Review: Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Goodreads Summary:

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it's almost

time 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.

Publication Date: February 5, 2013

Oh my! I don’t think Mafi would be able to top Shatter Me, but I was absolutely blown away by Unravel Me. Five stars is not enough for this incredible and heartbreaking book.

Juliette is such a tragic heroine. Growing up imprisoned and feared has left emotional scars that will probably never heal. I was hopeful for her at the end of Shatter Me, which made it difficult to witness her reverting back to the shy and self-loathing girl we saw at the beginning of the last book. Complications in her relationship with Adam coupled with her inability to make friends have Juliette feeling lonelier than ever.

I like Mafi’s writing style, but did felt certain things were overdone in the first book. Two pages to describe the rain and a million strikethroughs grew tedious at points. In Unravel Me, her storytelling abilities were still firmly in place, but I didn’t feel like endless descriptions bogged down the novel.

I think the plot was more interesting in this book too. There was more world building and I liked the X-Men feel of the Resistance movement. And there’s not an ambiguous villain in this book. Warner’s father, Anderson, is pure evil. Like Juliette, I hated how much he abused his son and took pleasure in causing Warner pain.

Love triangles are usually straightforward in my book. I typically love one of the romantic interests and hate the other. This one is tough because I don’t dislike either. I love them both! Adam is protective, intense and his emotions towards Juliette literally jump off of the page. On the other hand, Warner is hot, charming and majorly damaged. Did I mention hot? A particular scene where he reveals a tattoo has me still fanning myself.

Secondary characters don’t fade into the background in this book. They are three-dimensional and I loved them all. The standout of the novel is Kenji. He brought much needed comic relief and also wasn’t afraid to tell Adam and Juliette to stop moping and do something about their miserable existence.

As much as I’m looking forward to several other YA dystopians this year, Unravel Me is going to be hard to beat. It’s very rare to finish a book and have the desire to get lost into the world again. It’s going to be a torturous wait until the third book comes out in 2014.

Favorite quotes:

“It's just a whisper of a kiss but something collapses in my skull. It's a feather-light brush of his mouth against my skin in a place I can't quite see. It's my mind speaking in a thousand different languages I don't understand.”

“All I know next are his arms, the desperate edge to his voice when he says my name, and I'm unraveling in his embrace, I'm frayed and falling apart and I'm making no effort to control the tremors in my bones and he's so hot his skin is so hot and I don't even know where I am anymore.”

"I want all of you. I want you inside and out and catching your breath and aching for me like I ache for you.”

Rating: 5/5 Stars