Jodi Meadows

“A fully realized fantasy world complete with dragons, treachery, and flawed characters discovering their courage. I couldn’t put it down!” —C. J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Queen From the New York Times bestselling co-author of My Lady Jane comes a smoldering new fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Kristin Cashore about a girl condemned for defending dragons and the inner fire that may be her only chance of escape. Mira has always been a symbol of hope for the Fallen Isles, perfect and beautiful—or at least that’s how she’s forced to appear. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret, Mira is betrayed by those closest to her and sentenced to the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. Except Mira is over being a pawn. Fighting to survive against outer threats and inner demons of mental illness, Mira must find her inner fire and the scorching truth about her own endangered magic—before her very world collapses. And that’s all before she ignites.

Before She Ignites

Mira has always been a symbol of hope for the Fallen Isles, perfect and beautiful -- or at least that's how she's forced to appear. When she uncovers a dangerous secret, Mira is betrayed by those closest to her and sentenced to the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. Except Mira is through being a pawn. Fighting to survive against outer threats and inner demons of mental illness, Mira must find her inner fire and the scorching truth about her own endangered magic -- before her very world collapses.

Ashley Wendt

Can I say 2 stars for the first 1/2 and 5 for the last? I’m not going to lie, I STRUGGLED to read this book through the first half of this book. I almost didn’t want to finish. I couldn’t stand the main character. She was weak and whiney and so insecure. Blah. Blah. Blah. But then I hit the halfway mark and all that work from the first part of the book started clicking into place and by 60% of the way, I couldn’t put it down. The ending was incredible, the main character found her spark and took control of her life and BAM. I’m so glad I stuck this book out and I can’t wait to see what book 2 brings! I have so many questions that I can’t wait to be answered and I’m really excited to see how the main character continues to grow in her strength.

Kelly Cotton

While I enjoyed reading about Mira and the islands, 500 pages were WAAYY too long for me, and very daunting.

“A fully realized fantasy world complete with dragons, treachery, and flawed characters discovering their courage. I couldn’t put it down!” —C. J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Queen From the New York Times bestselling co-author of My Plain Jane comes a smoldering new fantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Kristin Cashore about a girl condemned for defending dragons and the inner fire that may be her only chance of escape. Mira has always been a symbol of hope for the Fallen Isles, perfect and beautiful—or at least that’s how she’s forced to appear. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret, Mira is betrayed by those closest to her and sentenced to the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. Except Mira is over being a pawn. Fighting to survive against outer threats and inner demons of mental illness, Mira must find her inner fire and the scorching truth about her own endangered magic—before her very world collapses. And that’s all before she ignites.

Megan Williams

This book took me a little time to get into. I don't know if it was fear of not liking it, or even just getting used to reading a hardback copy - I usually read on my kindle - but whatever it was had me hesitating to read Before She Ignites. I would pick it up and then a couple minutes later put it back down, pick it up and then get distracted by my phone. There was a slow start, but nothing I wouldn't expect from the first novel in the series. I think once I hit the 25% mark, is when I became obsessed with Mira and her world. 

Things I loved in this novel:

1. Mira 
I'll even admit that I wasn't a huge fan of Mira for about 85% of this novel. She was very subservient, obsessed with her looks, fell apart when times got tough, had characteristics that I wasn't too keen on reading about because as a character she was fallible and I want someone who doesn't remind me of regular people. Yet I think it was in these "undesirable" characteristics that I felt more connected to Mira than I have to any characters that I've read lately. She developed and grew which is something that authors don't always choose to focus on. Usually I feel like these fantasy novels are about the situation in these worlds and how these conflicts get resolved, ignoring the possible character depth and growth which could make a book more relatable and interesting. 

The best thing about Mira was her issues and uniqueness. And that seems like a weird thing to commend a character on, but even though I don't have the same exact discrepancies - for lack of a better word - as Mira, I had similar ones. I think every single person has been conditioned to care about looks. It's unavoidable in today's society and seeing these parallels with Mira just connected my life to hers in a way I didn't expect. And this also reminded me that this is one of the more negative sides to society and celebrities - the expectation of beauty and using one's face to get people to agree with you. It's a great tactic don't get me wrong, it's just interesting to see how this becomes Mira's downfall in so many ways and actually personally hinders her character growth once she is put into challenging situations. 

Also Mira experienced anxiety attacks that sometimes debilitated her and led her to counting literally everything around her. I loved this aspect of her personality because it did humanize her and definitely allowed me to sympathize with her character more than I probably would have otherwise. Basically, I admired Mira more at the end of this novel because she didn't start off as a vey strong character and I got to see the development from a doll used by those around her, to someone who is finally fighting for a voice. 

2. The Flashbacks
So enough about analyzing Mira as a character - it could go on forever - let's talk about this book as a whole. Normally, I'm not one for character flashbacks and looks into the past, but in this book it was so helpful to see how Mira got to where she was. And it also helped develop not only her story, but that of the people around her. I truly feel like I had a pretty good idea of who most of these characters - from Mira's past, at least - in this novel were. I got a good look at their personalities, where they placed in importance to Mira, and how Mira typically interacted with them. I will say that some of the newer characters threw curveballs at times so don't expect to know everything there. 

3. The Dragons
In Before She Ignites, I wouldn't say that the dragons had a leading role. They were more of side characters that ventured into the plot every now and then and made an appearance. But I will say that they were one of the MOST important aspects of this novel simply because of their importance to Mira and Mira's society. They are literally considered children of the gods and therefore are held in high esteem. Unfortunately it seems like population numbers are seriously down so all dragons are basically listed as endangered and there are very strict rules about what people can do with and to them. Mira is especially obsessed with dragons - and I can see why because they are flippin' awesome - but not everyone seems to hold them in the same regard. I personally love books with dragons so as soon as they started popping up in the novel I was 100% on board with this book. 

4. The Writing
Finally, I would say that the author did an amazing job in writing this novel. Fantasy authors can get a little carried away in building the society and ignoring the characters - it happens - but I while the society was well-developed in this book, I wouldn't say that it ever overwhelmed the characters. The attention and focus was definitely on Mira like it should be and knowing just how well this book started and ended, I will be looking for book two's release - probably next year, so major sad face there. 

So if you are a fan of adventure, young adult, stories about becoming stronger, character growth, a character-centered plot, unique creatures, DRAGONS, and maybe a little romance... this is the book FOR YOU! So definitely check it out if you like any of the above, I'm pretty sure - maybe 92.8% sure - that you won't be disappointed.

Sheila

I thought this book would be more interesting. Spoiler alert: it's not.

Tânia Borges

** spoiler alert **
           2.5 stars.
I was hoping for dragons and action and badass characters. Instead, I got a whole lot of boring nonsense and a tiny bit of interesting stuff. I honestly had to force myself to finish. Good news: things get a lot better during the last third of the book. Before that, not so much. Positive things: Aaru, character development, mental illness representation, dragons (in a few rare occasions) and, oh, Aaru. The last third of the book was what made me start the second one. Maybe. I'm still thinking about it.

laura

I really loved this book so much. I was captured from page one. I loved the duel time lines we got also the presence of both dragons in this society. This book was so hard to predict and I had a hard time putting it down. I loved all the characters that we meet and was so invested in both dragons and the humans. I was so fascinated by the political stuff and loved what we learned about the lead girl it went in a very different direction then I predicted and Now i need book 2! If you like fantasy books, I would rec. this book for you.

Sarah Cottam

I have to admit, when I saw the blurb for this story. My eyes lit up! Dragons, dragons dragons and just YES PLEASE. I felt like I was going to be in my element and I was but… not as much as I thought I was going to be. I liked the story and the fact that this is the first within a series is fab. I’ll definitely be reading the second one.

I really appreciated some of the bits to this story (mainly the plot behind each of the characters that Mira spends time with in prison). Also, Mira has anxiety, I’ve seen some reviews complaining about the long winded the writing was while she experiences panic attacks. Sorry but I appreciated that, as somebody who has anxiety, I liked somebody going full welly on how it feels in that moment. No it doesn’t happen for 30 seconds and goes away, it’s long and it’s painful.

However, I did find that the dragons weren’t in the book anywhere near enough than I thought they were. Maybe it’s because it’s the first book within a trilogy, and this was merely to set up the characters and their back stories (which I did like), but I wanted more dragon bad ass action adding in between learning about all these characters. And I also wanted to know what was going on with them while Mira was in prison.

Gimme them dragons.

Maybe there could have been two main characters, and the chapters switched between both? From the dragons perspective and Mira’s? I don’t know if this would have worked but for me I wanted to know much more about them then I got told. Hopefully this will be explored within the books to come and we can learn about their history and their side of the story. I hope so.

I didn’t feel like this book met my expectations but maybe my expectations of the book were something completely different. Maybe I’m too needy. Maybe when I read about dragons all I think about is Game of Thrones and Daenerys and think YES DRAGON BATTLES, GIVE ME THAT PLEASE AND THANK YOU. (definitely the last one)

Whereas this was setting up the story, easing me into the characters and getting me to properly learn about Mira’s history. Maybe when the next book comes out I will appreciate the time Jodi Meadows spent on this and I will get my dragon history and battles.

Now don’t get me wrong, parts of me really appreciated the writing in this book and there were times when I was reading that I wanted to speed up my slow reading eye balls to find out what happened. But I did just feel like I expected one thing from this book but got another. But hey ho, maybe I should stop being so demanding.

Wren Hardwick

This book is about dragons and not going with the flow. So basically, this book is something I will be gushing over for a while.

Mira is basically the face of a treaty of peace between the isles. The treaty states that everyone is equal and no one can own a dragon and so on and so forth. But just like we have seen in our own world today, just because a piece of paper says everyone is equal, doesn’t mean that everyone sees everyone as equal. It actually gets pretty political which I couldn’t stop comparing it to the discrimination we are dealing with here in 2017. 

Mira does whatever she is told whenever she is told to do it. She has a pretty face, which she is told her is her only asset, and so she uses it to unite the people. Her real passion is with her best friends: dragons. So when she finds out the reason the dragons (the Children of the Gods) are disappearing and no one will take her seriously...

They put her in The Pit, which is where they put their high-watch prisoners. 

Mira deals with PTSD and anxiety. Being the face of the treaty, and not everyone agreeing with said treaty, she has had some people want her dead. She deals with it by counting. I feel the whole mental-side of this was really well done. 

The world building is slow but a good slow. There are a lot of different types of dragons, small and big, and the whole gods-aspect is something to grasp your mind around. But like, dragons though. 



I feel this book could have been a prequel to the next book. It built-up a lot for the series and I am excited to see what unfolds in this series!

Manon van Heumen

I felt like nothing happened for the first 75% of the book. The last 25 were quite enjoyable, but I wasn't very excited about it overall. I am curious for the next books though.

Casandra Sandu

Ok, the last 100 pages were AMAZING! And I am happy that I kept reading this, because the ending made up for all the dragging parts. ✨

I am actually very pleased with how this book turned out and I would be definitely reading the sequel as soon as it’s released! 🐉

Even though there have been parts that felt a bit boring or slow, everything clicked nicely together at the end 😌

I only wish dragons could have been more actively involved in story, as I was expecting when I first picked up this book. But hopefully they will be more present in the sequel.

Overall, I’m giving this a solid 3.5/5⭐️

Ashton Reed

OMG this book made me lose a year off my life from stress, probably, but it's all good. I literally can't stop thinking about it, like I'm still in the world.

Before She Ignites takes place in a world where there are Upper Gods and Fallen Gods. The Fallen Gods fell to Earth eons before to save humanity and to provide land and shelter for the humans, for when they fell, they each created an island with its own unique abilities. And better yet, their children are none other than majestic dragons of all shapes and sizes. However, far after those Gods had fallen, the islands were in chaos and were not abiding by their sacred codes, so their inhabitants wrote the Mira Treaty, named after a girl, Mira Minkoba, born of the same day. The treaty brought about equality and peace, and Mira became the symbol of hope among the islands.

But truly, she is only a puppet, brainwashed to think she is worthless on her own except for her beautiful face, worshiped by the citizens of the Fallen Isles because of the words she is told to say, and humiliated by her crippling panic attacks and obsessive counting. And she doesn't realize that she has been manipulated... until she finds out her government, which includes her family, has done something horribly wrong, and she is punished for knowing too much. Now she must learn to survive.

Goodness, where to start. I was immediately enraptured. At first, the writing was so straight-forward that it started to bother me 🤣, but I got over that quickly. The world is very unique, and DRAGONS. Need I say more?? 

There was one moment that really annoyed me, and that was the battle scene at the end. I won't spoil it for you, don't worry, but it's very cliche-action-movie-scene. It was cringy, and I wish it was more well-done. However, it didn't take away from the impact of the book, fortunately.

Oh, and the suspense!!! I was tense the entire time I was reading, and I didn't want to stop. Like, I was always so scared for the characters.

Mira definitely annoyed me at first, but Meadows makes it easy to sympathize with her. I can't imagine being in her position. She had no idea how brainwashed she was. It's absolutely so horrible to be in her head and see how worthless she instinctively believes she is, like she doesn't know anything different. And yet, in the Pit, she grows SO MUCH it's astounding, and I literally cried so much to see her realize she isn't so worthless after all. Plus, she kicks government booty at the end, btw.

Of course, all the other characters are perfect! I genuinely loved every character and their roles in the story. Like, even the absolutely evil ones played a role (unfortunately 🤣). And even more deeply, every character had their flaws, and it was more evident in this book than most other YA novels I've read. They've got some deep problems, but they get through it with perseverance and support from their friends. Oh, and it's not corny, I promise.

This is one of the main reasons I love to read so much, I think. It's the idea that you don't have to read a nonfiction novel or memoir or whatever else to learn something. It's so crazy how mere words humans make up can portray a vivid fictional world yet teach about reality. 

Sorry, booknerds, but I felt really moved 🤣. Au revoir!

For more awesome bookish stuffs, like book tags and Bookish News Reports, visit my blog at https://ashtonread.blogspot.com !

Before She Ignites

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