Ignite Me Review: Cheated By An Underwhelming Climax
Patience is not a virtue I possess. I was never game for book series because I always thought I could not bear the suspense for that long. But in the last year one year and a half, I have read so many book series that I feel surprised by myself. I now feel that book series are awesome and I am ready to read as many series as I possibly can. Now I don’t know if it is my level of patience that has improved or I am lucky to have found some really talented writers who held my attention. Whatever it is, I’m loving it.
With the conclusion of Ignite Me, I can now add another book series to my list. I have mixed feelings for the Shatter Me series. Though I was addicted to the story, I also found it frustrating at times. The series could have become my favourite had it been written differently. But every writer has his own style of writing and not all styles appeal to everyone. I struggled with Tahereh Mafi’s writing initially but got accustomed to it by the second book. The third book was comparatively easier to grasp and follow. But there was still something lacking.
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.
The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now, this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.
(Book description as on Goodreads)
Points I Liked About Ignite Me
Warner: I totally dig the ‘bad guy turns good guy’ and the ‘hate to love’ trope. Warner’s character was interesting right from the first book. His character was predictable as he turned out to be just I way I had imagined. He is a very clichéd hero and sometimes I do enjoy cliché.
I liked his love story with Juliette. He is the guy who everybody hates because he is rude to them. However, this unapproachable, stern guy softens before the girl he loves. If Rhysand from A Court Of Mist and Fury is my ultimate ‘dream man’, Warner is the boyfriend I fancy. He has two sides to him and I like them both. He honestly was my motivation to finish the whole series.
Points I Did Not Like About Ignite Me
Annoying Kenji: It is surprising that the character I came to like in Unravel Me became the most annoying person in Ignite Me. I liked how Kenji’s character developed in the first two books. But he got on my nerves in the third book. For some strange reason, I was not fully convinced of his ‘best friend’ status with Juliette. I liked his character but when it came to the whole BFF thing it seemed a little fake and forced. It felt like the writer just wanted Juliette to have a friend so instead of ‘the girls’ she picked Kenji to be her best-friend so he could intervene when Adam would be mean to Juliette.
What particularly annoyed me was Kenji’s lingo. He was speaking decently in book 1 and 2 but then he suddenly started to talk like a rowdy guy. His overuse of the word ‘shit’ made me tear my hair in frustration. I cringed each time I read the word. 90% of the time he didn’t even need to use it. But I guess the writer wanted to make him look cool and chillaxed so she went overboard with cuss words to convince the readers of his cool character.
Mellow Conclusion: Since the main leads were all teenagers, I wasn’t expecting a huge long war but I did expect a reasonable fight. The supposed ‘war’ against the Reestablishment spanned over 40 pages and by the end of it I was wondering if I there was even a decent fight between the indomitable Juliette and her enemy. In fact, the ‘Supreme’ looked more like a teenager than Juliette. After the war (?) I wanted to know what happened to the supporting characters. But they are hardly there during or even after the war. There are so many loose ends that I felt cheated of a good conclusion. There is more to the series with books on Adam and Warner’s point of views. But the main series itself is so disappointing that I do not want to delve deeper into this half-baked story. However, I might still check out book no 4, Restore Me only to know more about Warner.
Final View: As mentioned in the beginning of this review, I have mixed feelings about this book or even the entire series. If I liked anything then it was Warner whose character intrigued me and enticed me to read the whole series. It’s funny that one character motivated me to read three books. But it’s true that I really liked his character. Ignite Me was not the conclusion I was looking for and I am a little disappointed by the Shatter Me series.
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