Review: Shadows by Paula Weston

Shadows (The Rephaim #1) by Paula Weston.
Release Date: July 2nd, 2012
Page count: 388
Publisher: Text Publishing
Format: Paperback
Who I'd Recommend it To: Fans of well-written Angel books. (Angelfall, Unearthly, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.)
Rating: ★★★★ 1/2


Synopsis from Goodreads: It’s almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn.

And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who’s been appearing in Gaby’s dreams—he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense. Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth—and that the truth is more likely to be
found in the shadows of her nightmares.

Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly, who can she trust?

Fast-paced and gripping, Shadows, the first book in the Rephaim series, is a standout paranormal romance for fans of Richelle Mead and Stephenie Meyer.

                                                                                                             


Review:

With an exceptionally high rating on Goodreads, I had high expectations for this book. And to learn that it was by an Australian author made me even more excited to read it. Thankfully, I was not disappointed by this one bit. From the very first page, I knew I'd adore this book. The writing is fantastic and pulls you in right away, and the constant suspense and questions that you just need to know the answers to keeps you turning the pages. Many things set this apart from other books about Angels, but the main thing that totally sets it apart is wonderful Australian setting. It was a very refreshing change to see a paranormal novel set in Australia, and it definitely added to the story.

I loved the characters in this one, and the fact that they were quite older than normal characters in YA fiction was great. Gaby is an extremely likable, realistic main character. She's tough, smart, funny and also very relatable. You definitely feel for her situation. Rafe, who reminds me a lot of Raffe (Heh. Such similar names.) from Susan Ee's Angelfall, can be a major A-hole sometimes, but you know deep down that he's not so bad. I liked how Gaby's and Rafe's relationship developed throughout the novel, and I'm seriously so excited to read more about their past in the next installment. Also, their relationship didn't randomly become the centre of the novel, which seems to be a recurring thing in YA fiction lately. So, yay for that. The supporting characters were equally as fun, and I cared about them as much as I cared about the main characters. One thing I loved about the characters was that they weren't such stereotypical Aussie characters (Well, except the Butler Brothers, of course. Those boys are your typical rednecks.). There wasn't a "G'day" in sight. WOO.


The plot was extremely fast-paced, and I was able to devour this one in about one or two days. There was constant twists and turns and some things I definitely did not see coming. I liked all the different creatures shown in the novel, which was another thing that sets this book apart from other Angel novels. The 'hellions' sounded pretty damn frightening, to say the least. 


The only thing that particularly annoyed me was the abrupt ending. (But maybe that was just me not wanting it to end at all...) Honestly, I could go on and on about how much I liked this book. I'm so glad I picked it up. Fantastic debut from Paula Weston!


In short: Read. This. Book. Seriously, you will not be disappointed! Eagerly anticipating the sequel!