Defy Me (Shatter Me #5) by Tahereh Mafi Is A Major Step Down | REVIEW

Plot: 5/10

Characters: 8/10

Entertainment Factor: 6.5/10 

Writing: 7/10

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

Overall, Defy Me was an okay novel. However, it was a major step down from Restore Me. I did really love Juliette Ella's growth. That is definitely something that stands out and felt really empowering to read. What she has gone through in her life is just so incredibly messed up and I'm overall so happy that she has managed to become the person she is. 

Regarding the plot, I really did not see the major plot twist coming in this book. Someone actually not being ~dead~ was this time around not something that I was expecting, even though it is a majorly cliché occurence in YA literature. For a chapter, I was actually kind of hopeful that things seemed to have been taken care of, but alas! I honestly think the plot of this series would have been more interesting (especially from a socio-political perspective) if this person was actually and truly gone. However, as a whole, personal growth of the characters aside, the plot in this book as just incredibly yawn-worthy. Practically nothing happened, except a handful of flashbacks! Which granted, were majorly important in the grand scheme of things. But I really missed the action of the previous book. I hope things will get a bit more interesting in the final instalment, although given the average rating that the book has, I'm not too hopeful. 

It was a bit of a shame that for the most part in this book, Warner and Juliette Ella don't communicate with each other or see each other, although it was interesting to read about them both processing their own memories of each other separately. The fact that Warner and Juliette Ella had already met over and over again, and that each time they couldn't help but fall in love was really adorable, even if it did give me Evermore vibes (yikes!). And it even makes the whole proposal thing a lot easier to digest at the end of the book. I generally reaaaally don't like teen people getting engaged in YA novels (unless they've been together practically forever or have survived some major apocalypse or supernatural shit), but since it was pretty much confirmed that Ella and Aaron have loved each other since childhood, I actualy thought it was actually sweet as opposed to in some other YA novels (I'm looking at you, Lux series!). 

Juliette's Ella's parents were absolute batshit crazy! I do have a hard time believing that there are genuinely parents out there that would treat their children like this. But then again, there are real life assholes who just drop their newborn babies into trashcans, so why am I surprised? The world is full of absolutely fucked up people. Anyway, her parents' behavior made me want to throttle them both and punch her mother's face. So sick and disgusting. I hope that Ella can save Emmaline, although I have serious doubts.

What really surprised me was how annoyed I was by Kenji. He was acting so incredibly strange, in my opinion. I hope that he'll cool off a bit in the next novel and not be so darn annoying! Oh and Nazeera was just a badass bitch in this book again. Give this girl a novella.