Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi (Review)
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Romance, Dystopia
Rating:
 |
| 5 Stars |
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.
Before I start, I just want to state that this review will probably be all over the place, simply because this is the first time I've written a review on here for a book that 1) I did not receive in exchange for an honest review and 2) I already was invested in emotionally before reading. I would also like to state that as this is a review for the fifth book in a series, there will be spoilers in this review, for both previous novels and this novel.
Also please note that this book should have a content warning (CW) for torture and violence, as well as mentions of attempted suicide and self harm.
This book just exceeded my expectations. Which is saying something considering just how high my expectations for this book initially were. Tahereh Mafi is an expert in weaving a story that still continues to boggle and trick the reader, with her embedding shocking twists throughout this series. Defy Me was no exception to this trend. I was stunned (and angered) to find that Anderson was still alive. It's so mind boggling and infuriating because just when it seems life will get easier for the characters, more obstacles return or crop up in their way. Another thing I adored was Kenji's perspective- in fact I was disappointed to find that his perspective disappeared in the last half of the book. Kenji has such an amusing voice which I really enjoy reading the story from. He's also so precious and you can't help wanting to protect him at all costs.
I really enjoyed the characterization of Nazeera. She seems like such a complex character and I would really love to just get inside her head and see how she operates. She's incredibly intelligent and played everyone. I went from loving her to hating her to loving her within a few chapters- I honestly could not keep up with her mind games (and I loved it.) Nazeera really kept me on my toes and I hope we see more of her in Imagine Me. Nazeera also said it how it is- I absolutely loved the scene where she tells Adam that Juliette/Ella has always been incredibly strong and who she is today has always been dormant inside her, and that if Adam didn't understand that then their relationship was doomed from the start. I loved this because this is seriously what everyone has been thinking for the last 3 books or so- Adam never has come to terms with the fact that Juliette was never truly 'nice,' and that she's always had this fire in her. Nazeera also gave us a little insight into what it was like being a child of one of the leaders of the Reestablishment. Personally, I had always thought that the children were on the parents' side, and that Warner was an exception. However, Nazeera proves this wrong, showing that the leaders of the Reestablishment are even more cruel and power mad than originally thought, '"Our parents are homicidal maniacs intent on ruling the world; that part is true. But the thing no one seems to understand is that out parents chose to be homicidal maniacs. We, on the other hand, were forced to be."'
Now...Kenji and Nazeera! I adored these two, I seriously hope they end up together. I love their dynamic, and at the end of the novel when they both are so adamant about having separate rooms- I laughed so much. I definitely believe Kenji deserves a HEA and Nazeera seems like an incredible character, so I really hope Mafi delivers on this one. Fingers crossed!
I saved the best to last, because they will always be my favourite part of any Shatter Me novel. Aaron and Ella (Warnette has evolved and for the better too!) are adorable. Chemistry? Off. The. Charts. These two have a love that spans so much longer than anyone ever thought. One of the biggest twists was the fact that not only was Juliette the daughter of the Oceania leaders of the Reestablishment, with the name of Ella, but the fact that Aaron and her have been meeting each other ever since they were young, and having these interactions wiped from their memories. And every single time, they were drawn to each other, like magnets. This just makes my heart go all fuzzy- these two are absolute soulmates and you can not convince me otherwise. My heart couldn't take some of the flashbacks, such as this one, from Aaron's memories, '"Are you sure I don't know you?" And she smiles. Smiles at me and my heart shatters. "Trust me," she says. "I'd remember you."'This is so ironic and I just could not handle it. Although, this made my whole body go into emotional overload because it is so darn cute: '"It didn't matter how many times he reset the story or remade the introductions- Aaron always fell in love with her. Every time."' What I love about Aaron and Ella is that they discover new torments, and have endured so much, individually and together, and they come out of it stronger than ever. Ella is no longer the timid, scared, broken girl she once was, as seen through the disappearance of her journal with crossed out sentences. Ella continues to undergo traumatic experiences, such as her parents kidnapping and experimenting on her, which prompts Ella into thinking, 'My mother has no love for me.' Despite this, she continues to fight and ends up escaping. Aaron has never been shown love, not even from his Grandfather, as both of them did not want to experience his father's wrath. That's why these two work so well together, Aaron helped Ella realise she has always been strong, and Ella helps Aaron realise he isn't perfect, but that's okay, because he can still love and be loved. I also love the fact that Ella, Kenji, and the others threw Aaron a birthday party with a cake and everything because Aaron had never had one before. I'm tearing up just thinking of it, it's so darn sweet!
The icing on this cake is the fact that Aaron and Ella, my babies, are engaged. I can't believe it. They went from hating each other, to liking each other and now they're engaged. It was executed so well too, because now Aaron and Ella truly understand and know each other, and there are no more secrets. I'm just so full of love for these characters and this series.
This review just sort of morphed into a total love fest for Defy Me and the characters rather than an actual constructive review but oh well. Defy Me enthralled me and I can not wait for Imagine Me. Seriously, I need it now.
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