Book Review: Shade (Shade #1) by Jeri Smith-Ready

Is it a curse or a blessing to be haunted by your dead boyfriend?

Shade (Shade #1) by Jeri Smith-Ready
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: May 4, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 320
Source: Amazon Vine
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Sixteen-year-old Aura's world looks much like ours--except that everyone born after the Shift, which happened sixteen and a half years ago, can see, hear, and talk to ghosts. Aura has always disliked this ability, to the point that she's been researching the Shift secretly for some time to discover why it occurred in order to somehow find a way to end it. Then her boyfriend Logan dies on his seventeenth birthday from a lethal combination of cocaine and alcohol, and suddenly what had seemed like a curse has become a blessing. Though she can never touch Logan again, she hasn't truly lost him and their love since his ghost is still with her.

I could hardly put this book down once I began reading it. The writing is excellent, the characters are strong, and the love story between Aura and Logan is intense. It is complicated in a poignant way, as well, by the fact that a love triangle springs up when Aura develops a strong emotional connection to Zachary, a handsome, charismatic Scot who was born exactly one minute before her. He's the last person born pre-Shift, and she's the first one born after.

This book marks a great start for a new urban-fantasy series. The fantasy aspect with the ghosts is intriguing and unique. There is plenty of romantic conflict with two fascinating male love interests. And there is a growing external threat from shadowy government figures stalking Aura, Zachary and even Logan, due to the technology they've created to "tag" ghosts.
I can't wait to read the next installment!

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Fantasy World-Building: 4

Writing: 5

Action-Adventure Plot:4

Romantic Subplot: 5


Overall: 5

Book Review: How to Hook a Hottie by Tina Ferraro

A hilarious young adult chick lit novel with a matchmaking plot

How to Hook a Hottie by Tina Ferraro
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 208
Source: Purchased
Reviewed By: Kate McMurry

Seventeen-year-old Kate has a her life planned out, and it doesn't include college, which she considers a waste of valuable time. She's determined to make her first million no later than twenty-five as a successful entrepreneur, and she's convinced the way to do that is to keep her eyes open and not miss a good opportunity. Which is why she is ready, willing and able when the chance of a lifetime falls in her lap.

A hunky jock named Brandon asks her to an important athletic banquet and, overnight, she goes from a social nonentity to a guru on dating as the girl who's hooked the biggest hottie around. Offers start pouring in of quick cash for dating advice, which Kate is delighted to accept. The only problem is, she can't handle this gig without masculine input. Fortunately, her best friend's older brother, Dal, who's a senior and a hunk in his own right, is willing to take on the job--for a hefty percentage of the take.

This book is laugh-out-loud funny. Kate is an adorable, quirky heroine, and her encounters with desperate girls, clueless Brandon and cleverly conniving Dal are hilarious. Tina Ferraro is fantastic at romantic comedy. Her writing style is smooth. Her plots are comically convoluted, and she knows how to write a strong, sympathetic heroine. I highly recommend this book, and her other two romantic comedies, The ABC's of Kissing Boys and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress.


For other similar books, I recommend also The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen and A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker.

Heroine: 5

Subcharacters: 5

Writing: 5

Chick-Lit Comedy Plot: 5


Overall: 5