YA paranormal, I will never quit you no matter how much I may want to. Books like Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready prove YA paranormal to be too legit to quit. By all intents and purposes I shouldn’t have loved Shade as much as I did as it has a love triangle and I hate those. Why did I read it in the first place? Jen at Makeshift Bookmark raved about it and she’s never steered me wrong, so I picked this up and read it in 3 hours during the Dewey 24 Hour Readathon. Smith-Ready’s story captivated me for those 3 hours.
Shade
So, it’s Aura’s birthday and she’s just listened to a fantastic concert put on by her boyfriend, Logan’s band and she’s about to get down to business time aka SEXYTIMES with Logan when he up and dies on her after doing something stupid, leaving her a virgin. Instead of Logan’s death ending the story, in the world Smith-Ready has built, all people born after a certain date can see ghosts, so Logan isn’t really gone, but a ghost who has yet to pass on and wants to stay. Yet, as we know ghosts are not flesh and blood and that means sexytimes are physically impossible with a ghost. Enter Aura’s new Scottish friend Zachary, the inspiration behind Team Kilt.
Love, longing, heartbreak, Shade has it all in spades. There’s enough to keep the pages turning without stopping to take a breath. Friends, so much of this book I just FELT for Aura. I can imagine the hurt of losing my boyfriend, only to have him come back as a ghost and to lose the physical part of the relationship. And I have to come out and say this, but that part does matter and is important and vital to the health of a relationship. I mean, poor Aura, she still cares about him and loves him, but never gets to manifest her love physically. She’s definitely caught between the two worlds that Logan and Zachary provide. It just seems like she’s trapped and unable to move on and properly grieve Logan because he won’t pass on to the afterlife and sticks around as a ghost.
Sexytimes.
There, now I have your attention. I would be remiss if I did not mention the sexytimes. Of course, Smith-Ready knows what she is doing in writing her sexytimes scenes because she writes adult books (FYI this is totally not a slam on YA authors, just that in adult books you encounter a lot more not fade to black sex scenes). Page 280 in the US hardcover edition is the prime time example of this. It is swoonworthy, bittersweet, tender and heartbreaking all at once.
If you are fed up with crap paranormal, read Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready before you toss in the towel on the genre, I promise you it’s an amazing read that won’t let you go.
Disclosure: Won in a contest.
Other Reviews of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready:
Makeshift Bookmark
I Eat Words
GReads!
Fiction Folio
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I love, love, love these books! I complain about YA paranormal a lot, but Jeri is writing some of the best! (and OMG sexytimes!! I loved that scene)
Have you read Kelley Armstrong’s YA? I think they are in the same league. They are very, very good.
I have! I loved her Darkest Powers series and need to read the companion books. Team Derek!
aren’t these books AWESOME! ahh! love them. book two is even better imo. I think you will love it.
If that’s not a legit recommendation, I don’t know what is.
I will totally read book two asap!
These books are so good; I agree with the story siren that book 2 is even better! So many times the second book is filler but Shift definitely is not.
okay now you have me DYING of the excitement for Shift!!
You know, I wouldn’t say that I am a paranormal fan normally, but with all the great things that have been said on twitter about this and now your review (and others’), I think i need to read this!
Me either, I mean, I like paranormal, but usually I choose other things to read. Still, Shade was awesome and I think you need to read it ASAP!!
I feel a little odd commenting on this bit – but, I love to hear that the “Sexytimes” are well written — I struggle with that with YA a lot. Thanks for the great review, I have added this to my wishlist now 🙂
Hey no shame on this blog for commenting on sexytimes bits. I am firmly in Team Sexytimes.
OH MY GOD if you are in it for the sexytimes (even if only just a little bit) then book 2 is NOT going to disappoint. I cried 3 separate times within Shift and then giggled like a mofo-in’ school girl amidst a fist pump for the OODLES of sexytimes. I can’t wait for you to read it.
I am totally in it for the sexytimes.
Dude, I need to hurry my ass up and read Shift, because it looks SO GOOD!
I love Jeri Smith-Ready’s writing and have had Shade on my wishlist. Thanks for sharing today.
I love this series. It’s brilliant and I felt it was one of the most original YA paranormals that I’ve read in a long time. I hope you get to read Shift soon. It’s just as good! Great review!
I’ve sort of already thrown in the YA paranormal towel but maybe I can give it another chance. Your review is pretty convincing. 🙂
I picked this book up after reading a lot of positive reviews, but something about it just didn’t work for me!! I think that I couldn’t really connect to Aura as a main character. 🙁
– Alyssa of Redhead Heroines
Book Review of “Shade†by Jeri Smith-Ready