Book Review: Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

Pages: 399

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pub. Date: May 1, 2012

Source: Personal copy

Series: Shade (#1), Shift (#2)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past. As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart."

Aura has finally let go of Logan, which leaves her plenty of time to figure out the Shift and how she plays a role in it, along with her dreamy boyfriend, Zachary.  The DMP  (Department of Metaphysical Purity) detains Zachary for most of the book, while Aura plots how to rescue him.  Although I love the Shade series, Shine was no doubt a good conclusion to the trilogy; however, it left me feeling rather flat at times.

Zachary and Aura have an incredible relationship and a connection to the Shift. Aura, in Shine, is still trying to figure out her exact connection to the Shift and save Zachary from the DMP.  Zachary was taken by the DMP for questioning and Aura can't get a hold of him.  Naturally, she is worried about him and needs to make sure he's ok. Even though Zachary isn't present for part of Shine, their relationship still is one of my favorites and quite memorable.  

Like I said, the best part of Shine is the relationship between Zachary and Aura.  Fans won't be disappointed as there are many steamy moments in Shine.  Fans of Logan will be disappointed however, as he doesn't play a major role at the end of the Shade trilogy.  

Parts of Shine I found to be a bit boring in comparison to Shade or Shift, but it didn't last long as there's a lot of action in book three.  Most of the tedious parts where when Zachary wasn't present in the book (can you tell I'm a fan?) and Shine turned into more of an adventure/mystery.  There were a lot of subplots in this book and I must admit that I had a hard time keeping it all straight at one point.

Historically, I have a hard time with the ending of a series, but Smith-Ready does a good job bringing everything to a close.  The Shade series is one of my favorite paranormal series and I'm sad to see it come to an end, but I'm thankful that the conclusion was everything and more. The Shade series is a series that I absolutely recommend to fans of paranormal romance, especially if you want something a little bit different and not your traditional vampires and werewolves.