Alright so, like. I know the relationships in this entire series are bad but I just have to come down harder on this book. Edward was far worse -- disabling Bella's car so she can't go where she wants because he doesn't want her to go there? But holy shit was Jacob so, so, so much worse than Edward between the sexual assault and literally threatening to kill himself if Bella didn't kiss him.

This is actually my favorite movie, but they really tone down the bullshit both love interests pull, and it was infuriating in the book. Oof.

There were some ways in which this one was better (honestly I thought most of it was better. Meyer had 10 years to hear the criticism and think about what she would change and I think the book is somewhat better for it). The end though... it's not even the plot change in the end but more that Meyer kind of had to infodump a lot of stuff that we learn in the next three books into about the last three chapters which wasn't...ideal. But anyway. Good times had by all.

Mostly, though, this is Exactly The Same Book. I knew this going in so I wasn't expecting a retelling, but I think it's important to know that going in. Up until the last 5-10%, it's the same book, with extremely minimal changes that I think were actually an interesting examination of gender roles. Significant chunks of it read like Meyer just replaces pronouns and names, and if you know that going in, I don't think that makes it bad (it's meant to be a thought experiment to celebrate the 10th anniversary for fans, not a whole new thing).

Yeah uh I stand by the five stars I gave this book the first time around.

Warner has my whole heart and I love watching Juliette finally finally grow out of her timid facade. She has such amazing potential as a character that I feel was kind of wasted in Unravel Me and I’m so glad that it shines through here.

Shoutout to Alexa for buddy reading this reread with me.

I totally understand why the reviews have been so mixed for this -- even as someone who liked Restore Me and Defy Me, Imagine Me felt like a slight step down. There was so much weirdness going on, but let's be honest about what I was here for. I wanted Warnette to make my heart happy. I wanted a satisfying ending to a series I've been reading for something like six years. While I would have liked a little more conclusion (seriously? the book just...ends and then we get two short chapters of epilogue which isn't enough I needed to know what happened with the government and with Adam and with Kenji and Nazeera and ugh), this was what I wanted.

Coming back to this series in the past year when it had once been simply a trilogy I read a long time ago has been an interesting experience for me, but one I've found deeply nostalgic. Honestly, I've enjoyed being able to revel in that nostalgia while still being excited about new content. So, anyway. I'm happy with this final installment.