Watch Me Deluxe Limited Edition (The Shatter Me Series: The New Republic, 1) Hardcover – April 15, 2025

Tahereh Mafi is one of those rare authors who transforms language into emotion. Best known for her Shatter Me series, Mafi brings a unique and poetic voice to young adult literature. Her writing style is unmistakable—introspective, fragmented, and brimming with metaphors that either feel like whispers or screams, depending on the mood of the page. Diving back into the Shatter Me universe felt like slipping into an old pair of shoes—familiar and comforting after being away for a while. I tore through the original series last year, and it’s been living rent-free in my head ever since. So when this new book was announced, I was over the moon. And I’ve got to say, it really kicked things off with a bang.The characters in this world have carved out a permanent space in my heart. Every time one of the originals appeared, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling—and I was so happy to see how often they showed up in this book. I want to avoid too many spoilers, but there are two moments I have to talk about: Warner becoming officially a dad—my heart!—and the heart-wrenching news that Kenji and Nazeera have gone their separate ways. A full ten years have passed, and James, our once-little brother, is now grown. I adore him. He’s such a beautiful reflection of those who loved him, yet he’s clearly his own person. He’s torn—trying to be a protector while navigating his feelings for Rosabelle, the broken girl he’s now responsible for.Rosa really caught my attention—she’s a new character, but there’s something so layered and human about her already. She works for the Reestablishment, yet her loyalty is clearly shaken by the way her little sister Clara has been treated. It feels like her resistance is simmering just beneath the surface. We’ve only gotten a glimpse of her so far, but I can’t wait to go deeper into her story. She has the potential to carry so much emotional weight and make choices that truly matter. The dynamic between James and Rosa crackled with tension. I appreciate that their relationship leans into the slow burn—it makes the emotional payoff all the more rewarding. And when I say slow, I mean achingly so. Just as their interactions began to thaw and move away from pure hostility, everything unraveled. This is enemies-to-lovers done right: Rosa is a government mercenary who literally killed James at the start, and yet, he still approached her with care and tenderness, seeing the person beneath the mask. Their chemistry? Off the charts.The fantasy layer of this story really pulled me in. Mafi has such a unique way of structuring her worldbuilding—it’s never confusing, but there’s always just enough left in the shadows to make you lean in closer. I was burning with questions about the Reestablishment’s deeper intentions. The choice to make synthetic intelligence the antagonist was a bold move—and it paid off. I was utterly absorbed, and I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds from here. This book felt like Mafi was just vibing with her faves—she didn’t hold back on the banter, the jokes, or the sweet OG content. Plus, she turned up the heat with all that slow-burn emotional drama in the new romance. And you know what? She ate—and so did I. I was living for it.Absolutely cannot wait for the next one!😍😍

I was a bit disappointed on how short this was. The font is pretty big so even the length it seems to be is really no length at all.To the story itself, I think a lot of it was left open to dive further into over the course of the new series and I’m upset I didn’t wait 10 years to buy the full series at once so I’m not stuck on a cliffhanger book…. however, I’m looking forward to the next one.I saw a review stating how undeveloped the characters were and while I do agree, I think it helps make we want to read the next book of the series. I want to learn more about them than what was shared on a very upfront level but I do think the Rosabelle can use a lot of work. She doesn’t have much dialogue and even her inner dialogue tends to speak in a circle. At the same time, it was rough in Shatter Me when Juliette just wanted to sit and cry all the time. I like to think that Tahereh is just building up for another extremely strong, incredible female character in the upcoming books.Thank you for the read and for the whole Shatter Me series! I read them all once a year and watching Ella and Aaron fall in love over and over will forever hold a special place in my heart 💜

I just KNOW we only scratched the surface and I need the second book like, YESTERDAY.Tahereh you REALLY know how to pull on my heart strings. This was magnificent, the banter with our core group Kenji, Warner, Winston, James. I need to see more of our precious girl Juliette. I was laughing and crying over the dynamic duos. James is literally perfect, the mix of our favorite characters and it’s just 🤌🏽 I’m excited for Rosabelle’s character growth and I can’t WAIT to see how this new series is going to go and again, I need the second book YESTERDAY. I regret reading this now before the second one is out 😫Time to read the Woven Kingdom Series then I suppose!

How am I suppose to function after this book 😩. This had me in a chokehold, slammed against the wall, and held against my will. I inhaled this book like it was the oxygen I needed to breathe!! I loved this so so much 🖤We are transported 10 years into the future after the fall of the re-establishment. The original Shatter Me series was nothing but death and devastation, and in contrast this new spin off is ALL GOOD VIBES! I was giggling and laughing with joy. This was so much fun to read. The characters we loved so much from the series are all grown up now and living their best life.James is no longer the 10 year old little boy. He is now 21 and trying to prove himself as worthy as his big brother Warner. I FREAKING LOVED ADULT JAMES! He has the same sense of humor we get from Kenji with the ruthlessness we see from Warner 😍.We have a new FMC, Rosabelle, who is a child of the newly rebuilt re-establishment. She is a cold blooded assassin spy who will do anything to save her little sister Clara. She follows James to the New Republic on a secret mission to infiltrate and take it down.The tension we get from these two was EVERYTHING and I could not handle it- like I will self combust because I NEED THEM to be together and have their happy ending 😭.The author says you can read this as a standalone without reading the original series. They do briefly explain the world but I think it would have more emotional impact if you read the backstory first. The ending of the book sets up for the next book in the series and I cannot freaking wait because I was fully immersed and not ready to go!!

Tahereh Mafi is incredible and I love her words so much.

Everything’s great about the book, the quality and design… the thing is I ordered the deluxe version previous to the release, but I received just the hard cover one with none of the special stuff :(