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Bel:

 

Cover

The cover art is edgy and gritty, but is not my cup of tea. If it’s not yours either, don’t be fooled, give the book a chance!

Characters

I enjoy spending time in the shades of grey in a battle against good and evil.

Favourite

Maggie. Best friends should be made of this. She’s no flake and stands tall even in the face of the scary crap.

Least Favourite

Easy mark this one… Malachi. There just aren’t words for the epicness of his nastiness.

Beginning

Gaby is followed by a strange guy after putting the contents of her dreams on a website.

Storyline

The strange things just keep coming for Gaby, but she still can not remember her past.

Ending

The possibilities for part two are endless.

Thoughts

After reading this fabulous, book I am seriously kicking myself for not remembering to bring my copy of Shadows to the Brisbane Writer’s Festival at the start of the month. I seriously stood right next to Paula and had nothing for her to sign. UGH! Pity I hadn’t read the book by then or I also would have picked up part two and had that signed too.

Well and truly worth picking up Shadows even if it’s just for curiosity’s sake. You’ll be impressed.

Quote

Rusty Shrugs. ‘Simon’s all right.’ He points the fencepost at him at him. ‘You wouldn’t go out with wankers, would you, mate?’

‘Not if I could help it.’

Not quite a resounding endorsement.

‘Present company excepted, of course.’ I say, gesturing to the brothers.

 

 Lisa:

 

 

 

Cover: If you’ve stuck around for a while, and have been keeping up with a few of my reviews, you know just how important covers are to me. I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but does anyone actually do that?

The cover of a book is the first thing the consumer sees. It’s the books first impression on a possible buyer. The cover should pull people in, should giveaway a little bit about the story inside, and should be what makes a person pick up the book to see what it’s about.

The cover of Shadows tells the reader right away that it has something to do with angels. Also the cover is kind of mysterious looking. It makes me wonder what else is going on in this story, and I would mostly likely pick it up to see what the synopsis has to say.

The cover does its job! Love it!

Characters: When it comes to Shadows I can easily say that all of the elements are what made this book for me; not just the story, or the characters, or the ending, but everything. However, the characters were what made the story different from other YA angel books. I felt that the characters had so much density and felt so real that it pushed the book up to the next level.

Favorite: I liked a lot of the characters! Gaby for being so strong, not only is she dealing with the loss of her twin brother, but also with the whole “angel” thing. And Maggie for being such a good friend to Gaby, and absorbing all the crazy information that’s been thrown at her.

Least Favorite: I can’t really say I disliked any character.

Beginning: Gaby doesn’t know how to grieve for the loss of her twin brother after they were caught in a horrible car accident over a year ago. Gaby is now living in Pan Beach with her best friend Maggie, hoping to be able to deal with her loss, and move forward in her life.

Middle: Gaby and Maggie run into a mysterious guy named Rafa at a bar one night, who claims to be one of Jude’s (Gaby’s twin brother) best friend. He even proves himself, when he shows Gaby pictures of him and Jude together. Rafa informs Gaby that her brother didn’t die the way she thinks he did. And that Gaby isn’t who she thinks she is, instead she’s an angel. Within only a few chapters Gaby is thrown into the world of Rephaim!

Ending: MY LIPS ARE SEALED! *Throws away key*

Overall Thoughts:  Before picking this book up, I had no idea what it was about. I had never heard of it before, and decided to do a bit of research. After just one google search, I found tons of reviews, claiming amazing things and rating it with four or more stars (out of five). After finally reading Shadows, I can tell you first hand that everything, everyone is raving about in their reviews is correct!

I can say that I fell in love with this book. While many seem to be getting tired of angels, I’m just now discovering them. Shadows filled my angel craving! There are twists and turns in this story, that made me feel like I was on a roller coaster, and wasn’t getting off any time soon. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store!

 

Krista:

 

 

Cover

My favourite aspect of the US cover is the subtle shading of the wings. The art combined with the title represents the book well. And I love the red colour with the sunset background.

Characters

There are a handful of characters in this one. Gaby is the main focus of the storyline but we get different character’s point of view as the story unravels.

Favourite

My favorite character is Maggie, Gaby’s best friend. I really liked her personality. If I chose one of the main characters it would be Rafa, he’s got this protective side that I was attracted to.

Least Favourite

This was a hard question for this book. I couldn’t really pin point a character I didn’t think filled out the story well. Although there were a lot of details and characters to remember, I think they all meshed well.

Beginning

Gaby has been having dreams about fighting hell-beasts with a boy she refers to as  Matt. But when “Matt” shows up at the local bar, she’s determined to find answers. When he tells her that he was her dead brother’s best friend, Gaby has a hard time believing him because she cannot remember him. It turns out that the car accident that killed her brother and wiped her memory might have been something else all together.

Storyline

Gaby is still mourning the loss of her twin brother Jude, when Rafa appears. A real life embodiment of the man from her dreams. He tells her a story that blows her mind, and only upsets her more. As the proof starts rolling in that what Rafa has been telling her could possibly be true, it changes her life. It’s a story with constant movement and action scenes as the characters have to rescue and help each other.

Ending

Everything begins to come together nicely with a very powerful fight and revelations.

Thoughts

We get a lot of information for a first book in a series. It has a lot of Fallen Angel, Nephilim and Rephilim stories. Even though I did not connect with Gaby personally, her attitude makes sense with her story. She also has the physical fight to back up her mouth, so she’s a pretty bad arse character!

Quote

‘Why did you call me Matt?’
‘It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that I know you, I realize I should have called that character Dick.’
He laughs, and then the couch shakes. ‘Honestly, Gabe, I forgot you could be this much fun.”

 

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