Shadows by Paula Weston
Rating
5 stars+
Date Read
03/06/15 - 05/06/15
Age Group
14+
General Thoughts
Wow.
I've been way too lenient with books lately. Can't blame me. I haven't read a good one, a really good one, since January (yes, I'm talking about you, Existence)...
Shadows was perfect. Fits right in with my favourite books, exactly because it has nothing in common with them but the genre. And hot angels.
To me, Shadows was a mix of two of my favourite books: Sweet Peril (a bit less gory than Anna's story, thank God) and Fallen. Now, I realize that a lot of people did not like Fallen but before they cross Shadows out of their to-read list just because it reminded a random person of the Fallen, let me explain myself.
Fallen was my first paranormal romance book. I was twelve. I fell in love with it and its genre and I've read little else but YA Paranormal Romance since. So when I say Shadows reminded me of my first love, I obviously mean it as a compliment. And its not like they had anything in common, really. Just that feeling they leave you with.
The feeling that it was objectively perfect:
- Plot/plot-thickening check
- Interesting back story filled with hot secrets check
- An interesting, kickarse heroine with a spine and a character check
- A supportive, sweet bff check
- A hot half-angel check
- Steamy romance double- check
- Another pretty half-angel but without the complications of a love triangle check
- Satisfying character development check
- A writing that sweeps you right in and a narrator you can relate with check
- Getting the feeling that the author has everything neatly figured out in her mind and she leaves the reader pieces of the answers he's looking for throughout the book while still leaving important stuff in the dark for the sequels double check
Check. Check. Check.
Teaser:
"I'm halfway across the kitchen when I remember I'm still holding the katana. I offer the hilt to Zak. He shakes his head, making his curls sway across his forehead.
'Keep it until we find yours.' As if we're talking about a tennis racquet."
Main characters
Gaby
Or Gabe. Or Gabriella. Wandering around for the past year, broken since her brother Jude's death in an accident she remembers little about, until she settles in a peaceful, coastal town. She is unexpectedly easy to relate to, but that probably has more to do with the writing and her strong voice rather than her unbelievable life. She is strong, smart, confused, stubborn. With a bit of a tongue and a temper. But how can she keep her cool when her whole life is hazy in her mind and, apparently, fake?
Rafa
Or Rafael. Jude's best friend. How do you go about describing the half angel that walked into that bar and just... OK let me try: Rafa is strong, smart and he was great humour (also called being a smartass but we all know we enjoy every second of it. He has a sense of purpose about him, an air of confidence, he's occasionally cocky but that's just part of his charm, isn't it? And he's stubborn. He is loyal to his friends (well, just Jude really). And he has a complicated relationship with Gaby, considering he has history with her she can't remember, he can't begin to explain and this new Gaby seems to actually like him. But really, what's not to like?
(Chris Zylka in "the Secret Circle")
"Rafa gives me no privacy while I get myself sorted. 'So what, you like the barman?' His tone is prickly. 'Simon's a good guy'
Rafa leans in. 'Does he kiss like me?'
I ignore the heat that flares at his nearness. 'No. Like I said he's a good guy.' "
Maggie
Sweet, supportive, kind. She's just what Gaby needed when she needed it: a friend when she was a stranger in a new town, confused and mourning.
Jason
I actually liked Jason. I imagine him looking a bit like the one in PLL, around season three. He is smart, intelligent, has a dozen degrees and many different interests, talks about his feelings and he can cook. He is just perfect for Maggie.
Daniel
Or Pretty Boy, as Rafa likes to call him sarcastically. Truth is, maybe his lack of character was a bit intentional from the author's part. I mean, we already know she can create perfectly developed characters so it wasn't that that kept her from making Daniel a bit more ... Real. Daniel is a politician. Polished and politically correct, in his crisp shirts and ironed trousers. He seems to feel something for Gaby, a result of their past relationship (a past that she can't remember) but he's not real good at expressing it. At least, letting her get eaten by a freaking hellion doesn't sound like a good way to say I-still-love-you. Daniel I imagine looking like Loic Nottet, the guy that sang for Belgium in the Eurovision of 2015.
(Loic Nottet in the video clip of "Rhythm Inside")
Writing
I loved Paula's writing.
It wasn't that pretentious way of writing, throwing a couple of random big words in the text that didn't make sense in context or sit well with the rest of the paragraph just to show off (that is very popular with YA authors).
It wasn't weird or difficult to understand, there was never a reason to reread a paragraph because it just didn't make sense. Which happens quite often when the back story is too complicated and the author has to gicve away tiny clues and hints that slowly build up the story. That could easily have resulted in having no clue what's going on half the time but Paula knew just what she was doing and got the mysteriouw, cryptic story she was aiming for..
There also wasn't advanced grammar structure or rich vocabulary but what teenager ever fell in love books about paranormal romance because she liked the grammar structure.
Instead of all that, Paula's writing was nice and neat and clear and certain and described everything with beautiful pictures full of colours and sounds. And a nice sense of humour.
"The guys with him are armed. Three are carrying shiny katanas, but the fourth is spinning a poleaxe.
A freaking poleaxe."
(In case you're wondering what a poleaxe looks like :-)
Narrative
Thanks to Gaby's character, was just easy to get lost into, for hours at a time. The way she saw things, her unwavering voice. I got to give it to the author, how she managed to make a confused teenager who remember nothing of her real life sound strong and smart is praise worthy.
I really liked how, when everything was still, she threw in a "birds chirped in the distance" or "a driver honked down the street". It was to scarce to be distracting but it made it sound more real. Like she was thinking like an actual person rather than an empty name, because everyone notices that little stuff when it's quiet so I'll just mention it right there.
Plot
OK so maybe I do have a type. But who doesn't enjoy a book with an interesting back story with just a few of dark details around d the corners? The kind that you find out about piece by piece until it makes enough sense for you to realize that there were subtle hints of the truth, even in the very first chapters? The kind always give the answers just the right time so as not to get bored but those still make questions, like there ara missing pieces in a puzzle that is bigger than we first thought?
Oh, the synopsis on the back didn't do the book any justice.
[The conversation during which Rafa realizes Gaby has no recollection of her past, let alone that she's supposed to hate him for some unfathomable reason]
"Rafa watches me walk back through the crowded room and I feel heat climbing up from my chest. 'You're really going to keep this up?' He asks when I sit back down.
I have no idea what he's getting at, and when I don't answer he leans in closer.
'What about if I do this?' He runs his fingers through my hair, not quite far enough to discover the scar at the nape of my neck. It feels good.
With his hand still in my hair, he brings his lips down to my ear. 'You're not going to hit me?' 'Not yet.' "
All in all
What's more is there left to say? Kickass heroine, hot, cocky half angel, kissing in the second chapter, thick plot, full of surprises, contain battles with poleaxes and hellish creatures, small, quick chapters that are never enough, fast paced action, just got on the list with my all time favourites, I-am-so-picking-up-the-sequel kind of book (no cliffhanger, don't worry) go pick it up, its not cheesy at all, It's Just Perfect.
XOXO
Aggie Pearson
PS. And, of course a song. Actually, two of them. Foo Fighters' "All my life" for one and Fall Out Boy's "Just one yesterday" for a second. I can actually imagine Rafa singing the second one. His voice would sound a bit like that...
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