Shade

Note that this series review might contain slight spoilers for people who haven't read the first two books. The Shift is an incomprehensible and strange phenomenon that appeared exactly sixteen years ago. Since then it's been controlling the lives of everyone born after it, giving them the ability to see ghosts. The SHADE series introduces ghosts as a matter of course. They are a part of modern-day life after the Shift instead of some paranormal happening to fear. No people are being haunted. Everyone knows about them and they aren̢۪t the scary spirits we know from other books, which got me interested to read SHADE in the first place. This series presents us with a not at all ordinary ghost story paired with scientific and cultish elements involving a lot of research about what's behind the Shift. Aura has an exceptional job, as a kind of ghost whisperer. She's supposed to hear out ghosts and work together with her lawyer aunt. Which teen wouldn't want such a job? In the beginning of SHADE she's together with her boyfriend Logan, a hot musician. And everything seems to be just cut out of a contemporary romance novel. He's celebrating his birthday, they're having a good time and are about to take the next step in their relationship, when.. yeah, when he's being a jerk and dies. His death had been announced in the summary, but I was shocked at the stupidity behind it. Now thanks to the Shift it is possible that he's coming back, even so for a larger part of the story. And with Logan, comes the music. You'll get to be a groupie and just enjoy the show with all the musical aspects Jeri Smith-Ready put into her story! In case you might be wondering - it is always one of the questions I am asking first - there is also a love triangle. Aura, Logan and Zachary. Those three have a lot of issues to sort out thoughout the entire series. As opponents, as lovers, friends and even variations in between. I often feel the need to choose between the boys who are fighting for the girl. In the SHADE series I was drawn to both of them, could equally understand their motifs and feelings for Aura. Logan's been there from the beginning and I so badly wanted him to find a happy ending, even as a ghost. Then there's Zach, the super nice and supportive Scottish beau who stole my heart with no effort. He just walked into the story and became an inseparable part of it. It's as simple as that! Aura & Logan as Aura & Zach have their sweet and sexy moments. Their relationships are steadily emerging, updating, changing. And I really liked the way their relationships and Aura's feelings took from the first to the last book. It always seemed like she was on a journey and in the end she's finally found her way home. Aura and Zach's fate - for various reasons - being so closely intertwined, adds a pretty nice touch to the story. Zach is the sweetest and it can't be summarised all that he̢۪s doing for Aura. Their research and connection to the Shift makes up a large part of the story. There is much to discover! But their interest also turns them into targets. And soon they find themselves hunted down by a bunch of bad guys, which adds a kind of really good spy-action-thrill to the books. The Irish influences were pure joy to my heart. I've never even been there, but this country sure has something mysterious and compelling about it. Every time I see pictures or read about it, it feels like it's calling to me with its ancient history and culture. Aura and Zach travel the Irish landscape, explore the myths behind Newgrange and hopefully return with what they've come to find. Jeri Smith-Ready fitted their journey with a massive original and authentic atmosphere. 4/5 **** SHADE series - Purple ghosts, seeking love and mysteries in the heart of Ireland. This trilogy is very rock star! This is an entirely different kind of ghost story. It's funky, offers cultish references and a huge amount of musical support. There are governmental conspiracies and a bunch of really bad guys that are after Aura and Zach. Romance and action both guaranteed! Especially the last book in this series left me hoping to see a new book by Jeri Smith-Ready on my shelf very soon!show more

In One Word ~ Overwhelming Honestly, one word could never do SHADE justice. It was also: Astonishing, Shattering, Breathtaking, Beautiful, Funny, and Sad. Does that just about cover it? Not a chance. I debated writing this review. In some weird way, I wanted to take SHADE and the emotions it drug through me and just hold them tightly to myself, keep it private. Mine. But then I thought about the massive, and I mean MASSIVE amount of conversation that was started on Twitter with me simply saying that I was starting SHADE. People I "talk" with on a daily basis, occasionally, and never before responded. We all had this happy, hilarious and passionate conversation. It was about the books, the characters, whose Team we were on (I'm still officially on what Jeri calls "Team ShadeBoys", I love them both), kilts, music, kisses, and tears. When a book can inspire that kind of commitment and intensity, you know that you've come across something that sort of transcends... well, it just transcends being simply a book. I realized that SHADE is the type of book that binds people. People who would have never laughed, or squee'd with happiness or even talked to one another have become linked by their love for this series and the author, Jeri Smith-Ready. Oh yeah, this was supposed to be a review. I guess I should be writing reviewer-ish stuff, huh? SHADE is full of everything that makes a fabulous book. Engaging, smart, smartass, beautifully infuriating characters. SHADE has a extremely unique, well-developed plot that involves our world, with a slight tweak that seems entirely possible. Like, I was really looking around for violet-hued figures, lurking in the background. I read SHADE while traveling twelve, count em, twelve hours with my cranky husband and lovable but really whiny kids. I zoomed through this book in about two and a half hours. The tears started leaking as soon as I opened it. I cried the entire time. But don't get me wrong, SHADE is also a super funny book. The dialogue is amazing, so funny and sarcastic, just how I like it. SHADE gave me a really, really good day. Every time I look at this book, I will remember Logan, Aura, and Zach; crying in a car with a box of tissues on my lap; and my brilliant friends who made me feel as if they were reading it for the first time, with me. Favorite Quote ~ "Aura," he whispered, "I wish I could wipe away just one of your tears. Then I'd feel like a person again. Like I'm something more than a bunch of light."show more