Shadow, Shadow Review

Sorry for the lack of reviews.

I've been posting in detailed reviews on goodreads.

Which leaves me little to discuss on my blog.

Plus, I have to post on Netgalley.

Shadow, Shadow (The Shadow Pines Trilogy #1)

Published and Written by V.B. Marlowe

Publish Date: February 15, 2015

Rating: 

          "The four of you have been blessed with a great gift. Well, it's a gift for you, but a curse for someone else." 
          Harley receives a mysterious gift on her sixteenth birthday-a shadow box. The box gives her the power to trade someone to the shadows, meaning they will disappear and cease to exist. Harley can't imagine doing such a horrible thing and is warned that using the box comes at a price. Unfortunately, not using the box can be even more costly. Harley must make this life-altering decision as she discovers frightening revelations about her home. 

          When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I thought this was Alice in Wonderland reimagined. The girl has an Alice silhouette and that thing she's holding looked strangely like a hat.
          I read the synopsis and I was like this is really interesting. It kinda screams really weak horror...I'm down with that. Then, I began reading it...
          The story was very interesting and dark. Those are two of my favorite descriptions for anything. But, this book did not live to my expectations.
          The author created such a cool setting. She could've made this super dark and scary, but she didn't. The writing was boring and the characters were atrocious.
          I hated these characters. No one had any bite. They were weak-minded. No one stood up for anything. They just took the easy way out. They were manipulative and just terrible people. They know why they were selected, but they're just too dumb to think.
          If you read the synopsis, you know about the shadow box. Some people had the decency to care about others' feelings. What would happen if I took this person away? OK, I better pick someone else. And there's the people who are like this, OMG, YOU'RE MEAN TO ME AND OTHERS...I'll make you disappear.
          As much as I hated most of these characters, I really pitied Harley. She has such a terrible family. Her father doesn't care about her and her step-mother sabotages her! You're so lucky that Harley didn't shadow box you. She actually cares for her family! But, she doesn't get any credit. She gets blamed for everything! It was difficult reading parts like this, I just felt for her. I think I teared up a bit thinking/reading about it.
          When reading this book, I found some plot holes and inconsistencies. The author mentions that people were offered a deal (at maybe 20%) and mentions the deal occurring at 75% of the book. It jumped around, making me go BRUH!
          The ending was really bad. It didn't end this segment well. It was really boring and it unsettled me.