Book Review: Shade (Jerry Smith-Ready)

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.

Shade has been sitting on my to-be-read pile for months (Lyndsey @ Heaven, Hell and Purgatory Reviews very kindly lent me her copy), the reason being that I was not entirely certain of whether or not it will be the kind of book I fancy reading. Turns out my gut feeling was right, because I did not seem to like it as much as others told me I would.

Shade is an interesting enough read. The concept of every sixteen year old and under able to see and communicate with ghosts, while the rest of the world remains blind is intriguing to say the least. Surprisingly, the plot surrounds and explores this phenomenon through the heroine's efforts in unravelling what really happened. Shade is packed with mystery and although it ended abruptly and answered too few a question for my liking, it kept me well interested throughout. The plot I think can do with more tension, but I suppose

The characters are not easily discernible. I had a difficult time understanding the heroine, Aura, and her mixed emotions. Her narrative does not come across as strong as it should be and her words lacked impact. I expected a lot of emotions in her words considering Logan's death, but for some reason I was not entirely satisfied. To top it off, there are certain changes that occurs to Aura in the book that is not well-backed and well transitioned. I was surprised to find her decisions so suddenly shifting her path to the left when all along she was indicating a right-ward veer. The boys however, are a delight. Logan - dead, notwithstanding - is an active, romantic character, so full of life and so vibrant he comes across as friendly to the reader as he is described the book. Zachary, on the other hand, is mysterious, protective, encouraging. Romance-wise, he is the perfect 'other guy'. There are a few secondary characters that seem to play more than just a background role, but the ending is a little abrupt, so I'm not really sure. It didn't feel...complete.

I found the book focusing mostly on two things: the mystery about the Shift and the romance of course. I must admit I was left confused and frustrated about how the book explains the Shift - let's sum it up to this: Shade is definitely a series book, because there is much left of the mystery for the next book to answer. I'll bet my last penny there will be a surprising explanation at hand as the book seemed to be geared towards this. So it might just be all down to waiting for the next book.

The romance in Shade begins well, but loses its touch when Logan dies and Zachary enters the scene. Despite the chemistry between the latter and Aura, her reactions to him seem to upset what was already seen in previous pages - her love and devotion to Logan. It does however, end on a surprising note, which caught me off guard! I was not expecting it at all. Good call, that.

Three stars.