Review for Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi

4.5 Stars. Warren has won me over. I loved the relationship between Warren and Juliette in this book. Honestly, though, it was really all there was to the book. The rest of the plot, including Juliette’s plans to overthrow the Reestablishment felt kind of thrown together. In fact, the actual plan they devised to take Anderson out didn’t even sound like it would work.  However, I enjoyed seeing the characters interact and grow so much, I honestly didn’t care what they were doing. I just wanted to see more of these characters.

I ate up every page of this and it became my favorite of the series. I liked seeing Juliette’s friends slowly change their mind about Warren. There were some interesting moments between him and them. And we get to see new sides to all of their personalities, which I loved.

I did wish by the third book that we would have known more about where Juliette and the other’s powers had come from. There’s a lot of background that I’d been waiting to find out and it’s really never explained. But, this book really does make all the decisions that Juliette made in the first two books make sense. You can see the full spectrum of her character development in this book and who she is finally all comes together.

While this book didn't feel like it hit the mark plot wise, Juliette's character development was so prefect and her growing relationship with Warren so captivating I loved it all the same. If what you liked most about the first two books were the characters and relationships, this will not disappoint.

Read my Review of Shatter Me
Read my Review of Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)

Book Trailer for Unearthed after Sunset

In the Valley of the Sun, Beware of Vampires

When Greg Erickson is killed by sultry and seductive vampire Lila, he wakes up cold and alone in a wooden box. After clawing his way out he finds himself thrust into a vampire turf war, unsure of exactly what he’s fighting for. Greg discovers that it’s not easy to be human one day and hunting humans the next, and while his new vampire cohorts try to get him to accept his newfound existence there’s one girl from his human life he’s unable to forget.

Unearthed after Sunset comes out fall of 2015.

Add it to your Goodreads to-read list:

Watch the trailer below.

8 Things I've Never Told You

Today I'm sharing all my secrets.

I post a lot of book reviews and writing tips. I often talk about the books I'm writing, but I haven't written a personal post in a while. Blogging isn't just about sharing information, it's about sharing your personality. Some of my favorite blogs are my favorites, not because of the subject matter they discuss, but because of how it's discussed. A blogger's voice, the person behind the words, that's what makes me read one blog over another.

So, today I'm sharing a few things with all of you about who I am.

Also, I think the best way to create a believable character is to truly know what makes a person who they are. It's easy to write a list of likes and dislikes. Which, is something many of us do when creating a character, but who they are goes deeper than that. Maybe finding out a little more about me will help you write deeper characters.

A doddle I doodled way back when

I have two dogs, that I love, but I think I might secretly be a cat person. I love my dogs. I do, but cats are so independent. They don't need to be taken for walks, and they certainly don't tug on the leash when they run after a squirrel.

My most prized possessions are not the things I've bought with my own money, but things that I couldn't have bought at all. My favorite things include a (perfectly seasoned) cast iron skillet, passed down to me from my great grandmother, and a stack of letters my boyfriend used to write me when we were first dating.

I don't want to be connected to social media 24/7. If it wasn't for my writing I probably wouldn't use social media at all. I don't think everyone needs to know what I'm doing every second of the day. I don't want my car and my phone and my Facebook and whatever else to all sync together. I don't want my GPS telling people where I am when I send out text messages. I'm not trying to hide anything, I just don't think it's anyone' business. (The only exception is my Kindle. I love that if I read something on my Kindle I can pick up in the same place on my smartphone the next day.)

I love being scared. I like horror movies, horror as a book genre, and just scary stuff all around. I grew up reading Stephen King, and though I really enjoy writing YA, I would love to write something dark and terrifying (and may have something like that in the works).

In my day job I work in youth services with at risk kids and teens. I would love to work full time as a writer, but since that isn't quite paying the bills yet, what I do now feels like the next best thing. I have a BA in Psychology and spend my days working with kids who either have cognitive disabilities or behavioral problems, and I love what I do.

I hate peanut butter cookies. Love peanut butter, love cookies, hate when the two come together. Honestly, I don't know what that's all about. I've just disliked them ever since I was a kid, and there's a lot of things I used to dislike as a kid that I've grown to enjoy, but peanut butter cookies just aren't one of them.

I truly enjoy reading indie books. I don't just support indie books because I'm an indie author and I want you to buy my books. I honestly enjoy reading indie books and try to make an effort to read just as many indies as I do traditionally published books.

I think I was born in the wrong era. I think I should have been born in the late sixties / early seventies. I hate Reality TV, I'd rather watch M*A*S*H. I'd trade 90% of the music they play on the radio to listen to The Stones or The Doors. There is no movie in existence that quite captures the drama of high-school like 80's flicks such as The Breakfast Club, or 16 Candles; and, well, you already read about how I feel about being connected to social media.

Reasons why Books are Better than TV

There's a reason we see TV shows and movies that are based on books and not the other way around. Simply put, books are better, and here's ten reasons why.

1. Books do not have commercials.

2. Books don't need to fit into a 45 minute time slot. They can be as long or as short as the story needs to be.

3. Reading improves your vocabulary. Watching TV decreases your attention span.

4. There are no special effects that your mind cannot create, and they never look cheesy in your head.

5. Saying you read a lot of books makes you sound smart. Saying you watch a lot of TV makes you sound lazy.

6. You don't have to worry about your favorite characters getting fired or quitting in your favorite books.

7. Books get you inside a characters head in a way that TV simply can't do.

8. You don't have to worry if your favorite book series are going to be canceled.

9. Books aren't censored. Characters can say or do whatever they need to in order to move the story forward without worrying about the FCC.

10. There is something beautiful about the written word that TV simply can't capture.



What do you think? Do you prefer to read over watching TV?