 | Title: Shine
Sexual Content: Rating:
Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. |
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Description:
No other love has burned so bright. 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 that 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.
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Julia’s Thoughts
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Abigail’s Thoughts
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| Click on the Fictitious Delicious link to read Smith-Ready’s reaction to the cover redesign, I like her breakdown of how Aura grows throughout the series and the “mood” Smith-Ready would like for each cover. | I was never a fan of the original covers, so I’m thrilled that this amazing series is finally getting a design overhaul. Love the bright yellow colors & just the overall smoky effect. |
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The author of one of my favorite paranormal YA series is joining the Spooky Legends event today. Jeri Smith-Ready is one of the 16 authors contributing the the anthology ENTRALLED (available now from HarperTeen), her story is part of her heartbreakingly wonderful Shade series about a generation of teens who see ghosts. One of those ghosts, Logan Keeley, is giving us his take on the Loch Ness Monster legend today, and Jeri is giving away a signed copy of ENTHRALLED and a Shade swag pack. See details below.
Click to see the Spooky Legends Master List with links to all the previous posts and giveaways
Logan Keeley on the Loch Ness Monster
by
Jeri Smith-Ready
Hey! It’s me, Logan Keeley, from the SHADE trilogy by Jeri Smith-Ready (or as I call her, the Woman Upstairs). I’m a punk rocker who died and became a ghost when I was seventeen years and a few minutes old.
***(OH! My birth/deathday is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 18, and we’re having a #forever17 party on Twitter. If you tweet me (@keeley_logan) a music video, you can be entered to win free CDs, some Keeley Brothers swag, and a signed hardcover of ENTHRALLED: PARANORMAL DIVERSIONS. I have a story in that anthology. The cover is pink and has a girl on it, but I’m secure enough in my dudehood I can handle that. I think.)***
For my urban legend, I figured I should do a ghost story. But that hit waaaay too close to home. I’m not a poltergeist, but there are some subjects that make me seriously want to break stuff.
So I decided to do the Loch Ness Monster. This might surprise SHADE readers, because my arch-rival Zachary Moore is Scottish, like the monster. He’s the other “point” in the love triangle with me and Aura. We’re both good for her—I’m her first boyfriend and I have a band and I make her laugh and I’ll love her until the end of time. And Zachary…well, he has a pulse. That’s his advantage. (Okay, and the accent. Shut up!)
But I figured this’d be a good olive branch, a show of respect. Demonstrate that I’m not petty or bitter. Because I’m—
Arrgh, dammit, ghosts can’t lie! Okay, the real reason I’m doing the Loch Ness Monster: My Twitter buds dared me.
ANYWAY, the monster of Loch Ness, or Nessie, as some like to call him (no one knows if the monster is a boy or girl, but for my purposes, I’m going to use male pronouns), supposedly lives in a loch, which is the fancy Scottish word for “lake,” in northern Scotland. He’s allegedly been seen as far back as the ninth century AD, but sightings started to pile up in the 1930s, after this photo surfaced (heh, get it? Surfaced?):
Thank you all for entering this giveaway and to Simon Pulse via Big Honcho Media a copy of SHADE and SHIFT by Jeri Smith-Ready
The winner (chosen by Random.org) is…
Who said her favorite ghost story is:
I love A Certain Slant of Light. Such a powerful and distinct YA novel.
Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon. Please respond with your address within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.
Didn’t win? Buy your own copy of SHIFT & SHADE with free shipping from The Book Depository:
Giveaway provided by Simon Pulse via Big Honcho Media
One winner will receive a copy of SHADE and SHIFT by Jeri Smith-Ready
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.
SHADE is a character driven ghost story with all the emotional resonance and bittersweet romance to make this impressive YA debut a must read for book lovers of all ages…a heart achingly beautiful story. The supernatural elements are incorporated so fluidly that it was easy to forget that we don't all live in the post Shift world with Aura. - Read my full 4/5 bat review HERE
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.
A beautiful story that is haunting in ways that have nothing to do with the ghosts inside…Not just my favorite Paranormal YA ghost story, it’s my favorite ghost story ever. As much as I loved SHADE, SHIFT is even better. The pain cuts deeper, but the pleasure does too. My heart soared and plummeted right along with Aura and Logan and Zachary. - Read my full 5/5 bat review HERE
Jeri Smith-Ready's previous adult novels include Wicked Game, Requiem for the Devil and Eyes of Crow. This is her first teen series. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and a retired racing greyhound. Learn more at www.jerismithready.com.
Giveaway Guidelines
Open to US only
Leave a comment that includes a way to contact you if you win & I’d love to know what your favorite ghost novel is.
The winner will be chosen on June 14th.
Interested in offering a giveaway on All Things Urban Fantasy? CONTACT ME
 | Title: Shift
Sexual Content: Kissing. Scenes of sensuality. References to sex. Rating:
Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. |
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.
There are a few elusive books that leave you with a blissful smile on your face when you finish them. A feeling of pure contentment. Not necessarily because the ending is perfectly happy, or even that the good guys fully defeated the bad guys. But just because it’s the exact right way that this book needed it end. Well that’s SHIFT. A beautiful story that is haunting in ways that have nothing to do with the ghosts inside.
SHIFT is a very mature YA novel with none of the superficiality and self absorption that can plague this genre. SHIFT deals literally with life and death and that reality lends itself to very mature characters and themes. The worldbuilding, the character development, the various relationships, and especially the romance. Everything works so well. I especially responded to the character growth of Logan. We saw him both alive and as a ghost in SHADE, and without loosing the volatile, impulsive, charismatic nature of his character, he grew up in SHIFT. It was painful to see him watch everyone around him, especially Aura, move on, but it was the kind of pain that becomes addictive. I couldn’t put this book down.
And it wasn’t just Logan who I loved. Aura and Zachary also burrowed deeper into my heart, but for other reasons. Aura was so believable as she anguished about Logan, felt guilty about her conflicting feelings, and yet acknowledged them completely. She never once hid from her emotions, regardless of how raw they were.
Not just my favorite Paranormal YA ghost story, it’s my favorite ghost story ever. As much as I loved SHADE, SHIFT is even better. The pain cuts deeper, but the pleasure does too. My heart soared and plummeted right along with Aura and Logan and Zachary. Jeri Smith-Ready is clearly steering us towards a very definite conclusion (the final book in the Shade trilogy will be released in Summer 2012). This book doesn’t just set a set up the final book, it reveals a number of shockers, serious jaw droppers about Aura and Zachary, the nature of ghosts, and details about the Shift itself. How will I ever endure the year long wait for the conclusion?
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.
The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.
When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.
They’re here, and they’re real…werewolves, vampires, mages, and other creatures of the night. For New York P.I. Shiarra Waynest, taking care of Others business started out as a way to stay solvent. But now business is getting very, very complicated…
Shiarra’s relationship with sexy werewolf Chaz may be somewhat unconventional. Still, after a few bumps, Shia is finally ready to get serious. That means meeting family–or in this case, bringing Chaz’s entire werewolf pack along for a rollicking full-moon weekend in the Catskills.
Soon after they arrive, threatening notes appear, warning Chaz to go home. Then their cabin is ransacked. Shia starts digging to find out whether it’s the work of upstart teenaged werewolves or something more sinister. Yet as rumors about her vampire connections arouse the pack’s hostility, Shia has to contend with other dangers. Not just from an adversary about to make his fatal intentions known, but from a threat that’s even closer than she knows…
Betrayal, loss, pain, fear. How many trials can love endure and still survive?
Alpha wolf Calla Tor forges an alliance with her masters' enemies and tries to rescue her pack from imprisonment in Vail
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater
In Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.
Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.
An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...
Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.
Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.
So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price . . .
MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.
What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh — a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.
In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?
From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world... or destroy it.
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