With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.

First thing first, I would wholeheartedly like to congratulate Tahereh Mafi for getting from annoying debut novel that I barely managed to read to a pretty good dystopian trilogy with remarkable characters. I was pretty amazed after finishing this book, and realizing how far this trilogy has come. Both characters and plot, as well as Mafi’s writing, have developed in a really positive manner, gaining quality and intensity required for a good YA novel. When I think back how I almost died trying to get through the jumble of Juliette’s inner monologues in Shatter Me and all that bad romance melodrama, the ending of the third book is practically a universe away and it only shows her magnitude as an author.

After the destruction of Omega Point, there are only nine survivors left. Juliette was shot by the supreme commander Anderson – Warner and Adam’s father, and was later rescued by the healer girls and Warner himself. Juliette is done with hiding and she decides she wants to stand up for her people and strikes a deal with Warner – her abilities in exchange for his information, all in favor of their final cause – killing Anderson. After reuniting with her friends and getting them to safety in one of Warner’s bunker, their training, and preparations for taking over Sector 45 begin. Juliette is finally done with running, struck by a feeling of being made to do more, and the only way to fight back is to learn how to control her abilities and get even stronger.

This book was surprisingly intriguing considering its lack of action, generally. The highlight of it was definitely Warnerette, their slow-burning and cute romance was really intense and well-developed, but I was a little bit annoyed by the fact that it takes almost a third of the book. I get that Mafi highly values character insight and development, and tends to spend a lot of time working on relationships between them, but I don’t think that goes as an excuse for having a 400-page book with so little “events”. The plot basically revolves around the crew training at Warner’s quarters and the last few moments are dedicated to the battle (which honestly isn’t something of a battle, more of a pretty short operation). So, let’s say after all those preparations and tension-building I, personally, was really underwhelmed.

I always love it when I get emotionally connected with the characters, especially when I stop hating someone I use to. This book brought me a new love for two amazing characters: Kenji and Warner. They’re both the biggest coolers and cinnamon rolls this world has ever seen, but there’s also Juliette with her newfound fierceness that made me love her eventually.