Review: ‘Burn’ by Paula Weston (The Rephaim #4)

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.

I considered not reviewing this book on the blog and instead just writing a paragraph on Goodreads, since Burn is the fourth and final book in the Rephaim series, and if you’re considering starting this series you’re more likely to be swayed by a review of the first or maybe the second book. (I reviewed the second one, Haze, here and the third, Shimmer, here. I didn’t review the first on the blog, Shadows, because I read it before I was hugely into reviewing things. But I did write a short review on Goodreads.)

Then I remembered I’m behind on the Australian Women Writers challenge for this year. I’m aiming to read and review fifteen books by Aussie women, and I’m at nine.

So. Here it is, folks.

Some people review things with gifs.

If I were to review this book with gifs, these are some of the ones I’d use:

My excitement when I sat down to read Burn

How all the talk about beaches made me feel

Who Gaby made me think of

Gah!

How I felt after staying up past my bedtime two nights in a row to finish Burn

And some people review things with lists.

Here is a list of things you should know about Burn, and the Rephaim series more generally.

• It is Aussie urban fantasy. That means that, while some parts of it are set in the US and Europe, a large chunk of it is set on the Australian east coast, in a little tourist town backed by rainforests. The setting is divine. And made me want to go to the beach so badly it hurts. Hence the Olaf gif.
• It has angels, half-angels and demons in it. The demons are all bad, but everyone else can best be described as “shades of grey”. And not the creepy billionaire kind.
• OMG, the characters. Gaby. Rafa. Jude. (I still have a mad crush on Jude, but Rafa comes a close second.) There were a lot of extra characters that I found harder to keep straight at first, due to the gap between books, but Burn has a handy list at the front that tells you what faction the various Rephaim are in. It’s a lifesaver.
• The plot is so fast it leaves you breathless. I’m not kidding, guys. The four books of this series are set over less than two weeks. Sure, there are flashbacks, particularly in Burn — an entire section is devoted to Gaby’s returned memories. I loved it; given I’d spent the first three books guessing what on earth she and Jude got up to, it was very gratifying to finally find out. Now all four books have been released, you won’t experience the excruciating wait that I did!
• There are actual LOLs. It’s not a comedy, but the tension is relieved through humour.
• Speaking of relieving tension… there is some heat to a couple of scenes, but it’s not graphic. We’re talking hot, not scorching. No naughty words are used or anything. 😉

I gave the preceding three books in the series five stars, so it’ll probably be no surprise to you that I gave this one five stars too. You all need to read these books. Now. Go.