Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Defy Me

okay world, you were all right and I should have stopped after IGNITE ME 🙃 these books are complete filler and while we got a ton of revelations in this one, it just felt unnecessary for me …

the first half of this one alternated between juliette and warner’s capture and torture, and I felt like I was reading a YA version of aelin’s torture from KINGDOM OF ASH 🥴🥴 it was trauma after trauma and these poor kids are taking it way better than I, an adult, would

what I loved about this one was the revelation of everyone getting their memories back 🥹🥹 and of course, the backstories of juliette and aaron warner made me SOB I love the “you were made for me” trope and this was done so perfectly

although trauma is sometimes ✨ important ✨ for the plot line, this one just felt a bit overkill. the plot twists were at the end of every chapter and I felt like screaming enough!!! some of the revelations made sense while others were clearly added for the shock factor (which worked btw 🤪)

I’m a sucker for aaron and juliette’s relationship so I really did enjoy this one, even though it felt a lot like a filler book with no direction …

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: chappellet cabernet sauvignon

Content Warnings

akane_readsyt's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

anmitha's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

proudtobeabookaholic's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Juliette thought she had beaten The Reestablishment and killed its leader. That she finally had regained control of her life. But nothing is as it seems, and one lie after another comes to the surface.

It's been several years since I read the latest book in this series, so no real surprise I didn't remember everything that's happened. Little bits of information makes me recollect most of it, but some parts remain forgotten. It was still very easy to get into this futuristic world again and most of the characters I remember really well. It was nice to see Juliette, Warner, Kenji and the others again!

I have to say that some scenes were quite dreadful to read. How Juliette's and Warner's parents experiment on and treat them - like they're not even humans... It's hard to believe that anyone can do such things, but at the same time Mafi makes it believable. I'm grateful the book ends in a positive spirit, although we know it's not over yet!

Content Warnings