I recently embarked on a journey to read all of the Shatter Me series book. In 2016, I read and reviewed the first three books (Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me). Truthfully, I only remembered some things that had occurred. And I do remember liking the series enough. This time around I was interested to see if my thoughts towards the series would change especially since I would be doing it a little differently this time. Firstly, I wouldn’t be listening to it on Audible, instead I would be reading the books. And lastly, I would be reading more books this time. In addition, to reading the first three books I would be reading four others (Restore me, Defy Me, Imagine Me, and Believe Me). Believe Me would be the only novella that I would be reading.
I finished my reread within only a few days. I wholeheartedly stand by what I said in my previous review. This series is a puzzle, and when looked at, it shows a beautiful, complete photo. When I read this series in 2016, it was only three books. And now after reading the rest, I can’t imagine the book series ending with Ignite Me. There were so many things to uncover, and I’m thankful that the author continued the story because I think those last three books add so much to the story.
The writing didn’t bother me that much this time. I appreciated how poetic it was, and how important it was to Juliette’s development. I felt the weight of each word every time within Juliette’s POV, and her pain and desire to understand who she was and to save herself. As the books go on, she gets more confident and able to say what she feels.
The Juliette in the first book is not the same person in the last book, which is a big sigh of relief. In my first review, I mentioned that she was frustrating. Now, I don’t really think she was frustrating. I think her situation with Adam was frustrating. The whole love triangle is my least favorite part of this series given that Juliette and Adam were almost annoyingly unbearable. However, I do think that Juliette learned a lot about herself during her and Adam’s little insta love portion of this series. She’s much stronger than him, yet with him she was carrying this raw unknown power, and was blinded or well shielded from her potential. One of the best things she ever did was turn him down, because her without him? Wow, that’s a powerful queen. She needed that heartbreak to save the world.
She’s an icon. She’s the moment. And this series is really about her journey as she develops. And yes, props to the author for giving the world Juliette. She has such a loving heart despite everything that she has dealt with.
As with Juliette, the other characters had significant growth too. You can’t judge the characters off one book because they grow so much through the series, that as I think about it, I get a little teary eyed because they have all come so fair.
Okay, most of them. Adam was frustrating for probably sixty percent of the time. I understood how he would be hurt in relation to the status of him and Juliette’s relationship status throughout the series; however, people were dying. And he was behaving like a child. Juliette was able to put her feelings aside and same the world and he was moping around and saying rude stuff to her when she didn’t deserve it. His presence in the books sort of decreased as the series went on, and I’m not mad about it. He was heavily featured in the first three books too much.
On to the other guy in the love triangle. Warner. I know he’s the “villain” in the first book. Yet, I’m sorry he was always the better choice. Kudos for Mafi for creating such an interesting character that people can’t get enough of. From his first appearance, I was like wow this is a character. I forgot most things so when his backstory got revealed my jaw dropped. I had completely forgotten. He’s a rich and raw character despite what people say about him. They don’t know him like me and Juliette know him!!
Anyway, he’s an icon too. And him and Juliette’s relationship might be one of the most emotional and satisfying relationships I’ve read. I love them so much. And I would read a hundred more books about them.
I want to briefly mention Kenji. I don’t understand how I didn’t mention him in my first review. He’s a star! And his friendships with Juliette and Warner are two of my favorite relationships in the series. As for his relationship with Nazeera. Speaking of her. Her introduction into this world was needed. The first three books were lacking female characters, and not only was she a powerful force in her own right, she brought a lot to the table in terms of representation and the gang's ability to continuously keep fighting. Because at times, it was getting kind of gloomy. And I wasn’t sure if the team was going to make it. Thankfully, they did with her help.
Final Thoughts
The Shatter Me series isn’t perfect. I still stand by that statement. However, I can’t attest that I wasn’t completely deeply invested as I read this series. The raw emotion that I felt as I turned the page, and the quick beat of my heartbeat are engraved in my mind. I couldn’t put the books down. And every twist and turn left me breathless as I desperately needed to make sure that these characters were okay, and that in the end they would come out on top. Mafi made me care and fall in love, and she made me nervous as she evilly upped the stakes every single time. This series is a beautiful journey, and even days later I find myself still thinking about.
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