Restore Me (Shatter Me, #4)

by Tahereh Mafi

[nightingalereads]

I'm unsure how to review this book, so I think I'm just going to divide it into pros and cons.

Pros:
- Tahereh Mafi's writing is as raw and beautiful as ever.
- Hearing from Warner's perspective was great. Getting to see inside his mind really added to the story.
- The introduction of the other commandants' children was cool.

Cons:
- The plot seemed a little scattered or vague to me. Looking back, not a lot happened in this book plot-wise. It lacked major story beats.
- There were times when I felt like the protagonists acted a little out-of-character. For instance, I don't think Juliette would've reacted so explosively toward Warner after his confession. Not given how much the previous books have built up her understanding of him and how messed up his childhood was.
- Some of the plot developments felt a little...off to me. Juliette has a sister? She's the daughter of the Oceania commandant? It all just felt a little too thrown in. Like, I thought we were making toast, but now all of a sudden you've tossed in an egg and some sugar and now were suddenly making french toast. (I'm not sure that sentence makes any sense.) Especially the whole "Juliette and Warner knew each other before" surprise. That felt like a curveball straight out of left field - and not a believable one.

Overall, I loved getting to see Juliette, Warner, and Kenji again. Although I didn't love Restore Me as much as the original three books, I will of course be picking up the sequel when it comes out.