Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Title/Author: Shade (Shade #1) by Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher/Date published: Simon Pulse, May 4th 2010
How I got this book: own it

Goodreads summary: "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."

COVER LOVE!! Isn't it pretty?! I love it, love the color: the purple and the single red ribbon in her hand. So simple, yet so fitting.

Anyway, onto the story. I thought it was really interesting that somewhere in the past the Shift happened and everyone born after can see and hear ghosts. And that the can't stand the color red. Which was kind of ironic remembering *something* about The Sixth Sense (I know practically everyone has seen it, but still, wouldn't be nice to spoil it for those who haven't).

Aura seemed like a nice girl, who has all the insecurities a girl her age probably has. She seems to know what she wants in some aspects of her life, like learning more about her mom and dad and the Shift. And I liked that she'd already done some research before we met her, it feels more realistic than just having everything (including the motivation to find out about things) handed to her throughout the story.

Logan.. I'm not really sure how I feel about him. Some times he seemed so, so sweet and other times I just wanted to smack him and yell SERIOUSLY?? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??? And it's not really nice to do that to someone who died. But really, how could he be so stupid? His death seemed a good idea evolutionwise.
Anyway, he did have his good moments and I think he really cares for Aura, which is nice.

And then there's Zachary. How I love Zachary. I can just hear his perfect accent in my head and *swoon*... So yes, I'm team Zachary. All the way.

I was however annoyed by one thing: Aura claims to love Logan so much, why does she lust after Zachary even before he died? And how can she even think about kissing him after Logan died? It was all a bit fast and hormonal in my opinion.

The ending made me so, so happy I already had Shift waiting for me! Gosh, I had to start it right away!

My rating: 4 stars