Dual Book Review + Giveaway: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Bought
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia

      

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"

Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she'll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew-about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam-was wrong.

In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi created a captivating and original story that combined 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." The sequel, Unravel Me, blew readers away with heart-racing twists and turns, and New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia said it was "dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense." Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and climactic end.

(5++++)

Before reading Ignite Me I was #TeamWarner, but after I finished reading Ignite Me, I became #TeamJuliette.  Warner will forever be in my heart, but Juliette was my hero in this book.  She finally found herself.  She broke out of her shell and blossomed to the hero she was born to be.  She became my hero. 

It's really hard to write a review for this book since it's the final in the trilogy and I don't want to give anything away. So I am going to make this review a little different. There are so many feels in this book.  It seemed like I was tabbing every other page because I wanted to make sure I could come back and read and live that specific moment again. My book looks like a college text book with post-its and tabs everywhere. LOL  (See picture) And yes, I took off the dust jacket because I didn't want to mess it up LOL OCD at its finest! Tahereh did an amazing job capturing the growth of these characters though out the books.  In Shatter Me, Juliette is this broken girl who was scared to death of her power which she looked at as something she hated because it was the only thing keeping her from being normal.  In Unravel Me, Juliette learns to control her power and realizes that it can be used against The Reestablishment.  Once you read Ignite Me, Juliette is this kick ass hero that will do everything in her power to bring down the Reestablishment and gain the love and trust of the people.

I cried, laughed and swooned throughout the entire book.  I felt like I was there with her every step of the way.  My favorite chapter in Ignite Me is chapter "55."  I read that chapter over and over again before continuing with the story because it was absolutely incredible.  There are no words to describe it.  It ripped my heart out and left me breathless. Fans of this series will be gasping and swooning the entire time.

Tahereh Mafi is one of those few authors whose writing reads like poetry.  Every sentence is beautiful and just perfect! I absolutely love this woman. I can not wait to see what else she comes up with because if it's anything like the Shatter Me series, count me in.

Forget about Team Adam versus Team Warner, and jump on the Team Juliette train. Mafi's Ignite Me not only puts an end to that battle, but ties up all the loose ends and makes you root for Juliette instead of feeling sorry for her. I was very pleased with the way that Juliette finally stood up for herself and got over her fears and insecurities. There is a whole new side of her that she finally starts to explore that made me shed a tear or two of joy.

The story picks up right where Unravel Me leaves off, with Juliette finding her life saved by Warner via the healing powers of "the girls". At the end of Unravel Me Juliette makes some promises for revenge that we definitely see come to fruition in Ignite Me, but not right away. It takes careful planning and much emotional baggage to sort through for Juliette to discover how far she can take and control her own powers. Juliette's journey in this book takes us from Juliette the scared little girl to Juliette the badass warrior that vows to take down the reestablishment.

On the romantic front, I won't give any spoilers, but let's just say that Juliette takes time to explore her feelings and doesn't make any haste decisions when it comes to choosing who she'll be with. As a matter of fact, I was very close to thinking that she might not choose anyone at all and just take time for herself.

On the writing, what can I say other than Tahereh Mafi is flawless. Period. I have never read anything quite like the way that Mafi writes. It's like poetry that I actually understand. Like music to my ears. Gone are the strikethroughs and in comes Juliette's real voice, the one she's been repressing all this time. It felt satisfying and at the same time heartbreaking to see our little Juliette flourish throughout this book and it was especially bittersweet to have to part with these characters that I've grown so attached to. One thing I really hope is that Tahereh one day writes another novella, but this time in Kenji's point of view, or a prequel on when Kenji found out about his powers and was alone and scared. I would really love to see more books graced by Kenji's hilarious one-liners, and apparently, I'm not the only one based on the fangirling you see to the right. Do yourself a favor and pick up Ignite Me asap if you haven't already done so, and if you haven't read Shatter Me, step away from the computer right now and run to the nearest bookstore. Trust me, you'll be happy you did.

* * U.S. ONLY**

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