Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

So this was not really for me, which I found very surprising. I love Tahereh Mafi, I gave the previous books and short stories in this series 4 stars each and I really enjoyed Furthermore and was bananas about A Very Large Expanse of Sea, also her social media presence is the best.

I am pretty sure I am going to sit the rest of the Shatter Me series out, I'll come back when she moves on to a different world. I might take this back, but that's my current plan.

My favorite thing about Tahereh Mafi's writing is typically the way she uses structure to add so much at the story. And I didn't notice it much at all in this book.

I also was so frustrated by basically every character at all times. No one respected Juliette as a leader; everyone is withholding information, more loyal to another person or idea of the future, unconcerned with ACTUALLY HELPING HER RUN A COUNTRY. Castle straight up tries to start a coup and Warner (who we are meant to believe is loyal to Juliette and understands politics and military strategy) brushes it off. Suggesting your commander is unfit to her subordinate and telling him he should be in charge is typically an offense in this kind of situation. She straight up needs to fire everybody and hire some people who are committed to the cause. You cannot get anything done surrounded by people more concerned with their own objectives or protecting your feelings.

And I no longer find Warner charming. I guess between 2014 and now I have stopped finding emotional distance appealing. Warner is violent, volatile, and withholding and I find none of it appealing or interesting any longer.

Kenji was just a walking joke most of the book, he has one moment where we learn his tragic backstory, but I still have no idea what he even does in this new world. Any other characters from the old series barely got page time, which was fine because I really don't remember much about any of them, except Adam and his little brother.

Spoiler time: As soon as we were hearing rumblings about Juliette's parents being alive and Oceania being the only Supreme Commander who responded I was like "Oh! Hey Juliette's parents, you coming to bring your baby home?" So I was waiting through 300 pages of personal drama, I wanted political intrigue and military strategy, not sex and trite interpersonal drama. Also, I know Mafi likes fashion, but I can only hear what kind of sweater people are wearing so often.

I see reviews indicating this worked for other people, but I just don't see it right now. I opened this book ready to be floored by the ending, and it was not a surprise or even really interesting to me.

I'll be back reading Tahereh Mafi after Shatter Me is over.

This was more of a 2.5, but rounding up is my moral duty so I guess I am going with 3 stars.