Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

You all know that I absolutely loved the Shatter Me series. When they announced that there would be more, I was freaking excited! While book four got some backlash, book five was a mixed bag.

I actually really enjoyed this book.

Why?

Because for the first time in the series, we see Juliette  Ella and Aaron at ease. They aren't stressed out about thing what they have to do next to save everyone. They are finally to a point where someone else is taking the reins and I love easy-going Aaron and non-nuclear Ella.

The other thing I loved. KENJI!!! We get Kenji's point of view and we find out his real feelings for Nazeera. He's super attracted to her, but he doesn't trust her. Their scenes together are humorous to say the least.

Okay, so this book, while much thinner than book four, actually gives us a lot of information. Aaron and Ella both have lots of flash backs in this book that reveals much of the past that they were not supposed to remember. Including information on Emmaline, Ella's sister. We find out just how manipulative the Reestablishment really is through Emmaline and through Nazeera.

Emmaline's power is to make people think things that she wants them to. The Reestablishment has used her to make the citizens believe that their world is well and truly ruined. That there is no way to fix the damage they have done to it. In reality, the world is very much fixable.

Speaking of fixable, Anderson is back... like.. he just won't die, guys. He apparently has some kind of power now where he can heal himself. Ella's mother did some genetic work on him and made it so he recovers from pretty deadly injuries. Aaron at one point stabs Anderson in the throat and he still manages to recover. Considering the way Anderson feels about people with abilities, I'm not really sure what to make of this development. I know he was jealous of the abilities others like Ella and Aaron and Adam have, but I don't feel that it is something his character would actually want for himself. I don't know. That' just my opinion.

Nouria is another character that we are introduced to. She is Castle's daughter who we don't get a lot of information about until this point and we even still don't get too much info on her other than she knows what the Reestablishment is doing and is trying to stop them. Her and Nazeera can be kind of confusing when it comes to which side they're on. Nouria is the reason Ella gets shot in book four. Nazeera is the reason she gets captured in book four, but they have reasons for all of this and that comes out in book five.

Like I said, a lot of people thought thi book was unnecessary, but without it, I think we would be a little lost in book six. I'm also really glad we got this book so we could see the transformation that Ella and Aaron go through. They finally seem a little more at ease. They finally seem like they know who they are as individuals and as a couple. We find out the extent of the brainwashing that they went through. The fact that they were always drawn to each other and that Aaron's obsession with her in the first book was not just random.

I really enjoyed this book. In fact I devoured it and finished it pretty much in a couple days (darn work kept me from finishing it in one). I would say this is absolutely one of my most favorite YA series. Hands down. I can't wait to see how it finally finishes.