Monday, March 10, 2014

Book Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages: 416
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Pub. Date: February 4, 2014
Series: Shatter Me (#1), Unravel Me (#2)
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she'll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew - about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam - was wrong."
If you've read Unravel Me, you know that Juliette almost died, but thanks to Warner, she was rescued.  She wakes up at Warner's base, but at least she is safe. Warner tells her that Omega Point is decimated and that all of her friends are most likely dead.  This obviously shatters Juliette's world.  As Juliette spends more time with Warner, she realizes that he isn't the "bad" guy that everyone thinks he is and he explains why he acted the way he did in the past.  This also blows Juliette's mind and she starts to let her feelings for Warner come back to the forefront.  When Juliette heads back to Omega Point, she finds that there are indeed survivors and they make a plan to take down the Reestablishment.  And even though we have heard that before, Juliette is different in this book. She vows to destroy the Reestablishment and we believe her this time.  In Tahereh Mafi's Ignite Me, the final book in the Shatter Me trilogy, readers will be thoroughly entertained and fans of Warner will be beside themselves with happiness.

I liked Juliette the most in this book as opposed to the other books in the series.  She really is starting to get a handle on who she is, what her powers entail, and what SHE wants out of life.  Her whiny relationship with Adam is over and she starts to allow herself to have feelings for Warner whom she sees in a whole new light, thanks to his recent confessions.  I liked that Juliet was more about Juliet in Ignite Me; she focused more on what she wanted out of life and that I liked.

Which leads me to Warner. I, from the start of the series, always was sort of leaning towards Warner. I found him to be mysterious and the typical bad boy, but in Ignite Me, readers learn more about him and his secrets. He isn't the bad guy we thought he was and has reasons for acting the way he did in book one and two. There were many swoon-worthy moments between him and Juliette.  I was VERY happy about this.

Oh, Adam.  Mafi conveniently made him a dick in Ignite Me. Although Adam's newfound behavior made it easier for readers to see why Juliette was gravitating towards Warner, it also seemed a bit too convenient, if that makes sense. Like all of a sudden he goes straight up crazy and says things to Juliette that I never thought he would.  It seemed a tad out of character, but nonetheless, I wasn't a fan of him in Ignite Me. At all. 

Even though I gave Ignite Me five stars, I did have a few small issues with it.  For starters, Juliette has no real girlfriends in the book.  This annoyed me. She finds herself being "best friends" with Kenji, who teases and flirts with her from time to time, and then also finds herself in a love triangle with two pretty good looking guys.  I wanted some estrogen in Juliette's life or at least a female role model to look up to.  Secondly, I also felt like Juliette sort of had Bella Swan syndrome around Adam in this book. He pretty much tells her off and she sort of hyperventilates and wants Warner to come save her.  I was hoping she would stand up to him and not just crumble into a million pieces and rely on Warner to "fix" it.  However, by the novel's end you do see improvement in this department. Lastly, I felt like there were many events that were too easy in Ignite Me, like things just slid into place.  However, I am happy with the ending, which is a rarity in a trilogy. I thought Mafi wrapped it up nicely and I was smiling by the novel's end, which is why I awarded it five stars.

So, if you are looking for an entertaining fantasy series, one that will include adventure, action, superhero strength, plot twists, and hot guys, then pick up the Shatter Me series. Despite my very small issues with it from time to time, it has quickly become one of my favorites.


12 comments:

  1. Wow, 5 stars! I read the first book a few years ago but if my memory is accurate, I wasn't impressed with the story. But recently, I've been seeing a lot of good reviews on the series so I guess I will try it again. nocturnalreader

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    1. It took me awhile to get into Shatter Me. The writing style took me by surprise and I felt it was really jarring. Things get better though and I was hooked. I definitely think you should revisit it. Thanks for visiting!

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  2. "Oh, Adam. Mafi conveniently made him a dick in Ignite Me. Although Adam's newfound behavior made it easier for readers to see why Juliette was gravitating towards Warner, it also seemed a bit too convenient, if that makes sense."

    I think that's the biggest part of what's keeping me from finishing this series Christina! While I'm not a big fan of love triangles, if there's going to be one, I want it to play out in all it's painful glory you know? Changing Adam's personality and turning him into an a-hole to push us all toward Warner feels a little like cheating, but if you were a fan of Warner from the beginning then it was more a validation of your original feelings which is awesome:) So glad that despite a couple drawbacks, this was a winner for you!

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    1. Yes! I was a little bummed to see Adam acting what I thought was so out of character! It definitely made it easier for me to drop all my alliances with him and swiftly go over fully to Team Warner. :) I hope you get to read the final book in the series though…it was a great ending! Thanks for visiting, Jenny!

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  3. I really need to start this series! It sounds so good!

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    1. It's a fantastic series….highly recommended. Thanks for dropping by, Megan!

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  4. I really enjoyed this book, too! I didn't like where Mafi took Adam either; although, I started to re-read Shatter Me and it's amazing to me how much the Adam who first enters Juliette's cell resembles the Adam from Ignite Me. For this reason, I was able to reconcile my irritation somewhat and realize that the Adam with Juliette maybe wasn't so great as readers (and Juliette) want him to be. I still don't think Mafi did a great job executing who Adam was in the end regardless, but since I loved the whole series overall I didn't mind so much haha! :) Great review!!

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    1. Me too! I didn't let it bother me at all either, but initially I was taken back by his "new behavior." You are right…that he showed signs of it in the first book…definitely didn't catch on then! Thanks for dropping by, Danielle. I am glad you liked this book as much as me!

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  5. I'm kind of glad to hear that Juliette's "whiny relationship with Adam is over," because their relationship in Unravel Me kind of annoyed me, a lot (which is weird, because I liked them together in the first book). Glad that we get to know more about Warner, too. I think he's a fascinating character.

    Oh, I totally agree about Juliette needing more female friends!

    Nice review, Christina! :)

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    1. Me too. I am definitely Team Warner. :) I hope you get to read this one soon, Lea. I definitely think you will like this ending! Thanks for visiting!

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  6. Even though it has flaws I am glad you liked the series ending. I tried reading the first book but the crossed out words kind of put me off.

    I am not a fan of character personality changes and it is too bad that the author did that with one of her characters to resolve the love triangle. Kind of reminds me of what happened in The Hunger Games series though at least the romance is on the back burner there.

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    1. Yes, the crossed off words and the weird writing style really threw me off, but I ended up getting past that and then I was hooked with the story, so definitely stick with it! Thanks for dropping by, Christina!

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