Paperback, 309 pages
Published May 4, 2010
Simon Pulse
Shade #1
Source: Own
For fans of: Paranormal, Romance, Hot Guys, Ghosts, Music
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I kind of stumbled across this on accident. I was in the middle of another book for review and left my Nook in someone's car.... And then proceeded to have a nervous breakdown. To calm down I plucked a book that I had on my shelf by random and said whatever it was I'd read it. And this is what I picked. And I'm so glad I did.
This book sitting left on my shelf unread was a big mistake. Ready has everything I like in a book, as well as what I like in the first book in the series. The character development was wonderful. I found myself really connected with Aura. Although I did not agree with some of the things she did, I did however know why she did them. Losing the one you love, and after you loved them for that long..... Yeah I can totally see her pain. Like the last time he sung to her.... Yeah I definitely got teary eyed! Then to further the character development, there were some ghosts that didn't have a purpose at all, but yet I still felt like I knew them. Ready does a great job in connecting them to her readers.
I also feel like she set the stage for the next book in the series perfectly. She played out the first book, and set it as a sort of build up to the next book in the series. I feel like I have something to look forward to in the next book. Like it is just the continuance of Aura's story and not just something else that randomly happens in the characters life like a lot of books out there have been.
I also loved the way Ready was able to tell the story. She does an amazing job of story telling and I felt like I was watching a movie in my head. She paid attention to important details that helped me play it out in my mind.
But my favorite thing by far, is the fact that there is music included in this story. I LOVE music; it comes second only to reading to me. So the fact that I had them together.... Yeah it rocked my socks. There were points where she said they were doing a cover of a certain song and I looked it up on YouTube or my iTunes and listened to it as I read and imagined myself at their concert.
Now the fun part.... Choosing my team.... Normally I can tell right off the back which team I want to be on. From Twilight, soon as I met Jacob I loved him. In Nightshade soon as I met Ren, I loved him.... But in this book.... It was SOOOOO HARD! It took me the ENTIRE book to figure out that I loved Logan. And even now I feel like I really don't know Zach that well for me to choose for real for real lol But both of them are really great! They both stole my heart, but Logan did just a little more because of this very statement right here “I know you're worried," Logan said. "You think the second I sign a deal, I'll turn into some kind of man-slut." He put his hands over mine, pressing my palms against his chest. "You've always been the only one, and you always will be.” Swoooooooooooon Cityyyyyyyyy! Omg I think I melted when I read that. Especially where he was placing their hands ;)
Anyways, I'm glad I chose to pick this up. It finally helped me see what all the well deserved hype had been about! Jeri Smith-Ready, you certainly "rocked" my socks! (No pun intended lol)
Overall, I give this
Labels: Ghosts, Hot Guys, Paranormal, Romance, YA
