Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

This week I’ve read Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi, the fourth, additional book to the original Shatter Me-trilogy, that has now most likely been turned into suite of six books. I really, really loved the original trilogy, so I was so excited when I found out that the series continued in Restore Me. But unfortunately, I didn’t love this book quite as much as the previous ones. 

It’s hard to explain, but this book felt a bit off somehow. The characters that I had loved so much for their complexity suddenly felt one-dimensional and the plot was kind of slow.

I was so taken by the character developments in the series, especially in Ignite Me. It was amazing to see a character grow as much as Juliette did and I really loved the new, stronger her. And the way we got to know Warner, how he revealed his true self bit by bit. I absolutely loved all the Warner and Juliette moments and the feels, the attraction, the way they were equals and supported each other, how they opened up and were vulnerable and honest to each other. But in Restore Me, most of that seems to be gone.
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I think the main reason that I’m feeling a bit disappointed is that the story kind of reverted in some major aspects. The strong Juliette that we got to know in Ignite Me is replaced by her old insecure and whining self again. And the romance with Warner just doesn’t fly this time. They are both too occupied with themselves to really connect. And the plot was much slower this time. Honestly, I don’t think very much happened other than spending time with the characters. Not until the end that is. The end was a completely shocking cliff-hanger!
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Don’t get me wrong, this book wasn’t bad. It was just not as fantastic as the previous books in the series!

Overall I did enjoy it and to be back in the world of Juliette and Warner and Kenji. I also really enjoyed the flashbacks to Juliette’s diary, the added a great extra dimension and connected the dots to the first book. But I’m still a bit confused about the purpose of the book and the ending?

But with that cliffhanger... really, I can’t wait to read the next book! I hope that it will get the story back on track, so this can continue to be my favorite dystopian of all times!

Find out more about the book and the author here: Tahereh Mafi