Review: Shade - Jeri Smith-Ready

Goodreads synopsis:
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.

Review:
Wow!  I had to stay up late into the night to finish this stunning book.  It totally blew me away and I loved every second of it.  It was absolutely phenomenal with such an amazing and unique concept.  It's unlike anything else I've read lately and it really stands out from the rest of the paranormal/supernatural YA genre.  I literally tore through it and had to keep on turning the pages because I found it impossible to put down.  Everything else got forgotten while I was reading this!

The story focuses on Aura - a post-shifter who is able, along with everyone else born after the Shift, to see ghosts.  Part of the mystery surrounds this ability and why it came about but although Jeri Smith-Ready reveals a little about this, you're left hanging on for more until book 2 (yes, this is a trilogy and I can't wait to read the rest now!).  When Aura's boyfriend Logan dies, her ability to see the dead becomes a gift, because it means that not even death can part the two.  But just as Aura is adapting to this change in their relationship, she finds herself caught in the middle of a love triangle with first love Logan and new hot Scottish boy Zachary.  For the record I'm Team Logan all the way!

Aura's feelings for the two boys are tangled and complex and her emotions are evoked beautifully as she;s caught between the living and the dead.  Some of the scenes were so emotional that they really and truly moved me.  And yes, I shed a tear of two!

The plot unravels gradually with tantalising bits of information dropped in to keep the reader hanging on in suspense.  The ending was one of those nerve-grinding and nail-biting cliffhangers that make you wonder how you're ever going to wait to discover what happens next.  I certainly couldn't sleep after finishing this because I was trying to work out what surprises Jeri Smith-Ready was going to throw at me next.

'Shade' was an absolutely breathtakingly phenomenal read that I'm going to be recommending to everyone.