Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shade

Jeri Smith-Ready

Copyright 2010, Simon Pulse

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.

Wow. Just, Wow. Pretty much sums it up. Jeri Smith-Ready created a world that was both fascinating and horrifying at the same time. The thought that spirits still stuck on this earth would be visible to all (bort after the shift that is) is heartbreaking and yet very intriguing. I've always loved ghosts. Ghost anything. Stories, hunting, searching pictures for Orbs - whatever you've got, I'll take it. And I think most people have thought about their loved ones coming to visit them. Apparitions of grandpa checking on you as you try to sleep, ex-boyfriends appearing in dreams to tell you it's ok to move on - most people I know have stories of their own like these or know someone who has. But do we really want them around?

What does that do to our healing process? The path Aura is on is a tough one and I feel for her battles. I can't tell you how many times I cried while reading this or struggled to keep tears at bay. Aura and Logan love each other SO much but as I was reading I felt like maybe Aura was needing some time away. IDK, I could be crazy but a lot of times in life when you have to talk yourself into something it's just not the right time and I felt like there was a lot of "talking in to" or making excuses for Logan by Aura. I'm not taking anything away from their love AT ALL. They were totally in love, but I felt like I wanted more for Aura. The pain she felt in losing Logan broke me. I felt so bad for her. I can't even imagine seeing Hubby one minute and then his ghost the next. Knowing that he's gone. If he were really gone that's one thing but for him to still be like, hanging out and getting jealous? A big part of me would be like: PASS DANG IT. lol but then again...then you never ever really see him again...omg... it's just too much...

As I said in my Tune in Tuesday post yesterday, Zachery is one of my favorite characters. Even without his accent ;) I'll be honest, I'm a bigger fan of a British accent then I am of Scottish but either way - ACCENTS ARE HOT. I love that he's struggling with secrets too and that he seems to genuinely care for Aura and he's SO. PATIENT. How?! How is that possible!?

I love that this story is set in a modern-ish day society, it's easy to fall into and understand. People deal with ghosts now and that's different but if you're like me, you kinda saw that coming. lol The love story will break you into tiny little pieces and you'll be left looking for someone to pick up the pieces. This book was addictive. Seriously. I picked it up and stopped maybe for an hour or so, but then I stayed up until 2 am finishing it. Thank God for holiday weekends. lol! Definitely pick this up when you have time to really read because you will NOT want to put it down!

Now. I've gotta go pick up my pom-poms, iron out that skirt and try out for the Jeri Smith-Ready Cheer Squad so if you'll excuse me...