Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

1.5 in the Shatter Me trilogy

5 stars

Destroy Me follows Warner, the villain of Shatter Me, who may not be such a villain after all. Warner is recovering from his near-fatal wound at the base. His soldiers are disappointed not because he was hurt, but because he didn’t die. Warner must make sure that they don’t rebel against him or the Reestablishment. Warner is becoming more obsessed with Juliette and the arrival of Warner’s father, has plans for Juliette, Adam, and Kenji. He’ll make sure that no mistakes go unfixed and he plans on fixing them. I wanted to read Destroy Me before Unravel Me because it seemed like it would be a key part to the story in Unravel Me. I haven’t picked Unravel Me up yet, but plan to soon (months from now with the schedule I have). Destroy Me in my opinion was far better than Shatter Me. If you didn’t really like Shatter Me, but want to know if this trilogy is worth continuing then pick up Destroy Me. I feel like even though Destroy Me is a novella it really set a bar for where Unravel Me could go. One thing reading Destroy Me made me realize is that I strongly dislike Juliette and her voice, but more on that later. Mafi is known for her purple prose, which either I love or hate. I have a rollercoaster ride of emotions toward Mafi’s writing. I can never decide if I truly like her writing or not. This novella proved to me that Mafi can definitely write. She can write not only beautifully, but she can also write about a character that I’m actually invested in and care about. This is both a pro and con. Why is it a pro? Because there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll enjoy Mafi’s future works. Why is a con? Because the character I’m emotionally invested in isn’t the character that has a POV in the books aside from this novella. This also makes me hesitant about the trilogy now that I’ve realized this. I definitely loved Destroy Me, but I’m not sure if I’ll love Unravel Me because I only liked Shatter Me enough to want to continue the series. At the same time, Destroy Me has me excited to pick up Unravel Me and see if Mafi has progressed in her writing.


The main male character is Warner. I have been Team Warner from the start. I, of course, have a thing for the bad boys. I do like Adam though, but Warner is where it’s at and if Juliette doesn’t end up with him, I’ll gladly take him. In Shatter Me, we had a glimpse of his dark past, but I think it was brought to light more in Destroy Me. I adore Warner and find his character be complex and one that I would gladly read more about. I’m also looking forward to Chapter 62 in Unravel Me because I love Warner.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 9

So, while Juliette isn’t exactly present in this novella, her diary entries are. Remember how I briefly mentioned that I didn’t like Juliette. Well, her journal entries made me realize how much I hate Juliette because she is nothing but annoying purple prose. As I’ve said, Mafi can write, but Juliette brings her writing down and makes her seem childish. I am not the biggest Juliette fan as it is, but these journal entries didn’t make me like her any more. They didn’t make me hate her more, but I just feel brief passes of sympathy towards her. She’s okay and nothing to brag about. In fact, if she didn’t have this power she would be just another victim of the Reestablisment.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 7

The Villain- Destroy Me introduces the actual villain in this world. It isn’t Warner or the monster we think him to be, but the monster that shaped Warner, his father. I have a strong dislike towards his father and his cold-bloodedness towards killing innocent people makes me uncomfortable. This is what I like in a villain. As a human, he’s terrible, but as a villain, he’s what writers should try to aspire to.

Villain Scale: 8

There were a few good quotes in Destroy Me that I really liked and feel like leaving in my review:
“I want to leave this worn body behind, but my chains are too many, my weights too heavy. This life is all that’s left of me. And I know I won’t be able to meet myself in the mirror for the rest of the day.”-Warner
“It’s a strange thing, to never know peace. To know that no matter where you go, there is no sanctuary.”- Juliette’s diary (which is surprising that I actually liked a quote from a passage)
I definitely recommend Destroy Me for fans of Shatter Me and skeptics as well. I think this novella will make or break your decision to give Unravel Me a shot.


Cover Thoughts: These covers are so gorgeous. I really like this one, but not as much as the Unravel Me cover and definitely not as much as the Ignite Me cover (which is absolutely gorgeous).