Shadows

Shadows

by Paula Weston

SYNOPSIS:

t’s almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die.
In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant.
It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts.
And then Rafa comes to town and tells her things about her and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous.
Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby?
The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

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6076
4.5
Book #1 in Series

I’m telling you, I’ve been breathing this book, not just reading it.
You might know that I love to read in one sitting, so when I like a book I take it in my hands and don’t let it go until I reach the very last page. I finished this one in the morning, and you can bet that I had a very enjoyable night.

When I started reading it I had no idea what this story was truly about because I stayed away from spoilers and anything that could have ruined my experience. All I knew was that it’s been highly recommended to me by some very trusted book friends and so I wanted to read it really, really badly. There’s no need for me to say that it has exceeded my expectation, even though I knew it was supposed to be great, after all not many Aussie books get on my indifferent side.

“Love. Nightmares. Angels. War”
I am not the religious type, so why am I so attracted to angel-books is still a mystery to me. Maybe because this is a subject I haven’t been too interested to research, so I take it all as a fantasy and I enjoy it without thinking too much about the details behind? That might be the reason, even though I am still able to realize when an author takes some liberties with some subjects and I truly enjoy when I find a book that tackles a different side of what I’ve seen/read before.

I won’t spoil this for you, I really won’t, but I am gonna tease you by answering the questions from the synopsis, because that’s only the beginning of the story…

WHO IS RAFA?

“Morning after morning, I wake up with him lingering in my thoughts and I feel guilty without having any idea why.”

You might wonder too who is the dark boy with green eyes that haunts her dreams, those dreams that leave her breathless, those vivid dreams that she can’t understand, those vivid dreams that are the key to why her memory is so deceiving.
You might wonder who’s that guy who keeps telling her that he knows her and her brother and what history they have. You might also wonder what’s behind all that teasing and fighting and what hides behind his beautiful smile..
So I am not lying to you – Rafa is my newest book-crush… he is charming, smart, strong and too hot for his own good. He knows all this so I’m not trying to flatter him, I’m just stating the obvious, and don’t worry – he’s been stealing hearts all around the world, don’t feel bad if he’s gonna get to your heart too.

WHO ARE THE REPHRAIM?
We all know who are the angels that walk on earth, right? In every story they are quite the same. Not this time. I still want to know more about this world settling, but as different as it is, I loved it. It was refreshing and it keeps open many doors, so I can’t wait to see which way this story will lead us next.

WHO IS GABY?

“I know exactly who I am. It’s everyone else who seems to be having a problem.”

Gaby is a very strong heroine. She’s been through a lot and there’s still a lot ahead of her. She has many questions and many others will be raised. She’s funny, and witty and all the sarcastic games she plays will Rafa will leave you laughing and more than once breathless.

There are a few things that define her:
– The grief. From the beginning we find out how close she’s been to her brother and how much it hurts to live without him. Her bleeding heart cries after the brother she remembers, but her bleeding mind cries after the (same)one that she doesn’t.
– The nightmares. This is another thing that is different. I though I knew where this was leading us, so I was quite surprised to see how things turned out to be.
– Friendship. As alone as Gaby feels at times, there are a few friends that she can count on. I never knew if I could trust them or not, but that’s the beauty of the story.

CONCLUSION:
I fell in love with this story from the very first page.
Now, if you want to know more about this story I recommend you to read it. It’s packed with action, it is full of humour, it’s written by an Australian author (do I need to say more?) and it’s simply great. You have my word!

Read the first three chapters and an extra here.

Happy midnight reading!

Book source: A copy was kindly provided by the publisher, thank you!
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10 responses to “Shadows”

  1. Cynthia says:

    I want to read this! Having a lot of trouble finding it available though. Off to Alibris.

    • Ari says:

      Here it is not available yet either, that’s why I was so happy when it arrived in my mail box, but I hope that you will be able to read it soon enough and enjoy it just as much 🙂

  2. Dianna says:

    Great review Ariana. You make me want to read this book so bad. Thanks for sharing. : )

  3. Kat Kennedy says:

    I didn’t even know this book existed. But after reading your review – I think I’m going to have to check it out!

    • Ari says:

      This happens a lot with Aussie books, we barely find about them and it’s too bad because they are usually really, really good. I hope you’ll like it as well!

  4. Shane says:

    I just love your reviews..so persuasive

    • Ari says:

      Thanks, Shane. The only problem is when people get to read the books I love because of my reviews, but they don’t like them.. It makes me feel a bit..strange. But we can’t all love the same books, right? 🙂

  5. Rachelanbig says:

    I’m set to read this very soon. A friend is lending my copy, so I can’t wait. I’ll come back to this review when I finish, as I don’t want to know too much before reading, but I’m glad to see your 5 stars. 🙂

    • Ari says:

      Hahaa, I do that sometimes too.. check just the ratings from my book-friends to see if I should read the book or not ;)) I didn’t know much about it before reading it either.
      I hope you’ll enjoy it!

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