This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Shatter Me, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it. Unravel Me, however, will remain spoiler-free.
SPOILER ALERT
It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defense mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from.
She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.
I was hooked from page one. There were definitely some X-Men vibes coming off the Omega Point setup, though it's hard to compare with Juliette being secluded so much. I wish we could have met or at least seen some of the other mutants.
But first, let's focus on the characters we did get. Juliette had some highs and lows for me, but I still loved reading her inner thoughts, her turmoil, her confusion. I wasn't thrilled with her back and forth romantic waffling at times, finding her a bit too dramatic over some things, and overly guilt-ridden over others, but I can't fully blame her for that.
I was consistently irked by Juliette's treatment at Omega Point, specifically regarding her lack of mental health treatment. Juliette's history includes being abused and abandoned by her parents, accidentally killing a child, being institutionalized and given shock therapy, being completely isolated for the better part of a year, and attempted weaponization ALL because of her powers, and they expect her to figure things out on her own? She is freaking broken!
I get that their top healers (of body and mind) can't touch her, but there doesn't seem to be any counselling or therapy for her to utilize because...? She even mentions multiple times that another guy is a psychologist. WHY WAS HE NOT UTILIZED? The guy in charge even berates her for not being more sociable in the community, despite knowing about her upbringing, background, and isolation. The whole organization just reads like it's unempathetic to anyone with special needs - which is pretty ironic for a place that's all about special people.
Speaking of special people, I loved the colorful cast that was expanded upon from the last book. Kenji especially is a favorite, though I will admit that him and Castle weren't always rubbing me the right way. I had some major paranoia through a lot of this book. Still, between Kenji, the healer girls, Winston, Brendan, and James, there were a lot more people to love, even in a dystopian society.
Moving on to the romance, Adam was a bit more meh for me. He comes off less lovey and more controlling. But Warner...man, after his novella, I was super excited to see what more was in store for him, and I was not disappointed. There was one super steamy make-out scene that I'm a little surprised got the YA greenlight, but Mafi does a phenomenal job with writing feelings without all the details, so it's still pretty PG on the page.
Overall, I thought it was a good 2nd book for a series. Juliette's character definitely goes through changes and the overall stakes are raised a good amount without going too far. I'm still miffed with the disregard over Juliette's mental health (even after my 2nd reading), but I guess I can let it go knowing it's mostly over and done with after this.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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