Shimmer (The Rephaim #3) by Paula Weston

23210022 Shimmer by Paula Weston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Publisher: Tundra Books
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Angels & Demons

BLURB:

Gaby thought her life couldn’t get more complicated.

She’s almost used to the idea that she’s not the teenage backpacker she thought she was. She can just about cope with being one of the Rephaim–a 139-year-old half-angel–whose memories have been stolen. She’s even coming to grips with the fact that Jude, the brother she’s mourned for a year, didn’t die at all.

But now Rafa–sexy, infuriating Rafa–is being held, and hurt, by Gatekeeper demons. And Gaby has to get the bitterly divided Rephaim to work together, or Rafa has no chance at all.

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I’ve read some of the reviews of this book on Goodreads and I must say I’m surprised by the amount of people who found this of lesser quality than the two previous books in THE REPHAIM series.

I, for one, enjoyed this much more. And I know why. I’ve always liked the actions scenes in this series. The pacing is very fast, giving the plot a feeling of urgency, which is great, because everyone’s constantly in danger, so the atmosphere reflects the course of events.

But the real reason why I found this more enjoyable is Rafa, or lack thereof. As we know, he’s been kidnapped. This means that Gaby and her crew must find him and bring him back. This also means that, since Rafa is *away*, there is a very limited amount of romance.

Thank goodness. The romance is something that I just can’t bring myself to enjoy, however much I try. Again, I blame the cheap, almost nonexistent, courting and the way their relationship began. I’ve accepted, however, that not all love stories can be lovely. Some are dry. Too bad.

Because of Rafa’s absence, fans of his character will miss him in this sequel. But, fortunately, we have Jude. You win some, you lose some, right? Jude is a character I couldn’t wait to meet. He’s charming enough. I like his interactions with his sister, Gaby.

I can’t believe the next book will be the last one. I’ve become a little more attached to the characters, so I’m not indifferent about them anymore. Shouldn’t have gotten attached. I’ll be losing them after the next book anyway. Sigh.