Shatter Me: A Journey of Strength and Rebellion Against a Dictatorship (Shatter Me: Series One, 1)

First time reading: 3.5 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy this book, although is it the best book I've ever read? No. Will I read the rest of the series? Maybe.
It took me a while to get into this narrative because I couldn't get past the author's writing. The first part of the story is descriptive...a little too descriptive. I mentioned to my boyfriend that it's just a mixture of similes, metaphors, and personification. Personally, I didn't care for that, especially when she compared herself to a raindrop. It was confusing making that connection. The other problem I had with her writing was the constant repetition of words. I didn't feel that it added to the storyline in a positive way. It just seemed like she pushed 'copy and paste' too many times.

Pros of this story-Adam. Need I say more?

Second time reading: 2 stars This time, a year and a half after the first time I read it, I decided to listen to the audio. I’m not a fan of the narrator... so that plus the fact the main character was just very self centered and she didn’t do much to pit herself in a better situation. She just depended on other people too often for her own survival... it’s just not what I look for in a heroine. Although, Adam was still my favorite aspect of the book.
P.S. my original criticisms of the book still stand true. 👌🏻

The overall theme is good but the descriptions of Juliette and Adam's interactions are a bit much. I was rolling my eyes at some of the dramatic feelings described. I don't think their love story makes sense since they didn't really know each other growing up. I listened to the audiobook but I think if I was reading this I wouldn't have finished it.

I'm a bit underwhelmed with this book. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t love it. It felt very anti-climatic and I felt like I was missing so much of the story. I enjoyed the premise and the characters I was just missing some context and depth. One reason for the lack of information could be because this is the first in the series, so not all information is going to be presented right away. Another reason would be because this is from Juliette’s perspective and she doesn’t know what’s happening therefore we don’t either. I’m overall okay with it if the series as a whole is gripping. I was confused by Juliette’s “condition” for the majority of the book and I was fairly annoyed with how weak she is portrayed. I typically prefer a strong FMC so I hope she grows throughout the series because she was a bit insufferable at times. In the end what I disliked the most was actually the writing style. I understand the POV but the repetitive writing, lack of punctuation and childish narrative was tough for me to get through at times. Even though this wasn't my favorite, I’ve heard so much about this series so I am very much looking forward to seeing what happens in the next books!

Perfect amount of romance and plot! The writing is refreshingly different from other YA books!

Loved the language--incredible metaphor on every page.