Book Review: Shade

TITLE: Shade
Book 1 in the new Shade series
AUTHOR: Jeri Smith-Ready
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: paranormal, romance
PREMISE: Aura is one of many who can now see ghosts. This doesn't really concern her though till her boyfriend dies, a new guy enters the picture, and things suddenly start happening to make her question her past and her gift...
MY REVIEW: I honestly had no clue what to expect from this series. I've never read the author's adult books before (though now I'm considering it), and I was actually just expecting a cheesy Mediator combined with Twilight rip off due to the rather poor summary the publisher gives us (really guys, you couldn't have written a better blurb than that?).
Thankfully this was a lot better then I was expecting. In fact I enjoyed it quite a bit and can't wait for the continuation of this series. One of the best things about this? REALISTIC TEENAGERS! Really! For a change the teens aren't stereotypes of what adults think (or rather wish) they were. Plus, they have personalities! I personally loved Aura even if she was a tad frustrating sometimes and Meghan is like one of the best book best friends ever. There was also some slightly heavy topics in it that the author didn't shy away from and quite a few twists that I wasn't expecting. Only complaint is the fact that I have to wait longer to find out what happens. Well...and the writing could have been a tad bit better (it was amatuerish and sometimes the book did drag).
But basically, the book was really good. I can't wait to see where the author takes this series and I plan on checking out her adult books now.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Cabot's Mediator series, paranormal romance fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five red ribbons

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