Published: 2nd October 2012
By: Harper Collins
Source: Purchased copy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Shatter Me was a book that hadn't reached my radar until the wonderful reviews for Unravel Me started to flood in and I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about.
Unfortunately, this book didn't appeal to me in the same way it did to others. First off, the writing style. I felt it was long winded, drawn out and sometimes just ridiculous. It made Juliette's inner monologue quite tedious, and hindered my building a real likeness for her character. I didn't completely dislike her either. She didn't really bring any strong emotion out in me, except for times when I wanted to shake her.
While I liked Adam, the romance was uninteresting. It just didn't excite me, no goosebumps or chills up my spine. Unfortunately, no swoonworthy moments over Adam. Warner was a lot more passionate a character than Adam.
But, Warner wasn't without fault either. While it was plain that he was an evil guy, it just didn't come through enough with Juliette. His attraction to her was immediate, there was no tension between them. He was mostly nice to her. While he made her use her touch a couple of times against her will, other than that, he was kind of sweet to her. I felt a few mean, aggressive scenes would have worked well here, (yeah, I'm a bit twisted like that lol) and slower build up to him falling all over Juliette would have made things more interesting for me.
Kenji, in my opinion, was the star of this book. A light hearted character who brought some humour to an otherwise bland read. It always surprises me how one character can completely change the dynamics of a book. But with Kenji, came some fun and banter, which up to this point, was sorely missing. And my interest in this book increased in folds once Kenji took them to his 'safe place'.
Despite my negativity about this book, I do feel there's an underlying good plot. I plan to pick up Destroy Me soon as I feel Warner's head might be an interesting place to be. And then, Unravel Me. I'm interested in seeing what other gifts people are going to have and finding out some other things that I was left wondering about. One being Adam and his brother. Maybe I can block out this dreadful writing style somehow and just get to the roots of the story.
I've had Shatter Me on my shelf for a while now and chose now to pick it up as part of a challenge I'm taking part in with the NTOFYAB group on Goodreads. If it wasn't for this, I doubt I would have finished this book as I felt it really waned in the middle and I had really little interest in reading it. I had to force myself to pick it up.
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I'm sorry you weren't able to enjoy Shatter Me as much as you'd hoped Suzanne. I agree the writing did take me a while to get into too, but once I was able to get through that, I found the book a lot more enjoyable. Also I get what you mean about seeing Warner's evil side, he's meant to be the villain and yes some more darker scenes would have made the book more entertaining. But I'm glad you're still going to give the rest of the series a go. I hope you end up enjoying them! Fab review! :)
I still haven't read Unravel Me yet but I did like Shatter Me. Adam despite being the main romantic lead don't trust him, don't like him. Warner however sold the book for me. He's supposed to be this evil person but I just feel he's a good soldier who does what he's told. Just sometimes that stuff isn't morally right. Nice review. I can't wait to see what you think about the next books.
Sorry this didn't work for you, Suzanne! Great honest review. :)
I completely agree that Warner is far more passionate than Adam. I like them both, but Adam is a bit forgettable, while Warner shines like a star, even when he's being his usual evil self.
I'm sorry you didn't like this, Suzanne! It's one of my favorites, but it really is hit or miss with most people. :)
Great review.
Sorry you didn't love this one, the writing style almost turned me off at first, but I ended up liking it
Hmm hmmhmm... I have this book, too,but haven't read it. I know the writing style is a hit or miss for a lot of people, so I'm curious whether or not it'll be something I like.
Hmm, I don't really have any interest in this series. I think it's the writing ... it's just something I know won't appeal to me. I hope you enjoy Destroy Me and Unravel Me more than you did this one, Suzanne.
I know we've already spoken on GR about his one but I'm shattered you didn't like it! I have yet to read this series and I've such high hopes for it. Will still plow ahead with my plans to read in a while and hopefully I'll have a better experience!
Hopefully you will Trish. Many people loved it and some have said it was their best read of 2012. So you should definitely give it a go.
The writing style does take a little getting used to. I like it since it is something different. I sort of like how all her thoughts just run together in a super descriptive rambling. LOL Warner is a very intriguing character. Didn't really like him until the next book. Thought Adam was sweet.
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