Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shift
Shade #2
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Library Loan
Publisher: Simon Pulse
 (May 3, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1416994084

SUMMARY

(From Goodreads)

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.

MY THOUGHTS

*If you haven't read the first book, there are spoilers in this review.*

Woah! Where to begin? After reading the first book in the series titled Shade, I didn't know what to expect with Shift.  With the ending that the reader is left with in the first book, you can't even imagine what the author has in store for us.  I never expected a sequel to a book to be as amazing -- if not better -- than the first.  Usually the first book is the best of the bunch, but Shift surpassed my expectations and left my heart in pieces.

Shift picks up immediately where Shade leaves off.  At the end of Shade, Logan went dark and turned Shade.  When he returns to Aura in her bedroom though, Aura is able to bring him back to ghost form.  No Shade has ever been brought back from turning Shade.  Even with this shocker revealed, the author still has plenty of punches to throw at the reader involving Logan that will shock you even more!  I am not going to say what the main thing is, but expect it to not only tear at your heart but also mess with Aura and her heart.

Zachary starts to lose his patience with Aura in this book.  I can understand his frustration, but I felt the things he does -- like prom night -- were out of character.  After the first book, I was clearly Team Zach. With this book in the series though, I leaned more towards Logan.  I just didn't like how the author was taking Zachary on the road he was walking on.  In Shade, you can feel the devotion and love he has for Aura, but in Shift I felt that he was true to character.  I never wanted a character to suffer as much as I did Becca after that Prom!

While we are on the subject of the prom, can I get a 'Hell Yeah' for Dylan Keeley? The way he stood up to Zachary and the things he said to him.  I jumped out of my seat and wanted to hug him fiercely! He really matures in Shift and has become such a great character to read about.  When he calls Aura over to his house one day and shares a notebook with her, I almost wanted to cheer for a Team Dylan badge.  He melted my heart and left a grin on my face.

When pieces of the puzzle of the Shift are revealed though through a recurring character, I could see the picture coming together.  Let me say that this is one portrait I can't wait to see finished.  Secrets are revealed to Aura and more surface to keep it going.  The ending was beautiful and fitting for a star like Logan.

I smiled. I cried. I cheered. I cried some more.  This book will not only make you sigh with the sweetness of love, but leave you crying like a newborn baby. I don't think I have cried so much from a book in a long time.  Were the tears worth it? Oh yeah.  I already have a new box of tissue sitting beside me so I can be ready for even more emotional and amazing writing that author Jeri Smith-Ready has mastered with this series! Aye!

MY RATING

Outstanding book that will stay on my bookshelf for rereading!