Waiting on Wednesday - Burn by Paula Weston & Tracked by Jenny Martin

Hi everyone!! thank-you so much for stopping by today.

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I couldn’t decide this week so I have two WoW’s! Burn by Paula Weston which is one of my favourite series. My second WoW is Tracked, by Jenny Martin, a futuristic Fast and the Furious!

Author: Paula Weston

Series: The Rephaim

Amazon pre-order

Publisher: Text Publishing

Release date: 24^th June 2015

Goodreads 

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

The final book in The Rephaim series. Due out in June 2015 for Australia/New Zealand; August 2015 for UK; and June 2016 for US/Canada.

Gaby remembers everything. 

For a year she believed she was a backpacker chilling out in Pandanus Beach. Working at the library. Getting over the accident that killed her twin brother.

Then Rafa came to find her and Gaby discovered her true identity as Gabe: one of the Rephaim. Over a hundred years old. Half angel, half human, all demon-smiting badass—and hopelessly attracted to the infuriating Rafa.

Now she knows who faked her memories, and how—and why it’s all hurtling towards a massive showdown between the forces of heaven and hell. 

More importantly, she remembers why she’s spent the last ten years wanting to seriously hurt Rafa.

Author: Jenny Martin

Series: -

Amazon pre-order

Publisher: Dial Books

Release date: 5^th May 2015

Goodreads 

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

The Fast and the Furious gets a futuristic twist in this action-packed debut!

On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn't stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble. When she and her best friend, Bear, attract the attention of Charles Benroyal, they are blackmailed into racing for Benroyal Corp, a company that represents everything Phee detests. Worse, Phee risks losing Bear as she falls for Cash, her charming new teammate. But when she discovers that Benroyal is controlling more than a corporation, Phee realizes she has a much bigger role in Castra’s future than she could ever have imagined. It's up to Phee to take Benroyal down. But even with the help of her team, can a street-rat destroy an empire?

What are you waiting on this week??

I’m celebrating my 4 Year Blogoversary with a giveaway - Here

Review: Shimmer (Rephaim # 3) by Paula Weston

Shimmer

Author: Paula Weston

Series: Rephaim #3

Pages: 393

Publisher: Text Publishing

Release date: 3^rd July 2014

Amazon – TBD

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

Gaby thought her life couldn’t get more complicated.

She’s almost used to the idea that she’s not the nineteen-year-old backpacker she thought she was. She can just about cope with being one of the Rephaim - a 140-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.

It’s a race against time - and history. And it may already be too late.

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

** Contains possible spoilers from previous books

The Rephaim is one of my all-time favourite angel series and one that keeps getting better with each book; with a cast of memorable characters, a wonderful storyline and fabulous writing, I didn’t want this book to end and when it did I was left gaping.

Gaby is a character I absolutely adore, she still has no recollection of how her memories were stolen but piece by piece she learns about the person she was and continues to grow as a character; I have been anticipating the big reveal about the twins memory loss but it wasn’t to happen in Shimmer but the build-up to this point has certainly kept me entertained and fully invested in the characters. Jude slots back into the Rephaim fold easily but he is still a bit of a mystery and Rafa {swoon} despite being missing for the first part of the book still plays a pivotal role overall.

The plot is faultless, A lot of Shimmer is spent with the characters at the Sanctuary where we see the Outcasts reunite with Nathaniel’s supporters in the hopes of finding a way of rescuing Rafa and Taya from the magic room they discovered in Iowa; with Nathaniel delaying it is up to Gaby and Rafa to find a solution and save them from the hellions.

Shimmer is a book filled with angel politics, a wonderful romance and action aplenty, I am still left with so many unanswered questions which I am sure will be revealed in the finale Blaze which has an anticipated 2015 release date.

Amazing angel books are hard to come by but this is a series I highly recommended! My biggest grip is the wait until I can get hold of the next book.

About the author: 

I'm the author of the Rephaim series.

I'm also an avid reader and blogger, a huge fan of Australian literature and fantasy/paranormal stories, a closet comic reader and TV addict...and I'm borderline obsessed with the Foo Fighters.

www.paula-weston.com

  

Review: Haze (Rephaim #2) by Paula Weston

Haze

Author: Paula Weston

Series: The Rephaim

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal

Pages: 384

Publisher: Text Publishing

Buy links – Amazon: TBD

My review of Shadows

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

"But what if we can’t find Jude?" 
He leans closer. His breath is warm on my ear. "We will."
"How can you be so sure?" I want to believe him so badly, but this is Rafa. The guy who’s all action and no plan. His smile is tired, knowing. An echo of a shared past I don’t remember. 
"Because I’m not smart enough to give up, and you don’t know how to." 

Gaby Winters’ nightmares have stopped but she still can’t remember her old life. Still can’t quite believe she is one of the Rephaim—the wingless half-angels who can shift from place to place, country to country, in the blink of an eye. That she was once the Rephaim’s best fighter. That demons exist. That Rafa has stayed. 

But most of all, she can’t quite believe that her twin brother, Jude, might be alive. 

And Gaby can’t explain the hesitancy that sidetracks the search for him, infuriates Rafa, and sends them, again, into the darkest danger.

Reviews: 5 out 5 Stars

This review contains possible spoilers from book one, Shadows.

What an amazing sequel in this gripping Angel/Demon series by Paula Weston! As soon as I finished Shadows, I started on Haze and literally devoured it in one sitting I adored it that much.

In book one, Gaby Winters learnt she was part of the Rephaim, offspring of the fallen angels and her memory was wiped a year prior by someone not yet known. They have also worked out that if she is alive that her twin, Jude could also be out there somewhere in a similar situation to her own.

Gaby is such a likeable character, she’s snarky, stubborn, resilient and brave; she also shows a more vulnerable side in this book which threw me back a bit, she voiced her fears and despite the fact she was still learning tidbits of her past she faced everything head on.

Rafa is still evasive and mysterious, he is reckless and cocky which I have come to love about him, he is also extremely protective of Gaby and I’m still curious about what happened between them pre memory wipe; their chemistry is intense and I love the banter and spark between them.

The angel mythology is interesting and still refreshingly unique, and the plot has progressed although the mystery at the heart of the book is still there keeping me hooked and wanting to know what has happened or will happen; and I love how Gaby is starting to embrace what she is and hasn’t chosen a side – outcasts or the sanctuary; she is looking out for herself and pursuing her search for Jude and her missing memories which I appreciate.

We are still learning about the secondary characters, I adore Maggie’s strength and support and Jason is wonderful but still a bit of a mystery, he seems to leak bits and pieces of what he knows according to circumstance, I’m unsure if he has a personal agenda but it feels that way. Ez is a sweetheart as is Daisy; Mya and Taya grate on my nerves!

Paul Weston is certainly going to be an auto-buy author for me, her writing is detailed and mesmerising, you are drawn into the story she has created and the world-building just gets better and better.

Overall, Haze is an impressive sequel, filled with some kick-butt action-scenes, perfect characterisations and a mesmerising storyline that gets better and better, I’m more than eager to get hold of the next book in this amazing series.

About the author: 

Paula Weston lives in Brisbane with her husband, a retired greyhound and a moody cockatiel. She reads widely, and is addicted to paranormal stories. Shadows, book one of the Rephaim series, is her first novel.

Twitter : Facebook : Website : Goodreads

Text Publishing : Amazon : The Rephaim Facebook

Review: Shadows (The Rephaim #1) by Paula Weston

Shadows

Author: Paula Weston

Series: The Rephaim

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal

Pages: 388

Publisher: Text Publishing

Amazon: Shadows

TBD: Shadows

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

It’s 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?

Fast-paced and gripping, Shadows, the first book in the Rephaim series, is a standout paranormal romance for fans of Richelle Mead and Cassandra Clare.

Reviews: 4 ½ out 5 Stars

I absolutely love finding out about new series so when Text Publishing bought The Rephaim to my attention, I was more than eager to dive into this Angel and Demon world, once I started this book real life was put on hold I was so engrossed in Paula Weston’s amazing storytelling.

Eighteen year-old Gaby Winters has moved to Pandanus Beach to deal with the grief and pain of losing her twin brother Jude in a horrific car crash, as the passenger she was left scarred and has since been plagued with terrible nightmares. After writing about her dreams which include demons, hellspawn and fighting alongside a gorgeous boy she submits it to an online website.

The events which followed are worse than she could possibly have imagined – her dreams are in fact her reality, the beasts are very much real and the gorgeous boy she dreams about isn’t in her imagination, but alive and well in the form of an arrogant, reckless but attractive guy named Rafa who seems to know a lot more about Gaby than what she ever thought and her memories and past as she knows it is an implant and not her own, she is also a Rephaite – the offspring  of a fallen angel.

Gaby was instantly likeable to me, she was believable, smart, snarky and took everything in her stride; she asked questions rather than accepted everything easily and was an easy character to connect with.

Rafa was perfectly imperfect; I loved him as a character! He was evasive, overconfident, smexy and also shared a history with Gaby or Gabriella/Gabe as she was once known, he was also Jude’s best friend so Gaby’s loss was very much Rafa’s as well. I was so intrigued about the fallout he had with Gaby, I didn’t know whether he could be trusted to protect and help her but over the course of the book he showed where his loyalties lay.

The chemistry between Gaby and Rafe was smexy and intense! I am so eager to learn more about their pasts and the argument that made her break his nose. He wasn’t forthcoming about what happened between them which made me all the more keen to uncover the secrets.

The plot was fast-paced and really gripping, the Rephaim have been tasked with delivering the fallen fathers to the Angelic Garrison to bring them to justice but prior to the supposed accident, Jude and Gaby had obviously found out something they weren’t meant to know.  I was guessing along the way what was going to happen, I had hopes that Gaby would retain her memories and fears that it wouldn’t work in her favour but I loved the mystery of it all but in saying that we are also left with many more questions. I loved watching the events unfold and seeing Gaby slowly unravel the pieces of her past.

Angel books are usually a hit or miss with me but I loved Ms. Weston’s world-building and her very unique take on this paranormal being which I found refreshing. The Australian setting held me captivated; I really appreciated the vivid imagery not only of Pan Beach but also the Sanctuary and Patmos.

I adored the secondary characters, each play a pivotal part to the overall story – roommate and Gaby’s closest friend Maggie was the sort of friend everyone needs to have – sweet, kind and understanding, Jason was mysterious but also a sweetheart, Daniel irked me but I’m also keen to learn more about him as well as the other Rephaim. Each were intriguing and written well.

Ms Weston’s writing is superb! Shadows was entertaining and flowed beautifully and I really liked her original twist on Angels and Demons. I am just thankful I have book two, Haze sitting here waiting to be read – I can’t wait to dive back into this captivating story.

Overall, Shadows is a book that sucks you in, leaves you frantically flipping through the pages needing more; it has some great action sequences, amazing characters and an enjoyable, unique plot, it is a fantastic debut novel for author Paula Weston.

Fave quotes:

“We're quiet for a moment. And then: 'Why did you call me Matt?'
'It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now that I know you, I realise I should have called that character Dick.'
He laughs, and then the couch shakes. 'Honestly, Gabe, I forgot you could be this much fun.” 

Ï've been beaten up, lied to, and heard a couple of different versions of who I am and what I've supposedly done"

About the author: 

Paula Weston lives in Brisbane with her husband, a retired greyhound and a moody cockatiel. She reads widely, and is addicted to paranormal stories. Shadows, book one of the Rephaim series, is her first novel.

Twitter : Facebook : Website : Goodreads

Text Publishing : Amazon : The Rephaim Facebook