Review: Ignite Me

Title:  Ignite Me
Series:  Shatter Me #3
Author:  Tahereh Mafi
Age Group:  Young Adult
Published:  February 4, 2014 by HarperCollins
Source:  Bought

The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.

My Review:  Ignite Me is, by far, my absolute favorite book in the entire Shatter Me series.  It had me laughing, crying, smiling like a lunatic, and desperately wishing certain characters were real.  This novel was a game changer in the series and bumped the entire thing up into my Favorite Series Ever list easily.  This was a finale I won't soon forget.  

First and foremost, Juliette completely did a 180 in this book.  I'm so used to her being timid and unsure of herself, constantly frightened of her own body and abilities.  Well, no longer.  Juliette was exactly what we've wanted her to be in the last two books: Badass.  She just kicked some major butt in this novel and I was cheering her on the entire way.  Seeing her embrace and begin to love her powers was just such an amazing thing to see and experience.  Her character growth throughout this trilogy has just completely blown me away.  She has grown so much and I adored her in this book.  The way she stood up for herself and spoke her mind - while still staying level-headed and kind - was amazing and I definitely admire her for that.  

And then there are the boys...let me just get one out of the way: Adam.  Yeah, dude, you can go.  I could not even believe him in this book.  He did a 180 just like Juliette but his was not for the better.  He was incredibly rude and cruel and I was hoping that Juliette would punch him or slap him or kick him in the shins or something.  His ongoing temper tantrum rivaled that of a two year old who has told that they couldn't get a new toy.  On a more pleasant note, we have Warner.  This man....I love him, you guys.  I love him.  If he walked up to my right now and asked me to marry him, I would not even hesitate to say yes.  He is so multi-layered and three dimensional.  I love the persona he projects to everyone and also his true self that he lets only Juliette see.  There was so much growth in this novel and Warner was no exception.  I love him.  That's really all I can say.  

The plot of this novel was full of action and suspense and I loved every second of it!  There was so much happening but it never moved too fast or too slow.  The pace was absolutely perfect.  Everything was so exciting and the way things unfolded never felt unnatural or stiff.  I enjoyed it immensely.  

Just writing this review about Ignite Me has made me eager to reread it.  I want to fall back into this world and experience more of these characters!  This is the last book in a beautiful series and it was the best of them all.  I'm sad I have nothing more of this series to look forward to but I'm satisfied with the way everything wrapped up.  I'm eagerly awaiting the moment I have enough free time to reread this story!

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