ARC Review: When I Cast Your Shadow by Sarah Porter

When I Cast Your Shadow by Sarah Porter
Published: September 12, 2017
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 384 (ebook)
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 1 of 5 stars

A teenage girl calls her beloved older brother back from the grave with disastrous consequences.

Dashiell Bohnacker was hell on his family while he was alive. But it's even worse now that he's dead....

After her troubled older brother, Dashiell, dies of an overdose, sixteen-year-old Ruby is overcome by grief and longing. What she doesn't know is that Dashiell's ghost is using her nightly dreams of him as a way to possess her body and to persuade her twin brother, Everett, to submit to possession as well.

Dashiell tells Everett that he's returned from the Land of the Dead to tie up loose ends, but he's actually on the run from forces crueler and more powerful than anything the Bohnacker twins have ever imagined...

Review: Arms from the Sea by Rich Shapero

Arms from the Sea by Rich Shapero 
Published: April 1, 2016
Publisher: TooFar Media
Pages: 193 (Hardcover)
Series: N/A
Source: Free
My Rating: 1 of 5 stars

Lyle is a young man who hates his life in the State of Salt, a cultural and literal desert. He vandalizes a State icon, then swallows a poison pill that transports him not to death, but to a liminal realm—blue, watery, and wholly alien.

He’s rescued and shepherded by henchmen of the Polyp, god of the oceanic world they call “heaven.” A series of encounters unfolds between Lyle and the monstrous, seductive god, who gradually reveals his grandeur and mysterious purpose.

Lyle is horrified at first but soon finds himself falling for the Polyp, and the potent and bizarre creative potential he represents . . .

Whimsical and outlandish but also timely and dead serious, Arms from the Sea navigates imagined realms of possibility, pointing to what it might mean to redeem a desolate world.

Review: Eve & Adam by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate
Published: October 2, 2012 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 291
Source: Bought
My Rating: 2 of 5 stars

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?

My Review: This book was strange. I'm not entirely sure what I just read but I know it involved evil scientists. That summary is very misleading. I expected more of Eve building Adam and less of Aislin drama. There's also no mention of Solo in the summary so when part of the book was from his point of view I was confused.

The concept of Eve creating Adam was interesting but Adam had such a small role in this book that it turned out to be very boring. Eve spends more than half the book creating him. In the whole scheme of things he really wasn't important at all. I actually don't mind that he wasn't real for most of the book because once he became real I couldn't stand him. His thoughts were just so strange and he's too perfect. Adam is supposed to be drop dead gorgeous but he's only described as having blue eyes, dark hair, muscles. A character has too be more than just attractive for me to like him.Unfortunately Adam doesn't have much of a personality.

I wasn't a fan of Eve either. The book starts out with a car accident and Eve looses a leg. She's taken to a hospital and then she's taken to her mother's research facility. The doctors won't let her see underneath the bandages and she doesn't even question anything. Eve doesn't even seem that upset. She lost a freaking leg and she barely cares. What kind of person doesn't care that they lost a leg? 

Then there's Solo. I immediately disliked him when he thinks about how hot Eve is while she's screaming in pain because she just lost a leg. What kind of person does that? How is screaming in pain because she just lost a leg attractive? 

It's very obvious that Terra Spiker is supposed to be evil. According to Solo she's evil incarnate. I just found it kind of funny that she actually agrees that she's evil. It's like she's okay with having some teenager that she basically raised say that she's evil.

"I didn't know all that. I didn't know what they did, who they were. I thought...well, I thought you were just a ruthless, amoral, manipulative, cold bitch."
Mom nods. "Yes. All that's true."

There's really no evidence that Terra is actually evil except for the fact that she is constantly calling Eve's best friend a drunken slut. I didn't care about Aislin but it really bothered me how practically everyone called her a drunken slut. Including Adam. But a few pages later I think Adam and Aislin are together but I'm not really sure. It all happened so quickly.

The entire book felt like it happened way too fast. A few days passed very quickly but it didn't feel like it. Solo ends up trusting Eve after a few days and after talking to her only a handful of times. He questions something that he's been working on for a very long time because of her even though he just met her.

There's also this really creepy part when forty year old scientists are talking about how they would do Eve.

"She's not my girlfriend," I say. Which is a stupid and dorky thing to insist on.
"You haven't tapped that little piece yet? She's no great beauty, but she's cute enough, and she's got a nice little body."
"I'd do her," Dr. Chen says.

That's actually disgusting and very disturbing. I get that these are evil scientists but did they really have to go there? Couldn't they have just talked about their evil plants instead. Add this to the fact that they are telling Solo this and he doesn't comment on it.

I don't understand why Eve got to create Adam. Just because Terra thought she was bored? It just didn't make much sense to me. Actually this entire book didn't make much sense. Thankfully it was a very quick read.

Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture by Lauren Kate
Published: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 464
Series: Fallen #4
My Rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis: The sky is dark with wings....

Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.

Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies...and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.

And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

Rapture is the astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

My Review:  
 *Disclaimer* If you like Rapture or any of the Fallen books don't read this review. As you can see I did not like this book and I'm just happy that it's over. I don't mean to sound rude or anything but this is my honest opinion of this book. If you love these books...Great. Glad someone else can enjoy them when I can't.


 Happy to report that Rapture was slightly better than Passion so it wasn't a complete waste of my time and money. Ok it still kind of was. Honestly I'm not ever sure why I continued the series after the last book. Maybe it was the beautiful cover or the fact that the unfinished series was taunting me. It said "Hey Erika it's only one more book and look the cover's so pretty." So I eventually gave in because after all it is the last book. I need closure, no I need ANSWERS because in the last three books there were no answers to Luce's curse.

So in the last book we finally get some answers but still not all of them are answered. I still have no idea why Trevor (is that his name?) went up in flames! It seems like Lauren Kate just forgot about him or something. If I have to read another book just to know what happened to Trevor I am going to say no. Just for my sanity.

After almost four books, approximately 1,691 pages we find out what Luce is but we still don't really know about her curse. That comes a little bit later. So after all the reading we find out that Luce is an *spoiler* angel. No really? I never would have guessed that. *spoiler*

Now on to my least favorite character, Luce. Luce here just can't seem to think about anything other than Daniel and his violet eyes. Honestly if I didn't hate Daniel so much too I would never wish Luce upon him but now that I think of it, they deserve each other only because I would never want anyone want to suffer through Luce or Daniel. I wouldn't even want to her be with Lucifer.

How could I forget my second least favorite character? Daniel is extremely possessive of Luce to a point where I can't take it anymore. Luce couldn't even talk to Cam without worrying what Daniel thought they were doing. I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure if you love someone that much then you should be able to trust them. Oh there's also the part where Daniel tells her she doesn't need to breathe. Of course she accepts this without any explanation at all. Then he constantly talks over her. She'll be saying something and then he'll cut her off just to shut her up. Not ok.

I just want to do this to both of them

 Anyway the only character I actually like in this series is Cam and he had a very minor role in this book. When Daniel started talking about this person who broke Cam's heart I wanted to read about that not Daniel and Luce.

Rapture has fallen lower than all the other books except for the one before it and it is a torment I wish upon no one. I also hate Daniel and Luce with a passion.

Review: Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber
Published:  December 28, 2010
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 304
Series: Full Moon #1
My Rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Beware of a kiss under the full moon.

It will change your life forever.

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. She’s used to everything in the small town until the mysterious Brandon Maddox moves to Legend’s Run. Despite already having the perfect boyfriend, Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. After a chance encounter late one night with a pack of wolves, Celeste is rescued by gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon. Is Brandon’s transformation a trick of the shadows in the moonlight? Or is there more to the werewolf stories of Legend’s Run?

My Review:  Well that was...how can I put this nicely? For now let's just say that I won't be continuing this series. Ever. Please if I'm ever considering reading Magic of the Moonlight someone should remind me how painful Once in a Full Moon was.

I'm surprised I finished this book. I almost gave up on it a few times but I didn't because I can't leave any book except Midnight Sun unfinished and that's not even because its not finished I stopped reading that one after a chapter or two.

Once in a Full Moon is not even close to the best werewolf book I've ever read. Basically Celeste falls in love with Brandon. He turns into a werewolf. She vows to find him a cure. He tells her to stay away from him because he might be dangerous. She doesn't listen. Weird stuff starts happening in Legend's Run.

Let's see my first problem with this book was the characters. Celeste's "friends" were not friends. Celeste kept saying how she had to keep her feelings for Brandon a secret because if she told her friends they would disown her or something. Yeah great friends you have there Celeste. Also Nash was just plain annoying and strange. So in the beginning he tells this werewolf story and he scares himself along with Celeste and her friends. Then when Celeste and Nash break up he tries to win her back by pretending to be a werewolf so that she would come running back into his arms. He actually tells her this when she discovers his costume.

Oh then there's Celeste. My goodness girl you need help. Serious help. I don't even know how you fell in love with Brandon. It was just like POOF Celeste loves him. At one point she says that she can hardly admit her feelings for him but she'd just been thinking about how awesome he is (he really isn't awesome) for the last five pages! Then there's the part where she gets lost in a snowstorm. I have major problems with this. First off she could see her house from where she was and then she walks off the path and gets magically lost. Why would you walk off the path in the first place? Then somehow in the middle of a blinding snowstorm Brandon finds her and saves her from a pack of wolves. How can he see in the snowstorm when she can’t? She was also extremely obsessed with Brandon. It was unhealthy.

"I wanted to use Brandon's coat--not because I was cold, but because it was his coat. It was close to his skin and cloaked him all day long. I knew it would smell good, too--like fabric softener or irresistible cologne or smoke from a fireplace. I wanted to wear it now, wear it all day, wear it forever."

She also wouldn’t stop talking about how “heroic” Brandon was and how he saved her life. It got to the point where I almost couldn’t take it anymore.

Some other parts of the book I didn’t care for:

"Then he stepped out from behind the tree. Brandon’s short, wavy brown hair was now savagely wild and shoulder-length. His normally clean-shaven face sported a goatee. His once-smooth chest was now lined with a thin layer of hair. His stomach was ripped as an Olympic swimmer’s, and his biceps were cut like a triathlete’s. His eyes were a gorgeous gray. He was breathing heavy, as if he’d run a marathon. Brandon had fangs like a wolf."

I don’t think this was supposed to be very funny but I couldn’t stop laughing at the fact that he grew a goatee when he turned into a werewolf. I’ll give the book points for werewolf looks originality but that only goes so far.

“I know. I have your shirt,” I confessed.
“You do?”
“Yes. I kept it as proof.” I showed him his folded shirt sandwiched in my bag.
“Proof?”
“That our time together wasn’t a dream. I know…you must think I’m a dork.”
“No—I think it’s really cool.”

“Describe!” she ordered, pointing her mascara brush at me.
“Brown wavy hair, royal blue eyes. His lips are full and dreamy. His stare can penetrate your soul.”

These people are not normal teenagers. They have to be at least sixteen and I don’t think I know anyone who would actually think keeping someone else’s shirt was “really cool”. After that she didn’t even give it back to him. She kept it the entire book. Also who describes someone by saying “his stare can penetrate your soul”? Not any teenager I’ve ever met. If I even described someone like that I think I’d get a few weird looks.

“I just wanted to let you know. You might have a psychic stalker on your hands.”
“The only stalker I want is you,” he said.
“I’m doing my best.”

What is with YA characters and them thinking stalking is ok? I don’t know anyone who wants to be stalked.

While reading this book I kept thinking this is like the werewolf version of Twilight. So maybe if you like that book you’ll like this one. For everyone else steer clear of this.