This review assumes you have read the first two books in this series (and if you haven’t, I’m not sure we can be friends) but, as always, there are no spoilers for Shine.
Title: Shine
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
ISBN: 1442439459
Pages: 416
Year: 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Personal Collection
Rating: 5/5
Summary:
Logan is gone. Zachary is heading back to Scotland. Aura is on her own for the first time. But things don’t remain calm for long. Aura must battle the Department of Metaphical Purity while trying to solve the mystery of The Shift where action, surprise, and, of course, romance meet her along the way.
My Thoughts:
Is it really over? Do I have to say goodbye to Aura and Zachary and Logan? Really?
I have not hidden my obsession with this series. I waited for Shine with what Ben described as Harry-Potter-level anticipation. Sadly, life got in the way of me sitting down and reading this all at once the moment it arrived. But part of me is glad I was able to savor it a little more since it is the last book in a much-loved series.
Shine has a different feel to it than Shade or Shift did. The love triangle disappears with Logan’s passing on at the end of Shift so that tension is largely absent from Shine. Instead, it is much more about Aura facing the Big Bads of the world (the DMP and some new ones).
And while Aura and Zachary spend much of the book apart, we are definitely treated to some of those romantic scenes Jeri writes so well.
As for the ending, I was a little concerned when I felt the pages thinning and I still didn’t have all of the answers. But I was not to be left wanting.
Reviewing the final book in a series is always difficult. I’m going to stop here so I don’t give away anything that happens. I mostly just want to gush anyway. I don’t think fans of the first two books will be disappointed in this one, and I know this will be a series that remains on my re-read list for some time.
Some Extra Thoughts:
I’ve enjoyed reading this series with a number of people – Jen from Makeshift Bookmark who first got me to read it, Ginger from GReads! who brings excitement to everything she loves, and now Kelly from KellyVision who I had to request stop texting me as she quickly read all three books before I could make it through Shine. And there are many others. Jeri Smith-Ready herself is an author who knows how to use social media to engage her readers (and even acknowledged all of us individually in Shine). Sometimes reading is a solitary activity, but I love when it can become so much more than that.
my books. my life. 
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