Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shade Trilogy #1

Release Date: May 4^th, 2010

Number of Pages: 309

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: Bought

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.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started reading Shade, but one thing is for sure: I didn’t think I would read it in one sitting, yet I did. I quite enjoy the story Jeri Smith-Ready created here, with the Shift, and the post-shifter being able to see ghosts. I’m really curious about why that is, and it’s one of the reasons why I liked that the characters don’t even know what created the Shift. It’s like we all have something to discover together, which add something to the romance and the ‘quest’ to save Logan from turning into a Shade.

I quite liked Aura. I could easily understand where she was coming from and why she was acting the way she did, especially with Logan and Zachary. I could understand why it was so hard for her to move on after Logan’s death, especially since he was still hanging around her. I may not really like Logan (I mean, the way he sometimes acted with Aura slightly annoyed me.), but she loves him, and she physically lost him. I could understand that she wouldn’t want to let his ghost go at first. On the other hand, Zachary was simply amazing in my opinion. Okay, he may have some secrets up his sleeves, but still. I liked the way he acted with Aura, how patient he seems to be.

Jeri Smith-Ready blew my mind with this book. The world she created hooked me form page one, and I have trouble resisting the urge to run to the nearest bookstore to get my hands on the sequel. This book is more than just a book about ghost. It is more than just a love story. The book has so many things going one, it is unbelievably captivating. There might be a love triangle in this book, but even if you don’t usually enjoy those, try it. I felt like the love triangle was more about moving on from one lost love (because after all, Logan’s dead. He isn’t ever going be able to completely be there) to a new one, a living one.

Overall, it is a book really worth giving a chance. It is simply captivating and addicting. I already can’t wait to get my hands on Shift, so I can know what will happen next. The ending may not have a cliffhanger, but it was intense. It leaves you begging for more.