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Shatter Me: Series Two #3
Escape Me
The scorching third volume in a new series set in the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.
James Anderson needs a new plan. He’s ready to make real moves to destroy the looming threats against their world, but no one is taking him seriously. James is tired of being underestimated by his own family. He wants five uninterrupted minutes alone with Rosabelle. He wants to kill Sebastian.
And he’s done waiting for permission.
Rosabelle Wolff needs to stick to the plan. Which means she needs to stay away from James and the dangerous feelings he brings out in her. When she’s near him she loses control, and she’ll need absolute control if she has any hope of convincing Sebastian—and through him, Klaus—that she’s still carrying out the original plan to destroy the rebel regime.
In the meantime, Warner needs to stay out of her business.
Aaron Warner Anderson is trying not to kill Rosabelle. They might be reluctant allies, but that doesn’t mean they get along. Every day is a new kind of hell for Warner. He’s worried about his wife; he’s worried about his world. He can’t decide what to do about James until he understands Rosabelle’s true motives—and when he’s finally delivered the answers he needs, the stakes prove astronomical. All roads lead to heartbreak and destruction, no matter what choice he makes.
Gut-wrenching discoveries, blistering romance, non-stop explosive action, and a world determined to control their thoughts and actions:
When the eyes of the world are upon you, who do you hope is watching?
James Anderson needs a new plan. He’s ready to make real moves to destroy the looming threats against their world, but no one is taking him seriously. James is tired of being underestimated by his own family. He wants five uninterrupted minutes alone with Rosabelle. He wants to kill Sebastian.
And he’s done waiting for permission.
Rosabelle Wolff needs to stick to the plan. Which means she needs to stay away from James and the dangerous feelings he brings out in her. When she’s near him she loses control, and she’ll need absolute control if she has any hope of convincing Sebastian—and through him, Klaus—that she’s still carrying out the original plan to destroy the rebel regime.
In the meantime, Warner needs to stay out of her business.
Aaron Warner Anderson is trying not to kill Rosabelle. They might be reluctant allies, but that doesn’t mean they get along. Every day is a new kind of hell for Warner. He’s worried about his wife; he’s worried about his world. He can’t decide what to do about James until he understands Rosabelle’s true motives—and when he’s finally delivered the answers he needs, the stakes prove astronomical. All roads lead to heartbreak and destruction, no matter what choice he makes.
Gut-wrenching discoveries, blistering romance, non-stop explosive action, and a world determined to control their thoughts and actions:
When the eyes of the world are upon you, who do you hope is watching?
405 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2026
About the author
Tahereh Mafi
96 books77.8k followersTahereh Mafi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California with her husband, fellow author Ransom Riggs. She can usually be found over-caffeinated and stuck in a book. Shatter Me is her first series, with television rights optioned by ABC Signature Studios; Furthermore, her first middle grade novel, is on shelves now, and Whichwood, its darker companion, will be on shelves November 14, 2017.
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September 16, 2026Fym escape me 💔
September 30, 2026
"You're mine. My problem. My pain. My fucking heart."
HOLY HELL the last seventy pages were my bliss and pain cause James took me through it all. Like I'm sorry sir, I didn't know what a dark god you've become. The man could tell me to jump, and I'll fling myself off the cliff. 🫠 For me, he carried this book easily.
But getting back to book before I start yapping about how much James made me thirst... Oof. Again, this book structurally, read weak. I won't say it's cause it's filler. It wasn't. It had a strong plot here and lot of emotional groundwork being laid. But the execution was messy and repetitive.
Firstly, keeping Rosabelle and James apart for 80% of the book and only to meet and somehow still not end up communicating cause Rosabelle is incapable of getting a word out of her. It's frustrating. We have been seeing the same fucking argument with the two of them since book 1. We've been through this million times.
It's the same cycle that happens in ALL three books!
Where Rosabelle runs ➡️ James gets unhinged ➡️ Everyone tells James to back off ➡️ James loses his shit ➡️ Aaron intervenes ➡️ Kenji makes bro comments ➡️ Juliette smiles ➡️ James finds Rosabelle ➡️ James tries to help Rosabelle and communicate ➡️ Rosabelle panics, unable to speak ➡️ Rosabelle faints and run.
😑😑😑😑 KMN!! I can't take another book of them doing the same thing again and again and again.
Given the two in the book were apart from each other for so long, I liked getting to understand Rosabelle more. Though I just wanted to protect her. But I still wish she would talk to someone properly for once. Between her and Juliette, I can't tell which fmc is worse (It's most definitely Jello).
Then with James and Aaron being the other two pov.. This was interesting to me. Because I completely understood the reasoning behind James' frustrations. I want these people to stop treating him like a pushover kid. He's already demonstrated he's capable, and has his own autonomy. He should not have to make his case repeatedly to these people.
Aaron still makes me swoon, though I loved seeing him step into that fierce, firm persona of his here. It was productive to see his interactions with Rosabelle. And the fact that we get to see:
"Aaron?"
"Yes, love?" will never not make me scream and combust spontaneously.
But while these characters were doing there own thing and Juliette playing a glorified background character alongside Adam equivalent to furniture... (sorry, not sorry) Can we please talk about Kenji and Nazeera? Like wtf was that
👁👄👁 I get why Kenji is angry, I really do cause the reasoning behind Nazeera's rejection just reads absurd? I'm not sure what to make of it. It's not strong enough for me. Kenji is the most easy to talk to kind of person and such an emotionally respectable man. And she couldn't just speak to him about her issues? I call bs. And the way I did not even recognize who Nazeera was in this book. Why was she dumbed down??? The way she talked, carried herself did not make any sense to me at all. Absolutely baffled.
The romance is mostly yearning from both Rosabelle and James and I ate that up. I loved how they both care for each other. While James shows it openly, Rosabelle is still learning and stuck where unfortunately no one is able to get through her. So to see her yearn through that pain was bittersweet. The pure dark, unhinged chaos that James gave after 80% mark... Can we have more of that please?! Like he made Aaron in Shatter Me look sane. I totally ate up the caveman, possessive, growling James. Cause what do you mean he was laying his claims?! "Throwing over his shoulder?! Mine?! Baby?! Who did this to you?!" I COMBUSTED 😩😩😩
I honestly would have rated it 2.5 if James had not set that momentum and made me scream 😩😩 But please for the love of God can we make Rosabelle communicate. It's frustrating as hell to have one sided dynamic. I want to see her strong and be able to set boundaries and throw a few punches 😭😭
The ending? Criminal. You can't end a book like that. Now I'm gonna be thinking about it and pacing in frustration.
~•~•~
I'm here because Aaron is here. And I can't escape the chokehold that man has on me 😩
HOLY HELL the last seventy pages were my bliss and pain cause James took me through it all. Like I'm sorry sir, I didn't know what a dark god you've become. The man could tell me to jump, and I'll fling myself off the cliff. 🫠 For me, he carried this book easily.
But getting back to book before I start yapping about how much James made me thirst... Oof. Again, this book structurally, read weak. I won't say it's cause it's filler. It wasn't. It had a strong plot here and lot of emotional groundwork being laid. But the execution was messy and repetitive.
Firstly, keeping Rosabelle and James apart for 80% of the book and only to meet and somehow still not end up communicating cause Rosabelle is incapable of getting a word out of her. It's frustrating. We have been seeing the same fucking argument with the two of them since book 1. We've been through this million times.
It's the same cycle that happens in ALL three books!
Where Rosabelle runs ➡️ James gets unhinged ➡️ Everyone tells James to back off ➡️ James loses his shit ➡️ Aaron intervenes ➡️ Kenji makes bro comments ➡️ Juliette smiles ➡️ James finds Rosabelle ➡️ James tries to help Rosabelle and communicate ➡️ Rosabelle panics, unable to speak ➡️ Rosabelle faints and run.
😑😑😑😑 KMN!! I can't take another book of them doing the same thing again and again and again.
Given the two in the book were apart from each other for so long, I liked getting to understand Rosabelle more. Though I just wanted to protect her. But I still wish she would talk to someone properly for once. Between her and Juliette, I can't tell which fmc is worse (It's most definitely Jello).
Then with James and Aaron being the other two pov.. This was interesting to me. Because I completely understood the reasoning behind James' frustrations. I want these people to stop treating him like a pushover kid. He's already demonstrated he's capable, and has his own autonomy. He should not have to make his case repeatedly to these people.
Aaron still makes me swoon, though I loved seeing him step into that fierce, firm persona of his here. It was productive to see his interactions with Rosabelle. And the fact that we get to see:
"Aaron?"
"Yes, love?" will never not make me scream and combust spontaneously.
But while these characters were doing there own thing and Juliette playing a glorified background character alongside Adam equivalent to furniture... (sorry, not sorry) Can we please talk about Kenji and Nazeera? Like wtf was that
👁👄👁 I get why Kenji is angry, I really do cause the reasoning behind Nazeera's rejection just reads absurd? I'm not sure what to make of it. It's not strong enough for me. Kenji is the most easy to talk to kind of person and such an emotionally respectable man. And she couldn't just speak to him about her issues? I call bs. And the way I did not even recognize who Nazeera was in this book. Why was she dumbed down??? The way she talked, carried herself did not make any sense to me at all. Absolutely baffled.
The romance is mostly yearning from both Rosabelle and James and I ate that up. I loved how they both care for each other. While James shows it openly, Rosabelle is still learning and stuck where unfortunately no one is able to get through her. So to see her yearn through that pain was bittersweet. The pure dark, unhinged chaos that James gave after 80% mark... Can we have more of that please?! Like he made Aaron in Shatter Me look sane. I totally ate up the caveman, possessive, growling James. Cause what do you mean he was laying his claims?! "Throwing over his shoulder?! Mine?! Baby?! Who did this to you?!" I COMBUSTED 😩😩😩
I honestly would have rated it 2.5 if James had not set that momentum and made me scream 😩😩 But please for the love of God can we make Rosabelle communicate. It's frustrating as hell to have one sided dynamic. I want to see her strong and be able to set boundaries and throw a few punches 😭😭
The ending? Criminal. You can't end a book like that. Now I'm gonna be thinking about it and pacing in frustration.
~•~•~
I'm here because Aaron is here. And I can't escape the chokehold that man has on me 😩
July 16, 2026
3.25 for now but I might change it in the morning. Let's see 🧍🏻
_
I lovee this cover so much!! It's lowk a bit different from the rest. Hopefully the book is as good because book 2 was 👎👎
_
I lovee this cover so much!! It's lowk a bit different from the rest. Hopefully the book is as good because book 2 was 👎👎
June 23, 2026
DADDY AARON WARNER I MANIFEST 🧎🏻♀️🔥
Want to Read
July 5, 2026the cow is dry from how much it's been milked.
pushing twk5 to 2027 just to publish this bland oatmeal book with a vanilla shmuck story and the most boring characters known to mankind is a clear indicator that money and numbers are all that matter at this point.
why are we pushing the clearly superior story to 2027, when she just released the previous book of this series in april lmao. this is pmo so bad. i will escape the bounds of this series soon IA. my warnette and kenji is the only reason i'm still here.
pushing twk5 to 2027 just to publish this bland oatmeal book with a vanilla shmuck story and the most boring characters known to mankind is a clear indicator that money and numbers are all that matter at this point.
why are we pushing the clearly superior story to 2027, when she just released the previous book of this series in april lmao. this is pmo so bad. i will escape the bounds of this series soon IA. my warnette and kenji is the only reason i'm still here.
November 4, 2025
5 stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
(NONSPOILER)
“𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚓𝚘𝚢.”
MY FAVORITE IN THE NEW REPUBLIC SERIES GOES TO..👑
YES MA’AM THIS SERIES IS NEVER GONNA ESCAPE ME✨🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍😻😻😻😻
so like I sobbed and giggled and cried and then laughed again then I was left traumatized
IDK what to feel??🥹🌟💗💗💗
(NONSPOILER)
“𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚓𝚘𝚢.”
MY FAVORITE IN THE NEW REPUBLIC SERIES GOES TO..👑
YES MA’AM THIS SERIES IS NEVER GONNA ESCAPE ME✨🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍😻😻😻😻
so like I sobbed and giggled and cried and then laughed again then I was left traumatized
IDK what to feel??🥹🌟💗💗💗
September 30, 2026
One thing about me, I’m gonna 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 a Shatter Me novel. I don’t care if Tahereh Mafi writes another 100, ya girl will read all of them. But another thing about me, I’m always honest…
If you didn’t mind 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘦, you won’t have a problem with this one AT ALL. As usual- Aaron and Kenji are the only source of entertainment. As usual- there’s not a lot of plot with the main characters (there’s plenty going on with the original cast) and the ending is crazyyyy.
Was it good? Not really. I wish there was more to the story itself, but I always appreciate getting more of my favorite characters from the original series, sooooo… 3 stars for MY enjoyment, don’t blame me if you don’t like it lol
Anyways… I can’t wait for the next one!
If you didn’t mind 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘦, you won’t have a problem with this one AT ALL. As usual- Aaron and Kenji are the only source of entertainment. As usual- there’s not a lot of plot with the main characters (there’s plenty going on with the original cast) and the ending is crazyyyy.
Was it good? Not really. I wish there was more to the story itself, but I always appreciate getting more of my favorite characters from the original series, sooooo… 3 stars for MY enjoyment, don’t blame me if you don’t like it lol
Anyways… I can’t wait for the next one!
August 18, 2026
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Thoughts: Escape Me was by far my favorite in The New Republic series. The first two books were like you are thirsty and you take a sip of cool-ish water. It quenches your thirst, but it’s not very fulfilling. This book was like you take a big gulp of ice-cold water. You can feel the liquid soothing your throat and the cold overcomes you. It’s the quenchiest (ATLA reference)... One reason I liked this book better than the others was because we finally got some Even though this book made me bawl my eyes out, I 100% recommend it. Beware, you will be on a crazy emotional roller coaster. Be prepared to scream, cry, giggle, kick your feet, pull your jaw up off the floor, stare at the ceiling for 2 hours, and want to throw yourself out the nearest window.
Character Deep Dive - James, Rosabelle, Aaron, Juliette/Ella, Kenji, Nazeera, and Sebastian
James: My baby. I absolutely loved getting to see more of his character. He is literally the definition of if Aaron and Kenji had a baby. I felt so bad that the others kept treating him like he was 12, not a grown man. Like, he literally infiltrated the most secured enemy island, and then stole an assassin. Give the man some credit.
Rosabelle: I have a love-hate relationship with his girl. She needs to lock in bro.
Aaron: UHGGGGG I LOVE THIS MAN. I feel like in the first two books of TNR, even though we got some of his POV chapters, we never really got any good moments with him. Until now!! I adored his chapters and they were one of my favorite parts of the book!
Juliette/Ella: Is it just me, or did J feel really shallow in the new series? I don’t know if it's because we don’t have her POV anymore, or if it's because the setting and vibe has changed. She just seemed really dull and boring. Like, in the original series, she was so badass and a diva. It might just be me though.
Kenji: This man never gets old. Absolute diva.
Nazeera: Why. Just why. WE WERE SO CLOSE. No further context will be added. If you know, you know.
Sebastian: Why the hell is he even in the book bro. Get the actual fuck out. Nobody wants you here, you piece of shit.
Favorite Quotes:
My Thoughts: Escape Me was by far my favorite in The New Republic series. The first two books were like you are thirsty and you take a sip of cool-ish water. It quenches your thirst, but it’s not very fulfilling. This book was like you take a big gulp of ice-cold water. You can feel the liquid soothing your throat and the cold overcomes you. It’s the quenchiest (ATLA reference)... One reason I liked this book better than the others was because we finally got some Even though this book made me bawl my eyes out, I 100% recommend it. Beware, you will be on a crazy emotional roller coaster. Be prepared to scream, cry, giggle, kick your feet, pull your jaw up off the floor, stare at the ceiling for 2 hours, and want to throw yourself out the nearest window.
Character Deep Dive - James, Rosabelle, Aaron, Juliette/Ella, Kenji, Nazeera, and Sebastian
James: My baby. I absolutely loved getting to see more of his character. He is literally the definition of if Aaron and Kenji had a baby. I felt so bad that the others kept treating him like he was 12, not a grown man. Like, he literally infiltrated the most secured enemy island, and then stole an assassin. Give the man some credit.
Rosabelle: I have a love-hate relationship with his girl. She needs to lock in bro.
Aaron: UHGGGGG I LOVE THIS MAN. I feel like in the first two books of TNR, even though we got some of his POV chapters, we never really got any good moments with him. Until now!! I adored his chapters and they were one of my favorite parts of the book!
Juliette/Ella: Is it just me, or did J feel really shallow in the new series? I don’t know if it's because we don’t have her POV anymore, or if it's because the setting and vibe has changed. She just seemed really dull and boring. Like, in the original series, she was so badass and a diva. It might just be me though.
Kenji: This man never gets old. Absolute diva.
Nazeera: Why. Just why. WE WERE SO CLOSE. No further context will be added. If you know, you know.
Sebastian: Why the hell is he even in the book bro. Get the actual fuck out. Nobody wants you here, you piece of shit.
Favorite Quotes:
September 29, 2026
-ˋˏ 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑒 𝒷𝓁𝓊𝒾𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓇𝒾𝒾 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓏𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈𝓈𝓈 <3333 ˎˊ-
⟢ 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘥!
⊱𝒯𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
OMGGGG I GENUINELY READ THIS BOOK IN LIKE 6-7 HOURSSS TAHEREH MAFI IS MY SHE WRITES IT I READ IT AUTHOR🙂↕️💞 I can’t believe we have to wait AN ENTIRE YEAR for the new book I WON’T SURVIVE IT😭🙏 Tahereh is gonna have to pay for my therapist
⊱𝒫𝓁𝑜𝓉 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
I have to admit that this book was slower paced than some of her other books but I still ate it uppp🙂↕️ This series will always have a special place in my hearttt🥹🫂 I kinda was suprised that the birth was so peaceful oh and the end was crazyyyy😭
⊱𝒫𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
⟢ we don‘t talk anymore- charlie puth, selena gomez
⟢ under the matt- sombr
⟢ means i care- tate mcrae
⟢ do i wanna know- artic monkeys
⟢ siren sounds- tate mcrae
⟢ close to you- gracie abrams
⟢ run for the hills- tate mcrae
⟢ nothing‘s gonna hurt you baby- cigarettes after sex
⟢ die for you- the weeknd
⟢ warm- ariana grande
⟢ breathin- ariana grande
⟢ i love you- billie eilish
⊱𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
Rosabelle ⋆⭒˚.⋆
𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖾𝖽- 𝖻𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖾𝗂𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗁
❝I‘ve been shackled to a monster all my life❞
I love herrrrr she’s suchhh a girlbossss👏🤭 I wanna give her a hug sooo baddd she‘s been through smmmm😭🫂 I alr knowww she’s gonna be unstoppable when she learns how to use her powerssss🙂↕️ It‘s sosososo sad how she genuinely wants to go on a mission to get herself killedd ai reallyyy hope she‘ll give that plan up😭 Idk how things will work now that she‘s in the nexus system tbhhh😔🙏
James ⚡︎ ⋆.˚
𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝖼𝗋𝗈𝗐𝗇- 𝖻𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖾𝗂𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗁
❝I learned a long time ago that if I could deescalate tension, I might be able to keep myself safe. That I might be able to keep other people safe. That maybe they’d stick around. It started as a survival tactic. But it became my identity…I keep trying to pull on the suit of the old James, the easier James, the version of me that was once a pleasure to be around. I don’t know how to find him anymore. I think he might be dead❞
OMG OMG OMGGGG🤭🙂↕️ What wouldn‘t I do to have a guy like him in my lifeeee😭 It‘s IMPOSSIBLE for me to choose between him, aaron and kenjiii🤭🤭 It‘s not only because he has an aaron kinda yearning level but I could also relate to him smmmm his thoughts felt so familiar sometimess🥹💞 He had suchhhh a valid crashouttt👏 And I‘m sosososo glad they respect him nowww!
Juliette ෆ⋆.˚
𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗅𝖽𝖺- 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗒 𝗌𝗍𝗒𝗅𝖾𝗌
❝Life taught me enough about pain. I want to read stories that teach me about joy❞
I reallyyyyy hope she gets more screentime in the next books now that the baby is bornnn cause I love her smmm!🥹 Atp I love almost everyone in this book series lmaooo exept almost all the parents and people like sebastian💗 She is sososo strong I admire how she always mamages to stay optimistic even after suvh a traumatic life😭
Warner ⏾⋆.˚
𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗆- 𝗍𝗒𝗅𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗈𝗋
❝When i look at aaron warner anderson, living legend I think about how he once single-handedly fought off dozens off soldiers armed with nothing but a machete— but also how he once slapped me in the head with a pair off rubber gloves and taught me how to scrub a toilet❞
Js when I thougt he can’t get better I find out he READS BOOKS W JULIETTE??😭💞 AND GOES TO A BOOKSTORE FOR HER EVEN THO THERE’S BASICALLY A WAR?? And not to mention the where’s my wife scene🤭🤭 Also HIS CHARACTEE DEVELOPMENT WHERE HE APOLIGIZED?? Yeah I would do ANYTHING to have a guy like himmm😭🙏
Nazeera ❀˖°
𝗆𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖽- 𝗈𝗅𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖺 𝗋𝗈𝖽𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗈
❝It took me the past 5 years to understand that I don‘t know how to communicate. That deep down I‘m insecure and afraid of my own feelings, and that I Iash out and break down the most when I‘m vulnerable, because growing up I was always punished for being soft❞
DAMNNNN WHY DID SHE DO THATTTT😭🙏 I did feel bad tho when she said she used to be punished for being soft😔 I REALLY REALLY HOPE SHE ISN’T AFFECTED BY THE NEXUS💀
Kenji 𖤓˚࿔
𝖿𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗌𝗆𝗂𝗅𝖾- 𝖺𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗇𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖾
❝I‘m still not ready to talk about it. Look whatever, I wanted a future, okay?I wanted all the hard, messy, complicated shit tgat comes next. She didn‘t. And I think I deserve to be with someone who actually loves me and isn‘t gping to bail the minute things get hard❞
OMLLLLL WHEN I SAID I CAN‘T CHOOSE BETWEEN THOSE THREE I MEANT ITTTT🤭😭 I loveeee Nazeera but he REALLY didn‘t serve thatttt😭🙏
The scientists ⋆˚꩜｡
I don‘t really like them tbhhh😭 They were annoying and like I get that they wanted answers from Rosabelle but did they have to annoy warner about it couldn’t they let her rest for a second after almost dying
⊱𝐹𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅𝓈 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
-ˋˏ Rosabelle&Aaron ˎˊ-
𝗋𝖾𝖿𝗅𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇- 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗁𝗈𝗈𝖽
❝I was a lot like you once❞
I‘m sososos excited to see how their friendship will be in the next booksss cause I loveddd their interactions in this bookkk even tho they were fighting all the time lmaooo💗😭
-ˋˏ Aaron&Kenji ˎˊ-
𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝖼𝗋𝗈𝗐𝖽- 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗇 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝗒
❝Kenji has been a brother to me for at least as long as my own blood brothers, I‘d take s bullet for him without stopping or considering the consequences❞
I WILL NEVERRR STOP LOVING THEIR FRIENDSHIPPP🥹💞 How Aaron said he would take a bullet for him without hesitation and said he’s his brother😭🫶
James&Kian
❝I‘m sorry you‘re going through all this shit right now❞
Idk if I‘m js delusional but I kinda see bsf potentional in themmm🙂↕️ Like them being able to laugh together but also checking if they‘re okay?💗
-ˋˏ Rosabelle&Clara ˎˊ-
𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗎𝗋 𝗈𝗄- 𝗈𝗅𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖺 𝗋𝗈𝖽𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗈
❝I thought u were my mother❞
Omg I think I‘m mentally unwell after all the Clara flashbacksss I feel soooo bad for herrrr😭😔 Rosabelle was always suchh a good sister to her it‘s so sweetttt🥹
-ˋˏ Castle&Kenji ˎˊ-
𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝖺𝗌𝗌- 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗁𝗈𝗈𝖽
❝Castle‘s relationship with Kenji goes further back than it does with the rest of us. He essentially adopted Kenji as a child, habing discovered him alone and starving in a shopping cart by the side of the road. Castle was always the rare adult in the room anyone could trust, but he was more of afather figure to Kenji than just a leader❞
It‘s sososos cute how castle was always so patient w kenji and I‘m soo glad they‘re still closeee💗
-ˋˏ Aaron&James ˎˊ-
❝I never should‘ve doubted your instincts. I taught ypu and trainer you from the time you were a child, I should‘ve had more faith in you. If nothing else I should‘ve had more faith in myself. You‘ve grown up James, and it was hard for me to see you for who you are. It was a mistake to shut you out of these conversations. You were right. About all of it. From the beginning❞
I LOVEEEEE how their kinda fight has endeddd amd I‘m sosossso excited to see their interactipns in the new booksss cuz I feel like they‘d eat as a duoooo🙂↕️🤭
⊱𝑅𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅𝓈 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
-ˋˏ Rosabelle+James ˎˊ-
❝You’re mine. My problem. My pain. My fucking heart❞
THEY WERE AMAZINGGGGG👏🤭 THE YEARNING? CHAPTER 37 DAMNNNNNN I WILL NEVERRR SHUT UP AB THEMMMM🙂↔️ HOW JAMES DESCRIBED THAT HE CAN FINALLY BREATHE WHEN HE WAS NEXT TO HER AND SHE CAN ONLY RELAX WHEN SHE‘S NEXT TO HIM?? IK THEY DIDN‘T HAVE MANY SCENES IN THIS BOOK BUT I LOVED EVERY ONE OF THEM🙂↕️💞
-ˋˏ Juliette+Aaron ˎˊ-
❝I could‘ve lost her. That thought alone nearly kills me❞
I CAN‘T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM OMLLLL THEY KEEP GETTING BETTER EVERY BOOK😭💞 LIKE WDYM THEY READ ROMANCE BOOKS TOGETHERRRR??🤭🤭
-ˋˏ Nazerra+Kenji ˎˊ-
❝I asked her to marry me❞
WTF WAS THATTTT😭🙏 COME ON NAZEERAAA😭 I CAN‘T TELL YOU HOW GLAD I AM THAT THEY‘RE KINDA TOGETHER AGAINNNN🤭
⊱𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
I can‘t stop thinking about her.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝If you‘re unwilling to endure pain in the persuit of change, you‘ll achieve nothing and due in distress anyway❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
I look down at the little bundle in my arms, the soft brows and slight slope of her small nose. The ache in my heart seems to only multiply as I drink her in. It feeld as if my heart is ripping itself apart and rebuilding, forging a new chamber, and tge resulting pain is both tender and terrifying. My daughter.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Are you reading these books together?❞
❝Shut up❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝I finally understand why you didn‘t take off at the airfield. I finally understand how he returned you to your body in the hospital-how the very sound of his voice seemed to calm you down. You can‘t predict your behavior around him. You loose restraint when you‘re near him. That‘s why you fell asleep in his arms. That‘s why you told him more than you were willing to admit to your own father. And I know why you‘re so talkative now. I know why you care about our soft, loud world. I can‘t believe I couln‘t see it before. You‘ve done a fine job hiding it, Rosabelle. Well done. You love him❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝You never told me you propose to her. Why didn‘t you tell me you proposed to her?❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
Warner is so angry right now he‘s practically vibrating. He cares about Kenji way more than he will ever admitt out loud.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Do you love him?❞
❝Of course I love him❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Rosabelle, baby, please open you‘re eyes. Please. I know you‘re tired, baby, but I really need you to open your eyes❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Nazeera, If you tell me right now that you said no to his proposal because you don‘t want to be with him, I will never bring this up again. But if you said no because you‘re a coward, terrified of your own feelings, more than willing to destroy two lives to sort out your fears, then we‘re going to have a problem❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
When the blast seemed to shift the earth under Nazeera’s house, I worried pur protections have failed. The panic I felt in that moment can hardly be forged into words, and the effects are still coursing though my veins. I‘m trying to unwind my fears, trying to unclench my fists.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
I didn’t think Ella could get more beautiful. She's always been exquisite, her beauty unparalleled. I never could've known that time would only refine her, that she would use her years the way a sculptor might use a chisel. Every hour seems to enhance her, every day leaves her more distinguished. Her heart is my power source. I never dared to hope for more of her
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Get out of my way. Or I will remove you from this path. I want to see my wife!❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝I‘ve never been in a serious relationship cause I‘m looking for something really fucking specific. I don‘t need practise. I already know what I want, and I‘ve never been willing to settle. You can blame this jackass. Thank you for ruining my life❞
❝You‘re welcome❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝That‘s my bed. You‘re in my room. I won‘t leave this house while you‘re in it, I swear you‘re safe here❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Who says we‘re anything?❞
❝Pretty much everyone?❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
I‘d wanted to tell him she‘s mine. I‘d wanted it to be so obvious we were together that no one would be even stupid enough to ask. I hated that I couldn‘t. I hated tha5 she and I haven‘t talked about it. Hadn‘t even discussed that I would happily die for her and also, desperatly, wanted to make her dinner.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝What do you thin of naming her after my sister? Do you think it‘ll be weird to call her Emmaline?❞
❝No, I think it‘s perfect❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝After weeks of frustation and confusion, I‘ve finally figured out why James was the only one who could really see you. I finally understand why his assessments of you were always so different from the assessment of others.❝
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Nazeera. I think I might have to kill you❞
❝I’ll help❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
Like so many other issues, I‘ve gotten good at ignoring the things that make me uncomfortable
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
My needs have never been clearer to me. My task list is exactly two items long. Find him. Kill him.
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Yeah, I know all about your deal. Consider it dead. You‘re deal is done. You‘re back to being my full-time problem❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝You think I need permission to care about you? You really thought I could find out you got your face shattered by an abusive psychopath and act like it isn‘t my business? Who do you think I am, Rosabelle? How could you ever think I‘de be okay with that?❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝If I knew where to find tgat piece of a shit I‘d hunt him down and skin him alive. Then I‘d douse him in kerosene. Strike a fucking match❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Let me make something absolutly clear. You can tell me to go to hell because you hate me. You can cut me out of your life because you don‘t want me. But you will never, ever try to protect me again by hurting yourself. I won‘t fucking allow it❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Sell your lies to the rest of the world. I know you. You can‘t hide from me❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Who did that to you?❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝I will cut off his fucking hands before he ever touches you again. You don‘t need anything from that bastard❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝You’re not alone anymore. You have me. And you and me Rosabelle, we‘re going to find another way out of this mess and we‘re going to do it together. You hear me?❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Fuck, baby, I just want to look at you❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝You have to live. You live, or no one lives❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝Rosabelle, I love you❞
· · ─ · ⧼᯽⧽ · ─ · ·
❝They‘ll be able to plant their thoughts in your head and you‘ll believe the ideas were your own. You‘ll think it was your idea to put down the weapon. It was your idea to ket them control you and cut you open. It was your idea to choose servitude. It was your idea to deny your own organic intelligence. You‘ll be convinced that this is, in fact, freedom. Freedom to stop trying, to stop fighting, to submit to the great artifical power: let it think for you, let it feel for you, let it tell you who you are❞
⊱ Rant ⊹₊˚‧࿐
WTF OMG NO NO NO NO NONONONONO😭🙏😔 THE FACT THAT THAT ONLY HAPPENED CAUSE SHE WAS GENIUNELY HAPPY FOR ONCE IN HER LIVEEEE OMG JAMES IS PROB GONNA BLAME HIMSELF🙏😭 AND WHY DOES EVERYONE KINDA LOST CONTROL OVER THEIR POWERS AND OMG I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THAT NAZEERA MIGHT BE CONTROLLED TOO AND IT RUINED MY DAYYY AHHHHHHHH😔
⊱𝒪𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁 ⊹₊˚‧࿐
IF U HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK SERIES THAN READ IT I’M BEGGING YOU😭🙏
➺𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 ⋆༺𓆩⚔𓆪༻⋆
AHHHHHHHH OMG OMG OMG OMG I HAVE THE BOOK I CAN‘T BELIEVE ITTTT🤭🤭 OMGG I‘M SOOOO HAPPY RNN IT FEELS LIKE I‘VE BEEN WAITING FOREVERRRRY😭😭 I ALR KNOWWW THIS IS GONNA BE AMAZINGGGGG🙂↕️🙂↕️ SHOUTOUT TO MY GORGEOUS BESTIE BLUIIBERRII FOR ALWAYS LISTENING TO MY ESCAPE ME THEORIESSS💐🫂
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Want to Read
April 25, 2026Someone check my pulse because Miss Mafi is doubling down!
I was literally in the middle of prepping to read Release Me when she dropped the news of this book's release, and that too on my Warner's birthday?! My 2026 bingo card just caught fire🔥
I was literally in the middle of prepping to read Release Me when she dropped the news of this book's release, and that too on my Warner's birthday?! My 2026 bingo card just caught fire🔥
Want to Read
April 26, 2026SLAP ME
Want to Read
July 22, 2026I've heard of the Gen Z reading crisis, but a book cover designers crisis? That's new. Like, why does every book in that series have the exact same cover with very minimalist changes 😬.
April 30, 2026
escape me by tahereh mafi
i've been putting of writing this review for so long because I don't have any strength do write it
all I wanna say is what the actual fuck did I just read can I go bash my head into a wall and cry in a hole and be depressed till the next book comes out? yep I'm gonna do all that
I UNDERESTIMATED what this book was going to do to me, i thought it was going to be okay and just a comfort read, but NO NO NO THIS BOOK BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS TO THE CEILING AND TOOK MY HEART WITH IT
my heart escaped me I'm not kidding
and i'm not even going to write a proper review like I normally do, because what am I supposed to say. like genuinely.
the characters? PERFECTION. the plot? PERFECTION? the tension? PERFECTION? the romance? FUCKING PERFECTION.
everything about this book actually broke me and I cried so hard, reading about fucking kenji and nazeera, (I cried the most about them.) reading about Juliette and Aaron (okay so at this point tahereh just pointed a gun to my forehead), reading about James and ROSABELLE (my heartttt AGH), just reading about the whole world in general.
I am NOT OKAY, I am INSANE, and I NEED HELP.
reading this the second it came out didn't help either because I had to wait for everyone to finish it before I could tell at their faces.
I put off writing this review, and I'm not even writing a proper one, and I DONT CARE BECAUSE STILL NOW IT HURTS ME.
I loved this book so much it hurts.
post-read
WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED HOLY FEELINGS HOLY PLOT HOLY TENSION HOLYT FUCKING CLIFFHANGER
pre-read
alr guys time to lock the frick in.
when I finished release me I knew I needed it as soon as it came out. If anyone sees me running, i'm running the the bookstore no doubt.
what I want to see
JAMES AND ROSABELLE MY BABIES BETTER GET TOGETHER
WE NEED TO SEE MORE KENZEERA
THE BABY NEEDS TO BE BORN SAFELY
AND AARON WARNER. PERIOD.
and idfk i hope fucking klaus and sebastian die but we know tahereh wouldnt do that, we have EXPERIENCE with paris. ugh.
anyways i predict 4.5-5 star read cuz this one sounds so good!!!
i've been putting of writing this review for so long because I don't have any strength do write it
all I wanna say is what the actual fuck did I just read can I go bash my head into a wall and cry in a hole and be depressed till the next book comes out? yep I'm gonna do all that
I UNDERESTIMATED what this book was going to do to me, i thought it was going to be okay and just a comfort read, but NO NO NO THIS BOOK BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS TO THE CEILING AND TOOK MY HEART WITH IT
my heart escaped me I'm not kidding
and i'm not even going to write a proper review like I normally do, because what am I supposed to say. like genuinely.
the characters? PERFECTION. the plot? PERFECTION? the tension? PERFECTION? the romance? FUCKING PERFECTION.
everything about this book actually broke me and I cried so hard, reading about fucking kenji and nazeera, (I cried the most about them.) reading about Juliette and Aaron (okay so at this point tahereh just pointed a gun to my forehead), reading about James and ROSABELLE (my heartttt AGH), just reading about the whole world in general.
I am NOT OKAY, I am INSANE, and I NEED HELP.
reading this the second it came out didn't help either because I had to wait for everyone to finish it before I could tell at their faces.
I put off writing this review, and I'm not even writing a proper one, and I DONT CARE BECAUSE STILL NOW IT HURTS ME.
I loved this book so much it hurts.
post-read
WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED HOLY FEELINGS HOLY PLOT HOLY TENSION HOLYT FUCKING CLIFFHANGER
pre-read
alr guys time to lock the frick in.
when I finished release me I knew I needed it as soon as it came out. If anyone sees me running, i'm running the the bookstore no doubt.
what I want to see
JAMES AND ROSABELLE MY BABIES BETTER GET TOGETHER
WE NEED TO SEE MORE KENZEERA
THE BABY NEEDS TO BE BORN SAFELY
AND AARON WARNER. PERIOD.
and idfk i hope fucking klaus and sebastian die but we know tahereh wouldnt do that, we have EXPERIENCE with paris. ugh.
anyways i predict 4.5-5 star read cuz this one sounds so good!!!
September 29, 2026
Wooooooow. 9 books in to Shatter Me, a beloved series of mine, 13 books in with Tahereh Mafi and I've DNFd @ 7%
This is truly atrocious on every level. I refuse to read a book that is somehow even worse than the last one. The final straw was the following excerpt of James' inner thoughts:
"No one will remember to feed and water Rosabelle, because Rosabelle never complains..."
I'm sorry, what???? Is the FMC, the love interest, a DOG? There's infantilizing your FMC and then there's whatever this is.
Honestly looking at the admiration and respect that Warner has for Juliette or Cyrus has for Alizeh I am just floored. What the fuck has happened to her writing? What can I even expect from the final book of This Woven Kingdom?
This is truly atrocious on every level. I refuse to read a book that is somehow even worse than the last one. The final straw was the following excerpt of James' inner thoughts:
"No one will remember to feed and water Rosabelle, because Rosabelle never complains..."
I'm sorry, what???? Is the FMC, the love interest, a DOG? There's infantilizing your FMC and then there's whatever this is.
Honestly looking at the admiration and respect that Warner has for Juliette or Cyrus has for Alizeh I am just floored. What the fuck has happened to her writing? What can I even expect from the final book of This Woven Kingdom?
September 29, 2026
shoutout to my bestie amelia for listening to me talk about this book 🫂💗
WHAT WTAF BRO YOU CANNOT TELL ME THIS BOOK ENDS LIKE THIS WHAT I NEED THE SECOND BOOK ASAP STOP BRO WTHHH IM GOING INSANE THIS WAS INSANE
spoilerss
best book in this spin off series wth we need kenjis pov in the next book js highly needed bro when i tell you this was WAY better whatever was going on in release me, you must trust me.
pov: me when i saw the big three in this book 🫠😏
where is my wife
who did this to you
youre mine
james makes rosabelle feel alive btw the aaron warner anderson said so
“you think this sentient block of granite looks like a fat, jolly snowman?”
live laugh love kenji kishimoto
“die, I tell myself. die.”
omg rosabelle i feel so bad for her omg! the scene where gigi steals winston’s glasses makes my heart melt wth 🥹 ‘you’re going to smear the lenses!’ oh winston youre so real i relate to that as someone who wears glasses 🙏
“everyone is always shouting at me to grow up, but no one seems to understand that if they want me to push up above this soil they have to step off my fucking roots in order to let me grow.” alr james this series you pmo so hard and i couldnt not handle you. like, at all 😖 BUTTTT this book lowk changed my perspective… james i feel so bad for you genuinely everyone needs to stop treating you like a dumb eleven year old and let you make your own decisions. i think aaron just doesn’t want james to handle everything like he did because he knows it’s so hard.
“i want to listen to him try to beg for mercy.” holy shit james was so hot in this book i kid you not 🫠 not only did i understand his point of view (took me long enough finally) but he also fulfilled his role as a book boyfriend 🙏
“i think I’d be happier if you weren’t so beautiful. we might not have all these problems. i might not get so angry all the time.”
shut the genuine hell up sebastian GO TO HELL ITS THAT WAY 👉 anderson 2.0 atp bro pack it up buddy we don’t need another one of you 🔫
“i apologized, over and over again, like a fucking doormat, and I hate that I let you all get into my head.” oh my gosh james genuinely im crying for you bro youre my man i take back everything bad i ever said about you in release me. EVERYONE NEEDS YO TREAT YOU BETTER. despite him still being quite ‘omg idc if we r in the middle of war but my rosa has to eat’ hes gotten better like sooo much better, because in the previous books his personality was zero i kid you not. bro had the body and facecard but was basically a chat gpt generated fictional man with no sauce no nothing ✋ as nazeera has said: “you’re blinded by this situation with rosabelle. you’re fixated on things that aren’t critically important—” those were literally my exact thoughts in book 1 + 2… but now hes like something gordon ramsey would make bro hes PERFECT 💐 he has humour, a brain and has gained more respect. finally 😖
“i asked her to marry me,” kenji cries.” haha.. WTAF??!! WE DIDNT GET A PROPOSAL THERE WAS NO CONTEXT ABT THEIR CONVERSATIONS AND YOU SPRING THIS ONTO ME?! OMFG I NEEEEDDD THE PROPOSAL BRO LIKE WHAT DID MY MAN KENJI DO 🙏 ”i asked her to marry me, and she said no. and then she left. put the entire world between us just to get away from me.”
when i tell you i cried. OH HELL NO NAZEERA YOU CANNOT TELL ME YOU SAW THE KENJI KISHIMOTO, A HOT LEAN ASIAN WHOS FUNNY AND HAS A KILLER FACE CARD AND SAID NO?!! cmon bro you had the ball but you didn’t shoot what a miss 😞 “i don’t want to try to work things out because i don’t trust her not to break my heart like that again. i can’t do it a second time,” he says, looking up. “i won’t.” then he leaves. no goodbye, no explanation.”
thank you so much thay was genuinely so needed like im totally not crying that my dream couple is acting like this towards each other and im totally not losing faith and - *sobs uncomfortable* WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO MEE???
“juliette has been reading a lot of novels lately,” he says by way of explanation. “they often follow a typical dramatic structure.”
i’m fighting a smile. “are you reading these books together?”
they read books together every night theyre only reason i believe in love btw
i’d asked her once, years ago, why she preferred to read books with happy endings. ella’s eyes had dimmed a little when she said, “life taught me enough about pain. I want to read stories that teach me about joy.” my chest tightens at the memory.
my daughter.
I lower my face to hers
AARON AARON AARON AARON HES A GIRL DAD OMG IM SO HAPPY WHAT IM JUMPING WITH JOY AHHHH YAYAYAYAYAYA IM SCREAMING BRO THEY NAMES HER EMALINE AKDBSIOS AND JULIETTE IS OKAY
⋆˚꩜｡ preread: OMG OMG OMG ITS TIIIIIIIIIIMEEEEEE IM SOOOO EXCITED THIS BETTER BE GOOD. tbhh i didnt enjoy release me as much as i wanted to, so this series better redeem itself, SHOUTOUT TO MY BESTIE AMELIA FOR ALL HER AWESOME THEORIES FOR THIS BANGING SERIES <3333 ★
WHAT WTAF BRO YOU CANNOT TELL ME THIS BOOK ENDS LIKE THIS WHAT I NEED THE SECOND BOOK ASAP STOP BRO WTHHH IM GOING INSANE THIS WAS INSANE
spoilerss
best book in this spin off series wth we need kenjis pov in the next book js highly needed bro when i tell you this was WAY better whatever was going on in release me, you must trust me.
pov: me when i saw the big three in this book 🫠😏
where is my wife
who did this to you
youre mine
james makes rosabelle feel alive btw the aaron warner anderson said so
“you think this sentient block of granite looks like a fat, jolly snowman?”
live laugh love kenji kishimoto
“die, I tell myself. die.”
omg rosabelle i feel so bad for her omg! the scene where gigi steals winston’s glasses makes my heart melt wth 🥹 ‘you’re going to smear the lenses!’ oh winston youre so real i relate to that as someone who wears glasses 🙏
“everyone is always shouting at me to grow up, but no one seems to understand that if they want me to push up above this soil they have to step off my fucking roots in order to let me grow.” alr james this series you pmo so hard and i couldnt not handle you. like, at all 😖 BUTTTT this book lowk changed my perspective… james i feel so bad for you genuinely everyone needs to stop treating you like a dumb eleven year old and let you make your own decisions. i think aaron just doesn’t want james to handle everything like he did because he knows it’s so hard.
“i want to listen to him try to beg for mercy.” holy shit james was so hot in this book i kid you not 🫠 not only did i understand his point of view (took me long enough finally) but he also fulfilled his role as a book boyfriend 🙏
“i think I’d be happier if you weren’t so beautiful. we might not have all these problems. i might not get so angry all the time.”
shut the genuine hell up sebastian GO TO HELL ITS THAT WAY 👉 anderson 2.0 atp bro pack it up buddy we don’t need another one of you 🔫
“i apologized, over and over again, like a fucking doormat, and I hate that I let you all get into my head.” oh my gosh james genuinely im crying for you bro youre my man i take back everything bad i ever said about you in release me. EVERYONE NEEDS YO TREAT YOU BETTER. despite him still being quite ‘omg idc if we r in the middle of war but my rosa has to eat’ hes gotten better like sooo much better, because in the previous books his personality was zero i kid you not. bro had the body and facecard but was basically a chat gpt generated fictional man with no sauce no nothing ✋ as nazeera has said: “you’re blinded by this situation with rosabelle. you’re fixated on things that aren’t critically important—” those were literally my exact thoughts in book 1 + 2… but now hes like something gordon ramsey would make bro hes PERFECT 💐 he has humour, a brain and has gained more respect. finally 😖
“i asked her to marry me,” kenji cries.” haha.. WTAF??!! WE DIDNT GET A PROPOSAL THERE WAS NO CONTEXT ABT THEIR CONVERSATIONS AND YOU SPRING THIS ONTO ME?! OMFG I NEEEEDDD THE PROPOSAL BRO LIKE WHAT DID MY MAN KENJI DO 🙏 ”i asked her to marry me, and she said no. and then she left. put the entire world between us just to get away from me.”
when i tell you i cried. OH HELL NO NAZEERA YOU CANNOT TELL ME YOU SAW THE KENJI KISHIMOTO, A HOT LEAN ASIAN WHOS FUNNY AND HAS A KILLER FACE CARD AND SAID NO?!! cmon bro you had the ball but you didn’t shoot what a miss 😞 “i don’t want to try to work things out because i don’t trust her not to break my heart like that again. i can’t do it a second time,” he says, looking up. “i won’t.” then he leaves. no goodbye, no explanation.”
thank you so much thay was genuinely so needed like im totally not crying that my dream couple is acting like this towards each other and im totally not losing faith and - *sobs uncomfortable* WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO MEE???
“juliette has been reading a lot of novels lately,” he says by way of explanation. “they often follow a typical dramatic structure.”
i’m fighting a smile. “are you reading these books together?”
they read books together every night theyre only reason i believe in love btw
i’d asked her once, years ago, why she preferred to read books with happy endings. ella’s eyes had dimmed a little when she said, “life taught me enough about pain. I want to read stories that teach me about joy.” my chest tightens at the memory.
my daughter.
I lower my face to hers
AARON AARON AARON AARON HES A GIRL DAD OMG IM SO HAPPY WHAT IM JUMPING WITH JOY AHHHH YAYAYAYAYAYA IM SCREAMING BRO THEY NAMES HER EMALINE AKDBSIOS AND JULIETTE IS OKAY
⋆˚꩜｡ preread: OMG OMG OMG ITS TIIIIIIIIIIMEEEEEE IM SOOOO EXCITED THIS BETTER BE GOOD. tbhh i didnt enjoy release me as much as i wanted to, so this series better redeem itself, SHOUTOUT TO MY BESTIE AMELIA FOR ALL HER AWESOME THEORIES FOR THIS BANGING SERIES <3333 ★
Want to Read
April 25, 2026oh, mother is spoiling us
Want to Read
November 8, 2025Mafi at this point I'm selling everything I own to buy all your books 😔
August 15, 2026
─ · 𖦹 pre-releαse ⚡️! . ݁˖
KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA 🤞🏼🤞🏼
⚡️ ─ · postread!! 𖦹
— read sometime in october
WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!
KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA KENZEERA 🤞🏼🤞🏼
⚡️ ─ · postread!! 𖦹
— read sometime in october
WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!
Want to Read
November 11, 2025pre read: I am going to be SEVENTEEN when this comes out 😭 i feel wayyy too old
edit: nope just did the maths and I’ll be 16 oops 🙊 my birthdays is in october so I have the late birthday 😭
the cover is so beautiful tahereh, my £17 is not going to waste
edit: nope just did the maths and I’ll be 16 oops 🙊 my birthdays is in october so I have the late birthday 😭
the cover is so beautiful tahereh, my £17 is not going to waste
April 25, 2026
Have a lot of feelings but i don't wanna waste more time over it but let's see how much i can rant
Holy cliffhanger!?!? Meri jooti🤡🤡🤡 this book was written by a 12 year old for 12 year old and if you rated it anything more than 3 stars, I am sorry to say but you are a 12 year old. Because omg it annoyed the hell outta me. From beginning I knew the book was not gonna be more than 3 stars, the bar was in hell and it still managed to disappoint. The only grace was THAT scene iykyk. Why were all the characters so stupid. Kenji was my fav, he still is if I ignore this whole series. The "bro" thing was overdone by a lot. ADAM STILL GETTING HATE IS UNREAL. Ignite me was released 12 years ago. Even if i was some teenger i would have gotten over adam saying juliette should die. I read this series when i was 17 (almost same age as them) and now as a 22 years old idgaf about whay i said or who said something to me. Mafi should just get over her feelings and mature tf up anf start portraying adam in better light. Warner missing that one thing seemed so out of character for him. Also, now that julietter has a beautiful daughter, hope she goes back to being annoying and badass and not some damsel in distress. Ykw nazeera's feeling never felt that strong towards kenji TO ME but i shipped them a lot. And now you are telling me nazeera pulled that shit 5 years ago and literally lost touch with kenji??? I am sorry but my man deserved better. Glad warner and james were at his side and gave nazeera grief over it.
~~~~~
let's see what mafi has cooked in couple of months. keeping my hopes low for now though
~~~~~
omg, Tahereh announced the next book in the series on Warner's bday???and it also has warner's pov which I honestly don't care about PLEASE BE GOOOOOOD🙏🙏but wdym TWK's finale got delayed to next spring?😭😭
Holy cliffhanger!?!? Meri jooti🤡🤡🤡 this book was written by a 12 year old for 12 year old and if you rated it anything more than 3 stars, I am sorry to say but you are a 12 year old. Because omg it annoyed the hell outta me. From beginning I knew the book was not gonna be more than 3 stars, the bar was in hell and it still managed to disappoint. The only grace was THAT scene iykyk. Why were all the characters so stupid. Kenji was my fav, he still is if I ignore this whole series. The "bro" thing was overdone by a lot. ADAM STILL GETTING HATE IS UNREAL. Ignite me was released 12 years ago. Even if i was some teenger i would have gotten over adam saying juliette should die. I read this series when i was 17 (almost same age as them) and now as a 22 years old idgaf about whay i said or who said something to me. Mafi should just get over her feelings and mature tf up anf start portraying adam in better light. Warner missing that one thing seemed so out of character for him. Also, now that julietter has a beautiful daughter, hope she goes back to being annoying and badass and not some damsel in distress. Ykw nazeera's feeling never felt that strong towards kenji TO ME but i shipped them a lot. And now you are telling me nazeera pulled that shit 5 years ago and literally lost touch with kenji??? I am sorry but my man deserved better. Glad warner and james were at his side and gave nazeera grief over it.
~~~~~
let's see what mafi has cooked in couple of months. keeping my hopes low for now though
~~~~~
omg, Tahereh announced the next book in the series on Warner's bday???
Want to Read
April 26, 2026MAFI KEEPS FEEDING US AND GIRRLLLL I WANT THE WHOLE DINNER.
Want to Read
April 25, 2026
❤Pre-release:❤
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! It's here! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
----------------------------------
*Update! :* OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH! The GODNESS Tahereh Mafi released the first five chapters of the book! AAAAAAA! This series is never going to escape me! 😈 (30/07/2026 🖤💀😎)
*Update!:* OMG! We have the cover and it's so pretty! I mean... I didn't expect something less than perfection from this series' covers but OMG this is even better than my expectations!!! I AM SO EXITED! AAAAAAAAAAA! (02/07/2026 -Happy July! 🌻)
*OG!:* AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! YES. YES. YES. AFTER that cliffhanger in the previous book, I genuinely thought I would not survive the wait for Escape Me. I was emotionally unwell, spiritually unstable, and one minor inconvenience away from dramatic collapse. And now?? NOW?? It’s almost here! I can only assume a higher power looked down at my suffering and decided to intervene, because Escape Me is releasing on September 29, 2026. Tahereh Mafi… you heard my cries. Although, to be fair, I’m not sure if this is mercy or financial sabotage. Because let’s discuss the absolute CHAOS that is Fall 2026... Not only are we getting Escape Me, but also: A Court of Splintered Harmony, Threshing Day, Untitled, The Last King of Faerie, Burn of the Everflame, Dead Beat, The Knave and the Moon, Holy Monsters, The Wolf Queen, Stormside AND on top of that: A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters: Illustrated Tales from Elfhame and The Mirror of Infinite Endings. So basically… every publisher in existence got together and decided to empty my wallet personally. Also, something funny: some people keep calling these three series (Shatter Me, Once Upon a Broken Heart, and Elfhame) the “Big 3.” And honestly? I see the vision. But I have my own Big 3. The ones with permanent legendary status. The ones with stable value. The holy trinity of obsession. I will not elaborate. 🤭🤞🤪 Until then, I’ll be counting the days until Escape Me, replaying that cliffhanger in my head, and preparing emotionally for whatever pain Tahereh Mafi has planned next. (May 1, 2026)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! It's here! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
----------------------------------
*Update! :* OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH! The GODNESS Tahereh Mafi released the first five chapters of the book! AAAAAAA! This series is never going to escape me! 😈 (30/07/2026 🖤💀😎)
*Update!:* OMG! We have the cover and it's so pretty! I mean... I didn't expect something less than perfection from this series' covers but OMG this is even better than my expectations!!! I AM SO EXITED! AAAAAAAAAAA! (02/07/2026 -Happy July! 🌻)
*OG!:* AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! YES. YES. YES. AFTER that cliffhanger in the previous book, I genuinely thought I would not survive the wait for Escape Me. I was emotionally unwell, spiritually unstable, and one minor inconvenience away from dramatic collapse. And now?? NOW?? It’s almost here! I can only assume a higher power looked down at my suffering and decided to intervene, because Escape Me is releasing on September 29, 2026. Tahereh Mafi… you heard my cries. Although, to be fair, I’m not sure if this is mercy or financial sabotage. Because let’s discuss the absolute CHAOS that is Fall 2026... Not only are we getting Escape Me, but also: A Court of Splintered Harmony, Threshing Day, Untitled, The Last King of Faerie, Burn of the Everflame, Dead Beat, The Knave and the Moon, Holy Monsters, The Wolf Queen, Stormside AND on top of that: A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters: Illustrated Tales from Elfhame and The Mirror of Infinite Endings. So basically… every publisher in existence got together and decided to empty my wallet personally. Also, something funny: some people keep calling these three series (Shatter Me, Once Upon a Broken Heart, and Elfhame) the “Big 3.” And honestly? I see the vision. But I have my own Big 3. The ones with permanent legendary status. The ones with stable value. The holy trinity of obsession. I will not elaborate. 🤭🤞🤪 Until then, I’ll be counting the days until Escape Me, replaying that cliffhanger in my head, and preparing emotionally for whatever pain Tahereh Mafi has planned next. (May 1, 2026)
September 29, 2026
1.5/5 ⭐️
I literally only read it for Warner and J!!
Tahereh, you just need to STOP writing this series 😭
James was acting like he was on his period the entire time. Bro is acting like he’s FOUR. I hate him so much 😭 And no one come here telling me, “It’s their series.” Yeah, and this series is fucking shit 💀 He has given me absolutely NOTHING to make me love him.
All that shouting and getting angry when I can’t even understand why he’s so obsessed with her?? His POVs were some of the stupidest things I’ve ever read.
He was literally shouting because they didn’t give her a bed while the whole fucking world was falling apart 😭 And when he went to buy her underwear, I was about to throw up. IT’S FUCKING UNDERWEAR. CALM DOWN. This entire book AND the previous one, they keep talking about that damn underwear 😭
And the way she’s trying to make Aaron seem like he needs them or something… UGH. It makes absolutely no sense. Rosa is NOTHING like him!!
And the way James kept telling her, in the creepiest way possible, that she’s his… I was like WTF 😭 It was so cringe.
WHERE IS THE YEARNING??? She said it was like Ignite Me. GIRL, NO. It’s not even close to that scene in Unravel Me. It felt so fucking C.AI 😭😭😭
Also, this book could’ve been like 20 chapters. I’m not even joking. This was worse than Release Me.
BUT I loved, loved, LOVED Warner’s chapters and his love for J 🥹🥹🥹 The way he kept thinking about her and wanting to go home to her??? 😭😭😭
HE’S READING ROMANCE NOVELS WITH J 😭😭😭
And their little Sugar!!! Omg, I can’t 😭 Aaron is the BEST daddy, and I’m so excited to see him with his little girl 🥹
But listen… his chapter was SO CUTE, especially chapter 34, but I still wanted more 😔
also why he wasn't with her when she was giving birth????? whyyyyyy
I know it's not his fault and he didn't receive any messages but bro it's your fault tahereh
we waited 3 books for nothing?
I am starting to hate you
I’m disappointed, Tahereh.
I genuinely wanted to give this 1⭐️, but trust me, I gave it 1.5 because of my babies 😭
James can go to hell.
And she kept saying we were going to see “a lot of Kenji and Naz” and then gave us basically NOTHING??? 😭
Thank you so much! Ewwwww 😭
I literally only read it for Warner and J!!
Tahereh, you just need to STOP writing this series 😭
James was acting like he was on his period the entire time. Bro is acting like he’s FOUR. I hate him so much 😭 And no one come here telling me, “It’s their series.” Yeah, and this series is fucking shit 💀 He has given me absolutely NOTHING to make me love him.
All that shouting and getting angry when I can’t even understand why he’s so obsessed with her?? His POVs were some of the stupidest things I’ve ever read.
He was literally shouting because they didn’t give her a bed while the whole fucking world was falling apart 😭 And when he went to buy her underwear, I was about to throw up. IT’S FUCKING UNDERWEAR. CALM DOWN. This entire book AND the previous one, they keep talking about that damn underwear 😭
And the way she’s trying to make Aaron seem like he needs them or something… UGH. It makes absolutely no sense. Rosa is NOTHING like him!!
And the way James kept telling her, in the creepiest way possible, that she’s his… I was like WTF 😭 It was so cringe.
WHERE IS THE YEARNING??? She said it was like Ignite Me. GIRL, NO. It’s not even close to that scene in Unravel Me. It felt so fucking C.AI 😭😭😭
Also, this book could’ve been like 20 chapters. I’m not even joking. This was worse than Release Me.
BUT I loved, loved, LOVED Warner’s chapters and his love for J 🥹🥹🥹 The way he kept thinking about her and wanting to go home to her??? 😭😭😭
HE’S READING ROMANCE NOVELS WITH J 😭😭😭
And their little Sugar!!! Omg, I can’t 😭 Aaron is the BEST daddy, and I’m so excited to see him with his little girl 🥹
But listen… his chapter was SO CUTE, especially chapter 34, but I still wanted more 😔
also why he wasn't with her when she was giving birth????? whyyyyyy
I know it's not his fault and he didn't receive any messages but bro it's your fault tahereh
we waited 3 books for nothing?
I am starting to hate you
I’m disappointed, Tahereh.
I genuinely wanted to give this 1⭐️, but trust me, I gave it 1.5 because of my babies 😭
James can go to hell.
And she kept saying we were going to see “a lot of Kenji and Naz” and then gave us basically NOTHING??? 😭
Thank you so much! Ewwwww 😭
September 29, 2026
ᯓ★ 1.75 stars ✮⋆˙
And if you’re wondering :
No things didn’t finally pick up in this book
· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · · · · · · · · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
This series is ragebait core so I’m just going to state the things that pissed me the fuck off.
sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀs ᴀʜᴇᴀᴅ (maybe)
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ One: Rosabelle and James.
Do you know how it feels to spend the entire last book complaining about the infantilization of Rosabelle by James, only to come into this book and have James start calling Rosabelle “baby”?!
I have never cringed so hard in my life.
Every single time that word came out of James’s mouth toward this girl, I had this visceral reaction. Like actual shockwaves were passing through my body. It made me genuinely want to jump out of my window.
That’s how bad it was.
And there was this one particular scene where she had fainted, so James was carrying her around like a fucking baby, as usual. She starts tugging cutely on his shirt, and he’s like, Baby, you need to get down.
And she shakes her head.
Then she buries her head into his chest and shakes her head again because she doesn’t want to get down.
WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING?!
This is literally how a toddler acts when you’re holding them and trying to put them in bed, and they’re like, No! I still want to be in your arms!
That is genuinely how Rosabelle is acting.
And part of me wants to rationalize it. Like, Okay, maybe she never got to be a baby around someone she felt safe with, so she’s kind of age-regressing when she’s with James.
But the book isn’t even presenting it like that.
Tahereh Mafi genuinely seems to be writing these scenes thinking, “Look at this cute little moment between these two!”
No.
It is not cute.
It is making me want to chew drywall.
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Two: This is not Dudron Flopner’s book.
Every single time I got to a Warner chapter, I would literally raise my head and look at the eight Shatter Me books sitting on my shelf.
And I’d just stare at them.
Like… Boy.
Does he still need more?
Does he still need more?!
Does he STILL need more?!
We have 8 books! Not including The New Republic series. At what point are we allowed to move on?!
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Three: This book is literally yearning slop.
Sorry, Tahereh Mafi, but we are not doing this.
╰┈➤ We are not going to quote James— doing absolutely nothing but berating everyone, picking fights with people, and asking whether Rosabelle has a bed to sleep in, whether she has eaten, whether she has changed, for 60% of the book because she apparently won’t ask for herself— and be like “omg the yearning 😍”
Fuck off.
╰┈➤ And we are absolutely not going to make TikToks with captions over James going into a shop to buy her clothes while some song called Legendary Lovers plays in the background.
We don’t care.
╰┈➤ This is yearning slop. You can literally feel the thickness of it. The last time I experienced yearning slop this thick was Powerless. You can FEEL it.
And after every single thick paragraphs of “yearning”, James immediately goes, I’m so pathetic.
Because apparently we’re supposed to be like:
“Oh my God! James is so pathetic for Rosabelle! 🥺”
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Four: Juliette
Finally, Juliette has given birth.
And I cannot WAIT for Warnettes to get off Warners dick and see how weak Juliette has been written in this series
Because this is now three fucking books of this girl being weak and sitting around while everyone dotes on her and worries about her because she’s pregnant.
Like yay. Power to you.
But…
Are we serious right now? Do you know how irritating that was?!
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Five: Roman and GiGi
Gigi and Roman are not funny.
Roman and Gigi are not fucking funny.
We do not care about the way they mispronounce things.
We do not care about their baby tantrums
They are not funny.
None of these bitches are funny.
Stop writing them like they’re funny.
They are annoying.
They are ALL annoying.
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ RANTSSSSSS!!!!
╰┈➤ There are two more books!
Two!
I think this series was originally supposed to be a trilogy and then got expanded to five books, and somehow we are two books away from the end and nothing is happening.
Genuinely nothing.
It’s just running around in circles, making stupid little jokes, people interacting with each other, and…
WHAT IS THIS?!
╰┈➤ And then we have Kenji and Nazeera. Another BRUHHH MOMENT.
I don’t give a fuck. Sue me.
God fucking forbid a girl is scared about entering a marriage.
God fucking forbid!
╰┈➤ And what is it with Rosabelle and gasping???
Everytime it’s time for her to explain herself to James she starts gasping and saying “please I can’t” speak mama. You’re a grown woman baybeee
╰┈➤ And every time something actually seems like it’s about to go somewhere, it ends with something exploding, a bomb going off, or some other ridiculous shit. Oh and not to forget Tosabelle dying
Lmfao Adam ate when he was like “isn’t she dying everytime”🤣😭😭
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ POSITIVES
I guess the only positive thing I can say about this book is that it technically made me curious about the next one.
Actually, no.
Scratch that.
I am not fucking excited for the next book.
But I will read it.
And I will read the fifth book.
I don’t even want to put myself through the torture of rereading the Shatter Me series, but at this point, I feel like the writing has gotten so egregious that I genuinely have to go back and see where the fuck it went wrong.
Because you cannot write Shatter Me and then come write this second series and be this fucking annoying with it.
I’m just praying that Tahereh releases the last two books together next year, the way she released Release Me and Escape Me this year, so that by 2027 I can finally wash my hands of this fucking series.
I’m irritated.
My last generous two stars with series two. Next time I’ll give it the one star it really deserves
And if you’re wondering :
No things didn’t finally pick up in this book
· · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · · · · · · · · ─ ·𖥸· ─ · ·
This series is ragebait core so I’m just going to state the things that pissed me the fuck off.
sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀs ᴀʜᴇᴀᴅ (maybe)
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ One: Rosabelle and James.
Do you know how it feels to spend the entire last book complaining about the infantilization of Rosabelle by James, only to come into this book and have James start calling Rosabelle “baby”?!
I have never cringed so hard in my life.
Every single time that word came out of James’s mouth toward this girl, I had this visceral reaction. Like actual shockwaves were passing through my body. It made me genuinely want to jump out of my window.
That’s how bad it was.
And there was this one particular scene where she had fainted, so James was carrying her around like a fucking baby, as usual. She starts tugging cutely on his shirt, and he’s like, Baby, you need to get down.
And she shakes her head.
Then she buries her head into his chest and shakes her head again because she doesn’t want to get down.
WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING?!
This is literally how a toddler acts when you’re holding them and trying to put them in bed, and they’re like, No! I still want to be in your arms!
That is genuinely how Rosabelle is acting.
And part of me wants to rationalize it. Like, Okay, maybe she never got to be a baby around someone she felt safe with, so she’s kind of age-regressing when she’s with James.
But the book isn’t even presenting it like that.
Tahereh Mafi genuinely seems to be writing these scenes thinking, “Look at this cute little moment between these two!”
No.
It is not cute.
It is making me want to chew drywall.
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Two: This is not Dudron Flopner’s book.
Every single time I got to a Warner chapter, I would literally raise my head and look at the eight Shatter Me books sitting on my shelf.
And I’d just stare at them.
Like… Boy.
Does he still need more?
Does he still need more?!
Does he STILL need more?!
We have 8 books! Not including The New Republic series. At what point are we allowed to move on?!
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Three: This book is literally yearning slop.
Sorry, Tahereh Mafi, but we are not doing this.
╰┈➤ We are not going to quote James— doing absolutely nothing but berating everyone, picking fights with people, and asking whether Rosabelle has a bed to sleep in, whether she has eaten, whether she has changed, for 60% of the book because she apparently won’t ask for herself— and be like “omg the yearning 😍”
Fuck off.
╰┈➤ And we are absolutely not going to make TikToks with captions over James going into a shop to buy her clothes while some song called Legendary Lovers plays in the background.
We don’t care.
╰┈➤ This is yearning slop. You can literally feel the thickness of it. The last time I experienced yearning slop this thick was Powerless. You can FEEL it.
And after every single thick paragraphs of “yearning”, James immediately goes, I’m so pathetic.
Because apparently we’re supposed to be like:
“Oh my God! James is so pathetic for Rosabelle! 🥺”
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Four: Juliette
Finally, Juliette has given birth.
And I cannot WAIT for Warnettes to get off Warners dick and see how weak Juliette has been written in this series
Because this is now three fucking books of this girl being weak and sitting around while everyone dotes on her and worries about her because she’s pregnant.
Like yay. Power to you.
But…
Are we serious right now? Do you know how irritating that was?!
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ Five: Roman and GiGi
Gigi and Roman are not funny.
Roman and Gigi are not fucking funny.
We do not care about the way they mispronounce things.
We do not care about their baby tantrums
They are not funny.
None of these bitches are funny.
Stop writing them like they’re funny.
They are annoying.
They are ALL annoying.
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ RANTSSSSSS!!!!
╰┈➤ There are two more books!
Two!
I think this series was originally supposed to be a trilogy and then got expanded to five books, and somehow we are two books away from the end and nothing is happening.
Genuinely nothing.
It’s just running around in circles, making stupid little jokes, people interacting with each other, and…
WHAT IS THIS?!
╰┈➤ And then we have Kenji and Nazeera. Another BRUHHH MOMENT.
I don’t give a fuck. Sue me.
God fucking forbid a girl is scared about entering a marriage.
God fucking forbid!
╰┈➤ And what is it with Rosabelle and gasping???
Everytime it’s time for her to explain herself to James she starts gasping and saying “please I can’t” speak mama. You’re a grown woman baybeee
╰┈➤ And every time something actually seems like it’s about to go somewhere, it ends with something exploding, a bomb going off, or some other ridiculous shit. Oh and not to forget Tosabelle dying
Lmfao Adam ate when he was like “isn’t she dying everytime”🤣😭😭
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ POSITIVES
I guess the only positive thing I can say about this book is that it technically made me curious about the next one.
Actually, no.
Scratch that.
I am not fucking excited for the next book.
But I will read it.
And I will read the fifth book.
I don’t even want to put myself through the torture of rereading the Shatter Me series, but at this point, I feel like the writing has gotten so egregious that I genuinely have to go back and see where the fuck it went wrong.
Because you cannot write Shatter Me and then come write this second series and be this fucking annoying with it.
I’m just praying that Tahereh releases the last two books together next year, the way she released Release Me and Escape Me this year, so that by 2027 I can finally wash my hands of this fucking series.
I’m irritated.
My last generous two stars with series two. Next time I’ll give it the one star it really deserves
September 29, 2026
genuinely just milking the fuck out of the characters. why on earth did i put myself through this 400 page book which had the time span of 1 day and absolutely nothing happened? why did i do this to myself and why did I gaslight myself into believing the 2 previous books were good. this is straight poo. zero plot, unnecessary scenes, repetition of language from the original series and pure torturous cringe. I am so above this. these 3 books don't even have enough drama to make an ai storytime video. there is no need whatsoever to be rinsing it so much. I'm so tired of these fuckass characters who have no chemistry, pretend to know each other because they looked at each other. bitch tf? I picture james as a humongous lumberjack and rosabelle as the skinniest twig alive. what in the body gap relationship. lmao why was he like i have to go get her clothes from the children section and then was like she always wears no underwear and I love her curves. bro it's rinsed that she eats 1 meal a week fym curves? fucking hell why is she in the hollywood starving games like girl all she does is faint and not eat, mentioning it so many times like you want me to feed her. and in the previous book there was 100 pages on her struggle to eat a waffle. i could inhale 20 in one go. is the author hungry or something? someone starving u girl? so fucking irritating why's she running around maniacally with no underwear. JUST SO FUCKING ANNOYING UNRELEASE THIS BOOK AND GIVE ME BACK MY EVENING
September 29, 2026
chapter 34 belongs to a hall of fame
June 23, 2026
4.25 stars
THIS ENTIRE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
This is was among my most anticipated of the year and I imagine the 5th one will be too. First thing - the baby was finally born! This was the #1 thing I wanted to happen so no complaints there. I was sad Warner wasn't there for it but the explanation about them needing to basically rush the birth because of Juliette's power made a lot of sense. The moment they had altogether was so beautiful and everything I wanted. Emmaline ❤️
I loved the Rosabelle / Warner interactions. This is the first time they've had a true conversation. Mafi always likes to say she's sort of a reflection of him and I do see it. I've also seen some people say they liked him getting humbled by her somewhat because of all the stuff Rosa knows about the Reestablishment's plans, and I agree to some extent (because let's be honest Warner does have a pretty high opinion of himself. I don't mind this because I'm biased and I love him). But also, this is the first time Rosa has really told him what's going on? He was basically working with bits and pieces of information prior to this so it's not like he could have done that much differently. And I think he sort of got his own shots in with the whole "Do you know anything about me?" speech he was on.
Since the baby has been born, I think there is no reason for Juliette and Rosabelle to stay apart any longer. Actually I'm hoping that J is a much bigger part of the storyline going forward since she's not pregnant anymore. I want to see her doing at least something badass because she very much feels like "Warner's wife" in this series. I did get a bit of a kick out of her human spaghetti text message though.
James was a little annoying. I get that he was basically losing his mind but his chapters felt a little repetitive and I'm pretty sure he had more than anyone else. I am really hoping he and Rosabelle get to spend some actual time together in book 4 since they spent almost this entire book apart. I liked the scene where they were together but I feel like the love scenes would have a much greater emotional impact if they were allowed to interact more. I mean Mafi compared that scene to 55 in Ignite Me when Juliette finally confesses her feelings to Warner and I'm sorry but I don't see that at all. Not because the relationship between James and Rosabelle doesn't have the potential to stand up to theirs but because they literally just never get the opportunity to speak to each other. And does James care a about the world and/or fighting the Reestablishment literally at all? I understand why he was thinking about Rosabelle so much but - !!! Obviously he at did at some point because he invaded the Ark but I wish he was just a tiny bit more logical.
I loved the part though where James basically called out Warner when he was like "You wouldn't stand for this for half a second if you were me" and Warner refused to answer the question because we all know if it was Juliette he wouldn't knowingly letting her get hurt in any world or circumstance.
Also - Kenji and Nazeera? I enjoyed that aspect of the story way, way less than I expected to. Nazeera was almost an entierly different person. Why was she constantly confused? I get she spent most of the book distracted but her behavior was just ... super off. I almost wanted to go back to prior books to compare because it was so weird. She also should have provided Rosa with basic necessities. I understand that Rosabelle is an adult (that's Nazeera's argument) but she was still in a strange new place with no clothes, no food and no bed. And at this point Rosabelle was actively aiding the New Republic so she really should have gotten something. James was not completely off the mark there. Also Kenji did not have enough page time!
I loved getting more information about what the Reestablishment / the Ark was up to. I was surprised how little Sebastian was featured here but then I think the events of this book take place within a week or so? Sebastian is awful. He seriously made me see red (especially the cat thing). I'm curious if Warner is going to take more of a personal interest in him moving forward after finding out he's the son of the other guy who was supposed to be the Supreme of North America before the Reestablishment gave the job to Paris.
I do think there was perhaps a bit more "filler" here than there should have been. I wish the plot had advanced a hair more than it did. But at the end of the day these are still some of my favorite characters (I liked seeing Castle again) and honestly I would read a story about them writing a grocery list so. Yeah.
THIS ENTIRE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
This is was among my most anticipated of the year and I imagine the 5th one will be too. First thing - the baby was finally born! This was the #1 thing I wanted to happen so no complaints there. I was sad Warner wasn't there for it but the explanation about them needing to basically rush the birth because of Juliette's power made a lot of sense. The moment they had altogether was so beautiful and everything I wanted. Emmaline ❤️
I loved the Rosabelle / Warner interactions. This is the first time they've had a true conversation. Mafi always likes to say she's sort of a reflection of him and I do see it. I've also seen some people say they liked him getting humbled by her somewhat because of all the stuff Rosa knows about the Reestablishment's plans, and I agree to some extent (because let's be honest Warner does have a pretty high opinion of himself. I don't mind this because I'm biased and I love him). But also, this is the first time Rosa has really told him what's going on? He was basically working with bits and pieces of information prior to this so it's not like he could have done that much differently. And I think he sort of got his own shots in with the whole "Do you know anything about me?" speech he was on.
Since the baby has been born, I think there is no reason for Juliette and Rosabelle to stay apart any longer. Actually I'm hoping that J is a much bigger part of the storyline going forward since she's not pregnant anymore. I want to see her doing at least something badass because she very much feels like "Warner's wife" in this series. I did get a bit of a kick out of her human spaghetti text message though.
James was a little annoying. I get that he was basically losing his mind but his chapters felt a little repetitive and I'm pretty sure he had more than anyone else. I am really hoping he and Rosabelle get to spend some actual time together in book 4 since they spent almost this entire book apart. I liked the scene where they were together but I feel like the love scenes would have a much greater emotional impact if they were allowed to interact more. I mean Mafi compared that scene to 55 in Ignite Me when Juliette finally confesses her feelings to Warner and I'm sorry but I don't see that at all. Not because the relationship between James and Rosabelle doesn't have the potential to stand up to theirs but because they literally just never get the opportunity to speak to each other. And does James care a about the world and/or fighting the Reestablishment literally at all? I understand why he was thinking about Rosabelle so much but - !!! Obviously he at did at some point because he invaded the Ark but I wish he was just a tiny bit more logical.
I loved the part though where James basically called out Warner when he was like "You wouldn't stand for this for half a second if you were me" and Warner refused to answer the question because we all know if it was Juliette he wouldn't knowingly letting her get hurt in any world or circumstance.
Also - Kenji and Nazeera? I enjoyed that aspect of the story way, way less than I expected to. Nazeera was almost an entierly different person. Why was she constantly confused? I get she spent most of the book distracted but her behavior was just ... super off. I almost wanted to go back to prior books to compare because it was so weird. She also should have provided Rosa with basic necessities. I understand that Rosabelle is an adult (that's Nazeera's argument) but she was still in a strange new place with no clothes, no food and no bed. And at this point Rosabelle was actively aiding the New Republic so she really should have gotten something. James was not completely off the mark there. Also Kenji did not have enough page time!
I loved getting more information about what the Reestablishment / the Ark was up to. I was surprised how little Sebastian was featured here but then I think the events of this book take place within a week or so? Sebastian is awful. He seriously made me see red (especially the cat thing). I'm curious if Warner is going to take more of a personal interest in him moving forward after finding out he's the son of the other guy who was supposed to be the Supreme of North America before the Reestablishment gave the job to Paris.
I do think there was perhaps a bit more "filler" here than there should have been. I wish the plot had advanced a hair more than it did. But at the end of the day these are still some of my favorite characters (I liked seeing Castle again) and honestly I would read a story about them writing a grocery list so. Yeah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2026
This series stopped at shatter me for me because this is just not it and I’m not reading anymore of this honestly 😭✋🏻
October 3, 2026
Holy shit. THAT CLIFFHANGER MOTHER MAFI YOU’RE INSANE 🤯🤯🤯
October 13, 2026
“Every thought of him delivers me a little death. If this is love, I hate it.” 🦋🔹🩵
we are so back!!! i’ll be honest though, this book did feel like a filler, but that’s okay because it just means that the next book is going to be EPIC, and i cannot wait!
the plot!! 🦋
rosabelle forms a plan with warner. she will tell him everything she knows about the ark, but he has to keep james away from her. with this plan set in motion, james is going crazy over not knowing where rosabelle is or why he’s unable to see her. meanwhile, there seems to be technical difficulties in the waffle. communication systems are starting to go down and there is constant fear that the ark is going to make their move soon, if they haven’t already.
this plot was fun! i was absolutely LIVING for the yearning from both of the characters: rosabelle doing what she thinks is best for james, even though it’s tearing herself apart inside, and james constantly on-edge about where rosabelle could be. it made these characters feel even more real to me!
the characters!! 🔹
speaking of the characters, these characters are basically FAMILY at this point. i WISH i knew them personally. i want to be in their little friend group. these characters mean so much to me. i sincerely hope this series never ends because i don’t want to ever have to say goodbye to these characters.
the ending!! 🩵
DUDE, WHAT WAS THAT???? WHAT IS GOING ON? i am absolutely NERVOUS! i have no idea how i’m going to wait for the next book. you’re all going to have to pray for me. this is such an insane ending, it’s criminal!
would i recommend this book? ✨
absolutely! this series is EVERYTHING to me!!
would i read it again? ✨
i already wish i could!
we are so back!!! i’ll be honest though, this book did feel like a filler, but that’s okay because it just means that the next book is going to be EPIC, and i cannot wait!
the plot!! 🦋
rosabelle forms a plan with warner. she will tell him everything she knows about the ark, but he has to keep james away from her. with this plan set in motion, james is going crazy over not knowing where rosabelle is or why he’s unable to see her. meanwhile, there seems to be technical difficulties in the waffle. communication systems are starting to go down and there is constant fear that the ark is going to make their move soon, if they haven’t already.
this plot was fun! i was absolutely LIVING for the yearning from both of the characters: rosabelle doing what she thinks is best for james, even though it’s tearing herself apart inside, and james constantly on-edge about where rosabelle could be. it made these characters feel even more real to me!
the characters!! 🔹
speaking of the characters, these characters are basically FAMILY at this point. i WISH i knew them personally. i want to be in their little friend group. these characters mean so much to me. i sincerely hope this series never ends because i don’t want to ever have to say goodbye to these characters.
the ending!! 🩵
DUDE, WHAT WAS THAT???? WHAT IS GOING ON? i am absolutely NERVOUS! i have no idea how i’m going to wait for the next book. you’re all going to have to pray for me. this is such an insane ending, it’s criminal!
would i recommend this book? ✨
absolutely! this series is EVERYTHING to me!!
would i read it again? ✨
i already wish i could!
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