Book Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Ignite Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Paperback, 408 pages
Published: February 4th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
4/5 stars

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.

Shatter Me || Unravel Me

Let me break this review into parts because it’ll be easier that way. You better be prepared because this is going to be quite a long review.

“Whether or not you choose to join me, I’ve decided to fight. I will take down The Reestablishment or I will die trying. There’s nothing left for me otherwise.”

Juliette. Where do I start with Juliette? I FREAKING LOVE HER IN THIS BOOK. She’s being a strong, and fierce leader. She actually wants to fight back, to avenge her friends at Omega Point. She’s the one who made the plan, and she’s not afraid to use her power anymore. YAYYYY!!! She actually learns how to control it and to use it to her own advantage. We could see how awesome her power actually is. *spoiler she could block bullets, crush anything, and she could turn off her powers so she could touch EVERYONE. YAY! *spoiler ends. But we could still see parts of old Juliette, her thoughts and fears, so she doesn’t feel like a different person. And since Juliette’s mind is mostly sane in this book, the writing style become more bearable. It still use beautiful and repetitive prose, but it’s all good now it’s bordering on normal.

He leans into my ear. Lowers his voice. “Ignite, my love. Ignite.”

Warner. I do see Warner in a whole new light. He has his excuse for everything he has done. But isn’t his change is too drastic? From the psycopath in Shatter Me to Romeo he is in Ignite Me? I don’t know, I just find it unbelieveable. But anyways. His power is AMAZING. I think it’s my favorite. I mean, stealing other people’s powers and use it as your own??? Wow.  And he’s actually really good at it. He’s actually almost swoon worthy in this book, he’ll do anything for Juliette it’s bordering on unbelieveable. But that scene where *spoiler his mom died and he breaks down in Juliette arms really break my heart. Tahereh Mafi is definitely cruel with him. *spoiler ends. But honestly, I hate the name Aaron. He’ll always be Warner to me.

“All of this,” he says, meeting my eyes, his voice quieting to a raw aching whisper, “was for you. I left everything I knew because I thought we were in this together. I thought it was going to be me and you.”

Adam. I get it. He has a hard time. His friends died, Warner is his brother, and his girlfriend seemed to fall for Warner. BUT HE CHANGED TOO MUCH. He’s not even the same person. Adam in Shatter Me is kind, gentle and loves everyone. Adam in Ignite Me? He yells at everyone, he keeps his drama even though they’re in a middle of a freaking war. I get that maybe he still can’t let Juliette go, but if you want to keep her, stop yelling at her! Stop blaming everything on her. He’s like a totally different person. And we don’t get to see Adam displaying his power in this book. *sighs*

Kenji clears his throat. “J, I think you should switch spots with me.”
“Why?”
“I think your boyfriend is touching my leg.”

KENJI IS GOLD OKAY?? He’s like a piece of sunshine, a breath of fresh air in the middle of a book filled with teenage angst even though a huge war is brewing. He always tried to make everyone laugh, even though he’s also grieving. He supports Juliette no matter what. I wish I have my own Kenji as best friend.

All the other secondary characters don’t really get enough attention. We don’t see anyone display their powers, only Castle and Brendan, ONCE, and that’s all. And they don’t really have much part and plot other than to help Juliette. James is still cute and adorable of course.

All the characters are really close with each other. Juliette considers the people from Omega Point as her friends, and vice versa. They trust Juliette enough to trust Warner. As for my ship, well I ship Warner and Juliette more, than Adam and Juliette. As I said in my review of Unravel Me, Juliette only falls for Adam because he’s like the first human who could touch her and being kind to her. He wants to shelter her and protect her, but he actually hold her back. Warner actually pushes her to use her power, to not be afraid of herself, her power, to learn how to control it, to see the true extent of it. He builds her. He recognizes her true potential.

Plot. Well, let’s just say it’s like 80% Adam-Juliette-Warner drama, 19% friendship and getting ready for battle, and 1% battle. I really enjoyed this book because even though mostly it’s romance, Juliette actually stands up for herself. She isn’t a confused teenage girl anymore. But nothing really happens in this book. Anddd the Warner-Juliette/Adam-Juliette scene isn’t statisfying for me. REMEMBER CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO OF UNRAVEL ME? I was expecting more scenes like that since Juliette is staying at Warner’s but nope. I find nothing.

But that ending. That ending ruined it for me. Everything feels so rushed. *spoiler I really anticipated the scene where Warner finds out that Adam is his brother, but it was very dissapointing. I feel nothing, even though Juliette says “her heart breaks for both of them”. No. I feel nothing.*spoiler ends. AND THE BATTLE. I’M SO PISSED. I expect blood everywhere, gunshots, people screaming, huge displays of power. But nope. We get nothing of that. And the ending doesn’t give me any closure. I need to know what happens next! What happen with Kenji? Juliette? Warner? Will Adam forgive Warner? Will Adam be friends with Juliette again??? I refuse to acknowledge that ending.

So overall… I did enjoy this book, until the last few chapters. Shatter Me is a series that actually gets better and better, and Ignite Me is my favorite. The character developments are amazing, the world building is solid, and it feels like X-Men, in a good way. Really enjoyed this book, but unfortunately the ending didn’t work for me.