Reviews with content warning for Torture - Shatter Me

This was such a fun read, I loved the easy readability of the story and the slow introduction of all the important information instead of dumping it at the beginning. It definitely shows from time to time that this is supposed to be YA but it isn’t that bothersome. New things kept happening, ones I didn’t even expect, and it is also worth noting this was meant to be read as a series which is evident from the start. The plotlines aren’t completely finished, the story ends on a cliffhanger and it makes you want to see what happens. I am currently team Adam and I have no idea how Warren will come into play here but i guess i’ll have to wait and see.

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overduck's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Middle school me was obsessed with this book. Adult me skimmed a significant amount of it (Juliette is quite the over-narrator), but was not disappointed by the Warner content. In my opinion, while not a bad book, this is one you have to get through so you can get to the ones later on.

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thatgirlgeorgia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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kokopeach's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Reasons to Bump This Up On Your TBR:

You read purely for entertainment, like flowery language full of metaphors, teen dystopia will romantic sub-plot.

Reasons to Bump This Down On Your TBR (more in content warnings):

If you’re not into first person POV or in search for a plot with substance. FMC was inconsistent in thoughts vs actions. What was that ending?? It just abruptly stops and should’ve ended a couple of chapters before imo.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ Extras ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Tears shed? No

Spice? More sweet than spicy, this is Y/A after all

Happy Ever After? Ends on semi-positive note, to be continued…

Cliffhanger? Yes and no. (This is book 1 in a series but honestly easily DNFd)

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ My Rating System 1-5 ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Characters (Well-developed? Interesting?) — 3 (Warner and Kenji are doing heavy lifting here)

Worldbuilding/Atmosphere (Coherent? Immersive? Consistent?) — 3

Plot (Well-balanced or underwhelming? Pacing?) — 2

Logic (Characters traits align with their actions? Convincing arcs/plot resolution?) — 1

Writing Style (Prose, dialogue, repetition, etc.) — 2.5

Intrigue (Page turner? Overall enjoyment?) — 3

Average Rating: 2.4 rounded to 2.5

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notbambi's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It has a lot of potential, but it's not great so far. I liked enough about it that I'll probably read the next one. The dystopia plot and worldbuilding take a backseat to romance, which isn't always a bad thing, but I did feel like what was there outside of the romance was very thin and moved too quickly to care much about.

I liked a lot about the protagonist and the erratic voice of her narration (I know that this is apparently a polarizing aspect of the book, but it really worked for me!). I preferred the early chapters where she is dealing with her isolation and loneliness, something that I feel like isn't addressed in a satisfying way later in the book - she just sort of feels better because she's got Adam. On the other hand, he is the first person to be able to touch her, and this is the first in a series, so maybe something will happen later to make her realize that being in love doesn't magically fix trauma.

I know from the TikTok stans how this love triangle is going to play out, and I'm very curious to see how Mafi is going to play it.

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