Thursday, August 2, 2012

Review: Shadows (Rephaim, #1) by Paula Weston


Title: Shadows (Rephaim, #1) 

Author: Paula Weston 

Rating: 4/5 Stars

When it comes to Australian Literature, no one ever has to tell me twice to pick up a novel. I truly believe that there is something down in Australia or some magical trick professors are teaching their writing students because no Australian novel, to date, has ever failed to keep me thoroughly entertained, captivated, and in awe. I am happy to report that Shadows by Paula Weston is no different. While its cover is not one of my favorites, its characters, dialogue, and rather unique plot definitely is.

Ever since Gaby’s twin brother, Jude, died in a car crash, she’s been having strange nightmares of battling demons with a beautiful boy. When Rafa, the gorgeous guy of her dreams, hunts her down from the short story website where she submitted the imaginary tale she believed her nightmares were, her world is turned upside down. Not only does Gaby learn that she was supposed to be dead along with her brother, she is told that she is a half-angel. Yet, most shocking of all, is that her past memories, which have evidently been replaced by a normal human childhood memories, are all false and in reality, she is stuck between two sides of a dangerous conflict between the Rephaim, the new name the half-angels, or Nephilim, have taken for themselves. When Gaby’s best friend is kidnapped, Gaby has no choice but to embrace her fate and come to terms with who she is, who she can trust, and just what lies in the world beyond her.

I apologize for the rather long-winded and confusing synopsis, but this novel has a lot going on. Yet, it is all explained in an extremely well-paced manner and I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of paragraphs of information-dumping. Instead, the details and world-building are evenly spaced out and have a very smooth and flowing transition. Furthermore, while the plot of this novel isn’t entirely original, I enjoyed Weston’s spin on it and her take on angel lore was easy to understand, made a tremendous amount of sense, and wasn’t filled with superfluous facts. Yet, what truly made Shadows stand-out from other angel fiction was its characters.

I suppose we should start with Gaby – I loved her. Her narration was sarcastic, witty, intelligent, and simply refreshing. Unlike most protagonists, I thought she handled the new information dumped upon her in a very mature manner and while she has her flaws, she remained a strong and courageous character throughout. Perhaps what I loved best about her was her friendship with Maggie, her best friend who later gets kidnapped. I’m a huge fan of strong friendships and their relationship left me wanting my own best friend by my side as it was truly heart-touching. Plus, Gaby’s love and grief for her twin brother was sharp and easy to understand and I loved the manner in which it shaped  her character.

In addition to Gaby, secondary characters such as the members of the Rephaim and Jason, Maggie’s latest boyfriend, were all very interesting and brought forth a lot of humor and bad-assery to the novel. Yet, Rafa by far stole the show. Not only is Rafa hot, he knows he’s immensely good-looking, which often makes him cocky. However, beneath all that, Rafa is trustworthy and as Jude’s best friend, he truly cares about Gaby. While I’m still a little confused and curious about the mysterious (and rocky) past that Rafa and Gaby shared, I ate up the sexual tension between them and am very curious to see where their relationship leads them. It was definitely rather unique and their character personalities themselves are quite original too, which brought in a nice change to their love story.

I think my only qualm with this novel was that I was left rather bereft and lost by the end of it. Shadows does very little to answer the swirling questions in the readers – and Gaby’s – mind and I felt as if there was just too much we didn’t know yet. While I do find this to be realistic and am glad that Gaby doesn’t simply hit her head on the wall and regain all her kick-ass Kate Daniels skills that she lost, I do wish the ending had a tad bit more closure and wasn’t nearly as abrupt as it was. Nevertheless, Shadows was still a remarkable story. While it isn’t on par with novels such as Angelfall or even Daughter of Smoke and Bone in my opinion, it was an enjoyable read with plenty of action, interesting characters, and unique plot twists. In all honesty, could you ask for anything more? Plus, it’s written by an Australian and Rafa takes swoon-worthy to a whole new level, so I think that should be motivation enough to pick up this fantastic tale! ;)

18 comments:

  1. Wow! I wasn't sure whether I would read this book or not, but you totally won me over with this wonderful review. I've read only 1 book by an Australian author and I absolutely loved it. I really need to pick up other books as well! :)
    Gaby seems like a great main character. I can't wait to meet her.
    Too bad you're left with plenty of questions at the end. I don't like when that happens either, but since this book is well-written, I might forgive that! :)
    Great review, Keertana. :D

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    1. Thanks Nick!(: I love Aussie Authors and I'd highly recommend them all. I really did like this novel and Gaby was very kick-ass, so despite the questions I still have, I hope you check it out! :D

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  2. Aww, I think I need to meet that Rafa! ;) Guys who are attractive and know that always makes such a fabulous appearance in books! <3 *hint* Adrian *hint* And it's written by Australian! I'm pretty much convinced too that anything written by Australians are amazing LOL! x)

    Gorgeous review as always, Keertana! I'm glad that you love this book! <3

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    1. Thanks Hilda! I can't wait till you meet Rafa! Of course, I don't think he's any match for Adrian (I mean, who IS?), but I love him regardless. I can't wait to see what you think of this one! :D

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  3. I clearly need to read this so I can meet Rafa! I don't love the fact that a lot of questions go unanswered at the end, that's always a touch frustrating, but everything else sound fantastic. I always enjoy it when the secondary characters are as strong as the main characters, it makes the book so much richer I think. I just finished Angelfall and LOVED IT, so while this one isn't quite as good, I'm glad it's still a solid story. Fabulous review Keertana!

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    1. Thanks Jenny! While the ending was just a tad bit frustrating, it also makes me want to pick up the sequel that much more. Plus, I loved the characters, setting, and overall ideas of this one, so I'd be interested to see what you think of it, Jenny!(:

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  4. I just keep hearing one amazing thing after the other about this book! It thrilles me that you joined the fans, I am now absolutely positive that I want to read it asap. To tell you the truth, angel books soft of make me run for cover, but this one appears to be different and I'll definitely give it a chance. A heroine like you described isn't something I want to miss, and as Hilda says, I need to meet Rafa too. Plus, I love that you mentioned Kate Daniels, lol. You totally had me with that one.
    Amazing, detailed review, Keertana!

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    1. Thanks Maja!(: I tend to run away from angel books too! I think the only reason I picked this one up is because it was written by an Australian, so that totally won me over. I'm glad it didn't disappoint and yes, you definitely need to meet Rafa! ;) I've only read Magic Bites, but Gabby reminded me of how Kate Daniels would probably react if she were a teenager who had lost her memory, so I hope you enjoy this one when you get around to reading it Maja! :D

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  5. Amazing review! I've been hearing so many great things about this book, I'll buy a copy imediately. The premise isn't exactly original, like you said, but I think I'll enjoy it. A little cliché is good sometimes, don't you think? :P
    Also, I'm curious about this Rafa guy... the last time the love interest/ male main character had a name like that, he was a hot angel with issues (err... you know I mean Raffe, from Angelfall), and the fact that he has a bit of a bad boy vibe goin on definitely got me interested *-*

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    1. Thanks Beatriz! I can't wait to see what you think of this one! I loooved Angelfall and while Rafa isn't as awesome as Raffe (at least in my opinion), I love him too. I hope you enjoy this one! :D

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  6. I am so happy to hear that you loved this, and I had a laugh at your apology for the long synopsis overview because you're right, there is so much going on in this book, but it all works!

    I loved Gaby, too, what a great MC and the tension between her and Rafe was just perfect! Great review, Keertana!

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    1. Thanks Mandee! :D I really did love this one and your review was a huge part of why I picked it up! :) I can't wait for the sequel - not to mention more steamy moments between Gaby and Rafe!(;

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  7. Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this too! :) What is it with Australis? I think someone needs to investigate the water down there. It's starting to get a little crazy now with all the great books they keep turning out. ;) Angel books can, and usually do, end up going downhill for me, but this one was so easy to enjoy. I adored the characters in this too, especially Rafa. I can't wait to uncover more about his past with Gaby. Great review, Keertana! :)

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    1. Thanks Sam! I have no idea what is up with Aussies! Seriously, they all write amazingly! It's crazy! I loved this one though, despite the fact that it was an angel book, and like you, I can't wait to uncover his past. I'm hoping it isn't too much of a hurdle between his relationship with Gaby though! I want more steamy scenes with the two of them! ;)

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  8. YES! To everything you said! Including something about Aussies and magical powers. Okay, fine, not exactly what you said, but still :P Shadows really surprised me as it wasn't at all what I expected it to be ... in the best possible way. I LOVED Gaby's narration and Rafa... mmhmm, gimme more Rafa, please :D I can't wait to see what Paula has in store for the sequel and to reveal what the heck happened with Gaby and Rafa in the past!

    So glad you loved this, AWESOME review!

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    1. Thanks Brodie!(: I loved Gaby and Rafa and I can't wait to read more of them! Seriously though, Aussies do have magical powers! What are you people eating down there! ;)

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  9. Seriously, what DO they feed their authors in Australia?! I'm with you, I only need a recommendation and I'm off. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this one, even if the ending left you somewhat wanting. Maybe I'll wait until this series continues before picking it up, as I'm terribly impatient for that sort of thing. But really, the only thing you need to do is mention Gabby's name in tandem with Kate Daniels and I'm sold!

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