Blog Tour: Burn by Paula Weston

 Would you believe it if I said that this was the final book in Paula Weston's The Rephaim Series? Well, unfortunately this is the end; the end of a 4 book series that kept readers on the edges of their seats wanting more! But good news for you, if you've stayed with me for the past 3 years and 4 blog tours or are just joining now, stay until the end of this post to see that not all endings are sad news!


Publish Date: June 7th, 2016
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN: 9781770498518
Pages: 448
Series: The Rephaim, #4
Source: From publisher for honest review and to participate in blog tour

Goodreads Synopsis:

Suddenly, 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.

My Review:

"Suddenly, Gaby remembers everything." That's the first line on the back cover of Burn, and it is a precursor to the intensity of book #4 in Paula Weston's series, The Rephaim. 

Paul Weston did such a good job with the cliffhanger at the end of Shimmer that she needed to come in with a bang to get the reader hooked at the get go and let me tell you...she did and she did it with perfection! The prologue in Burn is powerful and I feel like it really set the pace for the rest of the book. It was captivating and Paula Weston was daring you to stop reading. And when you just couldn't stop, you find yourself immersed in the sexiest, hottest, steamiest sex scene that the whole Rephaim series has seen. (It's hot!)

Paula Weston set Burn as a "then" and "now" story and it definitely worked in her favour. It really played to the overall story telling and it's another way to keep you hooked because you need to know what's happening next, all the time! Since Burn is the finale of 4 books with still so many unanswered questions, there was a lot of information handed to us. Paula Weston did a great job of spreading it out and not dumping all of this on the reader at once. We finally get all the who's, why's, when and how's all sorted out and while it may not have been what we thought or foresaw, its a conclusion nonetheless.

The huge monumental secret, the reason Gaby and Jude went their separate ways was a little anticlimactic! It just wasn't that 'huge monumental' secret I was hoping for. I didn't feel moved by their betrayal of each other at all and I wanted to feel moved. I wanted a jaw-dropping reveal, but I didn't get it. But that aside, the second half (and more so the ending) of the book was fast-paced, the writing was what we come to expect from Paula Weston. (I still love the Aussie feel of her writing). I love that we were kept on our toes from beginning to end. Paula Weston was able to wrap up the series very clearly in a writing perspective, but I feel like she ended it with the possibility of the reader continuing their story after everything has been revealed. I think it's been made easy for the reader to resume the lives of Gaby, Rafa, and the others!

Though I'm sad that the series has been wrapped up in the 4th and final book, I'm happy that I got to read, enjoy and participate in such a great blog tour. I hope that everyone had fun following along on this blog tour! It's been a fantastic journey and I've had a lot of fun. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour. Follow us all on Twitter too!

Now, while I know you've all enjoyed reading reviews and author interviews and other fun stuff blog tour participants have posted, I know you've also been dying for your own copies of The Rephaim series to read and to cherish right? So here's the best way to end the end of a great series . . .

A Giveaway!

The lovely, LOVELY team at Tundra Books would like you to have your own set of books. That's right, the whole set!

Giveaway open to Canada and US residents only. Books will be shipped by Tundra Books.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Need a refresher? Click on the covers to see my blog tour posts:

Blog Tour: Shimmer by Paula Weston

Once again, I am proud to take part in Paula Weston's Rephaim Book Tour. I enjoyed Book #1 and Book #2, so of course I'm thrilled to share with you my thoughts on Book #3. Follow along with the rest of the blog tour!

Publish Date: March 8th, 2016
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN: 9781770498488
Pages: 393
Series: The Rephaim, #3
Source: From publisher for honest review and participation in blog tour.


Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

I was so excited to get the email announcing the blog tour for book #3. And when the book arrived in the mail, I was eager to pick it up, and start back into Gaby and Rafa's adventures. Then I realized that it had been a while since reading Haze, and lo and behold Gaby and Rafa are separated! What?! I had forgot this crucial part, and while it made me sad for just a moment, I was eager to see some ass-kicking to get Rafa back! (And we know from the first two books, that ass-kicking is a HUGE part of Paula Weston's series.)

Thankfully, we're given a character cheat-sheet at the beginning of the book, and I admit I found myself using it more than I thought I would. A few times I found it a little confusing with the plethora of  Rephaim and Outcasts and characters in general. But by the middle of the book, I was more comfortable and aware of who's who.

Throughout Shimmer, the main focus seems to be getting Rafa and Taya out of the Iron room they're locked in but we also get to learn a lot about some characters and a little more into the mystery that is Gaby and Jude and their memories. Becuase of this, Rafa is not in the book as much as most of us were hoping (I know, right!? We all love Rafa) but this is important to the series. We see that while Gaby does rely (just a little) on Rafa, she can and certainly does hold her own when it comes to basically everything. She is definitely a YA heroine that sticks out and Paula Weston can be applauded for making such a strong, independent female protagonist.   

There's never a dull moment, with twists and turns and captivating scenes. To be honest, I did find Shimmer to be lacking in overall thrill and excitement compared to Shadows and Haze, but I feel it was a crucial part in the series, and the cliff hanger we are left with at the end?! Woah. I cannot wait to see what happens in the final installment of Paula Weston's Rephaim Series, Burn (which you can except to come back sometime in June and see what I thought of it!)