This was an odd read for me. I couldn't put it down and read it almost in one sitting. I just didn't love it though. It's one of those books that's fun to read but you wouldn't want to read it again. I think my opinion is a bit skewed because I've finished [b:Haze|15765699|Haze (The Rephaim, #2)|Paula Weston|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365437783s/15765699.jpg|21469797] and [b:Shimmer|18211884|Shimmer (The Rephaim, #3)|Paula Weston|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404186213s/18211884.jpg|25634116] was a DNF. I can't help but look at this book with the other two in mind as they were both underwhelming to say the least.

But don't get me wrong, the story was as interesting one....

Gaby has reoccurring nightmares about her and a stranger fighting demons and hellhounds. One day this stranger shows up in her town and all hell breaks lose. She can't figure out if he's a friend or a foe. Then other strangers begin to show up and Gaby is under a constant threat by people that all claim to know her. The problem is that she's never seen these people before in her life...


My problem is that I didn't connect very well with the characters. I did like Rafa and I found myself reading this mostly to find out what was going on with him. I also kept waiting for something exciting to happen. I just knew the author was setting us up for something major and that's why I kept reading on. But there were no heart stopping moments and not even any "ohhhh and ahhhhs". It was bland with a promise for more.

I guess I just feel lead on and a bit cheated.....

I did love the atmosphere in this story. The setting was in a beach town, which made me feel at home because I'm a major beach bum. I'm not familiar with Australia (the location in the book) but there were a lot of little cute things in the story like....

"Shit!" Rafa's voice is sharp. Simon slams on the brakes. A wallaby is standing in the middle of the dirt track, eyes glassy in the bright headlights. Mesmerized, and measuring us".

I think I'll finish this review off with an extremely awkward wallaby gif. That is a wallaby, right?

I initially snagged a copy of this title from Netgalley. It's one of those books I've heard of and probably had on my TBR list at some point but never got around to reading it. Since it was available on Netgalley (either with read it now or auto approval, I can't remember) I figured great time to give it a chance.

However, by the time I got round to reading it, the file was badly corrupted, words missing, letting missing and it made the whole narrative rather confusing. Unfortunately the title had already been archived, but I liked enough of what I read so I purchases a used paperback copy from Amazon.

I honestly don't quite know what to make of this novel. I didn't love it, but I didn't flat out hate it either. I'm rather ambivalent on it, really. On the one had, the dialogue was snarky and delicious, and I really did love the angel/demon mythology. Not something particularly new in its concepts but the way the novel was told took a familiar concept and made it its own with a fresh and different take. My problem was it was lack of emotional depth and the characters.

I failed to connect to any of the characters. Most of them felt rather two dimensional, I wasn't blown away by anyone, really. I found the storyline interesting enough, the main character Gaby is struggling to get over her twin brother Jude's death, she has a good, supportive best friend, Maggie, whom she lives with. Gaby has horrible dreams about battling demons in clubs and writes pretty gruesome short stories about it. Which attract some unwanted attention when weird things start happening at a local bar they hang out in.

One of the guys in Gaby's dreams is literally there at the bar. He talks to her like he knows her and knows her well, and Gaby's world is thrown into chaos when more people show up to more or less do battle with her. All these new people are pretty thrown when Gaby remembers nothing about them, and apparently knows nothing about her true self. Or what she really is.

Which is where the angel mythology comes into play. I really did like the world building. It takes familiar concepts of fallen angels and Nephilim and gives them it's own twist. And as I mentioned the dialogue between the characters was brilliant. Snarky, snappy, and wickedly fun. Even though Gaby's going through some immense changes in discovering everything she knew was a lie and two different groups of paranormal beings are now trying to force her to remember things she can't....there was something missing for me.

The actual plot of Gaby trying to ascertain what the hell was going on was what kept me reading, but I felt nothing for character or the background histories we learn as the story progresses. There were some truly epic action scenes throughout the novel, and one bit of pretty hot romance towards the end. I did kind of like that the romance angle wasn't really played out that much throughout the novel. it certainly came into the story when Gaby learns who she was with before she lost her memories and why different people were surprised to see her with one guy instead of the other.

I don't see myself racing out to buy all the other books in the series immediately, (unless they were on sale somewhere maybe) though I am probably curious enough to continue the series at some point, if only to find out of Gaby ever recovers all her memories.

I, like many fans, awaited the release of Shimmer eagerly after the cliffhanger at the end of Haze but when Shimmer came out, I was hesitant to pick it up. It’s not that I hadn’t loved the previous two books but the problem was that I couldn't go through a whole other book without getting answers. So many questions have been raised and I felt like there just weren't enough answers to satisfy me. I was all set to wait until Burn came out to read this one but then Jasprit gifted me a copy and given her excitement, I couldn’t NOT read this (although I took my sweet time getting around to the book). This book was worth it. It doesn’t necessarily give me the answers I sought but… it gives me something. Something that had me flailing and jumping out of my seat and freaking out.

Where Shadows was full of action and excitement, Haze was full of amazing character development and Shimmer, Shimmer explored the dynamics between the two different groups of Rephaim. For the first time in a decade, the two groups are forced to cooperate when two of their own are kidnapped, the question arises as to whether they can do it peacefully or whether things will go to hell again.

What I love most about this world is that Weston doesn’t try to tell is that one group is better than the other. Both groups have their positive and negative points. One group doesn’t entirely consist of good rephaim and one of bad rephaim. Both sides have a mix of characters. Some might be head strong and unwilling to change their ways and others might see the other side’s point but still continue to believe what they believe. Reading about the dynamics within the group and their interactions with one another was SO interesting.

Throw in the fact that Gabe and Jude hadn't been on the same side before they lost their memory. It’s interesting to see how the fact that neither remember anything influences their interactions with the group and I have to say, I quite like that they aren’t picking sides anymore.

What did bother me was the fact that everyone paid attention to what Jude had to say but Gaby’s opinion wasn’t held in the same light. Jude also didn’t face the same difficulties Gaby had when she first found out about what she was and I was annoyed by what a speshul snowflake Jude was. But then Jude would be so supportive and cared so much for Gaby that it was hard to hold it against him. He hadn’t asked for any of this and he didn’t want to go back to the way things were, where he stopped talking to his sister for a decade. Those moments when they promised each other they would never go back to that touched me.

Gaby continues to develop in this book and she’s come so far from book 1. It shocked me every time I realized that the events of book 1 only happened over a week ago in the timeline of this series. The thing about Gaby is that she isn’t just developing mentally and physically, she has also grown emotionally over the course of the books and it's a joy to see her come into her own.

Other characters also develop in this book and I liked getting to know more about Mya. I liked that we finally got her side of the story. For the first time, she wasn't necessarily cast in a bad light (in spite of her actions). It was a pity that there wasn't more Jason in this book though. He has become one of my favorite characters and I missed him (as well as Rafa).

As one might imagine, things are definitely tense in this book what with Rafa and Taya having been kidnapped. The outcasts have asked for help and it’s up to Nathaniel to decide whether he will send his rephaim to help them. So, there isn’t much action in the first half of the book but after that things definitely get rolling. That isn’t to say that the book was dull at any point, it definitely wasn’t.

A lot of you shippers will also be happy to know there is definitely some interesting development in Gaby and Rafa's relationship!

I definitely think this was a worthy addition to the series and if you, like me, are worried about giving this one a shot, don’t be. It’s definitely worth it. I will admit that this book ends on a cliffhanger but the cliffhanger is one I whole heartedly appreciate.. unlike the one in Haze. I can only imagine the kind of things that will happen in Burn with the way this book ended. The wait may kill me but I trust Paula Weston to not disappoint.

[This review was originally posted on Nick's Book Blog ]

A copy of this novel was provided by Text Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

 

There's something about Weston's writing style that is just so easy. And in the best way possible. I can slip into the world of The Rephaim without any effort. I'm just there - with the characters, in those places - with just a few words on Weston's behalf. I absolutely love it.

 

Unfortunately, Shimmer felt a bit like a filler book for me. Not a lot happened plot wise, and there were only a handful of information/character reveals. And a cliffhanger ending. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book, but felt as if there was no real central purpose to it.

 

Being apart from Rafa was painful. Besides Jude, he is my favourite character in this series, and having him missing for the better half of it made me realise exactly how much he brings to the series. Although it was nice to get to know Gaby without Rafa being there to protect her and educate her - his protective sexiness was sorely missed.

 

I loved getting to know Jude, and being able to delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding his and Gaby's past. There are still so many unanswered questions regarding those two, which makes me very excited for the last book in the series.

 

We are introduced to more of the Rephaim than ever in Shimmer, and I was glad for it. In the previous two books, we were either interacting with one or the other and one of them was always doing shady business. I liked reading about the interactions between the Rephaim that live in the Sanctuary, and the Outcast Rephaim. I just want them to be together - like in The Lion King 2 where Kiara says that they're all the same. The Rephaim are the same, so be friends, dammit!

 

Again, I loved the Australian-ness of the book. I loved reading that Gaby missed the eucalypts outside of her home in Pan Beach. For some reason, it just makes me feel a lot closer to the characters.

 

The ending was a huge cliffhanger, and I really want to read what happens next. Bring on Burn!

 

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