Shifters the 5th

Shift

Written by: Rachel Vincent

Released: March 1, 2010 by Mira Books


Summary: TROUBLE IN THE AIR...
Being the first female werecat enforcer isn't easy. Scars accumulate, but I'm stronger in so many ways.
As for my personal life? It's complicated. Choices worth making always are. Ever since my brother's death and my father's impeachment, it's all I can do to prevent more blood from spilling. Now our Pride is under attack by a flight of vicious thunderbirds. And making peace with our new enemies may be the only way to get the best of our old foe.
With the body count rising and treachery everywhere, my instincts tell me to look before I leap. But sometimes a leap of faith is the only real option...





While it’s too bad that I haven’t reviewed the other four books in the series before this one, let me just say that I’ve been hooked from the beginning and the fifth book in Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series does not disappoint.

Beginning with the introduction of a new type of shifter race – the thunderbirds – the action doesn’t stop until the last few pages of the last chapter. Tie in the love-triangle that is Faythe, Marc and Jace and I couldn’t put the book down until I finished reading it. Ok, I had to stop reading to sleep but I still read it in 24 hours.

What can I say about this book, and consequentially the series? It’s amazing. In a world that has become overrun with sparkling vampires and werewolves, it’s nice to read about werecats and their pride systems. Plus, reading about Marc and Faythe never disappoints on the hot or interesting meters. I also think that this has been the best books yet to come out from the series, but the final instalment is due out in October so we’ll have to see how that one adds up.

I have to say that it’s nice to read a semi-romance that’s action-packed and found in the fantasy section at Chapters. The book doesn’t go light on describing the gory details of a forearm being torn to shreds or someone getting their face sliced open. It’s nice to see a ‘girly romance’ book that doesn’t back down. Another aspect about it is that, though there are more than enough characters mentioned throughout the books, there never seems to be a real over indulgence in them. Each one is referred back to being related to a main character or they’re re-described using exact examples from other books just in case it’s been a while since you’ve read the last one. The way that that is done ensures that you’re not always scratching your head in wonder over who this new character is who just popped into a chapter or two. The surplus of characters also seems to allow for untold possibilities within a plot line, which means that everything isn’t visible chapters in advance. The reader is never sure exactly where the story is going to take them, which is nice while you’re reading it, since no one wants to know what’s going to happen way before it actually does. And on the few instances that the reader might think that they know what’s going to happen next, a large wrench is thrown into their hypothesis with something happening that changes the course of everything.

It’s always an invigorating, exciting, and captivating read when I’m immersed in this series. I give this book and all the others that came before a 9/10. I’m definitely going to have to re-read the entire five books just before I start the sixth and last.




Summary courtesy of Rachel Vincent's website.