This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Shatter Me, Destroy Me, Unravel Me, Fracture Me, Ignite Me, Restore Me, and Shadow Me, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Will Juliette’s broken heart make her vulnerable to the strengthening darkness within her?
Juliette’s short tenure as the supreme commander of North America has been an utter disaster. When the children of the other world leaders show up on her doorstep, she wants nothing more than to turn to Warner for support and guidance. But he shatters her heart when he reveals that he’s been keeping secrets about her family and her identity from her—secrets that change everything.
Juliette is devastated, and the darkness that’s always dwelled within her threatens to consume her. An explosive encounter with unexpected visitors might be enough to push her over the edge.
This book felt horribly short. I realize I just re-read the entire rest of the series (plus the new novella), but this still felt like an entire book of build-up with nothing actually happening.
It's like that clip show that happens right before the finale. Sure, it has some important information, but that's basically all it is. Information. Getting everyone on the same page and planning for the big battle at the end. It's important, sure, but it's not as satisfying. And I feel like book 2 in the series, Unravel Me, did a much better job of being a story in its own right. It had a beginning, middle, and end that evolved the characters, rather than just relocating them, but still acted as a build-up to the third, and presumed final, book in the series.
So yeah, Defy Me seemed short and unsubstantial overall in comparison to the rest of the series. But that's not to say what it did have wasn't important or engaging.
I was surprised to have more narration from Kenji in this book. It was nice to have Juliette and Warner's back and forth in Restore Me because it was imperative that we saw both sides of their relationship. But with Kenji, it felt less necessary for emotion and more like a cop out for information's sake. Sure, there were parts that grew from his short story (in fact, I'm pretty sure the first chapter was just a copy/paste of Shadow Me's last chapter), like his relationship with Nazeera and some info about the poison used before, but on the whole his story just helped fill in gaps that Warner and Juliette wouldn't have known without exposition dumps. I noticed he lost narration duty as soon as the others got together.
Warner/Aaron was a little lacking for me this time around. Sure, learning more about his history was great, and I loved finally getting into the nitty-gritty of his own mental health. The panic attacks, the simulations of killing himself, and the regimented lifestyle finally all fall into place. I get the feeling there's more info about his mom than we got to know, so I'm definitely looking forward to upcoming surprises with that. But, I don't know, I guess I would have liked a little more...change in him? He seemed to have a major turn, but then suddenly didn't? Sorry it's so confusing.
Speaking of confusing, let's talk about this crazy history woven here. I don't know if any of this craziness was planned from the beginning or if its just been added in this second trilogy, but just wow. Brain wiping. Mind control. World domination. At least I think it's all finally cleared up so everyone's on the same page, but it took most of this book to get there. I guess what I'm saying is this series suddenly got a lot more intricate than it started out being. Which is great, in my opinion, but still a bit mind-boggling.
I've put off talking about the sex(?) scenes in this series so far because...well...they haven't been explicitly sex. And I guess they're still not technically? But if you thought there was steam leading up to this, there is quite a bit of naked fun time happening in the later parts of this book. Spoiler? Again, there's nothing specifically exclaiming that they're having sex, but with the amount of detail paid to the kissing, parting thighs, and heat felt, they might as well be.
Really, I did enjoy reading this. I was glued to my screen for every chapter. It was fascinating to see all the grand schemes unravel, and I can't wait to see some of the new characters factor into things. And I especially enjoyed the ending. Sort of a calm before the storm, I'm sure. I just hate that I have to wait another entire year before finally getting some closure!
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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