Ignite Me – Review

I will forge forward or die.

I think Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi gave me the most physical reaction to a book I’ve felt in a long, long time. It was crazy. I was flushed with passion, enraged with, well, rage and just a giggly, screaming mess the whole way through. I read this book in three hours which is pretty much unprecedented. Food, sleep, family could not have torn me from this book.

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her. 

Okay. Where do I even start? This was an amazing way to start off 2015 and I’m so utterly and wholly and thoroughly satisfied with Ignite Me and the entire Shatter Me series. I don’t think there’s ever been a series where I felt like every single book was perfection.  The plot was flawless – great pace, things always happening, always on the brink of happening, and a great conclusion to the book and the entire series. I do wish that the end of the conflict would have been more drawn out, but maybe it had to just be over at last. But in Ignite Me, the characters totally won the story.

One thing I loved about the first two books, Shatter Me and Unravel Me was the prose, the use of numbers and the strikethrough. The prose is completely different here, the numbers and the strikethrough completely gone. The prose in Ignite Me is less flowery, less abstract and more grounded – and that’s because Juliette is, too. She’s completely changed; she’s finally learned to accept herself so there’s no more of that self-censorship that we saw in the strikethrough and she’s got her head on straight, so it makes sense that the prose is more grounded. I like both Juliette’s. I didn’t think I would, but they both have their appeal. The Juliette in the first two books is a little unhinged, entirely unsure of herself, and endearing in that way. The Juliette we see in Ignite Me is on fire. She knows exactly what she needs to be doing and she finally figures out a way to be true to herself. So although I miss Unhinged Juliette, I know that the old Juliette could never fathom starting – or winning – a war.

I fell in love with Warner in Unravel Me and was utterly devastated because I felt that the Warner-Juliette was a ship that was destined to sink. But, oh my gosh, Warner. If I loved him then, I’m just sljdnsdcvefy3e12 about him now. The way he speaks to Juliette, about Juliette is just breath taking – as in literally it leaves me oxygen deprived and if I ever had anyone say half the things to me that Warner says to Juliette in the way he says them, I would have no idea where my heart (or undergarments) would have fled to. He was just perfection and everything and he unravelled me and I felt like I could hardly breathe and it was just incredible. Hands down my favourite book boyfriend, that is all, end of story, goodnight. I don’t think I’ll ever recover.

Kenji will always be in my heart, though, because as ever, he’s got his smart-ass/serious sexy vibe going on there and I really wish I could find out what happens in the rest of his life because: Kenji? In love? That’s the gold medal winner. And as for Kenji’s little buddy, James, James is the light of my heart, seriously. He breaks my heart and then pieces it back together and he’s so cute and innocent and he’s the kind of child you protect with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul.

Now. There was a certain person. Who STIRRED UP THE FURY IN MY HEART AS I HAD NEVER FELT IT BEFORE AND I WAS SO AFFECTED I COULD HAVE TORN THE BOOK APART WITH MY BARE HANDS. I will say no more for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet and for the sake of my blood pressure; just know that I think this person is SO DUMB AND I WILL HATE HIM TO THE VERY LAST FIBRE THREADS OF THE EARTH FOREVER AND THAT IS ALL.

Overall, I will be gifting this series to anyone and everyone who shows the slightest interest in reading fantasy to the end of time and they will have to do with getting the entire series for their birthday and Christmas and even just when I feel like they need. Because the Shatter Me series was possibly THE best I have ever read, and if I really love you, just know what to expect for your next three birthdays.