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.
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Note: For my Short ‘n Sweet Week reviews I’m going to cover three short ‘n’ sweet pieces from series that I absolutely love. They are all extra content or “bridge” works that connect the dots between stories. With extra content there is a wide range to the level of necessity of the piece to the series as a whole. For each review I’ll post a “level of necessity” rating at the bottom of my review.
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.WARNING: If you haven’t read Shatter Me, this review could very easily be spoilery. So, proceed with caution.
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After reading Shatter Me this spring, I was reeling. It blew me away with its poetic language and incredible characters. I couldn’t wait for Unravel Me. When I found out Tahereh Mafi was publishing a novella from Warner’s perspective I was thrilled. To be honest, I liked Warner in Shatter Me. Granted, he was the villain and a bit of a pyscho at times, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to him. He’s what I like to call a sympathetic villain. Now, that being said, I still wanted Juliette to end up with Adam. I was simply intrigued by the idea of understanding Warner better.
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In some ways, I am very conflicted by this novella. I loved getting to know Warner. I loved getting to see glimpses of Juliette’s journal and get a deeper understanding of her character even though she’s not really in the novella. It was very interesting to me to see his interpretations of events that Juliette and Adam saw extremely differently. It was also interesting to see the Reestablishment from the prospective of someone in power. I love the politics of this society. But most of all I love Warner. He is so broken, such a little boy in a man’s body. His life has been terrible and can relate to Juliette in that way very easily. However, he’s chosen a very different road than Juliette, despite their similar circumstances. Also very interesting is the appearance of Warner’s dad. He is the devil and can rot. I am so disgusted by him…sigh…I don’t have words for that man.
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The writing is every bit as gorgeous as Shatter Me, but it’s very different since it’s from Warner’s perspective rather than Juliette’s. While Juliette’s mind is spinning out of control, on the brink of despair and insanity, Warner is tightly controlled and managed. He examines every detail and searches every thought. He is wound tight and is rarely startled or surprised by anything. Therefore his feelings for Juliette has left him shattered and destroyed, dare I say unraveling…yes, this is intentional.
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The amazing thing about Tahereh’s writing is how she makes you feel everything the character is feeling. She throws you into the character’s mind and you go every step of the way with them. It is incredible. I felt Warner’s heartbreak, his obsession, his hurt, his past. Every bit of this story clung to me as I read.
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My conflict over the story comes from the fact that, even after reading Destroy Me and Unravel Me(I got an ARC a few weeks ago…oh my goodness, it’s incredible) and even after sympathizing and loving Warner, I still want Juliette to end up with Adam. Don’t get my wrong, I don’t want Warner unhappy or more broken than he is now, but he’s not right for Juliette in my opinion. Sigh…I’m glad these choices are not really up to me. =)
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Level of necessity: 8 out of 10 While you could read this series without this novella, you’ll understand Warner’s character and Tahereh’s character arcs in Unravel Me much better if you do. Besides, it’s awesome. =)
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Author: Tahereh Mafi
Title: Destroy Me
Series: Shatter Me, Book #1.5
Published: October 2nd 2012 by HarperCollins
Format: Ebook, 150 pages
Website: www.taherehmafi.com
Source: Purchased
My rating: 
Happy Reading!
Great review!After reading Destroy Me I’m torn between Warner and Adam too!In Shatter Me I was rooting for Adam ’cause Warner seemed really psychotic but in Destroy Me it was so hard to NOT sympathize with Warner. :/
Oh I’m totally still Team Adam. I just sympathize with Warner. Like I said, I don’t want him unhappy. I just don’t know what Tahereh’s going to do with this boy.
I love love love Warner! Thanks for the great review!
Yay! You’re welcome! Thank you for commenting!
Thanks for the review! I listened to Shatter Me recently on audiobook and loved it! I can’t wait to get my hands on anything else by Tahera Mafi. Warner is definitely intriguing so this book should be interesting. I absolutely love Adam though and will miss him here.
It’s REALLY good. =)
I just KNOW that I’m going to love Warner…but I love Adam…..GAH!!!! I need this one so bad, like yesterday.
I know, I love Adam too. Just can’t seem to let him go. =)
Thanks for the review,awesome!Can’t wait to read it!
Enjoy!
I really want to read this and understand Warner better as a character and villain. From the sounds of your review, Destroy Me fills in some of the gaps
Definitely explains some things for sure!
I loved reading Warner’s perspective. How could I not love this broken boy?! And combining this with Unravel Me is beyond intense. I agree w/ you, I love Tahereh’s writing. Thanks for the great review!
For sure. Not ready to switch teams though. =)
Even though I didn’t love Shatter Me as much as many seemed to I still really really want to read Destroy Me. Now that I see it’s from Warner’s POV I am even more curious. Can’t wait to get into that guy’s head!
It’s super awesome for that reason! Hope you love it!
thanks for a great review! I did like Shatter Me and I preordered this novella but for some reason it got pushed back on the TBR epile. Gotta go dig it out 😉
Enjoy it! It’s short so you’ll be able to read it super quick!
I read Shatter Me and LOVED it. I can’t wait to read this one. I’m super excited for the next book, too!!!
Unravel Me is so good…super intense.
I also loved the poetic language and her unique style of writing. I cannot wait to continue this series and am glad to hear that Destroy Me is good as well. Thanks for your thoughts!
Yay! Lemme know what you think as you continue on!