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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-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:
No
adventurous
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:
No
edited: this is now five stars since i cannot stop thinking about it also because this audiobook was so so good, and i rarely actually enjoy audiobooks :p
First time reading - (05/01-05/04/2023) 4⭐️
Second time reading - (04/29-05/06) 4.25⭐️
I just finished re reading this book and i just realized i read it almost the same date as last year Lmaoooo.
Anyway the first time i enjoyed it way more, i don't know if it's because i took my time reading and fully annotated the book (even wrote on it, last year me would have been crying) or if it's because i noticed more details i had forgotten about but i loved it!! I can't wait to read the second one... talking about it i'll start it right now...
Second time reading - (04/29-05/06) 4.25⭐️
I just finished re reading this book and i just realized i read it almost the same date as last year Lmaoooo.
Anyway the first time i enjoyed it way more, i don't know if it's because i took my time reading and fully annotated the book (even wrote on it, last year me would have been crying) or if it's because i noticed more details i had forgotten about but i loved it!! I can't wait to read the second one... talking about it i'll start it right now...
Reread rating: 4.3
It’s just as good as I remember it. Almost 9 months later
It’s just as good as I remember it. Almost 9 months later
First read: 2.5 ✨
Second read: 2.5 ✨
I can safely say I will never re read this again. Juliette is so bland and insufferable as a main character and Adam is possessive and boring. I really love Kenji and Warner and they honestly carried this book
Second read: 2.5 ✨
I can safely say I will never re read this again. Juliette is so bland and insufferable as a main character and Adam is possessive and boring. I really love Kenji and Warner and they honestly carried this book
This book omg. I LOVE ADAM. Him and Juliette's back story is so emotional i love them but Warner OMG Warner were do i begin with him. He's like obsessed with Juliette and when she kissed him and she felt things. i know there is going to be a love triangle with them but i don't know anymore. i want her and Adam but Warner is ruining everything for them. Like i feel like omg and omg and lets not forget omg. And when they went to that place at the end of the book with people like her I feel like that part with the people with all these gifts reminds me of red queen a bit. But personally this book is better than red queen to me. Kenji i can't even begin his so freaking fun and he like knows more than what you think. I really want him to find someone. So to summaries my feeling of this book is that i loved it and i cant wait to read the second book and i totally recommend. And i need to read for my life because i don't want to fail this reading challenge and i have to read like 10 more books. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I found it more intriguing and creative and wish the other two took after this one more.
Lately, I've been wanting to tackle some long-standing TBR books - especially ones that are well-known and generally well-received by readers. I ended up with Shatter Me and Red Queen as my top two picks and since my library had the former available, I went for that one.
I avoided this book for a long time since the opinions on it seemed to be quite polarized. Seeing as I tend to be a harsher critic (what with my 3.44 average rating), I figured this one would not impress. But after a super disappointing re-read of a book I once claimed to love, I figured nothing could let me down as hard as that one did.
Thankfully, this book turned out to be better than I expected. Sure, it's very evidently 2010s YA dystopian, but I had more fun reading this book than I did the previous one.
*Mild spoilers may be present throughout the rest of the review*
I thought the beginning few chapters were quite strong and I really liked the creative writing decision that Mafi used to showcase Juliette's mental state after being isolated for so long. I will mention that I switched between reading and listening to the audiobook and particularly these first few chapters are best read not listened to. There was the sound of a pen scratching over a page anytime Juliette had crossed something out, but it didn't have the same impact as reading it on page.
For the most part, I enjoyed the overall writing style too. I liked the poetic way that Mafi described things. However, the text did get bogged down with metaphors occasionally, but I generally didn't mind them.
The ending of the book was also a highlight for me. It was exciting and provided a nice setup for the next book.
In my opinion, the middle chapters were largely just "meh." I expected that once Juliette was freed from the asylum, we'd be provided with more world building to better understand her setting and what has happened to cause it. What we were given in this book wasn't enough to satisfy me. I'm not saying the world building was bad, I just felt it lacked sufficient details to distinguish it from other YA dystopian worlds.
There also simply wasn't enough of a plot to keep any momentum going. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some tense moments and action scenes - especially in later chapters - but the majority of the middle section was relegated to the romance which led to a halt in any plot development.
On the topic of romance, I did get a little weary of: the excessive amount of touching/kissing, Juliette constantly thinking about touching/kissing someone, her fixation on how gorgeous multiple people were, her obsession with a character's cobalt/deep ocean/rainwater/blossoming-bruise-colored eyes, her frequent observations that another character was eying her up and down, etc. To be fair, I get that this is YA and I get that she's been completely alone for 200+ days and largely isolated even before then. And yet… I wish this had been trimmed back just a little more.
Speaking of touching and kissing (and touching and kissing and…), I'm conflicted on the romantic interest and the relationship being presented here. I understand why some people say that Adam and Juliette's relationship is nothing but insta-love but I also see how it isn't exactly that either. They clearly knew and pitied each other as children so there is a foundation present. Is that enough for a romance to blossom so quickly between them as we're expected to believe? No, but a nostalgic attraction isn't impossible especially in this situation. Plus Juliette's lack of touch until now does make her desire for Adam's closeness very believable. I fully accept that she has fallen for him - granted in the most superficial way - but I don't get the same level of desire from Adam. (I don't know why, but I feel like he's hiding something.) Their relationship is centered on finding comfort in each other through physical touch and their desire to be free from their current realities. There hasn't been enough interaction between them to make their romance feel realistic.
Meanwhile, Warner's obsession with Juliette is giving Darkling/Alina vibes. From what is presented in this book, it's a seemingly toxic relationship so I'm hoping that any developments in this direction are accompanied by character growth.
While none of the characters were all that complex at this point, I did really enjoy them for what they are. I liked how Juliette's past was slowly revealed to us and how we are learning about the extent of her abilities alongside her. (Although I wish we/she hadn't learned about Warner and Adam's immunity to her touch in this book. Gotta have that *yearning* last a little longer…) The teases about Warner's background were good too. We didn't get much of Kenji from this book, but I know he's a fan favorite and I can already see why. Adam's just kind of there. He's definitely one of the weakest characters in the book. His relationship with his brother is his strongest attribute and that isn't even introduced until chapter 30 (out of 50).
So yeah, not a perfect book by any means, but one that definitely surprised me with some intriguing elements and characters that I want to learn more about. I'm feeling excited for where things go from here.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've heard about this series forever and I'm so glad I decided to dive in to it. I knew BEFORE page one that I was going to like it. The authors note at the beginning had me hooked immediately.
This was the perfect example of a solid YA dystopia with a bit of fantasy/sci-fi mixed in. I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood reading The Hunger Games and Divergent. The confusion of the state of the world, the narrators unhinged thinking, and the love interests are really interesting. Can't wait to continue the series!
I have seen for a long time how loved Aaron Warner is. I mean he is on everyones favorite book-boyfriends list. But hes meh for this first book. I actually like Adam, I think he's sweet. Im happy that I wasn't instantly happy with Warner, because a good development and enemies-to-lovers vibe is my favoritething ever.
This was the perfect example of a solid YA dystopia with a bit of fantasy/sci-fi mixed in. I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood reading The Hunger Games and Divergent. The confusion of the state of the world, the narrators unhinged thinking, and the love interests are really interesting. Can't wait to continue the series!