Destroy Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2012
Fantasy Science fictionYoung adultRomance
The Shatter Me series’ coldest character gets a first-person voice: obsessive love, power, and the terror of being seen. Warner's voice is tight, lyrical and uneasy, with obsessive longing and dread pressing through every line.
Feels like longing, dread and curiosity. About identity, power and love.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you want Warner's side of the Shatter Me story and prefer intense interior monologue to action. It is a short e-novella set between two novels, so it assumes you already know Juliette's world and may feel slight if read alone.
Why read it
It gives you a close look at obsession and power from a character usually seen from outside, in a voice that is raw and unsettling.
A page from the book
What love feels like when it arrives as an affliction.
And I’ve fallen.So hard.I’ve hit the ground. Gone right through it. Never in my life have I felt this. Nothing like this. I’ve felt shame and cowardice, weakness and strength. I’ve known terror and indifference, self-hate and general disgust. I’ve seen things that cannot be unseen.And yet I’ve known nothing like this terrible, horrible, paralyzing feeling. I feel crippled. Desperate and out of control. And it keeps getting worse. Every day I feel sick. Empty and somehow aching.Love is a heartless bastard. Tahereh Mafi.Destroy Me was first published as an e-novella between Shatter Me and Unravel Me, narrated by Warner rather than Juliette.
Books that feel like this
More by Tahereh Mafi
Defy Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2019
A YA sci-fi romance about a girl whose touch is lethal, the boy who loves her anyway, and the fight to reclaim their own memories.
Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2011
A girl whose touch is lethal is locked away—until a boy from her past appears and her own voice becomes the dangerous thing.
Imagine Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2020
A YA fantasy romance of dangerous powers and obsessive love, told in a voice that keeps breaking into poetry and crossed-out thought.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Destroy Me for me?
- You may like it if you want Warner's side of the Shatter Me story and prefer intense interior monologue to action. It is a short e-novella set between two novels, so it assumes you already know Juliette's world and may feel slight if read alone.
- What is Destroy Me like?
- Warner's voice is tight, lyrical and uneasy, with obsessive longing and dread pressing through every line. Feels like longing, dread and curiosity. About identity, power and love.
- What should I read after Destroy Me?
- If you liked Destroy Me, try Heartless (Marissa Meyer), Quicksilver (Callie Hart) and King's Cage (Victoria Aveyard).
A taste of the feed
The moment someone tells you you've changed, and they're right.
Mind my words, Cheshire, I will have you banished from this kingdom if you tempt me.“ ”An empty threat from an empty girl.“ She rounded on him, teeth flashing. ”I am not empty. I am full to the brim with murder and revenge. I am overflowing and I do not think you wish for me to overflow on to you.“ ”There was a time“ – Cheshire yawned – ”when you overflowed with whimsy and icing sugar. I liked that Catherine better.
Heartless · Marissa Meyer
What you call a woman decides how much room she is allowed.
Don’t call her Sunshine,” he commanded. “Why not?” If Carrion’s plan was to poke the bear, then he sure as hell knew how to go about it. But Kingfisher didn’t respond to the taunting note in his question. He just cocked his head a little, nostrils flaring, and spoke in a low rumble. “Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.
Quicksilver · Callie Hart
What it means when the eyes you fear are a mother's eyes.
And his eyes are worst of all. Her eyes, Elara’s eyes. Once I thought them cold, made of living ice. Now I know better. The hottest fires burn blue, and his eyes are no exception.
King's Cage · Victoria Aveyard
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