Restore Me (Shatter Me)

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.

Honestly, this book for me is a struggle to get through. I’ve been a fan of this series since it first came out(even have the original first cover version) and I have reread it about 20 times. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve gotten older as this series has gone along, or maybe my tastes have changed, but this 4th book is disappointing. It takes being over halfway through the book before anything at all happens. Juliette is probably one of the most flat characters I’ve read about, and quite honestly acts like an airhead most of the time. She is not the hero of the story, and she’s certainly not the heroine I care to read about. Also, I’d be curious to see the customers with kindles that read this book and could get a count on how many times she uses the word “surprised”? Super bummed about this one.

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.

Hmmm, how to start... it’s been a while since I’ve read the other books, so I could probably use a refresher but I’ll try my best with this.

What I didn’t like: This book felt too short, like there was so much that could have been done with it but the author didn’t have time to because she was too busy focusing on the drama between Warner and Juliette. The old characters in the story were barely here, aside from Kenji and Castle. I wanted more on Warner and Adam and James, but they had barely any interaction in this story. Warner and Adam talked briefly for one chapter and that’s it. Adam barely makes an appearance otherwise. I wanted to see them try to grow a relationship and interact, but that didn’t happen. The bit of strength Juliette gained at the end of the last book seems to have gone here. She is completely unprepared for the job she’s taken on - embarrassingly floundering in many aspects of it - and reverts back to being uncertain and scared and her sanity seems to worsen. She begins doubting Warner and everything that grew between them. And when she finds things out about his past she flips her lid. Her compassion for him has almost vanished, despite his attempts to make her happy. For as much abuse as she knows he has suffered, expecting him to spill his guts to her about his past all at once is unrealistic. Castle’s character because less admirable after we discover he knew certain things (no spoilers) and did nothing about them. Just apparently lived with the knowledge and did nothing to try correcting it. The plot twist we’re thrown here really didn’t surprise me all that much. There are 2 sex scenes in here which required skipping a few pages. A few things about Warner/done by him seemed a bitttttt out of character for him but I won't say what because of spoilers. Cliché Russian girl who is vicious and blonde and pale skinned. Brief appearance of apparent trans-in-progress character, that is mocked by said Russian.

What I did like: Getting every other chapter from Warner’s POV was awesome, and his and Kenji’s interaction was hysterical.

Will be waiting for the next Novella to see where it all goes from here.

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...

Being a huge fan of the other Shatter me series I was absolutely so disappointed with this read. I was so excited for the release of this book, but after having read it I sit here in so much confusion.
I can’t even tell you what the plot of this book was.

I feel like the information conveyed could have easily been boiled down to one chapter. The book was bland and unnecessary, her novellas are even way more suspenseful then this was. There was nothing about this book that made me want to keep reading more except the last ten pages. And even then I’m left so confused.. Everything in this book shifted to something so foreign, and I can’t even begin to explain what I’m left thinking. I think I was looking for so much MORE and definitely didn’t find it in this addition. :(

It's been a while since I read the first three books of this series and I'm definitely thinking of doing a complete reread before the next book is released. I loved this, but I would have enjoyed it more if I would have remembered the finer points.

“Idiots are highly flammable, love. Let them all burn in hell.”

1. The characters. Something that I've seen everyone obsessing over is the fact that we now get Warner's POV and I can say with confidence that I was not disappointed in the slightest! I loved getting to see both sides of their relationship, and since the plot revolves majorly on the secrets Warner keeps from Juliette, it really emphasized the situation. After stepping away from the series for so long, I think the author did a wonderful job in staying true to her characters. Adam is slowly fading to the background (I'm taking that as a sign that he'll play a pivotal role in the next book!) and Kenji is still amazing and lovely and hilarious. We also get to see a more serious side of him which really helped to develop his character into something more than just comic relief. As for the MC, Juliette, I loved being in her head again!

“I cannot let the broken girl inside of me inhale all that I've become. I cannot revert back to another version of myself. I will not shatter, not again, in the wake of an emotional earthquake.”

2. The plot. I have... mixed feelings about this. Generally speaking, I loved it (illustrated by the fact that I finished it in 2.5 hours) and I was sucked in completely from the very first page. My one complaint is that it all seemed a bit thrown together. I suppose Juliette's reality at the moment is a bit thrown together but all the same, there was just this torrent of feelings all the time coming from both Juliette and Warner about different revelations and I just wanted something substantial to happen. Additionally, I wish the ending (the whole speech bit) was given more than one chapter. SO much happened there and it needed so much more than one chapter. Beyond that, though, I thought it was all lovely and intriguing. The plot line constantly kept me on my toes. Overall feelings, though? Definite bridge book.

“Who says you can’t be cute and kick ass at the same time?” Kenji winks at me. “I do it every day.”

3. The romance. This is also where it gets interesting. As I said in the section above, a lot of the plot is centered around certain secrets and revelations that alter Juliette's reality. This impacts Warner and Juliette's relationship substantially and also leads to some more great character development on Juliette's side of the bar. Recently, I haven't been loving the romances in books but this book gave me hope that I'm not completely burned out on them. I loved Warner and Juliette's relationship and how the author structured their uncertainties with each other.

“In the steady thrum that accompanies quiet, my mind is unkind to me. I think too much. I feel, perhaps, far more than I should. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that my goal in life is to outrun my mind, my memories.”

4. The writing. I felt like I had to mention this as Tahereh Mafi is one of my favorite writers in terms of style. I absolutely love her creative use of line spacing, strike-outs, and repetition. She does such a great job of using these techniques (and others) to create a unique atmosphere for each mind in each POV. Her writing also does so much to bring emotion to life; something that is difficult to accomplish effectively. I can imagine that her style of writing doesn't appeal to everyone, but to me, it's positively beautiful.

“Right now I feel certain that my imagination is much more dangerous than any of his truths.”

The Final Verdict:
With a heart-pounding plotline and constantly evolving characters, this installment of the series has left me excited to read the next section. Warner and Juliette's relationship continues to get a thumbs-up from me, as well. However, despite all this, Restore Me is, at it's heart, at bridge book.
4 stars

"The world tried to crush you, and you refused to be shattered. You've recovered from every setback a stronger person, rising from the ashes only to astonish everyone around you. And you will continue to surprise and confuse those who underestimate you. It is an inevitability. A forgeone conclusion." "But you should know that being a leader is a thankless occupation. Few will ever be grateful for what you do or the changes you implement".

Resounding 6 stars

When months ago Tahere announced the release of a fourth book in the series I was overjoyed!

March could not come soon enough.

But with such great expectations came great fear.
Would I still love this series that I had read years ago? I've read lots of dystopian books since that time and maybe it was not as good as I remembered?
Or maybe Tahere would not maintain the same quality? It often happens in series...

I began Restore Me yesterday ... and finished it this morning. I couldn't put it down pure and simple!

I love what Tahere chose to explore in this fourth installment.
She chose to show something that felt real.
Juliette seventeen years old, invincible and riddled with doubts and insecurities. Killing the Supreme Commander of sector 45 was one thing.
Leading peace negociations with world rulers was a totally different challenge. One who asked for diplomacy. The art of reading between the lines. The mastering of several languages. Education. Reading thousands of reports a day. Organizing dinner time for many soldiers, housing facilities....
And Juliette felt so ill equipped.
She came from an asylum for God's sake!
She hadn't been groomed to become a ruler on day like Warner or the other rulers kids!

Castle did not help her hinting at Warner's past that held secrets Juliette didn't know but had to ask for.

Back and forth we switch between insecure Juliette, Juliette from the asylum and new Juliette. The one who took the power. The one who wants a better world and has to believe she can make it happen tanks to her friends help.

We also learn more about Juliette's past. About the many lies she's been fed. About how she's been manipulated. It was totally unexpected and I loved every minute of it!

Warner has an immovable faith in Juliette's strenght and capacity to be the ruler they all need.
He wants to help her but he also made mistakes. Lots and lots of mistakes. I could have titled this review "How Warner sabotaged his relationship.". Because could my beloved Warner be clueless when it came to relationships and feminine mind!

Once again it was the perfect and logical choice Tahere did. He had been forced to be detached for other's emotions all his life. Him, the boy who felt everything had to protect his mind. As a result he is lost when dealing with the proper emotional reaction.

But do these two love each other! They will have much ro overcome. It was angsty! It felt desperate sometimes. And that ending!!!!! Tahere how could you leave us on such cliffhanger!

Please write the next one in 2018!

Ps I know some have issues with this series and pointed very valid points but what can I say? It's my kryptonite!

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.

This review contains spoilers for the first 3 books of the Shatter Me series, but no spoilers for Restore Me.

Y’all. I feel like I have been waiting for this book for a lifetime. Shatter Me was one of the first books I read after about a 5 year reading slump. I completely devoured the 3 book series in a matter of days, but like other fans, felt like the story was missing something. The ending just wasn’t quite right and felt rushed, so when I heard Mafi was releasing THREE MORE BOOKS I fan-girl screamed. I was SO excited. Then I was nervous. What if the books don’t resonate with me like they did when I first read them? What if immersing myself back into Sector 45 and the Reestablishment ruins the previous love I had for this series? And most important of all: WHAT IF JULIETTE AND WARNER AREN’T ENDGAME?!

I mean, it’s not like Mafi hasn’t switched up love interests before. My gamut of emotions and fears aside, of course I was going to read this book and I am so glad I did. There were a lot of critiques of Ignite Me, mainly how Adam’s character changed so quickly and how everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. I feel like Mafi did an excellent job addressing these issues. You get insight into Adam’s motives and character progression that show you where he was coming from in acting like a complete dick the entire third book. Juliette dealing with the aftermath of becoming Supreme Commander is a main focus this book, and it provided a lot of world building info we were missing in the first three books finally giving some background info about how the reestablishment came to be. Restore Me actually only takes place over a period of a few days, but it is full of action and character development (particularly Warner).

Let’s talk about Warner: first of all, he is even better in this book. Restore Me is told in both Juliette and Warner’s POV so you get a deep look into Warner’s tortured mind. Warner suffers from PTSD (from his abusive a-hole father) and anxiety with the presence of panic attacks. Mental health representation is so important and I thought Mafi did a wonderful job addressing this particular struggle. I really liked being able to be inside both Warner and Juliette’s mind, but I am hoping this isn’t foreshadowing a death (as Allegiant did with having a dual POV with Four and Tris).

Overall, I really loved the book. Juliette still annoys me, but not enough to keep me away from reading the rest of the series.

Oh, and THAT ENDING THOUGH ????????

It was so good to revisit this world and these characters. It felt very familiar, yet also so fresh and new. You could easily tell how much Mafi's writing has grown and changed in terms of story-telling, but I was very happy that she still kept some of the awesomeness that I loved in the original series.

In a lot of ways, this felt like a "first book" in a series, as not a lot truly happens. Even though it's been years for us readers, it's only been two weeks for these characters. It makes sense that most of the book was just the characters adjusting and reacting to the revolution. While I was hoping for more, I understood why there wasn't and I wasn't ever bored, so that's good.

I loved that we got Warner's POV in this book and I hope that continues throughout the series. Juliette is very much a stranger to this new world she's in charge of and very naive, so it's nice to see it all through Warner's eyes and get his perspective on it. I will say that I wish he would've gotten over himself more and communicated better. Seriously, if there's one complaint, it's the lack of communication between Warner and Juliette, and honestly, with all of the characters. Granted, most of them are teens, but still. So much drama could've been avoided.

The ending was pretty awesome, although I saw that twist coming a mile away. It was blatantly obvious even before I read the book what was going to happen and what was going to be revealed. It was too rushed, however, and I didn't get a chance to absorb what was happening before the book just ended. Ugh, cliffhangers!

The book is good and it definitely has me wanting to read the next one. Most of the time when authors try to continue a series, it's totally unnecessary and falls flat, but in this case, Mafi did an amazing job. Not only that, it honestly works because we only got Juliette's story in the present, her escaping and her self-discovery, but there was truly so much more story to tell.

As much as I enjoyed the other books in this series, I had a hard time with Restore Me. It felt like the entire book was the following scene ad nauseum:
Juliet: "I'm not sure what to do."
Warner: "I'm so in love with Juliet, it hurts."
Juliet: "I'm not sure what to do now."
Warner: "Juliet is so beautiful, it's painful"
Juliet: "What do I do know - I am not sure."
Warner: "Juliet is my world, she's so perfect."

I kept waiting for a plot to kick in but it was pretty much a love letter to those fans who wanted more Warner mooning over Juliet. Fortunately, we had some great scenes with Kenji again - he's always a welcome injection of self effacing humor to keep us from taking the situations too seriously. But there wasn't enough Kenji to go around to offset the saccharine romance.

In addition, it gets tiring to have everyone, including all the enemies, falling in love with Juliet instead of disliking or destroying her. Yet again, we have new characters introduced who fall for her sweetness and fall all over themselves to help her. I can't say I really bought it and it would have been nice to have someone actually dislike her for being too good-two-shoes and naive.

About half way through the Audible narration, I got really bored. Juliet unsure, Warner pining for her, some silly plot device about her family and a secret that Warner fears will make her hate him. It wasn't enough to keep me interested since we really didn't get any character or plot development and it all felt kind of vapid.

The Audible narration got old as well. Juliet sound like she is 12 and the addition of Warner's perspective didn't do much for me. It was kind of jarring to go from Warner sounding one way with the female narrator and then sounding different with the male narrator.

I’m always apprehensive about giving unfavorable reviews to books targeting outside my demographic. With that said, young adult to new adult are my guilty pleasure so I often find myself conflicted as to whether my opinion is even relevant. At any rate, it should be noted that this Shatter Me installment is definitely YA in content and mannerisms.

First off, Restore Me is a bit of a misleading title; nothing is restored except absolute chaos and most of that is mental. In fact, I would say 75% of this read is introspective and it’s not pretty. Juliette has all but completely regressed and Warner is a basket case. It’s just shy of character assassination for both, disappointing to say the least.

I probably under-appreciate Mafi’s poetic flare because this read amounts to 448 pages of flamboyant chatter for me. There are several major past revelations but the storyline is very shallow; the new information is basically planted for the next installment and the one notable event seems disconnected. I think the information could have been easily incorporated into a comprehensive plot.

More thoughts...

Kenji, as always comic relief with hints of evolution into a three dimensional character, we aren’t there yet but I’m intrigued by the prospect.

Castle is the tool of all tools, I don’t like him and I don’t trust him!

James is a prop, I’m ok with that, but Adam deserved better. Wait wasn’t he super upset in his first appearance?!? Either I missed that point or it was an abandoned subplot. Either way I’m not a fan of Adam but as a former major player he needs to be written off or given significance.

I actually like the new characters.. pretty much. Lena is a bit ridiculous.

Mild Spoilers...

I assume the shooting will have significance later but since it’s literally the only event in the book until the last few pages, I feel like it should have tied in better. It’s kind like we need some action, stick something in there towards the middle.

I experienced serious frustration over the ridiculousness of Warner having a previous relationship. Can we just get a blinking sign that says “foreshadowing”? Of course a 19 year old man has been in a relationship or two. And it’s very Warner not to mention it, just as it’s very Juliette to not ask (she is a bit self absorbed). Anyway her whole grudge against Warner is forced, it’s all about her “not being able to trust him” which IMO is contrived. More believable would be an inability to accept his past brutality.

When I read the previous book in this series I assumed it was the final book even though it felt somewhat incomplete; needless to say I was never so happy to be wrong... "Restore Me" picks up several weeks after the takeover of Sector 45 and depicts the emotional aftermath experienced by both Juliette and Warner; Kenji plays a significant role in this story as well as the primary confidant for Juliette as well as comical relief from the intense emotions of the main characters... Many of the secondary characters, including Adam, are sparsely heard throughout this story which I found somewhat disappointing; I wanted to hear their voices and experience their inner turmoil amongst these vast changes... Throughout the first half of the book, Juliette's character seemed to revert back to the insecure, frightened girl who was constantly swallowed by grief and despair; I was eager to see the reemergence of the confident, self assured woman we saw at the end of the previous book... It is in the second half of this story that secrets are revealed and revelations are made that catapult Juliette into the no nonsense, powerful woman that she is which leads to a dramatic cliffhanger of a conclusion... Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story with the dual POV, the many twists and turns of the storyline, and the catastrophic conclusion that leaves more questions than answers... looking forward to the next installment to the series... 4 to 4.5 Stars:)

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.

Okay, so I started this book a little confused, probably because its been well over 3 years since I read Ignite Me. So with that being said, I do recommend either rereading Ignite Me or sparknotes or something for a refresher. There is a lot less action in this book compared to the other books in the series. I was honestly getting very disappointed until I hit maybe the 65% - 75% marker. Part 7 was definitely worth the read. I am frustrated though. You made us wait 4 years for a book 4 and then you end book 4 on such an extreme cliff hanger to make us wait another year for book 5. Normally, that doesn't bother me as much but I guess its just because of the huge gap we had in the series.
I understand why, but I was very disappointed in the way Adam and James were basically just written out of the story and no longer have a purpose. Still, my favorite character is Kenji! Juliette totally got on my nerves in this one and Warner was just a big dope. I felt like I was reading about Edward and Bella!! So the book answers 1 question from the entire series in the very last chapter and leaves you with 10K more!! I am really not okay with this.

I love the Shatter Me series. I love the audiobooks. I have listened to Ignite Me like over 50 times. So many times during Restore Me I was groaning out loud and annoyed. Why are they whining about such petty shit. Why is Juliette freaking out so much about Warner not telling her his entire back story - when the hell did she think they had time for that. Not to mention that when he did end up telling her stuff she kept screaming at him to stop talking. I had to keep remind myself, though, that she is 17 years old - and when I did that, I couldn't help but think Tahereh Mafi is a genius. I loved the HFN in ignite me, but Juliette and Warner were still so new, so young, and in such a volatile situation. Juliette was strong and powerful and gaining in confidence but still so inexperienced and naive. In the last chapter I was getting horrified - but as true romance junkie, the ENTIRE book was saved for me with last few sentences. Fated love - what a beautiful thing.

I absolutely LOVED the first three books of this series. Restore me however was a huge disappointment. I felt like all the character development that happened in the first three books with Juliette and Warner was completely undone.

The book was depressing and slow. The big “reveals” were anticlimactic. Juliette went from the in control, passionate, and strong girl in “Ignite Me” to the self loathing, doubting and verging on insane girl from “Shatter Me”.

Warner is unorganized and weak in this book which is just not who he is. He seemed like a totally different person.

I have zero interest in the newly added characters, they were introduced briefly without really giving us any reason to invest in any of them. The storylines of background characters I had hoped would be further developed are now all dead.

All action in this book happed in just a few pages at the end. There was no hope in the book...the events were all bad and depressing...and ended in a cliffhanger, without giving us anything.

There was no beautiful or complex inner dialogue in the book (other than journal entries from previous books) which is a huge part of what drew me into the series....the writing felt different and the story just fell flate.

I am invested in these characters so I will continue to read the series. I really hope furture books take a turn back the beauty of the origional three.

“I cannot let the broken girl inside of me inhale all that I've become. I cannot revert back to another version of myself. I will not shatter, not again, in the wake of an emotional earthquake.”

The Shatter Me series has been a favorite of mine for the past four or five years. I read back when I was in middle/high school and it never left my mind. It always felt like there was so much more to the story. The way Ignite Me ended gave off that feeling. I was so happy when Tahereh announced that there were more books, and goodness was this book a roller coaster!

Going back into this world felt so nostalgic. Got to read about the characters that I loved so much, and I was pretty surprised I still remembered their names and what they looked like. Tahereh took this story to a whole new level. I tried guessing what the events were going to be like, and guess what, I couldn't. The plot twists that were present in this book were so so much more than I ever anticipated.

“In the steady thrum that accompanies quiet, my mind is unkind to me. I think too much. I feel, perhaps, far more than I should. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that my goal in life is to outrun my mind, my memories.”

Okay, I kept the Juliette from Ignite Me in my mind the whole time. In Restore Me she’s given more responsibility than she can handle. She clearly did mature a bit more than in the previous books, but you could still tell how difficult everything was for her. Being constantly doubted and finding out that manipulation was always part of the game. Lies were revealed and new secrets were unearthed. She was always trying as hard as possible to keep everything intact. The way this book ended just had me fearing for her so much.

The other supreme commanders seem to be biding their time, and I was nervous the whole time. This obviously wasnt going to be easy, but man was it confusing and shocking all at the same time. The amount of revelations that we got to know were enough to make me know for sure that "Restore Me" was exactly what this book wasn’t going to do.

The whole book was narrated from two points of view. Juliette and Warner. Two of my most favorite book characters. Both gave the reader a sense of closeness to the characters. Both voiced their doubts and their deepest feelings.

As always I loved Kenji. He was one of my favorite characters ever in the first three books, and starting this one years later didn't change that all. I loved the bickering between him and Warner. The haircut seen at the beginning of the book was the best. I liked the bonding between them towards the end of the book.

“The world tried to crush you,” I say, gently now, “and you refused to be shattered.”

Warner made me feel heartbroken time and time again. Tahereh also added anxiety rep in this book, and it honestly meant a lot. I felt like I could truly relate to how he was feeling. It was so realistic. It felt realistic, especially for me. In this book we got to see a raw Warner. We got to read about his fears and how he was feeling in a very emotional and deep way. What transpired between him and Juliette by the end really did ruin me. I’m just hoping all this will be fixed in the next book.

Haider and Nazeera were the two new characters that were introduced in this book. There were others but honestly these two were my favorite. I loved how Tahereh added some Arabic in the book. It felt amazing to find some representation. Nazeera has become my new favorite character. Hijabi and fierce, and overall the sweetest. Haider I didn't like so much. By the end of the book my view of him hadn't changed.

The ending of the book was the most shocking. Considering that what was revealed during the book took me by surprise. The symposium, the sister, the parents, the Polaroids. The whole thing left me in such a mess. I can’t wait until Defy Me. I need this whole thing to be fixed, and I can’t believe we’re going to have to wait until 2019 to know what happens.

RESTORE ME??? THIS KILLED ME!
Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the Shatter Me series. Yes, my first time around, I did come very close to putting Unravel Me down altogether. It was for one of the same problems I have with this book. BUT before I go on rambling about that-
there were some things I liked.
-Ms. Mafi has a unique writing style, which I've come to love. That was one aspect of this book that did not disappoint.

What I didn't like:
Have you ever seen a movie where the plot had great potential, even acted on that potential (in this case), but (most of) the characters just distracted from the great plot with stupid decisions? Yep, that was this.
JULIETTE:
I have come to LIKE Juliette. She went from being a whiny little baby to a motivated leader in Ignite Me. Don't get me started on that abrupt transition, BUT I did like where she ended up. Of course I expected her to adjust to her circumstances and become a stronger character-just not in one day. That all came crumbling down in this book. I think that might have been an effect from the author??? To show that she's still at war with herself after a big change in her life??? That doesn't change the fact that I hate her again. She's a teenager, and she's been rejected all her life, but IS THE LEAST QUALIFIED SUPREME COMMANDER EVER!!!!!
*SPOILERS
I mean, the thing where the other Supreme commanders were purposely letting her "rule over her isolated little bubble of North America without actually planning for her to rule" does come into play. HOW COULD JULIETTE ENTER THE JOB, with no knowledge of the outside plan, THINKING SHE WOULD BE A COMPETENT LEADER OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE? Not her natural-born-leader, supreme-commander-bred (not to mention HOT AND CARING) boyfriend Warner with the job, but her. She has absolutely NO knowledge of politics whatsoever. On her side she has Warner, Castle, and EVEN Kenji would be 20 times better at the job than her. On her memorable walk with Kenji where she throws a shoe at him(way to make your guards take you seriously!!) she actually says she didn't think the job was going to be as hard as it was. This is how the conversation actually goes:
Kenji: "Did you actually think this job was going to be... easy?"
Juliette: "I guess, I mean, I thought it would be... cooler?"
Then something like: "I actually have to read, like, 200 pages a day for this job!!!!It's insane! I thought I would just chill in the Supreme Commander quarters while Warner just took care of everything!!!!"
*sigh
Honey- no. You signed up for this. And when the Supreme commander of Asia's son or whatever shows up, she feels the need to prove a point by not telling Warner. She wants to handle it BY HERSELF. So she goes to meet him, after a short convo with Kenji.
The conversation with Kenji:
Juliette: "Maybe I should call Warner."
Kenji: "Yep. Good Idea."
J: "No- never mind. He's just a kid, right? Not the ACTUAL supreme commander. Right?"
K: "Uhhhh, actually, this is a really big deal because-"
J(actual quote word for word): "Yeah, no, I should definitely do this on my own. Right?"
*Kenji shaking his head "no" aggressively
J: "I'm going to do it!"
Fast foward to sitting at a formal dinner party in pink sweater and sweatpants!!!

After a while: Warner tells her about the whole thing with her secret sister and the experiment- I'm not going to go into detail about that. SHE FLIPS OUT ON HIM!!! Even though Warner knew nothing and the whole thing Castle had dumped on him only 5 minutes ago! Basically the only thing Warner knew was that she was adopted, but he thought her biological parents were dead. He only didn't tell her to spare her the pain of losing her family over again! Then they BREAK FREAKING UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She rips apart a school bus for no apparent reason at all in her anger, comes back to the base and gets totally drunk. She shaves her head...AHHHHHHHHHGHHHHHDFGHFDHFDGHDFH
Then after that she is suddenly a new person and can lead and sass Warner's ex girlfriend.

I LOVED HER AND NAZEERA! I can't wait to see their friendship develop.

At one point Juliette gets shot.... I think it's meant to show that enemies are everywhere and it's hard to trust people, blah blah blah. That's only addressed for 2 chapters.
Then there is the ending and I'm going to do a separate section on that. Skip down to the bottom if you want to see!

WARNER: Warner is MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THIS SERIES HANDS DOWN!!!! Not to mention, he WAS my #2 book boyfriend, now moved down to #3 thanks to this book. I LOOOOVE Warner. I hated his haircut!!!!!
First you need some background: Symbolic haircuts are my absolute pet peeve in books. WHHHHHYYY!!! In this book it happened not once, but TWICE! I am very vain with my book characters...
Kenji is the one who did that to Warner's hair partly, so ok. But then he needs to do the whole thing about "cutting away my past along with my beautiful locks of golden hair" thing. Nope. So now you know how I feel about Juliette's scene with that too.
I'm ok with Warner's hair now, but Juliette's hair- well, I'm still in shock. I do like the message it brings to the table: there is more than one way to be beautiful, and not only in the traditional way.
I liked learning more about Warner's past. It really made him a lot more dimensional as a character, although I'm sure that he still has tons of more secrets. Knowing some of what he went through, especially as a child, I could see why he tortured Emmaline. He was just a kid!
I also liked seeing his anxiety issues a little closer up. That did make it a lot more believable, as well. With all that he went through, I would expect him to have some depression, PTSD, etc.

And the chapter of .................... at the end- guys, Warner is NOT dead. Tahereh confirmed it! He's just unconscious in that chapter.

With these two characters is something else I feel passionately about: WARNETTE.
I went into this book knowing that they were going to have a lot of trouble as a couple, maybe even break up. Unfortunately, I ship Warnette SO hard. Neither of them were communicating.
WARNER BRO- JUST BECAUSE SHE DOES'NT ASK DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T TELL HER.
That's right- He pulls the card with "well, I wasn't lying to her if she didn't ask."
AND JULIETTE- HONEYBUNS, YOU NO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT YOUR BOYFRIEND, SO ASK WHY NOT ASK?
Kenji knows more about him than she does! Actually: Kenji quizzes her because she says "that's not true! I know a bunch of things about him! Like about his mother!"
Kenji: "What's her name?"
J: "..."
K: "It's Leila!"
Well then.

THE BREAKUP:
I loved seeing the breakup from both sides! I hated the breakup, but seeing how Warner vs. Juliette took it was...wow. One of my favorite parts was Warner taking to many anxiety pills. That was soooo funny and unexpected for his character. And him and Kenji talking it out=*dead
Here's a little sample:
Warner: "I WANT TO DIE!"
Kenji:"Go talk to her, man!"
Warner; "oh nooo no no. She's better off without me!"
Kenji: "So? What then? What if she hooks up with some other dude tomorrow ? You're just going to shake his hand and buy the happy couple dinner?"
Warner: *tearfully "Well, I didn't think that far..."

Safe to say that my family didn't approach me for a good hour after they broke up.

ADAM AND JAMES:
I wish I got to see more of these guys and their interactions with Warner. Maybe James will find out Warner is his brother in the next book? Adam was barely in it. I'm not really personally attached to him at all. I just think that aspect of the story could have been addressed more. But I'm sure Ms. Mafi will cover that in the upcoming books. This one did have a lot going on already!

KENJI: Some people have said that Kenji is the glue that holds everything together. I agree, but sometimes his humor just seems really forced. Every sentence, not even piece of humor, uses s**t in it. Come on! Aren't there any more funny words out there??? And Kenji and Nazeera? Definitely going to be a thing.

CASTLE: AERTNSERTYJK<YIUL> IOKJHJMU ETRFYGUMKLGY TFDXWEBRYJKUYLTYGYDJRFYNJUIM
ARRRRRRGHGGGHHHH, Castle! What the actual frick! Castle... where to start?
Castle won't tell anyone anything and is making them run on a wild goose chase while the fate of the world is at stake! Warner is hiding something from Juliette! But oh! Castle won't tell her what this super important piece of information is.
Then, after Juliette goes off to meet the Supreme commander's son without telling Warner, Castle tells Warner that Juliette's gone off without him. Castle assumes that Warner knows this huge secret about Juliette (being the daughter of supreme commander of Oceania). He's being all dramatic and vague(at the same time??).
Castle: "Why aren't you listening to me? They're coming to take her back! We can't let that happen!"
Warner: "What are you talking about? Take her back where?"
*Castle staring in confusion, face goes slack
Castle: *dramatic whisper "he never told you, did he?
Warner: "Who? Told me what?"
Castle: "Wow, omg."
Warner: *practically BANGING his head against the wall in frustration
"What did someone never tell me?"
Castle: "The truth. About Ms. Ferrars. Your father never told you where she really came from, did he? The truth about her parents?'
At this point I almost expected Castle to say "well go ask Juliette!" However, he tells Warner, and instead of, as the only adult, going to talk to Juliette himself... he practically blackmails Warner into doing it! Warner, who only found out this scary background, and is a child himself, 0.2 seconds ago! YAAAAAY Castle! What is the point of keeping him alive, Tahereh? Good riddance, Castle.

THE ENDING: Towards the end, Juliette's old journal entries from the asylum started to surface. There was an except at the beginning of each of her POV chapters. That was a really nice touch! As the reader, you just KNEW something was about to go down.

Then Juliette is giving an address to a big crowd as supreme commander. The people start rioting, and she flips out again. Guts the whole crowd like fish, including most of her friends. Pretty sure not Warner(yay!), Kenji, and Castle(groan) for some reason. I had to re-read this scene a few times before it sunk in. It went by so fast! This ends up being part of some big plan and she gets restrained by her real parents. She gets brought back to New Zealand, where she grew up.
She wakes up in her childhood bedroom. This is my favorite part. I would read the book just for the last 8 pages or so. I can't even describe it to you. It would be way too big a spoiler.

OVERVIEW: If you read this far into the review, which I doubt anyone did, congratulations! I think that part of the reason I was so dissatisfied was because I built the book up so much in my head. No, really, I counted down the days for months. I recommend this book, especially for the end. I just, as a long time fan, was a little displeased. I will definitely be reading the next book. Just not counting down the days.

Bonus: If you want a perfect illustration of how I felt after reading it: the Katy Perry vine "They ask you how you are and you have to say fine, but you're not fine, but you just can't get into it because they wouldn't understand..."

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 was shocked to see this in the store, since I usually know about new releases from the store and this wasn't on the radar at all. Really excited to read it, but like one reviewer said, it was hard to get into the heaviness of this book right after Ignite Me. I've read Ignite Me six times and love it more every time. I didn't necessarily need a fourth book, but I think this one was fairly realistic as far as the conquering part not being as easy as it sounded. The most unbelievable part about it was the fact that Warner did not prep Juliette at all during those 16 days. Thank goodness for Kenji, because he made the heavy parts bearable. And the ending really made me want to read on. It's going to be hard waiting.

I. Have. No. Words.

There is really now way for me to describe what this book did to me. First let me say that this sucked me back in like I had never finished the series. It felt seamless to the rest of the series. The characters are the same though they are changing and growing. But the emotion and just insanity that happens in this book just about broke me. I didn't know I could feel so many things just in a few chapters and I honestly don't know what to do until the next book comes out. This was brilliant, beautiful, and absolutely heart breaking. But I would expect nothing less from Tahereh Mafi.

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.

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!

I love this series. It's one of the few books that I could reread. I love the humor and that I feel like the characters are friends.
The book has a lot of teenage angst that the last one didn't have as much of. Very dramatic and although I feel like some parts were fillers I also think they are necessary to the next 2 books.
The double point of view is nice and I usually don't like those because they spemtimes don't flow well.
The ending was a cliffhanger and I read it too fast and basically have to wait another year.
Love her writing, Mafi never disappoints.

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!

This book is basically a copy of someone's fan-fiction that should never have been put on the internet, much less printed in an actual novel. WAY too much of the book focuses on Juliet feeling sorry for herself--what's new?--and Warner freaking out about the possibility that he might lose her. I hated Ignite Me for being so rushed, and because, let's face it, 95% of the book took place in one room, but talk about rushed!!! This book was like 0 to 60 in an instant without any real narrative shifts to bridge the gaps. It was just I feel sorry for him and that person and this person and myself and--oops, I just got shot. I am so sick of this series. Beyond the beautiful cover, nothing was good about this novel. I love There Mafi, but this book was just . . . I don't have the words for how bad it was. It's like an entirely different person wrote it, and they didn't even care enough to try. And then that ending? WHAT WAS THE POINT? Why build up so many characters if you're just going to kill them all off anyway?!

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!!!

Wow. WOW. I honestly loved this book so much. My favorite thing was how real Juliette and Warner were and how much they continue to develop and change throughout this series. Tahereh Mafi's writing is so unique and beautiful that it made me not want to put this one down. It's save to say I'm PUMPED for Book 5!

At first I didn't know how to feel. Tahereh is so good at evoking every single emotion possible from every situation. I was mad at Juliette, mad at Warner, felt bad for Juliette, bad for Warner, bad for Adam, mad at Juliette... It's nuts. Great story teller. Looking forward to the next installment.

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.