Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready (Book #1)


Released: May 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal - Series
Pages: 309
Source: Around the World Tours

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding--and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.





Step aside werewolves, vampires, fairies, there's a new obsession in my reading pile and it's ghosts! Everyone loves a good ghost story. The unanswered questions of what happens when we all leave this world, but could you image what our lives would be like if ghosts were a normal thing to be around? In Shade we meet Aura, your typical music loving teenage girl who just so happened to be born into a generation of kids who can see and communicate with ghosts. It's not exactly a huge deal to these teens. Sure it gets annoying when you're out with friends and a random ghosts is standing in the middle of the food court table demanding you help her out. But Aura handles a lot of it like it's a piece of cake.

Until her boyfriend, Logan the future rock star, becomes a ghost.

The relationship between Aura and her boyfriend Logan is not only truly realistic but so heartbreaking. I didn't expect to tear up while reading this, but I did. I loved learning bits of pieces of how these two formed their relationship together. Aura is my type of female character. While most characters would be moping around, Aura takes it a day at a time. She's head strong, tough, but at the same time she sensitive. 

The plot to this story is fast paced which kept me glued. There are many hints of things that keep you guessing what's going to happen next. I was constantly wondering what Aura was going to do with Logan on the verge of turning into a Shade. Not to mention the new guy in town, Zachary. My alerts were going off like crazy when he was introduced. We all know how those new boys can be. My only dislike throughout this novel was how fast Aura and Zachary's relationship developed, but the two have a certain connection that has many unanswered questions - ones I'm very excited to see in the next installment.

Jeri Smith-Ready writing is very addictive and wonderful. She knows how to hook a reader. If you weren't aware she's also a bit evil. Yes, you've been warned this one has a cliffhanger, a wonderful teasing evil one that has me dying to read more. I haven't read anything else by Jeri, but if this is just a taste of what her adult books are like, then consider me sold!

♥amber