Shade

First in a young adult urban fantasy series about a world of ghosts only the young can see.

When Aura’s boyfriend meets a most untimely end, she is forced to reconsider her relationship with the living and the dead.
from jerismithready.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

Another fun paranormal from the Debs! Honestly, I think it's just that I'm drawn to the genre, but I find that there are more and more of them out there. That's great for lovers of fantasy and magic like me, but then there's also the problem of everything sounding the same. Yes, there were some very typical elements in this story, but they were fun. The concept itself, with everyone born after "the Shift" being able to see ghosts, was something that I hadn't seen before. How it was used, in part, was very familiar though. A large portion of the story revolves around the love triangle between Aura, her dead boyfriend Logan, and the attractive yet mysterious new Scottish guy in town.

The triangle was fun. There was enough added quirk that it didn't become tiresome or too familiar. Aura was a really lovely character, whose struggles never became too much. You could understand what she was going through and felt her pain without ever being annoyed. I have this problem of getting annoyed with mopey characters, and despite all of her pain Aura never became mopey. Logan, however, got kind of annoying. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but perhaps it's that he constantly stayed self centered and never really thought about Aura or anyone else, for that matter. Zachary on the other hand was delightful. Maybe it's the fact that I could hear a Scottish accent in my mind, but I found him to be so much more appealing. He showed all of the signs of being a great male counterpart, and has a backstory that I want to know more about.

The best part of the book is the world and the concept. It's unique and something that I want to know more about. The ending makes a sequel necessary and I believe one is on the way. I can't wait to learn more about the Shift, and the very interesting magical goings on that were hinted at and seen in this book.

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