Review: Haze by Paula Weston

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Title: Haze (The Rephaim, #2)
Author: Paula Weston
Pages: 448
Publisher: Tundra Books
Release Date: September 9, 2014

Gaby Winters' life used to be pretty normal. She lived with her best friend. She worked in a library. She was slowly getting over the death of her twin brother, Jude. And then Rafa came looking for her.

With him, her blood-soaked nightmares stopped. But now they are reality. She is one of the Rephaim - a wingless half angel, descended from the Fallen. Demons exist and they are hunting her.

She knows she's alive when she's meant to be dead. And that means maybe Jude is too. So why isn't she out there looking for him?

My Thoughts: I was in a bit of a reading rut before I started Haze. I honestly believed it would have a negative effect on how I felt about this book. However, it turns out I was wrong, which was a huge relief! Haze was such a great book and ended up being exactly what I needed to read.

Haze is the second novel in Paula Weston's Rephaim series, and it starts off a week after the end of the first book Shadows. I was a little worried I wouldn't remember all the details from the previous book, since I read it over a year ago, but it was easy slipping back into the complicated and fascinating life of Gaby Winters.

Just like in Shadows, there was still plenty of mystery surrounding Gaby, including her past and the fate of her twin brother Jude. Being in the dark right along with her was killer because there were moments where it felt like some of the answers were in reach. At the same time, though, I loved that I was never able to figure out things before Gaby did. It made it that much easier to sympathize with her and that much harder to put the book down.

In this book, Gaby's main goal was searching for Jude. At least that's what Rafa, her (former?) rival and the guy she clearly has feelings for now, wanted. Unfortunately, yet understandably, it wasn't that simple. Gaby wanted her brother back, but what if they never found him? Or what if they did find him and he had his memories this entire time? Those were some of the scenarios Gaby couldn't help but to imagine and fear. Add in the necessary side missions that made Gaby and Rafa's search even more complicated, and the anticipation for any sign of Jude pretty much had me on the edge of my seat.

What helped ease my anxiety throughout the story were those sweet and intense moments between Gaby and Rafa. Even though Gaby and Rafa's tendency to not be one-hundred percent up front with each other ended up causing some frustrations, their relationship was the highlight of the novel for me. I just love Rafa's personality and how protective he is of Gaby, and I also love how Gaby is when she's with him. I hope that whatever happens between them, whether it's good or bad, makes the bond they share that much stronger.

Haze was a wonderful follow-up to Shadows. Enough was revealed to keep me satisfied, but enough was kept hidden to keep me wanting more. I'm so glad this is a four-book series, not a trilogy. I couldn't imagine everything being wrapped up in the third book. That being said, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and unraveling more of the mystery of Gaby and Jude!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Can you guess which character from the series I'm most like? Okay, I won't keep you all in suspense. I am...

...Ez! Yay! She's awesome and badass. Before you go, be sure to follow the rest of the Haze blog tour! Find the schedule HERE. :)