Touching

Heartwarming

Sweet

Believe Me

Tahereh Mafi — 2021

The devastatingly romantic fifth novella in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shatter Me series, chronicling the events after Imagine Me, the explosive sixth novel. Juliette and Warner fought hard to take down the Reestablishment once and for all. Life in the aftermath isn't easy, as they and their friends at the Sanctuary work with their limited resources to stabilize the world. Warner has his sights set on more than just politics. Since he proposed to Juliette two weeks ago, he's been eager to finally marry her, the person he loves more than anything and has endured so much to be with. But with so much chaos around them, it's been nearly impossible for them to have a wedding. And even Juliette has been distracted by everything they need to do. At long last, Warner and Juliette's future together is within reach, but the world continues to try to pull them apart. Will they finally be able to be happily, officially, together? Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Tahereh Mafi's bestselling Shatter Me series with Believe Me!

Reviews

Keira@keira_baker3434

Mar 10, 2025

I wish I got to see them get married ☹️

Holly Lake@holly9

Sep 7, 2024

Was a nice fluffy novella for the lead up to the wedding, the writing was very descriptive and I felt that this could’ve been cut down to half with a lot of paragraphs that weren’t important cut out

The whole book series has also had 0 spice in it at all and has been very YA but all of a sudden this novella was slightly spicy which threw me off

micki@micki

Jul 28, 2024

great way to fully end the book! i’m gonna miss all of them so much :’)

georginawarde@georginawarde

Jul 17, 2024

cute

Shannon C@shannonhaleyy

Jul 5, 2024

i liked this but for a wedding novella i’m sad i didn’t get to read about the actual wedding…

Ellie M.@arthieshelved

May 5, 2024

4.25 ⭐️ Okay my questions regarding The Reestablishment weren’t answered except that they’re just really gone like obliterated from the face of the planet and that’s it. Anyways, my time with the series has finally come to an end, and I’m definitely going to miss them. Warner and Juliette are sickeningly, strongly in love as they will always be and Kenji and Nazeera seem to be together now. Everyone seems to have gotten their happy ending after all that destruction. Let’s also not forget about Aaron and Kenji’s friendship 🤍 these idiots are going to be neighbors lmfaoooo <3 i love them

miu@miureads

May 5, 2024

** spoiler alert ** is it even Aaron's wedding day if everyone is not stressing the hell out of him then surprising him 😭 Love my girl Juliette she knows what to do 🥺

Helena@helenagher

May 5, 2024

** spoiler alert ** this was very underwhelming, but I love warner. the first part is basically just aaron in pain doubting himself, everyone treats him badly, juliette is ignoring him… something i’d thought i’d enjoy was the dog thing but apparently this warner doesn’t like dogs and is annoyed because one follows him ? made no sense also why are adam and james still strangers to him if warner said he wanted to get to know them better? it was very weird when he almost tells james, a kid, that he didn’t actually invite him to the wedding.. like come on, he’s past being that rude to a kid, to his brother. warner explaining how much the ring details meant to him and kenji helping warner at the aisle were the best things in the book. BUT HOW DARE SHE NOT GIVE US THE ACTUAL WEDDING WHEN THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A WEDDING NOVELLA???

Jess (the og)@jesszzxx

Apr 5, 2024

Not a lot happened being completely honest. Very short too.

buny@lo_efilled

Apr 5, 2024

okay so this is it. the final one i cant be stupid enough to delude myself into thinking they'll just keep piling up but goddamn. im in a very loopy haze and i WANT these to keep continuing i cannot believe i finish with such a beautiful beautiful novella of aaron finally acquiring friends and a home to call his own and a lover who'd make all of that and more possible for him💔 bc she firmly believes he deserves all of it and more💔 juliette's love for aaron seems so subdued but it's on the same par, if not more than what aaron feels for her💔💔💔💔💔 and i am a worm again just one complaint: why the fade out at exactly the wedding scene..... i'd have loved hearing the vows from both of them even tho i'd have been overwhelmed by aaron's intense emotions & feelings even tho thy were traditional id have devoured them it wouldve been so SWEET. but i guess being slightly depraved works better for me too ya know? to be in the dark abt one thing the most important that happened in warnette's lives forever and to daydream abt it and their lives afterwards stupidly (constantly) i love it thank you for everything tm (i will also be sideyeing you lot for enjoying the tasteless sex scenes bc a) i did not ask for them b) they were plain as fuck and i stand by that!)

Bry@najmanovels

Mar 10, 2024

After months of putting it off, I finally finished the series. With Believe Me, I feel that a few important moments were missing from the book. One was the burial of Emmaline. Juliette expressed her love for her sister and wanted to take her home to bury her because it was the least she could do for her. Knowing that, it would've been a meaningful moment to capture that scene and read through Juliette's emotions to discover her finding peace from her sister being able to finally rest. Since the burial was not included, we can only assume that's what happened, considering that Juliette was severely injured while taking the plane back from Oceania.

Another moment we didn't get to have was the whole scene of the wedding. The book ends just when Juliette is walking down the aisle, and I wish we could've had more of the wedding ceremony because it would've been filled with many emotions. It felt disappointing because I was expecting to visualize the entire wedding ceremony, and it didn't happen. Many moments such as the wedding vows, the exchange of wedding bands, and the first kiss as a married couple, were all left out of the book, and it would have left readers with a whirlwind of emotions as they read. Considering the book was also in Warner's POV, the readers would have experienced his emotions on a much deeper scale throughout the wedding as the ceremony was more than he ever expected it to be.

Lastly, the book could have ended in a more impactful way if there were multiple POVs or at least included Juliette's POV. Since the book focuses on the wedding planning and build-up, it would have been worthwhile to read how Juliette felt throughout the entire process since she had planned so much for Warner in secret. As readers, we had experienced reading Juliette's deepest thoughts when she was at her lowest; however, reading her experience through her happiest moment would have shown how Juliette is truly happy and looking forward to the future. Juliette was just as anxious as Warner was to get married, and reading through her stress and excitement would show how hard she worked with everyone to lead up to the big moment. In addition, it would have been a beautiful moment to read her reaction to her new dress and how she felt when all the girls were there for her to get ready. Just as we felt the heart-touching moment when Warner realized all the guys were his friends as they helped him prepare for the wedding, Juliette would have noticed how the girls were a part of her new family supporting her during this crucial moment.

While I wished all of these scenes were included, I still loved the book. The exchanged reactions of Juliette and Warner receiving their surprises from one another were beautiful and endearing. Reading how everyone worked so hard to make the wedding happen for Warner and Juliette melted my heart because, deep down, they wanted to see them happy. And when Warner wanted Kenji to stand next to him during his big moment, it showed how he always appreciated what Kenji had done for him. In the end, the book provided a sense of closure for the series, and I would hold these characters close to my heart.

This review contains a spoiler

hk@interludes

Feb 19, 2024

when the wedding novella had no wedding :(

Maggie Hotmer@maggielynn8

Jan 29, 2024

Such a cute novella. I loved reading this one from Warner's pov. It was interesting seeing how he was able to sense what others were feeling. I was so happy to see that Warner is finally getting everything he deserves. And the dog?!?! OMG, so cute!

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

Jan 25, 2024

i’m crying really hard rn

Doris Ivandic @dorisiva

Jan 22, 2024

This was absolutely heartwarming and adorable. I will forever miss them <3

adriana safia@folkluvc

Jan 13, 2024

i want to cry, can't remember how can i finished this series like i want to read again for the first time

kei hiroto@arkakei

Jan 10, 2024

perfect i cried so much i love kenji and warner and the ending was beautiful i love warnette wedding sorry im still crying this review is kinda going nowhere but i rlly rlly liked it thank you tahereh

ick@alpacamybags

Jan 7, 2024

this was wholesome

Anjorin Molayo @bookishtems

Jan 7, 2024

I literally shed a tear reading this last book. This one is like so personal to me! I loved every bit of it. Seeing Aaron so vulnerable, loving Juliette, treating her like she’s the only person on earth. God, I love him so much. I feel so happy completing this series, and sad that it actually ended. Big ups to Tahereh Mafi for delivering this masterpiece!

🦌@leann

Jan 7, 2024

NOOOOO IM DONE I LOVED THIS SERIES SO MUCHHHH💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Arianna@annaira

Jan 3, 2024

I finished the shatter me series and now I feel lost, WARNER POV IS CHEFS KISS love love love

christina amos@christinaamos

Dec 28, 2023

sobbing sobbing sobbing

🌞Laur🌞@laurb410

Dec 25, 2023

Nice having Aaron’s pov for the last book. Didn’t care for the actual plot.

This review contains a spoiler

Renata@renata_library

Dec 15, 2023

gosh now they are a family i’m so happy i could cry rn i wanted to read this sm this series is so good - “I'm the only one allowed to call her Ella now. It's just for us. A tether to our shared history, a nod to our past, to the love I've always felt for her, no matter her name.” - “To the world, she is formidable. To me? She is the world.” cried. literally. and crying bc i’ve finished the whole series in 7 days

Highlights

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

"Believe me," I whisper. "I do."

crying.

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

Im smiling now, smiling like the most ordinary of men, staring at the most extraordinary woman I've ever known.

OH YM GOD

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

She is above it. Above us all. A spark of light separated from the sun

the way he describes her in crying

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

I'd acquired friends.

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

“I'm going to marry you today. And then I'm going to make love to you until you can't remember your name."

oh my god?

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alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

“Set up without you? If I find out this was your plan all along, princess, Nazeera is going to kick your ass."

“I absolutely won't," she calls out cheerfully. "In fact, I fully support the two of you tearing off each other's clothes, ging v if that's what you've got planned!"

IM HOWLIMG

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

you" -she takes a deep breath- “you said you'd marry me right then. You said you'd marry me with my bleeding teeth, with a visibly broken leg, with dried blood on my face, with blood dripping from my ears."

i can’t do this

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alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

Kenji genuinely wants me to be happy.

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

“We’re getting married today?”

I smile at her then, smile so wide I start laughing, disbelief rendering me foreign even to myself.

This highlight contains a spoiler

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

Tentatively, I lift a hand to her head, drawing it slowly down her hair. I worry, sometimes, that my love for her will expand beyond the limitations of my body, that it will one day kill me with its heft.

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

All I want is this. Her.

Us.

the man you ARE

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

I would sleep on the cold floor of our hospital room for the rest of my life if it meant staying by Ella's side. I can forgo quiet. I can compartmentalize my need for space. My desire for privacy.

oh aaron warner the man you are

alexys <3@alexys_nickole4

I see now that I have to make something clear, so remember this: I would happily watch the world go up in flames if anything happened to her, and if that's not enough for you, you can go to hell."

YAASS

Leen@thea_sage

“believe me, i do”

🌞Laur🌞@laurb410

It’s strange of all the reprehensible things I’ve known myself to be, I’d never thought I was stupid.

Page 48

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Lisa Weidacher@liser

She does not look like she belongs in this world, or in this dingy backyard, or in this dilapidated neighborhood, or on this crumbling planet. She is above it. Above us all. A spark of light separated from the sun

Page 130

😩😩😩

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wendy@wendy_mvumbi

She's dripping wet, so gorgeous

She's soon gasping my name, her hands in my hair, at the back of my neck. She's already so wet, so ready for me;

the taste of her--it's too much.

I watch her lose herself. I can feel her legs

shaking as she cries out for more, for me,

and when she comes she stifles her scream in my hair. I'm on my feet a moment later, capturing the last of her cries with my mouth, kissing her as she trembles in my arms,

She pushes me, gently, up against the wall, kissing my throat, running her hands down my chest, my torso, and then she sinks to her knees in front of me, taking me into her mouth

Page 87

smut🤭

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wendy@wendy_mvumbi

"Kenji."

"Yes?"

"Thank you," I say, still staring at Ella. "For everything."

"Anytime," he says,

Page 177

i love theirs friendship

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wendy@wendy_mvumbi

"Thank you," I say into the silence. "For everything."

Page 148

wendy@wendy_mvumbi

"This beautiful piece of shit right here?" He gestures at the dilapidated house next door. "This one's mine."

That wipes the smile off my face.

"That's right, buddy." Kenji is grinning now. "We're going to be neighbors."

Page 144

neighbors bestie

wendy@wendy_mvumbi

I want nothing more than to strip her bare. I want to fall to my knees and taste her, make her lose her mind with pleasure. I want her to beg before I make her come, right here, in the middle of nowhere.

" really don't think you understand what you do to me, love," I say, trying to steady myself. "You have no idea how badly I want you. You have no idea what I want to do to you

right now."

Page 125

wendy@wendy_mvumbi

"I'm going to marry you today. And then I'm going to make love to you until you can't remember your name."

Page 124

wendy@wendy_mvumbi

I can feel her growing torment, her need for release as great as my own. We find a rhythm as we move. Ella hooks her legs around my waist, and she doesn't stop kissing me; my mouth, my cheeks, my jaw-any part of me she can reach--her feverish touches interrupted only by desperate pleas begging me for more faster, harder-

"Ilove you," she says desperately. "I love you so much-"

Page 89

wendy@wendy_mvumbi

"God, you feel so good," I say, hardly recognizing the ragged sound of my own voice. "I can't believe you're mine" She only moans my name in response, her arms wrapped tight around my neck as she pulls me closer.

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