Review ~ SHIFT(SHADE, #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready



Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart. (From GoodReads)

I have a really dramatic statement to make. I know, you're shocked, right? But honestly, I think Jeri Smith-Ready may kill me one of these days. Seriously. Her books completely break me down and leave me red-faced, bleary-eyed, and yet, oddly happy.

I loved, LOVED book one of the series, SHADE. One of my favorite books, ever. So, when I started to read SHIFT, I realized I left my book at home. My home was twelve hours away! It was too late to go to a bookstore, so I did what any book hungry girl would do and bought it off of iBooks. Thank the good Lord for technology because, let me tell you, I needed that book and I needed it yesterday!

I am so, so happy that I took that I let my impatient nature take over. SHIFT could not wait. Nuh uh. The book literally continues at the exact moment SHADE ended and takes off running.  Aura, the possible catalyst for the shift phenomenon, is still torn by her love for what she had, Logan, and what may come, Zach.  Can she let Logan go? I don't know that I could. Can she grab her chance at a future with Zach? I hope so. See? I just made two contradictory statements. That's the beauty of this series. There is no black and white in this world.  Anything, ANYTHING is possible.

Now for the most important, debatable subjects of the series, Logan and Zach. Those two make me crazy and sometimes I want to bitch-slap them for the craptastic moves they pull on Aura. But, here's the thing. They are teenage boys. They make stupid, impulsive decisions just like any teenage boys. Sometimes they are ruled by hormones, sometimes they're just idiots. That is the beauty of Logan  and Zach. They are bonehead teenage boys sometimes, and you love them anyway. And occasionally, those two make a beautiful gesture or decision that will take your breath away. For the record, I'm still Team ShadeBoys. You can't force me into choosing a team. YOU CAN'T!

Here's the point, I guess. One of the girls from Fictish Delish (I hardly ever know if it's Amy or Jen, but they're both awesome!) asked me how I felt after reading SHIFT. I wanted to say what I really felt, but was afraid I would creep someone the heck out. But I thought, "These people get it." So I said what I really felt and I'm quoting: "I LOVED IT! I want to cut open my chest, put these books inside and carry them around with me. I'm weird that way." To which she said, "See, to us that just doesn't seem weird. Doesn't everyone want to do that?" So, are we weird for being this passionate about this series? Maybe. Do the books (and author) deserve that kind of passion for writing books that rock our world? Definitely.

Just a warning, I may not survive SHINE. For real.

Favorite Quote ~
I started looking over the quotes I bookmarked, and of course I couldn't choose just one. I also started crying, of course. And I know I say that I'm Team ShadeBoys, but all my quotes are about Logan. Hmm...

"Just be here. Tonight, tomorrow night, whenever you need a quiet place to rest."

"I thought of what Logan and I had shared last fall, and the way his face had looked tonight onstage, as
 a ghost and as a human. Some of the best days of his life were after his death."

Hardcover, 367 pages

Published May 3rd 2011 by Simon Pulse 

You can find SHIFT at:

GoodReads  |  Book Depository  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon  |  Constellation Books (where you can get a signed copy!)

Review ~ Shade (Shade #1) by Jeri 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.
(From GoodReads)

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."

The Shade Book Trailer





Hardcover, 309 pages

Published May 4th 2010 by Simon Pulse

You can find Shade at:

GoodReads  |  Constellation Books (Jeri's hometown bookstore) |  Book Depository  |   Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon