Title: Shadows
Author: Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Release Date: September 10th, 2013
Series: The Rephaim #1
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Synopsis via Goodreads
Love. Nightmares. Angels. War. A fast-paced, compelling debut novel from a fresh new voice in YA.
It’s been 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?
My rating: 
This book was surprisingly good! From the synopsis, I thought it'd be fairly cliche. You know, girl is in car accident. Car accident kills family member/friend. And then she spends her every waking moment moaning and groaning about the unfairness of it all and pushing everyone away. AND SUDDENLY...a boy--who is unbelievably attractive, of course--swoops into her life and fixes everything and they live happily ever after. Go on, tell me that that's not how nearly EVERY story goes these days.
Fortunately, this was not that story. I was impressed with how it quickly picked up from it's slow start and completely engaged me. It's one of those books that you never want to put down, and for all the right reasons. Badass characters. An intriguing mystery. Intricate, masterful worldbuilding. Smexual tension galore! (Yes, I meant smexual). And a hero to swoon over.
Gaby's one of the most amusing, engaging and interesting heroines I've read in a while. She actually had a brain, guys! Halle-freaking-lujah. She perfectly balanced her grief with her sense of self, even though she didn't fully understand who she was. And Rafa. Gorgeous, hilarious Rafa. He exceeded all of my expectations. Usually, I have to brace myself when it comes to the males in this particular YA genre. Brace myself for the inevitable douchebags that try to come off as redeemable in the end but sort of just make me want to facepalm. I didn't really have that issue with Rafa. He was a smartass, but not a dick. Badass, but not unbearably arrogant.
Really, this book seemed to be set up for hundreds of cliches, but it avoided them all and turned out fabulous. Easily a 5-star-er.
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Did Not Finish/Do Not Recommend
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