Shadows by: Paula Weston

For months now I've been hearing about what a great book Shadows by Paula Weston.  I finally decided to give in to all those positive reviews one weekend and I was blown away by how much I ended up loving Shadows.

Shadows presents us to a cast of characters that are extremely well-developed. Gaby, the protagonist, lost her twin brother Jude in a brutal accident. When Rafa, a boy who appeared in her nightmares comes to town, her life is thrown upside down. She is propelled into a world of angels. I loved Gaby as a main character. She started off as a naive character, but by the end of the book, she had overcome her fears and had become one of the most kick-ass characters I've ever come across. At the start of the story, Gaby was battling with the intense grief that came with the loss of her twin. This grief soon turned into confusion as Rafa came into her life telling her that her memories have been wiped away. Her emotions felt genuine and almost tangible. I loved having this book written in her POV because she was such a great main character. Gaby was also the sort of girl who didn't mince her words and I loved her brutal honesty. Gaby's growth into this level-headed, strong character was one of the highlights of Shadows for me. What I liked about the author's portrayal of this main character was that she wasn't flawless. She made mistakes along the way, but she was the kind of young woman who knew how to learn from her mistakes.

Rafa, the love interest, was another favorite character of mine in this book. He was one cocky, arrogant boy,  but not to the point of rude. From time to time, he allowed his sweet and caring side to appear and it was a treat for me as a reader. Rafa was such an intriguing character and I just wanted to peel off the layers of mystery that surrounded him and to get to know him better. Slowly, over the course of the book, the author did help the readers unravel his character and it was an absolute delight. Rafa also had this charm to his character that made me want to constantly swoon over him. There is still a lot more to learn about his personality and I can't wait for more of him in the next installments of the series. Shadows also had a fantastic set of secondary characters who immediately grappled at my heart, especially Gaby's best friend, Maggie and Jason. The author made sure that the main character and the love interest weren't the only ones who were well fleshed-out. She didn't leave the secondary characters to the side and I could tell from their distinct personalities.

Shadows is one of my favorite books that I've read this year. I need the next book right away!