Ignite Me

By: Tahereh Mafi

Narrated by: Kate Simses

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, best-selling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called "a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love."

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world...but that’s not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks." Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.

©2014 Tahereh Mafi (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

“Rip-roaring adventure and steamy romance scenes, with a relationship teens will root for as much as they did for Bella and Edward. Inventive touches propel the story, such as strikeouts that reveal Juliette’s inner thoughts. The final chapters leave Juliette, Adam, and Warner well poised for round two.” ( Booklist)

Stunning conclusion!

Would you listen to Ignite Me again? Why?

Oh yes. So well written, such good vocal work, such a wonderful turn and redemption for the characters!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ignite Me?

Oh all the steamy moments between Juliette and Warner. And Juliette's evolution. Sooooo good!

Which character – as performed by Kate Simses – was your favorite?

My darling Kenji. What a great character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cheered for the ending! I want more!

SO PROUD OF JULIETTE!!!

What made the experience of listening to Ignite Me the most enjoyable?

EVERYTHING! The writing, the narration...the story...I loved it!

What other book might you compare Ignite Me to and why?

its kinda like a hunger games-divergent mix...but very unique on its own account...this is a beautiful series...and the ending was good!

Which character – as performed by Kate Simses – was your favorite?

Juliette first, then Warner...Kate Simses is an excellent narrator...I could listen to her all day long!!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh I practically did....lol if I didn't have to sleep, I would have!!

Any additional comments?

I was never team Warner till I did my re-listen of books 1 and 2...and then this book sealed the deal...I was appalled by Adams behavior, and proud of Juliette for finally getting a back bone...I knew she had it in her...I loved this series very much...I am sad to see it end...I hope this author writes more books, because she is truly gifted with words...I have and will continue to recommend this series and I will be listening to it again!! 2 thumbs up!!!

Excellent Finish To A Great Series

I never thought I'd give a 5-star review for a book with practically no plot and a bunch of fairly unlikeable characters. But it is a testament to author Mafi's skill that I was completely engrossed throughout the entire series. Yes, it is by no means a perfect collection; but the few faults are far outweighed by the emotional pathos and character development across the entire story arc. And well, there's Kenji - one of the funniest (and most fun) 'best friend' in any book I've ever read. I'd never have thought I'd be laughing as much as I did from Kenji's scenes. Anyone who stopped at book 1 is advised to give book 2 a chance - just for Kenji.

Plot: Omega Point is destroyed, the survivors living desperately, and Juliette has been safely hidden in Warner's compound apartment. In the time spent recuperating from being shot by Anderson, Juliette comes to a greater understanding of herself and the true nature of Warner. But Adam, Kenji, and the rest can't understand her new trust/respect of their hated enemy. And quite frankly, Warner doesn't even care. For him, it's all about Juliette and everything else is irrelevant. But together, Juliette and Warner will bring the survivors together and form a plan to take out the supreme commander and exact revenge. If they don't kill each other first.

Surprisingly, despite an abrupt end (the action ALL takes place in the last 10% of the book), it finishes in a satisfying manner. But what really set this book and the series apart for me is that there was so much character growth and contemplation of human nature. Most of Ignite me is Juliette coming to understand herself, about Warner's true nature, Adam and puppy love, and about the true meaning of strength. Anyone who has read the two novellas that proceeded this book will already know Juliette's conclusions about her relationships with Adam and Warner. It is all smartly written and for once, I really appreciate that a character understands WHY she loves someone and why they would love her back.

I think a series like this hits several sweet spots for me simply because I appreciate emotion when done correctly and a romance that isn't what it seems. If anything, a lot of the book is showing the negative aspects of a relationship and how easy it is to be confused and to be weakened by the wrong partner. Considering most YA teen books are about first loves and far too perfect matches (with no understanding of why the characters are even attracted to each other) Shatter Me really stood out.

The let downs? I wish the x-men subplot had been jettisoned (the "Juliette super hero spandex suit was back in this book, sadly). It drew the attention away from the pathos and that was both a distraction and a frustration. The book could really have stayed focused on emotion and development rather than superheroes and physical strength.

In the end, a tale of obsessive love, introspection, and a far from perfect (set) of love interests kept me hooked and eagerly reading. This was definitely not a story about either a dystopian landscape or insta-perfect-love. It's all about Juliette's growth from a shuttered, shattered, broken soul into a strong and independent person who learns her own strengths.

Note that I listened to the audible version of this book and the narration was excellent. The narrator did an good job and the producer/narrator really deserve a raise for the smart choices made to bring this version to oral form.

I look forward to Mafi's next series.

OMG!!

I don't know how to review this without giving away things, but ohhhhhhh sooooo good. Wish there was more!! Great!!

I Hope You Are Writing Another Book

I cannot say enough about this author! I want another book! It could be a follow up to this series or a brand new story, but I sincerely hope she is writing as I type this!

I also thought the narration was dead on! Fantastic performance.

For parents: This series is very dark and violent with a lot of sexual content. For older teens perhaps.

Pretty Good

Actual Rating 3.5 Stars

My Initial Reaction...
Overall, I really enjoyed Ignite Me and I'm mostly happy with how the trilogy wrapped up. I do have a few gripes though...

The Narration...
One of my gripes is most definitely NOT the narration. Kate Simses knocked this series out of the park for me and I would pick up a book she narrated without thinking twice. She mastered the poetics of the writing, while still giving characters unique voices full of personality.

The Characters...
This is my gripe. Who are these people? I just spent 2 books and 2 novellas getting to know Juliette, Adam and Warner and then all of a sudden they emerged in Ignite Me with traits that I didn't see coming at all. It's like they just all jumped this big chasm without warning me and so I fell down it instead of jumping with them.

The most believable and least changed for me was Warner. I've always liked him and knew that there was this side of him that we just hadn't seen. And Warner is probably the reason I liked Ignite Me as much as I did. I seriously enjoyed seeing him get a LOT more vulnerable and really letting everyone see how amazing I already knew he was. We're seeing some emotion and a lot of love from Warner in Ignite Me and it's not just for Juliette.

Juliette has pulled a 180 on us. Shy, insecure, slightly off girl is gone replaced with confident, kick ass chick. In general, I'm okay with this. I like my women strong and confident. But holy cow - am I supposed to believe people change that much overnight? One of the biggest tells was a literary device that completely disappeared in Ignite Me - no more scratching out of thoughts. Juliette, who used to scratch out almost every thought she had is now so confident that not once in the entire book did she scratch out a thought. I wish I could gain that much confidence over night! My deal is the believability factor. Not only did I have trouble believing that she could become so incredibly confident in such a short span, but I really struggled to accept that everyone else would just accept it. I mean this girl was afraid of her own shadow weeks ago and now you expect me to believe everyone's suddenly going to be okay just following her? Because I'm supposed to believe that this 17 year old girl who's been OBLIVIOUS to the world is now the BEST person to run it? Sorry, I would have qualms! Believability aside, at least I DID like this new Juliette. She's pretty kick ass, and confidence is sexy...

Too bad I can't say the same for Adam. I never was a big fan of the guy - he had a serious hero complex and was way to protective. But he wasn't a bad guy, so when did he become a total ass hole? I swear the teenage angst that suddenly appeared in this trilogy all due to his break up with Juliette was almost unbearable. I actually felt like this book could have been more appropriately titled How to Take Your Breakup Like a First Rate Ass. I don't know who this new Adam is, where he came from, or how I'm supposed to believe he had a complete personality transplant...

All that aside - I still loved Kenji. Adam's little brother James and Warner had some seriously great moments. The characters in general weren't bad, just not the same people I met and grew to know.

The Story...
The story for Ignite Me was solid, for the most part. I could have done without the relationship drama and resulting teenage angst. But I really enjoyed the development of powers - across the board, not just Juliette - though her developments most certainly were the most bad ass. Warner's probably should have been, but they didn't get the attention they deserved IMHO.

I did have a couple problems. Again there's that believability factor I already mentioned - especially as it pertains to Castle. I could SORT OF believe that all these kids would follow Juliette, but Castle? What was with him? I was also bothered by references to things like Jet Li and the Power Rangers. It felt really out of place - here you've convinced me that we're living in this to dystopian world so fully separate from our world and then BAM! you throw in references that just don't fit for me.

Concluding Sentiments...
I feel like I spent this review gripping and I feel bad about that because I did really enjoy this book. I couldn't put it down and read it super fast. I just wanted it to be MORE epic. The first two books and two novellas were so good and I just felt like Ignite Me didn't live up to the books that preceded it.

Great Conclusion !!!

Would you listen to Ignite Me again? Why?

Mmmmm.... yes I would.
The 3 books in the serie are very good, although there were times in the story that I got very annoyed with the characters specially Adam and sometimes Juliette too.
But Warner definetily overshadowed the other two. What an amazing character !!!
I wouldn't have given 4 stars to the book if not for Warner.

What did you like best about this story?

I love dystopians. Everything about the end of the world as we know it, a new regime and how the main characters survive the challenges set upon them is very apealing to me.
So for that reason only this books had me from the first chapters of the first book add to that the well develope plot, the settings and the interaccion between the 3 main characters and you couldn't go wrong with the books
This was a good ending for the trilogy.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Julliete finally tells Warner how she feels.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes there were several.
The best one for me was the ending.
I simply love happy endings.

To Much Angst for Me!

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 2.50
Story Rating: 3.00
Character Rating: 2.00

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Part 3 of the Series Review: Maybe spoilerish though not on purpose. I just want to be as specific as I can why Ignite Me didn't work for me.


First Thought when Finished: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi was a little to heavy on the romance and "woe is me" angst for me to enjoy but I did enjoy books 1 and 2.

Part 3 Thoughts:

I swear I have decided that it is me not Dystopian series at this point! They sale like hot cakes and the endings seems to be a favorite of most everyone but me. Which BTW is not a bad thing, I love that there are books out there for every reader! I have decided that I need adult dystopian with no triangle and the last book should be dedicated to kicking ass, changing the world, and maybe getting the one guy/gal that you have been attracted to the whole journey(or at least going out in a blaze of glory). This is the 3rd YA one that I have read and rated the last book a 2. In each of those cases it was because the characters (or character) did something so unlike how I saw their character in my mind that it made me scream. In this case, the only character that I felt stayed on target was Kenji and he wasn't a main "3" player. I felt the complete 180 of Adam's personality (which I must admit I did not read the novellas which might have changed my mind) was out of left field and didn't make much sense to me. Warner while I find intriguing and would love get one of those people from Investigation Discovery channel to sit down and analyze was another "bad boy" who wins scenario. I believe in fresh starts and second chances but there are big issues that needed to be addressed in this case. Juliette--what can I say? She is bad ass unless she is wrapped up in angst which unfortunately was most of Ignite Me! Problem: Kenji wasn't around enough to put a stop to that ridiculousness. The actual bare-bones story part of Ignite Me I thought was pretty good and the end was actually satisfying. I wish more time would have been spent on that instead of the relationship drama. I think the action and suspense could have blown me away.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Kate Simses / Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins


Kate did a wonderful job. I thought she encompassed all of Juliette, Warner, and Adam. She brought to life their emotions (maybe a little too well) and nailed the pacing of each of them. Great Job overall!

Final Thoughts: If you are a fan of dystopians then I do think you should give this world a whirl. Please go read other people's reviews because there are some great ones out there. I think they are more the audience that enjoys these stories and a more accurate reflection of how most people will feel. I just had to be honest about my feelings.

Wow-Everything I hoped and more! Excellent!

What did you love best about Ignite Me?

The relationship between Juliette and Warner. Probably the best chemistry between two YA characters since Edward and Bella....only better!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ignite Me?

Duh! When Juliette finally gives in and tells Warner she loves him.

What does Kate Simses bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She does Warner's voice perfectly. Often women can't do the guy's voice very well, but Warner's voice is very......Warner.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! This was the hottest YA book I've ever read. In fact, my 12 year old read the first 2 and I'm not sure I want her to read the last one. It is really pretty graphic. But Tahereh Mafi knows how to write scenes with sexual tension without dragging it out too long. She also did a great job of not making it all about romance.

Any additional comments?

Why are they making movies out of YA Books like Beautiful Creatures, Divergent, and Mortal Instruments and NOT this series. It is way better.
Best ending to a series I've ever read! ...........and maybe there'll be a 4th? Maybe???!

FINALLY a GOOD YA Dystopean Ending

Why it is that whenever you find an awesome Dystopean trilogy, the third books always sucks? *cough Hunger Games, Delirium, Divergent cough*
Since I've been dying for this conclusion, I forced myself to NOT get excited. So much disappointment in the past has traumatized me. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
Mafi somehow managed to fix everything I hated about the first two books within this one. She wasted no time focusing on things I really didn't care about, and she left me with the only complaint that it is OVER. :(

Okay, now I'm going to dive into a few spoilers.

As far as the love triangle goes, was there really any question who she would choose? The title is "Ignite Me". It's not little bird or whatever Adam has tattooed. It's Ignite Me. Boom. I mildly wish I would have re-listened to the first two books, so maybe I wouldn't be so Pro-Eric. But, who could seriously ship Adam in this one?

I have to admit that Warner's reasons for being so evil to J come off as a little excusey, but we have to take into consideration who our narrator is. Juliette (I'm pretty sure she spells her name differently than this, but since I've only listened to the audiobook, I have no clue) was not a reliable narrator. She was a MORON in the first two books. She was so helpless and pitiful that it makes perfect sense that she would create Warner as an evil dude...Well maybe Warner created that for himself, but whatever. J is the problem Mafi fixed by the way.

She was pretty badass in this one. Finally. Sheesh, only took killing her to make her grow a backbone. It is a little doubtful that a 17 year old could successfully take over the world, but I could not bring myself to care. I wanted her to do it. I don't care about the logistics. I don't live in this world. I just want my protagonist to take over the world.

Now I'm going to gush about my absolute favorite character: Kenji! HE'S AWESOME. I literally laughed out laugh with his comments in this one. It was kind of embarrassing laughing at my ear buds. A part of me wishes he could have ended up with J. How cool would that have been? How many love triangles end with with the girl jumping ship and getting with the random? It would have been epic. I wouldn't have minded if Eric turned out to be a sociopath. I didn't necessarily ship him, but he's less sucky than Adam.

Speaking of Adam, how perfect was Juliette's speech about breaking up with him? I loved that. It perfectly describes EVERY first love. She only fell for Adam because he was the first dude to give her attention/TOUCH her. She needed someone to inspire her, and he couldn't do it for her anymore. (Reference to Delirium::::::: Lena & Alex, anyone?) I appreciated how Mafi spared her readers from having a huge internal struggle over which guy she should chose. It was decided early on, and decided for the right reasons.

Lastly, I simply can't leave a review on audible without mentioning the brilliant performance by Kate Simses. She is fabulous. She portrays the soft and frail voice of Juliette perfectly. She somehow makes her voice sexy for Warner. And I'm still freaked out by how her James voice literally sounds like a little kid.

Reader's awesome, author's awesome, characters are awesome, ending's awesome