Double review: Shade & Shift plus a few #TeamKilt flashbacks

Okay, today I'm doing something new, which is double review.  Why? Because I think I'll tell you a better story if I review both of them together.


SHADE:

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.

SHIFT:

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.

Personal opinion:

  

Let me start with 'my story' about these books. I have a little confession. I have checked out Shade and Shift on Goodreads twice before, but the whole ghost concept didn't really appeal to me. Still, I put the books on my to-read list, you know, worth giving a shot, aye? ;)

Then came YA Crush Tournament. And those were weeks that the whole literaly world went hazy. Also, this is where I actually learned more about Shade, Shift, the awesome author Jeri Smith-Ready and also Logan and Zach. I'll get back on those two later. So, slowly, I joined #TeamKilt without even reading any of the books or knowing anything. All I knew that that was a team of soo many awesome new people I met who were so united and determined to bring glory to a character. And *that* was exactly what convinced me to read these two. That unity made me realize that this Zachary Moore was so worth it and so awesome that they all joined forces and brought him from the last seed to the finals! The FINALS, people. *That* is power. So, I voted too, not knowing who this Zach is or what he's like. Still, I voted. And boy I'm glad I did.     That final round was the most stresful and the funnest day in my reading/blogging life :)
Reason number one: You guys, my fellow #TeamKilt - ers are The Best!
For example, Brooke.  (This awesome lady) Okay, she's more Team Logan than Team Zach, but I won Shade in her twitter giveaway and I owe her a huuuuuuuge thank you! :)
Then, Kimberly. (This awesome lady) My new Cybermom ;), she sent me Shift after she saw I haven't read it. Can you believe that?!? So, once again, huuuuuuuge thank you to you too! :D

Okay, so here is Brooke's blog: 

http://brooke-reports.blogspot.com/

And here is Kimberly's blog which she shares -works on- with Another awesome lady Britney :)

Also, the two girls that represented Zach sooo good and were so devoted from 

http://fictitious-delicious.blogspot.com/ Amy and Jen - you girls were awesome!

Also, another cool lady is Marissa This one who is also an awesome member of #TeamKilt :)

Now, unfortunately I cannot count all members of #TeamKilt and I'm so sorry about that because all of you are so brilliant! And if I missed someone important, and I'm sure I did, sorry!! I hope you know you're awesome!

Now, look at all this, and I haven't said a word about the books.
So, let me start with Shade.
The first few chapters - three and a half, to be more specific- are fun and, well, as much happy-ish as they can be. I was immediately sucked into Aura's world and emotions, feeling her anticipation and excitement as well. But then came a tragedy. (since it says in the blurb what happens, I won't tag this as a spoiler) Logan died. And then came trouble. And grief. And anger. But, again, I felt the emotions, I felt Aura's saddness. I felt the Keeleys' saddness. Because Ms. Smith-Ready can write. And believe me, Jeri can write.
So now, Logan is a ghost, and not everyone can see him. So here is one part of the story.
Then, we have Aura in school. Enters Zachary, the new student. He is Scottish, in case you were wondering about the #TeamKilt ;). Full of understanding and patience, Zachary slowly becomes more than just a friend to Aura. And that is kinda a problem, since she, you know, already has a boyfriend. And this is where the Logan part and the Zachary part interwine and it becomes something like a love triangle.
But trust me, this one you'll have trouble deciding which boy you'll be rooting for because they are both special for their own something. Like I said for Zach, he's so calm and cute and sweet and polite and everything. But on the other side, Logan is -was- a musician, he's funny, he's cool. And they both have qualities, but also some flaws, which is understood.
And there is this third part of the book, which is related to the ghost element of the story. In Aura's world, people are either born before or after the Shift. The ones born before cannot see ghost, the ones after can. And so, slowly we find out that (Minor spoiler) Aura is the first person born after the Shift and Zach is the last person born before it. Which is a mystery, and has its reasons why, and Aura works with Zach to find out those reasons. Also, Aura discovers parts of her mom's diary which has some secrets in and all... So, that is the third part.
And all together, those three parts form one of the best books I've read this year.

Now, little something about Shift.

 

So, Shift picks up right where Shade ended, with something big happening, and later on Aura and Zach have to discover why that happened. There are betrayals in this book. 

There are definitely things that you will not like, but in a way that you'll be 'Oh em gee, (insert name) did not just do that!' That kind of not-liking something. 

Shift progresses with all three parts of the story. Logan, Zach, and the mystery of Shift. We have new revelations, new problems, but also, things get settled, in a way. Aura and Zach's friendship is not quite just friendship anymore, and Logan has his own plans and some other things. 

I'd like to mention a few scenes. The Prom Scene - which has got to be one of the most talked about scenes in Shift. Of course, there is a reason why. Someone does something, and I, among everyone else, was enraged. Also, another scene I want to mention is the River Scene. I actually cried at that one, it was soo both hot but sweet at the same time. And that is one of those scenes that shows how amazing and talented an author is. Because Jeri achieves that balance which, to me, is an important thing.
Also, there are a few other things. First, emotions I went through during reading these two books. Everything was there, from happiness and joy, to tears and sobbing, Shade and Shift have it all.
Also, one important thing, music.
Logan is a musician, like I said, and he's the lead vocal in the band Keeley Brothers (which, if they had a concert near my town, I'd go!). So understandably, music is an important part of Aura's life. Also, there is this one song mentioned in Shade, by Death Cab For Cutie, called I Will Possess Your Heart. And it is Zach's favorite song. So I youtubed it. And wow, that song is sooo awesome! I didn't take it off my replay for days after! So, thank you Jeri, for introducing me to some very awesome music :)

Lastly, I'd like to say something about Jeri Smith-Ready. There are no words to describe her awesomeness. Really, I don't know where to start. She's sweet, nice, friendly, she raised money for children when the YA Crush Tourney lasted, she gave out bunch of prizes (and I got a Keeley Brothers t-shirt, which should arive any day now *happy dance*). But also, for every 1000 or so votes Zach got, we got a glimpse of Shine, the last installment in the Shade trilogy (expected date of publishing: May 2012).
Some people even got an ARC, and there's only 20 of them and I'm so jelaous at them because they're so lucky :) And, Jeri also had a few more surprises for us, and they were all so fabulous.
So, thank you Jeri!

To sum up: Shade and Shift are a must-read, with a new, unique world, full of surprises, romance, friendship and learning the values of the things we have. Filled with emotional roller-coasters, mysteries, secrets and cute boys, Aura's world is a place I'd love to live in.
If you'd ask me to describe this series in one word, I'd say BRILLIANT.

Now I need to wait till May 2012 to find out what will happen, and the wait is killing me!
Overall, my rating is...

                                            6 stars!                       And this is an exception I am more than willing to make, because THIS SERIES DESERVES it. :)

Also, you can find Jeri on twitter: 

http://twitter.com/#!/jsmithready

Visit her official site: http://www.jerismithready.com/

Visit her blog: 

http://blog.jerismithready.com/

Okay, so, that's all. OH, and, in 10 days, there is this YA anthology coming out, called Enthralled, with Jeri's story about Logan, called Bridge. Just so you know :) And there are lots of other awesome authors in it too!
Read on :)