Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)

I was arguing with myself nearly the whole time I was reading. I really wanted to see Juliette's side of things, but I just couldn't get down with her woe is me attitude and self-loathing. In Shatter Me she had the crappy life going for her, but I just couldn't grant her that pass in Unravel Me. She was with people like herself -- some of whom had similarly crappy lives -- and she had at least a few people caring for her and wanting to be her friend.

Just so you know, before I get into the relationship stuff, I'm a Warner fan through and through. That Adam guy can just go sit in the corner.

I can see Juliette's side of the whole thing: she still loves Adam but doesn't want to cause him pain. On the flip side: no. Adam begs her over and over for a chance to be together and try to work through it, but does she listen? No, instead she repeatedly "forgets herself" and finds some way to have intimate contact with him only to push him away and get all wishy-washy, further stringing along and confusing both guys.

And my poor, poor Warner. Okay, I totally understand Juliette's complete confusion when it comes to her feelings for him. He's a pretty confusing guy and most of what she's seen from him is pretty bad. But he opens his heart up to her multiple times only to have her hold it in her hands a moment before carelessly tossing it on the floor and walking away. And she continues to tell him she thinks he can change, but isn't exactly helping him by treating him like the same person.

I'm glad to have seen growth in Juliette by the end even if she spent the better part of the book being generally annoying. I like that she noticed herself feeling more confident after her time away from Adam.

The Nutshell: I enjoyed Unravel Me more than it's predecessor, but Juliette's attitude bogged down the story for me. I wanted a little (or a lot) more Warner, a little more action, and a lot less angst. I appreciated Juliette's growth away from Adam and her few super badass moments, but her pity parties got in the way of all that. In the end, it was a pretty solid story and I'm looking forward to the final one.

Hit

This is one of the very few times I liked the second book better than the first in a trilogy.

Shatter Me I found okay. The story was original, but the characters did not really get to me. Juliette had not much of a voice and cried too much. Adam I found a flat character, he had no character development at all and it seemed Juliette only liked him because he was not affected by her letal touch. Warner was just your typical villain, no development there either. Ergo, I was not really captivated by this book. But nevertheless I tried the second book, thank God!

The beginning of the book was quite the same as Shatter Me. Juliette had escaped her imprisonment by Warner with help of Adam and Kenji. The three of them were taken to the rebel base. The book starts with Juliette whining and Adam being distant and not very nice. Luckily there was Kenji, who brought humor and talked the occasional sense into Juliette which she really needed.
Then the big chance happened that made me love the book: Warner was captured and brought to base. And he appeared to be so different from the villain in book 1. He had read Juliette's notes from the asylum and it had changed him. He really loved her now and he was not afraid to show it. His father had now become the ultimate villain and Warner had defied him. It seemed too good to be true. Juliette started growing towards him, which I found quite weird, since she hated him in book 1... But she did and Adam moved more and more to the background.
In the middle of the book they found out Adam and Warner are actually brothers, but this was quickly forgotten and not really mentioned again (also weird).
The rest of the book was about Juliette and Warner growing close. Warner discovered he had a gift too and Juliette realised more and more she and Warner are actually the same. Warner turns out to be more of a misunderstood than a bad guy. They are both hated by everyone (although this is not actually the case for Juliette, she just thinks that) and share the same interests. But of course when Warner asked her to run away with him she chooses Adam. Why she does that I do not know, since she and Adam almost never talk and have even broken up. Then the 'big' attack by Warner's father begins (this took about 3 pages and was made seem unimportant) and Juliette is captured. At the end Warner saves Juliette from his father and it seems everything is well.
What struck me about this book was the beautiful style of writing. The crossed out words gave an edge to the book and some lines were really poetic and beautiful.

Okay, I know this review seems a little negative about the book, but I really did love it. I still found Juliette a bit irritating and Adam was even worse than in the first book and developed into a whiny guy who could not let go of his ex. The thing that made this book great was Warner. His character changed so much since book 1. He went from villain to misunderstood, likeable guy. I know he is still not nice to anyone but Juliette, but I truly believe she has changed him. We also get a sort of explaination for his bad behaviour. First, we meet his dad, who is the worst dad ever. Then, we discover his ability: sensing people's emotions. If you your whole life sensed people hated you, would you not become a little irritated with them?

I would definitely recommend Unravel Me to everyone.
I cannot wait for the next book!

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