been like for this to be the last book in the series. I’m am sooo glad that it continues, but now we have to wait for the fifth book…
• As with the other two books, Juliette continues to grow and change and become an awesome, strong young lady. Even just the writing style changed drastically from book one. It is obvious that Juliette has matured and become something that is not afraid to do what needs to be done.
• I honestly love the massively dynamic characters in this series. There is nothing better than a character that changes to become a better, greater person.
• And WARNER!!! This is the book where Warner really wins your heart. And Juliette’s but whatever. We begin to learn sooo much about him and his secret past and how he’s really not a terrible person. If you don’t love him by the end I will be angry. (but in the most respectful way lol). The whole series is kind of a trap, as you’re supposed to root for Adam in the beginning, but then Warner seems like a good option and then everything becomes gray and cloudy and confusing but I LOVE IT.
• There’s also so much Kenji!! Again, he is an incredible character and an awesome friend for Juliette. The two of them have an awesome best friend relationship, and it’s really awesome that hey can just be friends. (Although a small, insignificant part of me kiiinnnddd of ships it but we’ll just ignore that.)
• I totally keep forgetting about Juliette’s powers, but she begins to develop them and learn her own power throughout the story. This also is part of her massive changing during the series. She learns to use her powers to her advantage instead of letting them drag her down.
• There are more aspect of the Reestablishment revealed, but I still could have used more. It starts to become a larger part of the story, which forces out the details, but I liked the dystopian aspects a lot.
• Back to Juliette and Warner, there’s some… spicy scenes that I felt were kind of unnecessary. I get that they like each other, but maybe a little less? Enough with that…
• This book is much shorter than book two, but it has so much more action. This is the speed I would have liked to see in the other books. Things were happening all over the place and I loved it!
• In the end, this is an incredible book that continues the evolution of Juliette and the other characters. It is full of action and twists and things that make me wish there a million more books instead of only three…

Have you read the Shatter Me series? Did you enjoy the addition of Restore Me? Do you love epic character transformations?

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