Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Summary:

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"
Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she'll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew-about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam-was wrong.

In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi created a captivating and original story that combined 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." The sequel, Unravel Me, blew readers away with heart-racing twists and turns, and New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia said it was "dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense." Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and climactic end.

Publication Date: February 4, 2013

This book gave me the feels and I don’t know how my heart is ever going to recover from the series being over! I could read a hundred more books about these characters. I loved how far the characters came and was so happy with the series resolution.

Juliette was such a different character in Ignite Me. After being shot, she’s like a phoenix reborn. She’s tough and independent and no longer afraid of the world. After all of the crying in the past two books, it was amazing to see her come into her own.

Warner has intrigued me since the first book and his character arc has been incredible. He’s snarky and selfish and unapologetic about it. I loved that we got to see such a different side of Warner in Ignite Me. He was still sexy as hell, but I loved his child-like moments when readers got to see what a lifetime of abuse had done to him.

Adam was unrecognizable in Ignite Me. Adam has been through a lot, but his actions were so unlike who I thought he was as a character. SPOILERS AHEAD Juliette was so right in her assumption that Adam needed her weak and dependent on him. The new Juliette in Ignite Me overshadowed Adam and she needed a strong equal like Warner. END OF SPOILERS

Kenji had the best lines in the book as usual. It was great to see his friendship with Juliette blossom. I liked that Mafi decided to use his character as more than just comic relief. I know the series is over, but a girl can hope for a Kenji novella, right?

The plot was fast-paced and I thought the book ended in a satisfying way. I’ve read a lot of end of trilogy books lately with awful endings and I was gleeful that this didn’t happen. No throwing my Kindle across the room and cursing the wasted time I spent invested in the series.

If you haven’t picked up the series yet, it’s honestly a must read. I love Mafi’s gorgeous writing style and her ability to create dynamic and unforgettable characters.

5/5 Stars

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

Goodreads Summary:

tick

tick

tick

tick

tick

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

Waiting on Wednesday #5

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine and highlights an upcoming release we're eagerly awaiting.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #2)

Publication Date: February 5, 2013

 

Goodreads Summary:

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
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.

Give this to me now! Haha =) I CAN NOT wait for more Juliette, Warner and Adam. 
What book are you waiting for this week?

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

I can’t believe I’ve missed out on this incredible book for so long! I LOVED IT!!! Everything about it was amazing and I am freaking out that I have to wait for the sequel until next year.

Shatter Me is one of those books that readers seemed to be split on: they either love it or hate it. I think what some people hate about it is what made me fall in love with it. I love the beautiful and flowery prose and I thought the strikethrough sentences were an interesting writing technique. I’ve never felt completely inside a character’s head, the way I did with Juliette.

The characters were incredible. Juliette was an amazing protagonist and I loved how she sounded half-crazy most of the time. Her descriptions transported me to this dark and disturbing dystopian world. Her terror jumped off of the pages and I sympathized with her horror over her abilities.

 

The love interest was handsome, mysterious and protective—the perfect YA male lead. The scenes between Adam and Juliette were smoldering and her need for him was desperate and beautiful. Most villains in books can come across as one dimensional. This is certainly not the case of Warner. He was so compelling that I loved every single scene he was in.

I can’t say enough amazing things about this book. I sometimes find hyped books fail to live up to their expectations, but Shatter Me certainly surpassed mine.

 

Rating: 5/5 Stars