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Could you please recommend a book similar to that of The Selection by Keira Cass??

Similar to the level system, I would suggest Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Divergent by Veronica Roth or Match by Allie Condie. With the secret love thing, Delirium by Lauren Oliver.-Kat

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Sorry for not posting!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks! I have just started graduate school so I've been a bit busy and trying to acclimate, so please be patient!

♥️♥️📙📚♥️♥️

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Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me, the third book by Tahereh Mafi in the Shatter Me series, was absolutely enthralling! I found the plot and the characters thoroughly flushed out and believable as real people.

As the third, and what had been planned as the final book, in the series, the plot and action really began to pick up. I thought Julietta was finally becoming the character I wanted to see her as. She finally began fighting for herself, as well as the future she always dreamed someone ELSE would bring.

The other characters, especially Kenji and Warner, became even more likable and entertaining. I felt like these two began to become the most complex characters within the story (other than Juliette).

The only issue I had a with this story was the high school drama. The issues with the love triangle between Juliette, Adam, and Warner was honestly exhausting. I felt so much annoyance FOR Juliette as she had to deal with everything. But once that drama was finally resolved, the rest of the story was great.

I give this book 4.9 🌟 out of 5 stars!

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Currently Reading: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me, the third book in the Shatter Me series, by Tahereh Mafi follows Juliette, a seventeen years old girl. There are only a few things she knows. Her friends are fighting a hopeless war. She's been shot and saved by a boy who should be her enemy. Her touch is lethal. And she is and will no longer be afraid.

Juliette, with the help of Warner, must find her friends, start a revolution, and kill Anderson, the Supreme leader of the Reestablishment in North America.

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Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium, the first in the post apocalyptic triliogy by Lauren Oliver, was pretty good. The book's concept was a bit odd to me. In a world in which love is seen as a disease, Lena finds herself falling for a mystery boy, Alex.

It was a typical love story, filled with hurt, confusion, over-the-top declarations of feelings (which for the theme of the book made sense) and inner turmoil. The main character was the average girl who did exactly what she was told, until falling in love.

None of this is a bad thing. I actually really liked the story once I got through the first 30-50 pages. I found the idea of love as a disease needing to be suppressed and "cured" a bit like Equilibrium, where all feelings are suppressed with a pill.

However, once I got into it and once Lena began to question society, the story really began to pick up. I found myself frustrated for her as she started to question and learn secrets the government desperately tried to hide. And the action towards the end of the story really captured my attention, making me desperately want to read the sequel to know the dates of Alex and Lena.

One thing I will say is an issue with the book is the predictable characters. Alex was the knight in shining armor, Lena was the quiet girl who finds her voice, and her best friend Hana was the pretty girl with a rebellious spirit who is all talk. However, this did not stop me from enjoying the story or feeling empathy for the characters and their problems.

All in all, I give this book 4 🌟 out of 5 stars!

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Currently Reading: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

In the far future, scientist have finally diagnosed the deadliest disease: amor deliria nervosa, aka: LOVE. Now diagnosed, there is mandatory cure given to the citizens of the world before they can fall back into the hatred and delusions that comes with the disease of love.

Lena Haloway has always looked forward to her cure date. Not only will she be cured of being able to love, but she will be given her assigned college, job, and husband.

However, when her friend, Hana, begins to question the cure and the government, Lena can't help but get nervous. Questioning the cure is a capital crime. On top of that, there is a mystery boy Lena seems to see every times she turns around.

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Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oaks

Queen of Hearts, the first book in the trilogy, by Colleen Oaks was absolutely heart breaking. The book took a little too long to get into, but once the plot picked up, it was a quick read. The plot was filled with sorrow for Princess Dinah, intrigue for the mystery of random notes appearing, and several riddles.

The characters were interesting, especially when thinking about the original story by Lewis Carroll. However, the father had absolutely no redeeming quality about him. He was an evil man from beginning to end. However, every other character were likable or understandably creepy.

The only issue I really had wish this book was the fact that there was never a moment that DIDN'T make you feel bad for Dinah. There wasn't really a chapter in which you felt happy for her, because everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. That made the book a little hard to read through, only because I kept wanting to put the book down out of frustration for Dinah

With all that said, I am absolutely excited for the second book!

I give this book 4 ⭐ out of 5 stars

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July Favorite

My absolute favorite books this month had to have been Shatter Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi! The books were so different from current books I've read. The poetic take on internal monologues was interesting and the X-men- Rogue-like power was sad but enthralling to see Juliette deal with.

I would DEFINITELY recommend this series. And I'm excited to read the last two books this month!

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Currently Reading: Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oaks

The Queen of Hearts is the evil, blood thirsty, woman from Alice and Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. However, is there more to her story? Taking place at the age 16, Dinah, princess of Wonderland, is getting ready to take the throne beside her cold and distant father. However, a few years before her coronation, the King of Hearts introduces his long lost daughter, Vittiore, to the kingdom. Angry, abandoned, and confused, Dinah must try to keep her head held high and her eyes on the throne.

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Please help!

I need idea about what to write about on Wednesdays for this blog. So PLEASE if you have ideas that are book or writing related, please let me know!

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Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Unravel Me, the sequel to Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi, was so good! I felt like this book was a faster read than the first book, but not I'm a bad way. The storyline was gripping, the characters were realistic, and the secondary love-drama was both annoying but also relatable.

The characters each felt more real within this story, than in Shatter Me. Unlike the first book, Unravel Me shared more of the flaws within each character that wasn't explored within the first. These flaws made all the characters feel more dimensional. I still find myself drawn most to the "villian" of the book than I do with the love interest, Adam. This, in my opinion, is a good thing if you can relate and feel sympathy for the bad guy.

The action and drama within Unravel Me was absolutely enthralling. I was speeding through this book simply because I couldn't stand NOT reading it. Every page kept me entertained as well as anxious for Juliette and the members of Omega Point.

I give this book 4.8 stars ⭐ out of 5

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Researching For Stories

One of the BEST and WORST things about writing, in my opinion, is researching. Research is crucial in any writing that you do. Unless you're writing a autobiography, most books in some way need backup information.

I know personally, I am probably on a watch list from some things I've looked up (hahaha). I've written stories before that involved needing to know what kind of items make a homemade bomb, common poisons that can't be tasted, and plenty of things about drugs.

The worst thing about research, to me, is how insanely long it can take. Research is such a time consuming activity in which you're reading plenty of websites, 1-3+ books, and watching movies, all while writing ONE book/story. It can be so crazy and overwhelming to be looking over so much information for even a single chapter.

The best part of researching is just the knowledge you can get from it. Personally, I've learned so many things about history from researching small things for books or stories. (Not just the bad stuff I listed before). I am someone really big on meanings behind a lot of things in stories, like flowers, names, colors, and animals. I don't do it for EVERYTHING, but I really do enjoy having a certain meaning behind a name that fits the character. I feel that that's something cool that I learn with every story I write.

Right now, I'm doing a LOT of research for a book I'm hoping to write that takes place in 19th century England. I spent over a week with pure research (this is a topic I've been interested in since I was a kid, so I already had A LITTLE background knowledge), yet I still find myself pausing every few pages just to look up more information. Because of this, it makes writing a story take a long time, which can be frustrating, but so rewarding.

What is your favorite subject to research, for fun or work?

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Currently Reading: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

After escaping the Reestablishment, Juliette, Adam, Kenji, and James are looking to Omega Point to aid them in learning more about Juliette's ability and the plans of Warner and his father. With tension growing in the slums, Omega Point knows a war is bound to start. The Reestablishment's power is lossening and their is no way to avoid what is coming next.

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The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom was pretty good. I usually don't read a ton of realistic fiction anymore. I find fantasy or mystery more entertaining, but this book was so good.

The characters: Levinia, Belle, Papa, Mama, the twins, Marshall, and Meg, all felt so realistic. Each character had layers that made them so relatable. The "villian" of Marshall even had a past that made him easily hated, but also sympathetic. The only fault I have towards one of the characters would be the main character, Levinia. I understood her naivety at the beginning of the book when she was still young, but even at 18, she was still just making decisions that seemed to be choices of a child.

As for plot, it takes a bit of time to really pick up. This book took me a while to read it, but when I finally fell into the story, it started to flow quickly. The last 100 pages really go by fast, but the first 200 are slightly slow. It is one of those stories where anything that could go wrong, does go wrong, so it did get a little frustrating at times. However, none of the situations seemed far-fetched or forced.

I did like this story, however, I don't know if I would ever reread it. It was a little too slow for my taste. Also, I did hate how short the chapters in Belle's point-of-view were. I understood Levinia was more of the main character, but there was so much too Belle's story that was just summarized, so that was a bit disappointing.

Overall, I give this story 3 ⭐ out of 5 stars

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Series

I both LOVE and HATE the curse of series. I know that might be weird, but I honestly do. It isn't just the fact that sometimes you pick up and finish it only to sadly realize you need to get another book for the full story.

My issue comes with WAITING. As well as the fact that I have issues with completion (lol). I am the same way with tv shows. No matter whether I like the show or not, I HAVE to sit it through. The only times I haven't finished a show is when the show was on going. I find it easier to just not remember when the show is coming back and I just stop caring.

But usually, for books, it's not that simple to me. I feel the need to find and finish the story. This can both be good (when the story is interesting and easy to find) or bad (when it's taking TOO long for the book to come out so I forget what happened or the story isn't interesting).

However, I do love binge reading series when I have the complete collection. Like the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare, I love the characters and the action, so I NEVER wanted it to end. Having all the books, I was able to just read and read and read from beginning to the completion of the storyline.

I love being able to do that, so for that, I love series. I love being able to spend a lot of time just wrapped in the storyline and characters.

Another downside, is when a series is abandoned. Misfit, by Jon Skovron, is an example of this. It was a good book and I was genuinely interested in knowing what was to come, but so far there has been no word of a sequel, despite the ending having a clear lead to a series. (The book was written in 2011, so I am not anticipating a sequel at this point).

What are your opinions on series? Do you like them or hate them? What are some of your favorites??

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Currently Reading: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

During the 1790s, Levinia, a 7 year old Irish immigrant, finds herself forced into indentured servatude for the Pyke family plantation.

As a little white girl, she is an oddity. The white children and opium addicted mother are enthralled by her, wanting her up in the big house. But as a servant, she is left to live in the kitchen house with the rest of the servants.

Belle, a half white/half black, servant struggles with the knowledge that her owner is also her daddy. Now having to take Levinia into her small home, she has to try to teach this white girl where her place in the plantation is.

The story is told in both points of view, giving a unique look at the racial differences in Southern America during the 1790s-1810.

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Up all night (it’s 5am now) just writing. The silence of night always helps to put me in the mood to write. 🌌😴🌙📝 Love this time

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