Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Destroy Me
by Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me #1.5
Publisher: Harper
Publication date: October 2, 2012
Genre: Paranormal/Dystopia
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon 

Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me,Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

Destroy Me is all about Warner and the perfect appetizer in preparation for Unravel Me, the next book in the Shatter Me series. I love Tahereh Mafi’s lyrical writing style and was excited to learn about Warner the ruthless villain, and leader of Sector 45. This novella quickly drew me in and left me spent.

The tale picks up right where Shatter Me ended and is told from Warner’s point of view. He is injured, dealing with Juliette’s escape and traitors in his army. Mafi shares with us the many facets of Warner’s personality and we get to understand him. I spent most of Shatter Me despising Warner and in fact stated he made my skin crawl. We learned he had a dysfunctional upbringing but in Destroy Me we get a much clearer picture of what has made and drives Warner.  

Mafi is wonderful at creating characters that illicit strong emotion from me and then she twists them around and makes me see them in a totally different light. Grrr!  Warner, Warner, Warner…he loves Juliette, he is lonely, afraid and so complex. When he finds Juliette’s journal from her time in the asylum it is clear he understands her deepest fears and his emotions are so raw. Of course, he is still an egotistical maniac and truly believes he is the only one for her. I cannot believe that I now care about him, I mean honestly how did this happen?? His father and leader of this awful world is the man to fear and detest, the guy is a freak.

We get some nice world-building and a glimpse at how this dystopian came to be. We learn more about the civilians, troops and their lives. We also discover some things about Juliette and the people she is now with.  

This novella did a perfect job of preparing us for Unravel Me and I cannot wait. I recommend this to all Shatter Me fans, the insight into Warner and the world-building make this a must read. Unravel Me is due to release February 5, 2013 and I have pre-ordered my copy.

I gave this novella 4.5 coffee cups out of 5.

Review of Shatter Me