Emily Rachelle Writes

A group of my friends on Facebook were once discussing "bad first date/first meetup stories," and I had a fun one to share. My comment turned out so massively long I decided to turn it into a blog post. Hopefully someone will find it as comedic and entertaining as I do now in hindsight. Once upon a time, I met a guy on Tinder. Call him Adam. My friends think this story is hilarious because he was a skinny bald plumber, but I swear he was really cool. Listened to cool music and made me laugh. I wasn't even sure if I had feelings for him, I just thought he was a cool friend.

The screenshots in this post are blurry, I know. I got a new laptop recently and haven't figured out how to fix the screenshot settings yet. Sorry, readers! There are also some images with off-color boxes blocking out text — I censored some of the images for privacy. I recently received an email regarding a service called  Paperless Post . Friends of mine have used this service before; basically, it's an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional stationary. Or it's very fancy ecards. Whatever you want to call it. How it works: Choose your design, make it your own, manage your event. Whether you're hosting a baby shower or birthday party, whether you're sending save the dates or inviting friends to be in your wedding party, Paperless Post has a beautiful and classy digital design for you. And they've given me 1000 "coins" to try out the experience and share it with you all, my lovely readers!

Tea Tree Oil Shampoo and Conditioner Set Tea Tree Oil Shampoo This is the product Maple Holistics sent me. I've never been big on the "organic and all-natural" movement, but I rarely turn down an opportunity for free stuff. When Maple Holistics  reached out and offered me free shampoo in exchange for a review, I figured, "What do I have to lose?" Nothing. I had nothing to lose. AND I GAINED EVERYTHING! Okay, okay, a bit dramatic. But hey, when you live your entire life with dandruff and eczema, an itchy, flaky head is no joke. This is gross — and maybe TMI — but I've reached a point where scratching my head and coming away with bloody nails isn't that uncommon. The skin is just so irritated! Or it was, before this shampoo. Maybe I should give the organic, all-natural movement a second look, because dang, this stuff really works .

Read my reviews of Shatter Me , Unravel Me , and Ignite Me . Shatter Me  by Tahereh Mafi is the latest hot YA series, started as a trilogy with another three set and a television series to come. About the first book: "Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel with a paranormal twist that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel." There's not a lot of details about the television series yet, although I think it's supposed to start this year (yay!). I didn't know about the show as I was reading the series, so I kept hoping and wondering about Shatter Me being the next big YA trilogy to hit the screens. So, like I always do when I finish a book that's just so made to be on screen, I put together my dream cast for a movie — or, you know, a television show...

About the Book The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.” With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her. Amazon Page GoodReads Page Author's Website My Thoughts Read my review of the first book, Shatter Me ,  and second book, Unravel Me . Can I just start by saying how much I utterly adore Kenji? He's my main man, my favorite friend, just the absolute best....

About the Book The thrilling second installment in New York Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series. It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defense mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from. She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin. Juliette’s world is packed with high-stakes action and tantalizing romance, perfect for fans of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and the Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. Amazon Page GoodReads Page Author's Website My Thoughts I read the first book ...

The Dear Freshman series which fell behind last semester will eventually continue, but I just finished this awesome series and will be spending the next month talking about it, because feelings. About the Book Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need...