Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopian
Pages: 338
Format: Audiobook
Rating:

Goodreads summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

30 Thoughts I Had While Reading Shatter Me

(This review contains spoilers)

Before I get into my full review, here are 30 raw, unfiltered thoughts I had while reading:

1. Listening to the audiobook and hearing the “I’m not insane” part was wild. Incredibly well done.
2. Whenever there are prolonged isolation situations like this, I wonder what the FMC does during her period. I wish authors incorporated that more because it’s a very real thing.
3. The voice actor is a really good actress. I can feel Juliette’s distress, her spiraling, her suffocation.
4. Juliette is 17 but sounds/acts 13.
5. I wonder if I would’ve liked this book more if I read it instead of listening. The actress is great, but I have a hard time believing Juliette is 17.
6. Am I evil? Why does she have such a high moral ground? If she hates Warner so much, just touch him—what’s the big deal?
7. There is not enough development for this romance. It came out of nowhere. When Adam and Juliette kissed for the first time, I felt… nothing.
8. If Adam was so into her and had been watching her all this time, why didn’t he ever say anything when they were in school??
9. Did I miss chapters? They’re… in love??
10. “It never occurred to me to ask Adam where we might go.” ……Girl.
11. It’s too obvious that Adam is not who Juliette thinks he is.
12. Also, all of a sudden she has super strength and is busting through concrete? Does she not want to know why she has these powers??
13. Everything is just too convenient—the rope, the radiation field, the tank, the trackers not working.
14. “I squeeze my eyes shut and think maybe I misjudged the situation.” YA THINK???
15. “Juliette. It’s been me and you against the world forever.” HUHHH???
16. Am I missing something? Didn’t Juliette say in the asylum that she knew Adam from fourth grade, but Adam says he knew her through seventh?
17. The I love yous are crazy.
18. I can’t even enjoy the romance because it doesn’t make sense to me.
19. When Juliette hears someone at the door and thinks she might be in danger, she calls herself defenseless… but then reaches for a gun. WHAT ABOUT YOUR HANDS? If you’re willing to shoot someone, surely you can touch them?!
20. Now Kenji conveniently finds out where Adam lives. Nothing makes any sense.
21. Why doesn’t Juliette ever think about controlling her powers?
22. I didn’t believe Adam was dead, but Juliette barely reacted when Warner said he was.
23. “I realize the rope holding him together is the same rope we used to flee.” IT’S BECAUSE ADAM TIED HIMSELF UP.
24. So can she be touched or not? If she can control it, why did she hurt that guard?
25. “I’d never thought I’d see Castle so confused, so perplexed.” You literally just met him ten minutes ago.
26. “James seems happier than I’ve ever seen him.” …Again, she met him yesterday. Maybe the day before?
27. I still don’t believe Adam is innocent.
28. The Omega Point storyline saved this book for me.
29. Why couldn’t the epilogue just be another chapter?
30. Why did the crossed-out words stop being a thing three-fourths through the book?

Full Review: A Hot Mess, But I’m Intrigued

So, as you can tell, I was all over the place while reading this book. At one point, I genuinely thought I had ruined my best reading month with this pick. Shatter Me is a BookTok favorite, so I had high expectations. Too high, apparently.

Juliette is our 17-year-old FMC with a deadly touch—literally. If she touches someone, they die. No one knows why, especially her. She’s been locked away for 264 days in an asylum until suddenly, she gets a roommate: Adam, our MMC. But surprise! Adam is actually in the military and undercover to assess whether Juliette is truly insane before bringing her to his boss, Warner.

Here’s where things start to get murky. Juliette and Adam supposedly knew each other in school, but the timeline is weird. Juliette remembers Adam as the nice boy from third or fourth grade, but Adam claims he knew her through seventh. So which is it? And if they never actually interacted in school, why is Adam suddenly madly in love with her? The romance escalates at warp speed, and I couldn’t buy into it.

Then there’s Adam himself. I didn’t trust him. And even though he didn’t betray Juliette in this book, something still feels off. During their escape, Warner is screaming at Juliette not to trust him, but Adam conveniently cuts him off before he can say anything incriminating. I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right. And if Warner wanted Juliette so badly, why didn’t he try harder to explain himself?

Too Many Conveniences

A major issue I had was how convenient everything was. Adam randomly carries a rope at all times (“You never know when you’re going to need a rope.”), which they just so happen to need for their escape. Then, the radiation in a certain field conveniently prevents Adam from being tracked. Then, they conveniently find an abandoned truck to escape in. Everything fell into place too easily.

Once they’re at Adam’s house, his little brother James adds a nice comedic relief, but this was the point where I was completely checked out. The book was a two-deer-star read for me, and I had no interest in continuing the series.

Then came Omega Point.

The Saving Grace

Omega Point is a hidden base of rebels who, unlike the Reestablishment, believe in fighting back. More importantly, it turns out Juliette isn’t alone—there are others with powers. This was the twist I needed to make me care again. The idea of Juliette learning to harness her abilities intrigued me enough to keep going with the series.

Final Thoughts

So, was this a review or a rant? Honestly, a little of both. I’m grateful to finally have a place to dump all my unfiltered book thoughts because this one had me spiraling. Despite my many criticisms, Omega Point kept me invested enough to start Unravel Me immediately.

Have you read this series? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until then, happy reading! 📖✨