Rachel Vincent - Shift

Grade: B/B+

Rachel Vincent's Shift is Book #5 in the Werecat series. I sped through the first 3 books, then took a breather before picking up the rest. Most of you might not have read the series, so I shall try to avoid spoilers.

Excerpt:

"My father sat in his wing chair at the end of the rug, and his refusal to rise was—on the surface—an uncharacteristic show of disrespect toward a fellow Alpha. But I knew him well enough to understand the truth: if he stood, he might lose his temper. "You're asking me to let my son's murder go unavenged." His voice was as low and dangerous as I'd ever heard it, and I swear I felt the rumble deep in my bones. It echoed the ache in my heart."

The series follows a Pride of werecats, and focuses on the Alpha's daughter Faythe. As the series continues its fast-paced march, it becomes evident that Faythe is being lined up to be the first Tabby Alpha. The werecat society is fairly standard urban fantasy, and the tabbies are protected while the male cats fight to be numbero uno. Faythe is different from the norm; assertive, strong, and a fairly bad decision maker, she bucks the trend and ends up being an enforcer for the Pride.

Overall, my impression of this rare werecat series is very positive,  but this book so far has been the weakest of the lot. Faythe remains torn between two men, and while this provides for a lot of romantic stunts, I could only wish for her to make up her mind already! The author really drags this two-men-arc for way too long, at the cost of some major character development. Pick someone already, woman. In the first book, I felt Faythe was a little immature, but forgave her on the basis of her age. Though having to deal with her emotional trauma now, in the midst of a Pride war, just doesn't do it for me.

On the positive side, the tension between the cats is palpable, the scenes are tautly written, and the 'villains' of the book are the newly-introduced Thunderbird species. Quite exciting..I'm sure the next book Alpha (Shifters Book 6) is going to be the highlight of the Shifters novels.

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