Review: Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi

Defy Me (Shatter Me #5)
Tahereh Mafi 
Release Date: April 4th, 2019
Publishers: Egmont 
Genre: Dystopia, YA
Source: For Review
Pages: 368
Goodreads: Add to TBR

 

The gripping fifth installment in the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shatter Me series. Will Juliette’s broken heart make her vulnerable to the strengthening darkness within her?

Juliette’s short tenure as the supreme commander of North America has been an utter disaster. When the children of the other world leaders show up on her doorstep, she wants nothing more than to turn to Warner for support and guidance. But he shatters her heart when he reveals that he’s been keeping secrets about her family and her identity from her—secrets that change everything.

Juliette is devastated, and the darkness that’s always dwelled within her threatens to consume her. An explosive encounter with unexpected visitors might be enough to push her over the edge.

The Review: Anyone who knows me knows I absolutely adore the Shatter Me series. I’ve been a massive fan since day one and so, I was more than happy to hear that the author had decided to write more books in the series. Defy Me is the fifth instalment and it definitely had a lot of expectations to live up to. The previous four books were nothing short of amazing and I was eagerly excited to see what the next instalment would bring.

After the events of Restore Me, Juliette and Warner are now in the hands of an enemy who claim to be long lost family. Being kept imprisoned and weak, being put through experiments is all a part of the test. But Juliette and Warner’s bond is stronger than ever even though they are apart but they are unable to escape without outside help. So it’s down to Kenji to try and rescue his friends in time. 

Defy Me was a good instalment and it’s one I’m glad I read, however without sounding to negative this book was a little repetitive. I kind of felt like I had go back to the start of the series where Juliette is locked up and weak. It had very much the same feeling and I honestly hate seeing Juliette like that when she is such a strong character. I was just waiting for the story to progress but I guess you could say this book kind of felt like a filler book. Not much really happens until the end. 

Kenji has always been a character I have loved and I was very excited to hear we would have his point of view in the story.  It makes sense why she would add in his point of view because so much is happening behind the scenes when Juliette or Warner aren’t present. This book very much felt like Kenji’s story.  While I love him, I love Juliette and Warner more so I would much prefer the author to focus on them more. 

One thing that the author never fails to deliver on is shocking revelations and yes, there is plenty to keep you on the edge of your sit throughout Defy Me. And we finally find out the truth about Warner and Juliette’s childhood. And it was definitely worth the wait. I adore soulmate stories so their story was perfect for me.

While Defy Me wasn’t my favourite from the series, it was still very enjoyable and one that still kept me turning the pages.  I was so very happy to be back with my favourite characters and I cannot wait to see how this series ends in Imagine Me. 

Thank you to Egmont for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

                                                                      Rating: Liked it - 3.5 flowers 

A Review for Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Taherah Mafi

Posted by Donna
Published Date: November 15th, 2011
Finished Date: January 8th, 2012
Publishers: HarperCollins
Source: Gifted - 2012 TBR Reading Challenge
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 338
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The Blurb from Goodreads: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
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The Review: “Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I'm so delirious I actually dare to believe it.” - Juliette

Shatter Me was one of the first books I read at the start of the year and even though it’s 2 months later and I’m only just writing this review now, this book is still in my head because it was just absolutely amazing!

I know you all know what this book is about so I won’t go into details about the plot but I have to admit, I really struggled with the first 50 pages. The writing style was hard to get into and although I enjoyed reading it because it was something completely different, I was just waiting for when something happened. I wanted Juliette to get out of the cell she was sharing with Adam. But once that happened…..wow! The story went from okay to BRILLIANT and I even went and re-read the first few pages and found I enjoyed it all the more the second time around. As the story progresses the writing style gets better and better and it’s really about Juliette coming out of her shell and trying to face the world. It’s really is a beautiful journey to read about.

Adam really stole the show for me during this book and without him, it just wouldn’t have been the same. He’s a mystery and as the story unravels - the more things he reveals about his life. I loved the fact that he’s done everything to get to Juliette…..his journey was all for her and it really shows how much he cares and loves her.

The story itself was action packed, exciting and dangerous. It’s full of heart-breaking and emotional scenes and the whole story was captivating and completely compels you until the very end.

A must read for 2012 and I cannot wait to read more with Unravel Me in 2013.

Favourite Quotes:

“He whispers, "You have no idea how much I've thought about you. How many times I've dreamt"-he takes a tight breath- "how many times I've dreamt about being this close to you." He moves to run a hand through his hair before he changes his mind. Looks down. Looks up. "God, Juliette, I'd follow you anywhere. Your the only good thing left in this world.” – Adam
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"My face is in his hands and my lips are at his lips and he's kissing me and I'm oxygen and he's dying to breathe." - Juliette