I wanted to read Shadow Me before the release of Defy Me, and that was quite easy to accomplish. I read the majority of this novella in under an hour, and it’s confirmed that, although I love Juliette and Nazeera, Kenji is the star of the Shatter Me series.

I’m sure we all knew that already.

I love Mafi’s writing and I believe her storytelling improves with each story she writes. But if I’m being honest, I’m not sure what the point of this novella is. It’s entirely my fault for believing it takes place after Restore Me, when the synopsis clearly states otherwise. However, this was basically a 100 page rehash of the ending — and other scenes — from Kenji’s perspective, with a bit more clarification and some additional backstory on various side characters as well as the Reestablishment.

As much as I like witty dialogue and Kenji’s lovely, amusing personality, I don’t believe this was necessary whatsoever.

This novella is only 100 pages, so saying any more would likely be redundant. I’ll end this review by saying that I had fun reading Shadow Me, but I was mostly unsatisfied and will now resume waiting for the next full installment.