"He was blond, not dark." 
 "I wasn't talking about his hair." 
 4.5 stars! November 14, 2012 - My happy day for hot, kick-ass angel goodness! First, I found out that Angelfall is on track to become a movie, then I finished reading Shadows a few hours later and found it to be amazing. My head is this close to exploding from the excitement. 
 So I picked this book up because I'd heard that it was almost as good as Angelfall. The comparison alone made me want to give it a shot, but I didn't think that Shadows could come close. Surprise, surprise, it actually kind of did...for me at least! The main difference between the two books is that Shadows leans more toward pnr, while Angelfall leans more toward sci-fi, so you're going to get more of the "in your face" romance with this book than we saw in Angelfall (although Raffe from Angelfall still owned the place with hotness by default), but that doesn't mean this book is any less ass-kicking or adventurous. 
 I think it's kind of funny that the two rival angels are Rafa (close to Raffe) and Daniel (from a popular, yet kind of bleh angel book). As of right now, the book is pushing us toward liking Rafa, but I have to say that I like Daniel too for reasons unknown. It must be that mystery thing and those little brief glimpses of facial expressions changing when it comes to Gabe/Gaby being in the middle of situations. I want to know Gaby and Daniel's history together, even though I like her chemistry with Rafa. 
 "Doesn't sound like me." His mouth is close to my ear. "I prefer my women awake when I harass them." 
 There's no insta love in this book. Nope, this is rivals turned into some sort of unexplained attraction. Me likey. 
 Yes, I'm a such a girl, but my favorite books are the ones which tend to check off a few of my pleasure boxes : creative/original story, great action, and at least some hint of romance or hotness. This story definitely checked off all of my pleasure boxes. 
 With his hand still in my hair, he brings his lips down to my ear. "You're not going to hit me?" 
 "Not yet." 
 "What about if I do this?" He kisses my neck, just under my ear, his warm tongue against my skin. 
 So yeah. Read this. Then come back and let me know what you thought because I want to know what your theories are about this cast of characters and who you think is on the up-and-up. 
 Plus, let me just mention again that there is ass kicking. 
 The guys with him are armed. Three are carrying shiny katanas, but the fourth is spinning a poleaxe. 
 A freaking poleaxe. 
 Thanks Joan for buddy reading this with me, and Ash, Khanh and Amanda on my second re-read!