Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal
Source: Public Library
Overall Grade:
D+
Would I recommend it?
A thrilling premise with poor execution and a disjointed plot.
__________________________________________________________________Summary (from Goodreads):
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.
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My Thoughts:
After hearing several other book bloggers absolutely raving about this series, I decided to give Shade a try. However, while I think the premise is very unique and interesting, the plot was unbalanced and disjointed.
When Aura is paired up with Zachary for a school project, I thought we would be learning more about the mystery of the Shift... why everyone born after it can see ghosts, while everyone born before is completely blind to them.
However, this was simply not the case. Instead of focusing on the actually interesting part of the novel, the author decided to take us through Aura's weird relationship with her dead boyfriend, her feelings for Zachary, weird ghost fights, and even the appearance of a super-secret government agency.
But do we get more information about this interesting deep-cover organization? Do we get to see Aura finally move on past Logan's death and focus on spending more time with Zachary? Do we learn more about the Shift and what Aura's part is in this whole mystery?
Nope, nada, not a chance.
Instead, we watch Aura whine and complain of her boyfriend dying, spending too much time with said boyfriend, and just being an overall annoying person.
While I see the potential that this book has, I was mostly disappointed and will likely not be finishing the series. Zachary, however, I could stand to read more of! Too bad Aura has to come along with his story.
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Overall Grade:
D+
Would I recommend it?
A thrilling premise with poor execution and a disjointed plot.
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Your review made ma giggle because I have heard SO many good things about this story, but I was still reserved about reading it. Everything that bothered you would drive me insane, I don't know that I am going to read this one. But the whole concept sounds interesting. Thanks for the review. I'm still on the fence about reading this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't like this one more! While I'm not one of the people that run through the streets screaming about the awesomeness of the series, I do enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteAlthough, judging from your review, you might like the second book's plot a little better....