What the cookie is this? You don't end a book like that and have me wait! But I guess i'll wait...

Okay, the book. It's probably what you'll call fast-paced because the second I began it ended. Horribly. I want her to end up with Aaron/Warner. Adam is just...I don't like him. If Juliette does not come to her senses, I will be forced to erase my memory and plug in a better ending. *sighs* Great, amazing, romantic, poetic book. Half of it is literally highlighted on my phone. I'm not ashamed of that. *smiles*

WOW!!!! This book blew me away from the first chapter!! So well written and so compelling. The romance confused me for a second, but it's all explained within the first few chapters. Amazing, amazing book!!!

4.5
Quizás si hubiese ido algo más rápido, y si no lo estuviese leyendo desde marzo más o menos, me hubiera gustado más. Este último sprint que hice sí que me funciono y lo adore. Me encana el estilo de la autora y estoy muy contenta de haber podido terminarlo en ingles C:
Muero por seguir con los próximos.

Wow. Just... wow.

Originally reviewed at Disquietus Reads

I am in love with this book.

The writing you guys. It’s almost criminal how good it is. It’s the kind of writing I want to sink into and wrap around myself and live in forever. Tahereh Mafi has the most gorgeous way with words. Descriptive, evocative, painful and all sorts of other adjectives that can’t possibly give justice to her magic. She writes like no one else out there and even though it probably shouldn’t work, it does in the best possible way.

And her characters. These beautiful, complex, tortured, hopeful, amazing characters.

Juliette just blows me away. This girl feels so much and her mind is so beautiful. There are times when her self-loathing literally had me crying. She’s such a complex character and watching her slowly accept herself and this immense, overwhelming, earth-shattering power of hers was an amazing reading experience. She’s still got a long way to go. She’s still angry and confused but she’s finally starting to come out of her shell and make her own choices and I can’t wait to see where they take her.

Adam. I honestly don’t know how I feel about him. Or Warner. Going into this, it’d been long enough since I read Shatter Me that I couldn’t remember how I felt about any of the characters, and since I haven’t yet read the Destroy Me novella, I was looking at these boys and this triangle with completely fresh eyes, and I love them both. I literally cannot choose.

Juliette and Adam are beautiful together. I cannot handle how much Juliette loves Adam and how much Adam loves her. It’s beautiful and painful and I really want them to have their happily ever after. And it doesn’t hurt that because of Mafi’s gorgeous way with words it is easy to picture just how amazingly sexy and passionate Adam is. There were times when he was definitely frustrating, but this boy is dealing with so much, including a couple of revelations that rocked the foundation of his world, so I think he can be forgiven for feeling and acting the way he does about certain things. And it breaks my heart because I know that things are probably going to get worse for him before they get better.

Warner. UGH. I fought so hard not to fall for him. But then Chapter 62 happened and that was the end of everything in the world for me. Seriously. I think I read it 3 or 4 times before I could move on. It might be the greatest chapter in YA history. Or maybe that’s just me. But on to the more important stuff. Warner is definitely flawed. He’s done some horrific, unforgivable things. Thing’s he doesn’t apologize for and he’s definitely got a long path to redemption, if redemption is even possible. Warner and Juliette have such intense chemistry, and once again Mafi’s talent with words had me struggling not to fall in love with them as a couple. They just connect in a way that Adam and Juliette don’t. They could be the best or worst thing for each other. I especially enjoy them because Juliette doesn’t know how to handle Warner at all, which definitely has its fun moments. While there is a part of me that not so secretly hopes that they find a way to keep each other, I’m trying to harden my heart because the much more realistic part of me doesn’t see a way for Warner to survive this war.

As for the other major supporting characters…I’m not sure how I feel about Castle. I’m definitely on the fence about him and don’t trust him at all. I look forward to Warner’s father’s death immensely and Kenji is my favorite person ever. If you don’t love Kenji I can’t know you, and if he doesn’t survive I will cry forever and ever and never forgive. Even though it may seem as if he’s just there for comic relief, there is definitely more to him than that. Maybe we’ll get a Kenji novella. That would be awesome.

2014 cannot come soon enough. I can’t wait to see how this all ends, especially after that intense cliffhanger.

3.5*

I really liked the author's writing, but the plot and the characters seemed a bit juvenile at times. Overall, it was an entertaining and quick read!

I went into "Shatter me" by Tahereh Mafi with some prior knowledge on the plot and even more on it's generous amount of praise from the YA community. Everyone believed this series was worth while. Although I came across many 4-5 star reviews, as always I decided to check this book out for myself. Let me tell you, the hype is defiantly justified.

I decided to give this book 3 stars, but please hear me out. Your feelings towards this book will rely solely on your preferences in a good material. Personally, If I give a book a 4/5 star rating, you could assume that book included:
-character depth or reliability
-good plot and execution
-consistency
So please listen to me when I say "Shatter Me" IS WORTH THE READ. Even though I gave this book 3 stars, the plot is nothing short of genius. Tahereh Mafi, effortlessly created this world were a girl can kill a man with the simple touch of her bare skin. Doesn't that sound extremely intriguing? And talk about girl power to the extreme! Of course I had to read this series eventually!

Now why did I give this book 3 stars? Although I loved the storyline and the book was fantastic... The characters were just okay. In order for a book to completely blow me away, I must absolutely fall in love with at least one character (what can I say? I'm a character kind of gal). In "Shatter me" the characters were good, but not 5 star worthy. Our main character, Juliette, is obviously hard to relate to.. She's been isolated for three years! Although this is true, I found it extremely fascinating to read from her point of view. As for Adam, I'm not going to lie in the slightest: I DID enjoy his character. Seeing that he was incredibly sweet, kind, and protective of Juliette. I saw everything expected of a typical love interest in Adam. Ultimately his personality wasn't too bad. Now I had mixed emotions about Warner... Sometimes I loved him, and sometimes I hated him. I'm intrigued by his intentions and I would love to find out about his early life/parents. I did really like Kenji! He had a great way of lightening up the book with a bit of humor. Over all, I feel the characters could have been improved. If you are not big on characters, you will most likely rate this book higher than I did.

If you have trouble getting into slow books, this series might not be for you. Most of the best scenes (in my opinion) are towards the middle and the end of the book. I believe getting through the slower parts of the book are absolutely worth it in the end. The book was honestly entertaining and I hope that in the following books, there will be plenty of action in early chapters.

I enjoyed the unique writing style, that Tahereh Mafi created for the voice of Juliet. Through out the book you can find crossed out ideas, thoughts, and dialogue. Some may find this annoying, but I loved it! Very cool to see into Juliet's thought process while reading.



Overall, I enjoyed this book and do plan on continuing the series. (I've already bought the whole series lol). I would defiantly recommend this book to all of you reading this, don't let my 3 star rating confuse you. Check it out and let me know what you think!

(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)

Well, it is official! For the first time since my book blogging career began back in December of 2011, I have read a 5 star book (re-reads excepted)! There have been some super close calls (Shatter Me, Outlander, What I Did for a Duke). But Unravel Me was the first that made me give the full-out five-star rating, which I (obviously) save for a very select few books.

I almost filmed a vlog several times over the first couple days after I finished. But I thought if I gave it some time, I would be able to form more coherent, logical thoughts. Because let's just be honest: My review at that point, especially in vlog format, would have been nothing but spoiler-filled, incomprehensible, crazy flailings. Well, it's been some time. It's been more than some time, actually. And it's still difficult to formulate the words for this book.

I'll start with the obvious: Ms. Mafi's writing. The woman absolutely astounds me with her ability to craft words. The cadence, the unique symbolism, the emotion, the way her words flow together. I cannot wrap my brain around how much I love her writing. This was more evident than ever in Unravel Me. I am thoroughly convinced Tahereh Mafi could write a tome on the complexities of soil, and I would read it.

I loved the further development of the secondary characters. Some I decided I did not like (Castle). Some, however, were the complete opposite. For example, Kenji! My love for Kenji grew threefold after reading Unravel Me, and it was already pretty high. I just loved his sense of humor and how he used it, even though he can be serious. I find him a very interesting character, and I hope to continue to get to know him over the next books.

Warner. You knew it was coming. I loved seeing his character developed even further than it was in Destroy Me. I enjoyed every single scene with him in it, and I wanted to see him even more than we did. I became more intrigued by his not-fully-good, but not-fully-evil character. The chemistry between Warner and Juliette was incredible. And just in case you couldn't tell, for me, the SS Adam has officially sunk (or been "destroyed," if you will ;D ). Mafi got me to completely jump ship, and that doesn't happen with me! Admittedly, I am a lot less stubborn regarding the pick-one-and-stick-with-it approach to shipping than I used to be. I'm the queen of multishipping lately; rarely do my loyalties shift so drastically. But Mafi accomplished it. Although I do still like Adam.

There are a few more things I could discuss regarding this book. For instance, the world-building was developed a little further in this book, which I appreciated. But at the same time, I could possibly ramble on forever. It is also very difficult for me to discuss a lot of things without spoiling the book. So I will wrap it up.

To be honest, I was the teensiest bit concerned that maybe Unravel Me wouldn't live up to my sky-high expectations. I needn't have worried. I absolutely plan to read this book again. Probably soon. I've already read Shatter Me and Destroy Me twice. May as well make it even!

The Shatter Me series is hands-down my favorite currently-in-progress YA series. Just catching a glimpse of the Unravel Me spine on my bookcase is still enough to make me want to start physically flailing or take the book out and hug it to me. Which I did off and on for about two days after finishing this book. Shut up. You know you wanted to do it, too. I await #3 (and #2.5, as well!) with a breathlessness that may eventually warrant medical attention. I have no doubt it will be worth it.

Shatter Me turned into one of those rare reads that I devour in one sitting and then panic because it’s over. This is also one of those reads where despite its issues and flaws I still really enjoyed it, which in itself is kind of rare for me as well. I’m also in a weird place with this one because I know I may not ever be able to read it again. As I was reading it I realized that most of the love was coming from a ‘first introduction’ kind of reaction and I know that if I read it again it won’t hold that same power over me.

The book didn’t really go the way I pictured it would because of the blurb and the hype, I was expecting something a bit more ‘in your face’ and gritty. Instead I was treated to the exact opposite, but thanks to Mafi’s beautiful writing it turned out to be a one of kind experience. I have a hard time thinking of another YA author that uses such lyrical writing in their books and while it does take away from the grit of the world she created it kind of adds a unique voice to Juliette. She’s good with numbers and tends to repeat things, and while in a normal book I’d probably hate her for this I found that it fit the character perfectly. My issue with her lays in the fact that I didn’t feel as if I knew her, despite having learned her history and being privy to her thoughts. Then of course we are introduced to Adam and Warner…and boy are these two on the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. I wasn’t really all that fond of Adam, I liked that he was loyal, brave, and sweet but he was a bit boring for me. He had a touch of promise that I’m hoping to see expanded in the next book but I wasn’t overwhelmed by him. Warner however practically demands attention, you either love him or hate him and I love him. He’s so despicable and crazy that it’s hard not to hate him, but I found myself loving the scenes that featured him and I definitely want more Warner in the future. I had the same problems with these two, I knew them as much as the book allowed but it didn’t feel like it.

The plot is where I have most of my issues because it’s very small, or at least it felt that way. The world building is there and Mafi paints a troubled world, but at the same time there isn’t enough of the history involved in the story. I kept needing to know why and I wasn’t always getting an answer. The development of knowledge about her ability was one that really held my interest though and by the end I was dying to know what exactly was behind it all, and what she was truly capable of. I also loved the mental aspect of the plot, which is a very big part of this due to the first person point of view.

I do feel odd for rating the book a 4 when I have clear issues with it, and I can understand some hesitance in taking my review as a helpful one. I think the main reason it is rated so high is because despite the amount of issues I have with the book I still really enjoyed it and found myself truly absorbed in it.

"Shatter Me" is a dystopian Hunger Games/X-Men mash-up, with a twist of insta-love and a love triangle.

And I don't care, because I am HERE FOR IT. Sometimes, we just want fun popcorn reading, okay? I galloped through this in a day.

(To try to review: The writing is a bit gushy and excessive in the first part of the book, when our heroine admittedly is coming out of a reality-bending experience in an asylum, and we aren't really creating a new form here--just stumbling delightedly upon old tropes we know well. Honestly? I don't care. I had fun reading this.)