Book Review: Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everyone born after the Shift can see ghosts. Aura is no exception. She has used her ability to help them move on by working in her Aunt Gina’s lawfirm. Everything changes, when the love of her life dies and becomes a ghost. She loves Logan and doesn’t want him to move on, but keeping him here may be far more dangerous. It could make him turn Shade.

This book really surprised me. I was expecting another paranormal romance, and while that is what I got, I can honestly say I got so much more that I didn’t expect. In fact this book kind of left me with the feeling I had just finished a dystopian novel, even though isn’t exactly the right description for what this book is.

Shade was a fun book from the get go. Aura loves Logan and his death hits her hard. Her grief is believable, and the struggle for her to leave him behind and rejoin the living was fantastic. Jeri Smith-Ready does an admirable job of character development. We like Logan, we like Zachary, and we hate the thought that Aura must choose between the two.

I can’t explain exactly why I liked this book. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it surprised me. I really wasn’t expecting the whole government involvement in the story and that took me off guard. As I said, I was expecting another paranormal romance, but it gave me so much more. For a girl who likes dystopias and conspiracies, this book had it all with the romance thrown in. My single complaint for this book is that it left too many strings dangling. I felt that too many of my questions were left unanswered and that make it difficult for this book to stand alone.

Those many unanswered questions however, will pave the way for its sequel, Shift in May of 2011. I will definitely be picking up the sequel, because I really want to know what is going to happen next.


Cautions for sensitive readers:  Some violence, drinking, and drug use.  Mentions of sex and mild language.


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