Believe Me (Shatter Me, #5)

by Tahereh Mafi

The devastatingly romantic fifth novella in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shatter Me series, chronicling the events after Imagine Me, the explosive sixth novel.

Juliette and Warner fought hard to take down the Reestablishment once and for all. Life in the aftermath isn’t easy, as they and their friends at the Sanctuary work with their limited resources to stabilize the world.

Warner has his sights set on more than just politics. Since he proposed to Juliette two weeks ago, he’s been eager to finally marry her, the person he loves more than anything and has endured so much to be with. But with so much chaos around them, it’s been nearly impossible for them to have a wedding. And even Juliette has been distracted by everything they need to do.

At long last, Warner and Juliette’s future together is within reach, but the world continues to try to pull them apart. Will they finally be able to be happily, officially, together?

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Tahereh Mafi's bestselling Shatter Me series with Believe Me!

• ISBN10: 0063228319
• ISBN13: 9780063228313
• Publish Date: 16 November 2021 (first published 2 April 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[Ele.ments]

2,5 ⭐️

[littleread1]

I keep reading these new books because I read the original trilogy as they came out for the most part, so it is more "obligation" at this point. If this series was going to keep going beyond 1 more book, I would probably stop reading it, but with 1 more (as far as I know) I feel like I have to see it through to the end, ya know?

[ladygrey]

I always forget how truly bad these books are with pacing. And then I read one and remember all over again. Also there’s no plot. There’s basically no real story. It’s 2/3 exposition, a tiny bit of action and then all the character moments I’d been waiting for all lumped together at the end.

There is so cohesion to the larger - I use the word story lightly. It’s been obvious since the second book, maybe even since the Warner short story that Mafi is just making it up as she goes along and cobbling things together then trying retroactively to explain them or justify them.

But the characters... and by that I mean Warner and Kenji. They’re still pretty fantastic. And in changing Juliette’s name it’s like she’s undergone an entire personality transformation too. Which isn’t unwelcome. Everyone still talks about how singular and powerful Juliette is, which is still annoying. But Ella doesn’t really do anything in this book which, is an improvement to her being irrational and impulsive and flinging her power around like a wild bull. It’s really kind of Kenji’s story but he isn’t tied into the larger machinations. And nothing is really developed at all as far as story or any of the other characters beyond their names it anything at all. It’s a lot of emotions expressed in interesting ways, which has always been the best part of these books.

It doesn’t really matter that nothing really happens at all in this book anyway. Because we get to hang out with Kenji and Warner for a couple hundred pages that go by in no time flat.

Except Kenji swears way too much.

The world’s on fire. Have some fun.

[Annie Jackson]

The world’s on fire. Have some fun.

[liz089]

Finally ! The next one !! For me, the Shatter Me series was one of my favourites when I started reading YA Fantasy, and I was thrilled that she decided to continue with this series.
It is so much fun to read about these characters again, to see how they matured and evolve.
And I just LOVE that she is still able to surprise me with some of her plottwists ! Awesome !!
The only problem I had was that I had to stop myself from finishing it in a couple of hours because I wanted the story to last longer XD

[Linda]

Defy Me brought on all the heat, the action and the suspense! I have no idea how Mafi can continue to make me feel so utterly entranced with Juliette, Warner, and all the others.

[nightingalereads]

**spoiler-free**

I didn't not enjoy this book...but I did spend most of it conflicted and confused. Part of me wishes this had just remained a trilogy, because I wasn't a huge fan of some of the reveals that began cropping up in Restore Me and then continue to destroy everything you think you know in Defy Me (no spoilers). I guess there was just too much "rewriting of history" for me, even though I know the explanations can work within the story. But I sort of disliked some of the changes the author makes to your perspective of the original three books? I don't know. I'll likely pick up the final installment but, personally, I think the first three books will remain the canon in my head. :/

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: This book pleasantly surprised me. I had no idea what to expect. Even though I had never read the synopsis and avoided reading all forms of reviews, Shatter Me was right up there on my TBR pile for quite some time. The prose was unexpected. It's different to say the least. I think that's where most of Tahereh Mafi's creativity shone through. Plot-wise, not an awful lot happened, though it seems like a promising set-up for the sequel. One thing that I could've done without was the excessive romance. It kinda felt misplaced to me, even if it added to the mystery that shrouded Juliette's strange abilities. Oh and Juliette blushed a lot. I'm surprised her face wasn't perpetually red.

[Berls]

My Initial Reaction...

I was blown away by the incredible writing in Shatter Me from the moment I started it. I think that, more than any other element, captivated me and held me to the very end.

The Narration...

The narration by Kate Simses was impeccable. She's a perfect fit for this style of writing and she really made it work for me. Shatter Me is incredibly poetic and not just the words, but the rhythms and sounds of the words wove together beautifully -- something I don't know if I could have fully appreciated if it weren't for the narration. This is a book to listen to. You'll notice this scratching sound and it took me a couple chapters to figure out what it meant exactly - it's meant to be the scratching of the pen, canceling out words. Once I understood that, I loved it, since it was a beautiful addition to the stream of consciousness sytle writing. Once the book gets more emerged in the dialogue and action, Kate Simses continued to do a great job - now bringing to life characters rather than just the poetic style. She's on my list of favorite narrators now.

The Characters...

It really takes a while to start getting to know these characters. You don't even know Juliette's name for several chapters - but, for me at least, this really worked because it added to the quality of Juliette's disconnect from the world and all life. Juliette was born with a curse/talent (depending on how you view it). Just by touching another person she tortures and sucks their life out. She has no control over it and it has made her deadly. As a result she spent a good part of her life scorned, hated and feared. When we enter the story, she's locked up in a mental institution/prison. Juliette is a character that I couldn't help but love. Life has been cruel to her and she has every ability to be cruel right back. But she doesn't want to be. She's caring and sensitive. All she wants is a connection. She craves interaction and if only she could be touched. I can't even imagine what life would be like without ever feeling another person's touch. But Juliette has survived it all as an incredible person that I had to root for.

I have to say that although I didn't necessarily dislike him, I never really connected to Adam. And maybe that's because I didn't ever really believe in his connection with Juliette. He seems like a nice guy but there's something about him that just seems a bit too uncertain and weak for me to even believe in a lot of what he says or does. I think that may just be me, but he wasn't doing it for me. Warren, on the other hand, I loved. In the OMG He's absolutely HORRIBLE kind of way. He's everything I want in my evil characters - scarred, evil, a bit insane, and ruthless. What can I say? Sometimes the bad guys steal the show - and in the Adam vs. Warren scenario, he totally did for me.

The Story...

I really enjoyed the story for Shatter Me, but I have a couple qualms. First of all, I feel like we spent a little too much time caged up to get a real feel for the world. It's a dystopian and for me that means that the world is so incredibly important. I've had a lot TOLD to me about the world from Juliette's memories and what she's been told - but from the time she spent out in it, the whole humans destroying the world and making it environmentally dangerous and deficient didn't come through. I get that's how it is, but I didn't see it. What I really saw was humans oppressing other humans - and maybe that's the point. Time will tell. It certainly didn't hurt my enjoyment of the overall story, but it did raise lots of world questions for me.

My other qualm is where the series is headed. The last 15% of the book was action packed and full of exciting discoveries. I enjoyed every minute and yet felt this tinge for the familiar. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone so I won't say what specifically felt too familiar, but I will say that I hope I'm wrong and it's not going down that path. Because it would ruin the spectacularly inventive quality I was enjoying oh so much.

Concluding Sentiments...

Shatter Me has a haunting, poetic writing style that I just adored and for that reason alone I would pick up book 2. But I also loved the main character and the action that took off was great so I look forward to seeing where things end up.