4.5 stars

Review: Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)

19:16

Ignite Me
By Tahereh Mafi

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

 Goodreads Synopsis:
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.
The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.


Wow! I am still breathless from my book. It was so beautiful that it left me utterly speechless, and I enjoyed it so much. I will definitely miss the Shatter Me series so much - Tahereh’s writing is so lyrical and was my favourite element of the series. I was swooning throughout the entire book: it was purely stunning.


One of the things I enjoyed so much was the characters. Although Juliette was still a little annoying at the start, she changed so much through the book. By the end, she was strong and independent, and could finally make decisions for herself. I was really impressed with the way she changed in such a short amount of time.
Warner was definitely my favourite character. He had so much depth and backstory, meaning he was incredibly interesting to read about. I loved how we found out a little more of him in sections - I was constantly waiting for more Warner scenes! Seeing his relationship develop with Juliette was also one of my favourite elements.
The things that made this book not as good were the ending and the action scenes. The action was very rushed, and we didn’t get to see much of Juliette finally turning badass. The book ended on an action scene which meant the ending was rushed. I would have been much more content if even just an epilogue had been added because I felt the story ended so suddenly.


Another of the things that I loved so much about this series is that it’s so addictive. I read this entire book in 2 sittings, and under 12 hours (which must be some sort of record for me!). I was constantly hooked because it was so exciting. I know that I will read anything Tahereh Mafi ever writes because her style is so addictive.

Overall, this was a really good book. I was disappointed with the ending, yet still deeply loved it.

 My reaction:

My rating:



4 stars

Review: Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)

17:00

Unravel Me 
By Tahereh Mafi

 Source: Personal purchase, paperback
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

 Goodreads Synopsis:
tickticktickticktickit's almosttime for war.
Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.
She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.
Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.
I think this book suffered from second-book-syndrome. You could tell it was the middle book in the series, and it felt like a filler for the series. Nothing really happened, and it was mainly about character development and the character’s relationships with each other changing. I found it interesting, and enjoyed it greatly, but it just lacked something special to make it stand out.

The thing that I disliked most about the book was Juliette. She was still as equally as annoying as she was in Shatter Me. Although she didn’t cross out almost every word, she was still very emotional all the time, and in my opinion, over sensitive. She was interesting to read about, but just irritated me quite a lot.

Another problem I had with this book was that nothing really happened. This is the same with the whole series - it’s a lot of talking about what they’re going to do, though they never really do it. Also, a lot of the action is rushed or skimmed over because Juliette is never there. Everyone protects her, so she is never in any of the fight scenes. This is a shame because it would have made the book a bit different and made me more interested.

Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed the book. My favourite element was definitely the writing style. Everyone I know raves about Tahereh Mafi’s lyrical writing style - it’s so vivid so I can really picture the world clearly. I know I will read any future work of hers - no matter what the genre - because I am so in love with her poetic style.

Overall, this is a great book. I highly enjoyed it, yet would have prefered more action and less romance and character focus. I would recommend this series if you are looking to read a dystopian, but don’t want too much of the world building, defeating the government, or action scenes (basically all the good bits!), and would prefer mainly romance.
My reaction:

My rating:


3.5 stars

Review: Shatter Me

13:17

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi

 Source: Physical
Page count: 338
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, 

Goodreads Synopsis:

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

 My Review:

 I'm going to start off this by saying: loads of people hate this book. How? I thought this was amazing - I was really excited throughout the whole book, and wanted to just keep on reading. The description was great - it was different to other books I've read as it had loads of similes and metaphors, most of them were really original (but some of them really didn't make sense!). The writing was really clever - it made me feel empathy for Juliette by page 23 - this is very unusual for me, as normally I never feel like that at such an early stage in a book!

 One thing I really didn't like in this book was the romance. It was too intense - they had only known eachother for a few weeks, and they already had a really passionate relationship. In my eyes, it was too early for them as a couple. Too much insta-love! I also didn't like how the dystopia seemed to be based around the romance, not the other way round. For me, I would have liked more action and less romance.

 Another thing I didn't like was the fact that they were on the run, yet wasting valuable time kissing! It was a really dangerous situation - they were running for their lives! I know that if I was Juliette I would be focusing on how to stay alive, not using time to spend gazing into my boyfriend's eyes. 

 I think the book needed more dystopian aspects, and for it to be less centered around the romance. There wasn't much world building because it was so character-based - I would have prefered to know more about The Reestablishment so we can hate them more. I would have also liked to know more about Juliette before she got locked up - this way we would care more about her, and I the way it is so character-centered would become more effective.

 I also hated the British stereotype in the book! I am British, and Mafi made her only British character say things like "blimey" and "bloody confusing". No-one says things like that! British people don't speak much differently to Americans, and aren't at all posh. This annoyed me so much!

 From my review, it sounds like I hated this book, but I really didn't. It had me captivated from the beginning and I was hooked until the very end. I need the next book now!

 Rating: 

 I would recommend it if you enjoyed Divergent.

 Please note: This month I am extremely busy: I am loaded with exams and homework *cries*, and I am doing NanoWrimo too, so I won't be able to post as much.