Liviania’s review of Shift (The Shifters, Book 5) by Rachel Vincent
Paranormal romance published by MIRA 1 Mar 10
Sometimes I read other people’s reviews before I write mine, sometimes I don’t. This time I did. I found that a number of people hated the book because they’d enjoyed the first several but lamented Faythe’s lack of growth. This surprised me considering I finished SHIFT thinking that it was the kind of book that made me glad I stick with a meh series if I believe it has potential.
When I reviewed Rogue, I noted that Faythe showed a lack of growth, I liked Jace, and Faythe’s relationship with Marc seemed borderline abusive. In my review of Pride, I noted Faythe’s sledgehammer-like attempts at politics. I must admit, Faythe is still about as subtle as a sledgehammer. But by golly, I couldn’t help but feel proud when she attempted negotiations as a first course of action instead of act-macho, think-later. It’s something the Faythe of the early books would not have attempted.
SHIFT also kicks the love triangle into high gear. Jace starts acting like the alpha I thought he would become back in the early books. (I had a comment debate about this, somewhere, but alas it is lost since my google-fu is not strong enough.) Now, my discussion is going to get a bit spoilery about what happens in the relationships, so you might want to skip to the last paragraph if you want everything to be a complete surprise.
Faythe cheats on Marc with Jace. I know that cheating is fairly verboten in romance novels. But Faythe is young, sheltered, has only had one serious boyfriend, and her brother just died. I see Marc not immediately tearing Jace apart as character growth, not derailment. He’s acting rationally, not according to his instincts. A theme of the entire series has been that the way the pack usually does things is wrong and that they need to modernize. Exploring your romantic and sexual options is pretty modern.
Cheating is a hot button subject. Perhaps I would hate the romantic storyline more if I hadn’t always liked Jace and been somewhat averse to Marc. Either way, I’ve already bought the final book and intend to read it to discover how the love triangle plays out as much as to see the war between the werecat factions.
The Shifters will never be my favorite series. But Vincent took a shaky beginning and turned it into something more solid and satisfying. I wanted to slap the Faythe of Stray and Rogue. The Faythe of Prey and Shift is a more interesting and adult heroine. A lot of people apparently disagree with me. The beauty of reviewing is that we get to disagree with each other.
Grade: B+
Summary:
TROUBLE IS 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…
Read an excerpt here.
