Book Review: Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Yes - Book #4 in the Shatter Me series.

Cover: One of my favorite covers ever. This series has the most stunning covers. White is my favorite color, so this design just went through the roof with me.

Rating: 5/5 This was the book that I was waiting ALL YEAR for. I am so glad that I finally got to read it. It was everything that I hoped for and even better!

Review: Like always, the first part of my review is spoiler free and the second half is full of spoilers. If you read the second half when you weren't ready, that is all on you buddy. Oh man, where do I even start with this review? I've been waiting for this book the moment I found out there was a book #4. The wait was 100% worth it.

First, I would like to say that I really enjoy Mafi's writing style. I have missed Juliette, Kenji, and Warner. In this book, we get two POVs compared to the first three books. We see the story unfold through Juliette and Warner. Everything was written so fluidly, and I love how natural all the characters were. Mafi knows how to build up the suspense. She adds just the correct amount of drama at the right moment. Throughout Restore Me, there was always a sense that something bigger was going to come. After it came, Mafi drops another bomb onto you. 

Just like the first three books, romance is the main center of attention. I have to admit that throughout the book, the romance got really cheesy and cringy. I believe there should be a limit to how many times a character can say "I love you" within a chapter. That being said, I love Juliette and Warner being together. Although I do believe that they're picking the worst time ever to be in a relationship. 

The characters in this book were STUNNING. The original crew were still the same. Kenji is still awesome, Adam is doing what Adam does best, and Warner & Juliette are madly in love. I love the addition of the new characters as well. All of them, good or bad, I loved them. They were all unique in the way they talked and acted. None of them were cookie cutters. 

What I loved the most was seeing Warner's point of view. With Juliette, we know that she is loved by everyone. Kenji is her best friend, Adam is her ex, and Castle is her adviser. With Warner, everything changes. Kenji is an annoying character that drives Warner up the walls, Adam is his half-brother who he wishes didn't exist, and Castle is a guy who thinks he knows everything. It is always interesting to see how the same character is interpreted differently by different characters. 

 With all that, I do have to say that some parts of the book were very predictable. Although, I believe that Mafi wanted readers to predict what type of ending her book will have. If anything, I would say that book #4 is a filler book. Nonetheless, it is still a very good filler book. I highly highly recommend the Shatter Me series.

 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, I didn't like Castle in this book. Why couldn't he have told Juliette that she was adopted, has a sister, and living parents. Like why did it need to be Warner? This dude just wanted to rain on their relationship. Like, just let them beeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

Second, who in the world thought it was a good idea to let a 17-year-old be the supreme leader of all of NORTH AMERICA. That is 579 MILLION people (as of 2016 and thanks Google). Not only that, but Juliette was locked up for over half of her life. She probably has never eaten fast food and procrastinated all day before. She even says that she's never been on a plane either. If the other 5 leaders are like Anderson, picking Juliette as a leader was a mistake. The girl may be invincible on the outside, but she is nothing more than a glass cannon. 

Third, Lena is an ass. 

Finally, Mafi, why did you have to kill everyone? I mean, they were barely there in book #4, but it doesn't mean you had to kill them... Poor babies....

Audiobook Review:

Usually, this section would consist of my favorite lines from the book. Since starting my new job, I haven't been able to read at all. I do commute roughly 2-3 hours a day for work, so I figured I'd give audiobooks a try. I have to say, I LOVE IT. All I do is drive and listen to the story instead of being annoyed with traffic. Less work for me. I should have done this sooner!

For the audiobook rating, I give it a 5/5. Both Kate Simses and James Fouhey blew me away with their performance. I loved the different voices that they did for each of the characters. They both nailed the personality of every character perfectly. I can't wait to listen to more of their works either in this series or in another book.

Top 3 Favorite Characters

Nazeera - Oh my lord. I love this girl. I never knew I needed someone like her in my life until I met her. She is an all-around BAD ASS. Legit, I need someone that confident in my life. I am so glad that Juliette finally has a female friend that she can depend on. I love Mafi for the creation of her so much <3

Kenji - Kenji is what I imagine my older brother would be if I had an older brother. I love how he jokes around about serious situations or how blunt/oblivious he is to things. He brightens up everyone's world in the book. the dynamic of Kenji's and Warner's relationship makes me laugh so much as well. 

Juliette/Warner - Okay I'm cheating a bit here lol... I like these two characters in this book simply because I don't like the other characters much. They're mostly the same. They both go through huge character development and I'm glad I get to see that happen in this book. I'm sure they'll rip my heart out even more in the next book. 

That is all everyone! Truthfully, I finished this book a while ago, but didn't have the time to write my review on it. Also, I think this review is a tad longer than what I've written usually. Hope you guys don't mind. I already started on the next book and I'm 20% through with it. I love audiobooks <3 <3 <3 Anyways, did you guys read Restore Me yet? What do you think of it?