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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I don't know if I will continue, I might read the Destroy Me novella since it's at the end of my copy from the library and see how I feel about it then.
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
wasupdial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
honeyland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
The plot started out interesting as well but then it got a bit slow and I started having issues with the main characters. The girl talks to about 5 characters in this book and 3/4 guys her age are constantly showing in some way how attractive they find her, how much they want her, despite her expressing that she doesn't want that. It also feels like it's used as a way to make the character seem more desirable. Plus, there's basically an assault theme in which a character is kissing her against her will and suddenly she's like "huh...but maybe i DO like him?" despite hating said character all throughout the book for obvious reasons...and it just felt highly uncomfortable and gross, esp bc it wasn't reevaluated at a later point.
Also I got really annoyed by how many times had to be mentioned that the main girl is so tiny and light and fragile while both of the male main characters were so tall and broad and somehow they carried her everywhere???
The plot gets a bit more interesting towards the end again.
I might have gone into this book with the wrong expectations but I really thought I was gonna like it and was super disappointed, unfortunately.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Domestic abuse
gabi_w21's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
gmoneyyyyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, and War
luliposatieris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i don’t get why Warner is so loved throughout this series and Adam is so hated on. I don’t understand Warner’s motives and his actions, he’s an enigma for me. I don’t understand anything he does or says, like when he said he loved her i was like ????? since when. I’d like to see him explain more in these next books.
Adam is so sweet, i think he is a little overprotective though but he’s still my n1 ship with Juliette. It really intrigues me how Tahereh Mafi is going to make me love Warner and hate Adam, because at this point i feel it the other way around.
i’ll read destroy me to have a warner pov because i need it and then i’ll read unravel me.
Juliette <3 she’s so strong and amazing, i love her. I love that she has a weak state of mind, her chain of thought is so disorganized but she’s still questioning things about the people and places around her.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
valreadssometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Okay, now that that’s out of the way here’s my honest review:
The writing style of this book was confusing and wordy. When I first started the book, I was really frustrated with the unnecessary figurative language that did nothing to improve the descriptions or add emotion. I do enjoy some pretty words once in a while, but with this book it felt kind of like someone was trying to fit as many similes and metaphors in, even if they were completely necessary or distracted from the focus of the writing. I did get used to it like a third of the way into the book, so do with that what you will.
When I picked this book up, I thought it was going to be very dark and dystopian with some slight romance. What I got was pure romance, maybe too much of it to really call this a “thrilling dystopian novel.” I honestly didn’t mind too much though, since I’m a sucker for a good romance (I did kind of mind later though, but I’ll get into that in a moment).
The main character is okay, and I didn’t really have an issue with her personality. She wasn’t an annoying protagonist, but she was obsessed with the main lead at times where it was super inappropriate. But yeah, this is a romance, so if you know what you’re getting into it’s not too bad.
Now, let's discuss the love interests. They were both kind of walking red flags, but it’s okay. Who needs healthy relationships in YA literature?
Adam, the main lead and the one who “gets the girl” in this book is a soldier. He’s kind and compassionate and had been in love with the main lead since childhood. He does get kind of weird at times, and I felt like he was lying to the protagonist more often than not. He’s also like overly protective and jealous, which is something. He’s probably not the best, and he got together with the main girl way too quickly, but he’s probably an angel compared to the other lead.
Speaking of problematic: Warner. He’s the second love interest, which is weird because he kidnaps Juliette and basically imprisons her. He’s the young, morally grey (which should really be completely immoral) leader of a district under the tyrannical government. He is a trained killer, and he kills people or puts them in harm’s way for no reason other than to assert power or to have some sort of twisted fun. He’s just misunderstood though, his father is mean to him so that totally excuses every horrible war crime ever (sarcastic). Oh yeah, he also forces himself on Juliette while preaching that he wants it to be “her choice” to love him. There’s a scene near the end of the book that is blatant sexual harassment from him. He sucks, but he has more personality than Adam.
Overall, not good.
Am I going to read the next book? Yes.
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
thegr1mreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Sexual harassment
laurenvoice's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
However, I am not quite seeing why people are obsessed with Aaron Warner yet; I am guessing he improves at some point in the series; at the moment, he seems sadistic.
The reason I didn't give Shatter Me a higher rating is because there seems to be a lack of respect for consent in this book; how many times does a girl have to say to not touch her for the boys in this book to get it. The boys in this book are extremely hormonal, like they haven't seen a girl before. And both Warner and Adam seem to treat Juliette like an object that they own, which didn't sit too well with me. Considering this book is a dystopian romance for a young adult audience, having some healthier-looking relationship flags would have been good, especially around the topic of consent.
Nonetheless, I am looking forward to continuing this series. I am intrigued by what comes next with Warner, and seeing more Kenji; he was hilarious.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Sexual harassment
christygsp's review against another edition
3.0
The writing, I found to be sometimes nice, and other times more like drivel (eg talking about dying 5 times in one second… ugh). Often, it across as a too flowery, but I did enjoy The cross out of a “real” or raw thought followed by the one that the character thinks should be.
The story was very slow to start, and I wished it would have jumped in a few chapters earlier. Then, the story took a very different “beauty and the beast” vibe, before finally doing a sharp turn to superheroes. It was disorienting to say the least.
I know some spoilers and just CANNOT understand how we get from this book, to the final one….. I almost don’t want to know, and I’m hoping if I read any more, it won’t be a toxic relationship that we are supposed to somehow root for. I never do.
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment