Reviews with content warning for Blood - Believe Me

THE WEDDING! AHH! I adore Warner and this whole book was just so sweet. The WORST is when everyone basically shits on Warner like wtf. Praise Mafi for writing the wedding tho. Us peons can only dream to find a Warner.

Content Warnings

taylorswiftobsessed's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

chloelj27's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

martereadsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

angstifies's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

i’m sorry but i found this book INCREDIBLY BAD…
i decided to get this book because i had seen many people complain about the ending of Imagine Me (i bought it before i finishing the last 2 books, that’s totally on me) so i decided to read it thinking it would be a better way to end the series. i very much regret it now

this was 120+ pages of Warner being an asshole to everyone for literally no reason, being insicure about him a Juliette’s relationship (again, with no real reason), miss-communication and it also managed to make me absolutely hate Warner

also like why was (especially at the beginning of the book) Juliette acting like a literal child? she was crying when Warner wasn’t even upset, jumping around for excitement and literally getting mad at people because they called Warner “mean” when he’s been rude to everyone for (again) NO REASON since book 5!!!!! “you’re bullying him! he’s not mean don’t call him that!!” Juliette girl… she literally made me feel embarrassed for her

also this is something that made me mad since book 2 but it ESPECIALLY annoyed me after book 4 WHY DIDN’T JULIETTE CUT HER FUCKING HAIR???? there’s at least two mentions on each book on how she hates her long hair so, someone with brain cells would think “oh! i’m gonna cut my hair so they won’t bother me anymore and i won’t whine about it anymore!!” but of course she didn’t even if it’s THAT EASY. and why mention it so many times if she’s not gonna do absolutely nothing about it, literally what’s the point????

this book compared to the other six was… boring? i don’t like romance, i actually hate romance books and i never read them, but when i got the book i didn’t know it focused on Juliette and Warner’s wedding so i knew it wasn’t gonna be my favorite because i don’t enjoy romance nor weddings but then it had NEITHER. we don’t actually get anything of the fucking wedding, this book is only about Warner being an insufferable ass and Juliette acting like she’s a child

it would’ve been more interesting if we got to see the characters bonding, them dealing with the situation after the ending of book 6 and stuff like that. i wanted more Nazeera which again showed up only like ONCE, what’s the point of saying that she stayed in North America instead of going back home if she’s not gonna be in the book AT ALL??

hated how there was random and full graphic SEX, as if this isn’t a whole young adult series and how the characters/romance was handled, Warner completely lost all the characters growth he had in the past books and Juliette was so fucking annoying, don’t read this if you don’t wanna get disappointed or if you’re here to read about the wedding (which is barely mentioned)

Content Warnings

olivialandryxo's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I really like the Shatter Me series, and I was so excited for this novella. Although Tahereh Mafi kept teasers vague to avoid spoiling anyone who wasn’t up to date, those of us that had read all the books knew what this was supposed to be: a wedding novella.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get what we were promised. This was 180 pages of Warner worrying that Juliette didn’t love him, moping when things didn’t go his way, and being a complete asshole to everyone around him, interrupted only a few times by sweet moments with Juliette whenever they could get some privacy. I will say, I still really like Juliette and Warner’s relationship. I love how much they love each other, and was quite surprised (though not in a bad way) that one chapter got sexier than I thought Tahereh would make it. In that regard, I thank her for her service. 👀👏🏻

Other things I liked included Kenji, Nazeera, and Kenji and Nazeera. I was amused by both their banter, and the banter that ensued when they were with Juliette and Warner. They have a fun ensemble dynamic no matter what I think of Warner himself, which in this case meant I was pretty sick of him and wondering why he has so many fangirls in the book community. Sorry not sorry.

The novella ended with the wedding ceremony, which sounds fine, right? And it would be, except we didn’t even get to freaking see said ceremony. The last paragraph was Warner being awed (and horny) when he saw Juliette walking down the aisle in her wedding dress. I turned the page, eager for more… and saw it was an excerpt from Mafi’s 2022 release, followed by another excerpt, this one from her latest contemporary novel, and then some promotional material for the rest of the series. That’s what the last 40 pages were. Not the heartwarming wedding we’ve been waiting literal years for, or any spicy activity after the fact. Promo for the author’s other books. *sigh*

((Me realizing just how much I’ve rambled in a review for a tiny novella: 🤡))

So yeah, I think that covers everything. I hoped for a cute throwback to one of my OG favorite series, where everything not wrapped up at the end of Imagine Me and was finally wrapped up and I got one more fun time with some of my OG favorite characters. Sadly, that’s not what I got. What I got… well, it wasn’t bad, per se, but if I’m being honest, it was a letdown.

Representation

hijabi side character
side characters of color (includes Black and Japanese rep)
queer side characters (includes a sapphic couple and an achillean couple)

Content Warnings

stormywolf's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

We've finally, FINALLY come to this. The definitely-gonna-be-the-last-one FINAL book in the Shatter Me series (after 2 fake-outs already). And it's a novella (though, is 200+ pages still considered a novella?) in Warner's POV. Will we finally get the answers we crave? Will we get a satisfying ending? Or will we just get all the kissing we could ever hope for?

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, this was a great ending that had me smiling and crying at equal intervals. There is a very steamy scene in the middle, which I was not expecting, but it's not explicit in anatomical descriptions, so I'd still say it's good for older YA. I can't say for sure that this completely redeems the last book for me, but it definitely had me feeling good, and thankful, and hopeful, and teary-eyed. And for anyone who was on the fence about another novella, this is definitely a must-read for everyone who already loves the series. Now, does anyone else wish for Mafi's next book's release date to come sooner? Cause believe me, I do!

Content Warnings

More...