Restore Me (Shatter Me Book 4)

This book is so different from the others, too many things to sort out. The title makes it seem as if things will finally be resolved...but, instead, it's like a whirlwind of things. I think I would have called it "Disconnect Me". On the bright side, I am guessing that the next book in the series is already being written because it Can't just end like this!!!

I enjoy this series. That said, does this next installment seem like it was incredibly short to anyone else? The content is enjoyable, it just seemed like it was more of a Novella like the Warner and Adam books. I guess I just expected more.

After such an AMAZINGLY brilliant series that is Shatter Me, I expect great things from this novel. I’ve never been so disappointed. The characters seemed to DIGRESS and it seemed as if it was written as a money maker rather than a needed addition to a series I adore. I wish I hadn’t even read it.

**SPOILERS ALERT**

Okay, first I really want to thank the author for not having one, but two Britney Spears moments in this book. Thank you, what a beautiful 10 year tribute.

Anyway, this book picked up right after the last book. I liked how you didn't really have to reread the book before to remember what was going on, which was nice. Not that I wouldn't like to read it over again, because I would, it's just kind of a bother...But yeah, the story wasn't confusing at all.

This book, like most dystopian romances is cut in two main plots. The supernatural/politics plot and the romantic plot. The dystopian plot is, in my opinion, very interesting. There's a lot of depth and mystery and keeps the readers engage and saying "oh shiz that's cool" at every new revelation. It's going to make for an interesting read. I will say that the ending where she like was doing her speech thang was so fast paced, i actually reread it like wait what? Where tf am I? But yeah, other than that, I have a feeling of where the story is going, and I approve.

The one thing I really find hard to love about this series, or any dystopian romances for that matter, is that the romantic plot overshadows the other plot so much that everything from the dystopian plot has this superficial vibe that's hard to ignore. For example, when juliette learns all these things about her past from Warren, and she's just like "omg how could you lie to me?" Yeah he lied and that sucks, but the information... "Warren was with who for how long?"

Uhhh...seriously?

O_O

I know he means a lot to her and shiz but really? Lmfao really? Don't you think maybe this information is pretty important? No? You want to make a dramatic break up scene that I thoroughly enjoyed reading? Yeah okay, makes sense. I wouldn't care about the only blood relation that may actually understand me either. Pfft unimportant.

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)

But yeah, I love romance books. I literally eat them up faster than the M&M's I was shoving down my throat while reading this. The romance was great, I loved that you could look into Warren's mind while Juliette (is she a Sparrow? Because that girl is a master of seduction yo) made him into her little bit-
*cough*
Uh yeah anyway, I just felt it was sort of lacking in that way all romance novels do once the main characters finally get together. Can't really be helped. Also the fact that Juliette really doesn't know anything about him still lmao. Good job Warren!
That end scene though (after Britney shaved her head, but before she killed everyone) when Warren is like "give me another chance" and Juliette is like "that's so unfair." Ahhhhh so good. #teamwarren

So, to come back to what I was saying, the political story and the setting worked well for me. The main characters (supporting roles were very good, i liked their development) and their developments did not. One of the many things I love about the character Warren, is how put together he is and how logical, in a sense, he is. I find it sexy, and a beautiful contrast to Juliette's emotional turmoil. However, some parts of his pov's, I couldn't help but say blah blah blah as I was reading it. I have no problem with him showing emotion, but his line of thought was very Juliette like? To me, they are not the same person, therefore should not have the same internal voice of grief.

Okay, I think I'm done. Lol jk, let me complain about the shaved head scene again.

Warren's shaved head scene: okay yeah that's pretty unfortunate. Okay yeah he's more than his beauty, yeah cool...#teamlonghairedwarren

Juliette's shaved head scene: wait she shaved the whole thing? Or like those cool bad ass edgy half shaved styles? No? The whole thing? Just like Warren? Really? While she was drunk? How did she manage that? Those clippers must be the real deal, that would have taken me forever. Especially drunk? And it looks good? She should consider a new career. Why is everyone cool with this? Why didn't Kenji make a joke about it? Eveyone's too okay with it that it just makes it weirder. Where's the "you really do start to become the person you're dating" joke? No? Okay... :(
Also, I don't stand behind the empowering feeling she had because of her shaved head, since she only did it because she was drunk. It's distasteful tbh, and pretty much ruins the beauty is not only physical theme. You give Nazeera a hijab that not only shows power to her as a woman but also power in her beliefs, but the valley girl gets a little drunk and heartbroken...just sayin LOL, but yeah whatever. What do I know. You do you girl.

Tl;dr: good story, bad actors. Prepare yourself for the 2007 Britney Spears tribute. #bromance

Rated 2 stars because seriously, as much as I hate to say this, it was just okay.

I am a die-hard fan of this series. I own all audiobooks, hardbacks, and a signed paperback set of the series. Suffice it to say, I loved the trilogy and couldn't wait for Restore Me.

Sadly, a majority of this book was fluff to introduce new characters and provide backstory. Even now, after just finishing it, I can only name 2-3 events other than petty drama. The dual POV makes a lot of the book repetitive: Juliette does something, Warner rehashes his feelings about it and vice-versa. The characters seemed to regress, in fact, the character arcs went entirely down and stayed there. Juliette's character was reactionary instead of being proactive and Warner didn't even seem like himself, he lacked any motivation other than to be a BF to Juliette. Even his internal struggle, which was evident at the beginning of the book, kinda faded away.

The pacing of this book was slow. The rising action and climax of the whole book was crammed into the last 10 pages-which IMO is where this book should have started. The action was so fast that I had to reread what had happened in order to understand. There wasn't a resolution, only a hint at where the next book will start (cliffhanger).

Regarding the audiobook version, I love Kate Simses' narration. James Fouhey, who read Warner's POV, is a new narrator to me, and it sounded like he had a cold and needed to blow his nose the whole book.

Will I read the next book? Sure. I just hope that something actually happens in it.

I preordered the book back in January, and did my waiting, I got the book and first thing I notice? The pages are untrimmed and pasted together in sections of the book, naturaly, I ask for another book and return the other one. What happened? PAGES ARE AS UNTRIMMED AS THE FIRST TIME! I won't be returning this one merely because it is a problem for me and an extra spending to get the same quality.
What a shame.

** spoiler alert ** (3.5 stars)

My reaction to this book is literally just "what the hell just happend".

I feel like Tahereh Mafi should just change this book's title from Restore Me to "Bombs, bombs everywhere".

Because this is exactly what this book is. Bombs.

I don't even think there's any real plot-line in this book. Restore Me is literally a 400-page collection of Tahereh Mafi just dropping every Shatter Me bombs and twists ever. Boom, Juliette has a sister. Boom, Aaron has been unknowingly torturing this sister for about 16 years. Boom, Juliette is adopted. Boom, Juliette's entire life was The Truman Show. Boom, Juliette is a child of the Supreme Commander of Oceania. Boom, Warner and Juliette have met before as a child. Boom, WARNER AND JULIETTE GONNA HAVE SOME HAIR MAKEOVER

Boom Boom Boom

*INSERT EXPLOSION GIF HERE BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO*

That's mainly the reason why I'm only giving this book 3.5 stars, the other being how I HATE when my ships fight. I hate when they're like that, I want to see them together, not separated.

I'm not hating this book. I'm just saying it wasn't the best, but definitely did something to the series story-line alright...(Mafi I think you need to chill down a bit with the bombing, you're killing a little bit too many people with the heart attacks). If Mafi did this to keep us involved in the series, congratulations, because it worked. Some serious things are definitely going down in the Shatter Me universe, and I do not know if I can be ready for it...

TW: anxiety, panic attacks, transphobia (that is challenged), mentions of racism,

Whoa that ending!! I just finished this book less than an hour ago so I am still reeling a bit from the ending, but I am going to (hopefully) put my thoughts together coherently enough to write this review!

I re-read the series in anticipation for starting Restore Me, and although I am happy I did because it helped me remember everything that had happened, it was a little hard at first to go from such a high in Ignite Me to all of a sudden intense emotions straight off the bat in Restore Me. However, like always with this series it was really easy to just speed through this book so it never slowed me down.

The writing is beautiful. I love Tahereh Mafi's writing style so much especially when it comes to these characters. Despite the wide cast of characters, most of them have their own individuality and I feel like I know each character really well. I think I brought this up in a review for one of the other books in this series, but besides the Harry Potter series, I highlight and take notes in these books more than I do any other books. From the beautifully poetic writing to the conversations between the characters I find myself needing to tab my favorite parts. Granted, it's easier on my kindle, but I still found myself highlighting large areas.

The characters were almost exactly how I hoped they'd be. I loved Kenji, who is once again my favorite character. He got bumped down the last book because of how much I loved Juliette, but after some stuff with her in this book (no spoilers!) Kenji has been bumped back up to my favorite. I loved his moments with Juliette and especially his moments with Warner. I think the way he has become such an integral part of their lives is something I wasn't sure how it would work but now that I see it unfolding in front of me it's all I've wanted. Juliette unfortunately was my biggest problem with this book, which really pains me to say because I loved her character development throughout the original three books. However, the Juliette at the end of Ignite Me is not the same Juliette in Restore Me, despite only it being two weeks between each book in the story. I absolutely expected Juliette to be a bit insecure when it came to being the Supreme Commander of North America. I knew she was going to kind of learn the ropes and she'd be a bit unsure of herself. But I also thought she would be the Juliette we knew from the end of Ignite Me. And she wasn't. She reminded me of the Juliette we knew in beginning and middle of Unravel Me. She was this scared, emotional, irrational girl. I felt like we took multiple steps back in her development without much of an explanation. I am hoping this changes, but I am bummed about it because it felt unnecessary and outside of her character. Talking outside of character, Warner was super different but in ways I not only expected but I liked being in his point of view. I think Warner's reaction to everything he had been through, everything he found out about his life, was very realistic. We also get anxiety representation that I was surprised at how much I related to Warner's anxiety and panic attacks. I really enjoyed not only getting more of Warner's past but also getting inside his head. I was hoping we'd get more with him and Adam (and James) but I bet that'll happen later on. I did enjoy the new cast of characters we were presented with. I think Juliette's friendship with Nazeera is one I am so excited to see more in the future. I have wanted Juliette to have a female friendship for so long now. I cannot wait to get to know the other characters we have only had small snippets of.

Although I was never bored while reading, I did expect there to be more action in this book. Or at least less of Juliette driving me nuts and getting to know our new characters more. I don't think I expected a crazy amount of action because it's been four years since the last book so it's almost like we need to re-introduced. But I think we could have had more. If not action, maybe just world building? That is one of my biggest negatives about the original three, I want more of the world. And although we meet characters from other parts of the world, they're barely in the story so it isn't as much as I'd like. Like I have already said, I wish we had less of Juliette regressing into her old self and more progress with how our cast of characters are going to try to make North America and the world a better place.

Things I am hoping we will get in the future: Warner talking with Adam and James more, possibly more Adam character development?, more world building, and getting to know our new characters more.

Overall I cannot wait for the next book. I am not sure how I will wait a whole year (I assume) for another book but I definitely plan on re-reading this in the future. I am so happy I have been able to fall in love with this series even more and that we get more of these characters, writing, and world.

I understand we are at a different place than the last book, but I just miss all the Warner and Juliette love growth we witnessed. I just felt like they were so far apart despite being literally right by each other. I love Warner having so much faith in her, but at times I wish he would be more vocal on what to do since he is so smart and wise. Finding out more about Warner was shocking and I did feel for Juliette because it did seem like a slap in the face. It's pretty horrible all things Warner had to endure because of his father when he was alive and even dead. So just need all the drama to go away! Warner and Juliette need to communicate and be the best power couple ever!

This was much more successful for me than the original trilogy, solving a lot of the problems particularly about the world. I think the problems I had with the original books were all rooted in the fact that we were getting everything from Juliette's point-of-view, and she didn't know much. Also, she could be a lot. There were times in this she could still be a lot. But we're getting closer. This was actually fun to read.

Wow, just wow. I've been waiting forever for this one. I could have read in one sitting but I kept rereading paragraphs and even chapters just to absorb it all over and over. Loved the two POVs,especially Warner's. Based on Warner and Juliette's actions and decisions you can still see they are teenagers and not in charge, middle-agers. The parts with Warner and Juliette were swoon worthy. Major cliffhanger. Need #5 now!

I started and finished this the same day because once you get towards the end YOU CAN NOT STOP READING. The story really focuses on Juliette's background. Listening to the strike-out words on audio is pretty crazy. Kenji is everything. I still ship Warner and Juliette. Warner has some explaining to do. I don't know what this means for Juliette and her command. Of course I will be reading the next book.

LOVED IT!!! This book was a pleasant surprise. I, like many other Shatter Me fans, was a little disappointed about the cliffhanger at the end of Ignite Me. We all thought it was the last book of the series. We wanted an epilogue. But NOPE!! WE GOT ANOTHER BOOK!!! There were a lot of surprising twists in this story. There're a few really cool new characters as well. What I really liked about this book was that Warner and Juliette seem more like...well, teenagers. Still mature for their age, but teenagers. It felt more realistic. But know this, ANOTHER BOOK IS COMING!!!

Oh Juliette ! What is happening!!!! I love this book’s new direction, new characters, and new moral dilemmas. W/o details (aka spoilers), Juliette digs deep and finds new strength to deal with issues that will continue in future books. She fought through her insecurities to rely on her inner strength, again. This book rekindled my interest in this series and I am looking forward to future installments!

This book lacks the creativity and the character development of the other three books. This is a total departure from the series and felt forced. This is novellaesk in quality and quantity. If you enjoyed the first three books, I would suggest not reading this one.

While its been four years since the last book, Restore Me takes place just 16 days after the events of Ignite Me. We are put back into this world in the midst of Juliette trying to establish her rule as Supreme Commander. This requires her to balance relationships between herself, her friends, Sector 45, and the rest of the world. Unsurprisingly, Restore Me is beautifully and eloquently written. Tahereh Mafi’s way with words has always been a huge selling point for this series.

The last book ended in a series of rapid events which, I felt, left a lot unresolved. So I really enjoyed the fact that the beginning of this books focuses on resolving some of those issues. This also allows for some much-needed development for certain characters and relationships. This book also features a level of hilarity that can only come from a bunch of teenagers trying to run the county and I am HERE for it.

Unfortunately, Restore Me also brings back one of the aspects of the original trilogy that I loathe. That aspect is Juliette’s attitude. Juliette still makes me want to shake her because she doesn’t listen! Her actions in this book remind me of why I honestly didn’t enjoy Shatter Me. Yes, she was mistreated but so was literally every other character in this book! She always acts like a dramatic spoiled brat and thinks everyone is deliberately plotting against her and it's infuriating.

Overall, I am so excited to be back with Juliette and crew. I’m dreading having to wait a year for the next book because this ending is insane!Props to Tahereh Mafi for making it feel like we never left.

From the very beginning, I have loved this series, so I absolutely could not wait to read Restore Me. So many distopians focus on the uprising of rebels and the downfall of some kind of corrupt government - reading about the aftermath and seeing how such a world could be rebuilt was definitely something I was interested in. As usual, Tajereh blew my mind. It was both wonderful and terrifying; not continuing a series leaves the reader missing the characters and wondering what could possibly happen next, but continuing one also introduces new issues and situations. Each moment of betrayal between Juliette and Warner pierced my heart, because I love both characters so much; every second of despair, felt by both, filled me with sadness, because I feel a connection. Page after page, I was swiping furiously, my disbelief and shock continued to grow. By the final page, I literally had my hand over my mouth in surprise... Then I practically threw my Kindle in anger, frustration, grief, and exasperation. In have no regrets - I'm more desperate than ever to find out what happens next!

I hate cliffhangers- but I love this series. In it, Juliet discovers more of Warner’s past and the other sectors respond to her taking over Sector 45. Juliet is dealing with insecurities that are hard to break after spending so long in captivity and at the receiving end of cruelty and a harsh environment devoid of love. Warner, not knowing love, having been raised by a heartless monster, has much to learn and is grieving for a man he hated, yet can’t help but feel sorrow. I don’t want to go into details but this series is great and definitely has some ‘didn’t see that coming’ revelations.