Customer Reviews

Pride (Shifters)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Werecat Tabby Faythe is on trial, accused of infecting her human ex-boyfriend Andrew and then killing him `to cover up her crime'. Turning her ex into a Stray was an accident - just a little love bite in the heat of the moment - and killing him was in self-defense, but Werecat law makes her guilty unless proven innocent and with her judges playing political games, Faythe's life is on the line. Adding to the excitement of a potential death sentence, the neutral territory chosen as the location for the Tribunal is being claimed by a man-eating pack of Strays whose actions threaten to expose to humans the existence of Werecats. Then to top it all off, an under aged traumatized tabby is found wandering the territory stuck in cat form - the rare female werecat, Kaci, is a prize sought by Strays and Pride alike. So with everything that's going on there's plenty of opportunities for the impulsive Faythe to get herself into even more trouble.

Pride was a page turner. The hunt for the Strays provides plenty of action to keep the story moving, and Faythe gets to show her stuff - she's no prissy Pride princess. The trial itself isn't boring either, with all the posturing in that thread interspersed with Faythe's outbursts, and the almost insurmountable challenge of trying to prove herself innocent when she can't get them to believe the keystone of her defense - that she can do a partial shift when excited and can manifest her cat teeth without getting completely furry.

I also got caught up in Faythe's frustration with Alpha Malone who disapproves of Faythe, hates the real love of Faythe's life Marc, and who takes every opportunity to weaken Faythe's Alpha father's position and is using the trial to set up for a power grab. Faythe herself is also irritating at times with her lack of self-control. She is always speaking her mind when diplomacy is needed and rushing headlong into action. She's stubborn (and still a bit spoiled). This time the neither the fact that Faythe is one of the rare werecat females, nor her father's eroding clout, is going to keep her from being tossed from the frying pan into the fire -- it will be only at great cost to her father and to Marc that she doesn't end up kitty-fricassee. Still on the whole Faythe is really great and hopefully she'll grow up in the next book now that she has had her trial by fire and she finally realizes how steep the stakes are in Malone's Alpha game.

Frustration aside, I devoured Pride. After three books I've really gotten attached to the cast. I love Marc, Ethan and Jace. And with the impact of Kaci's heritage not yet known and the way that Faythe's world and Marc's future are left so unsettled, I am dying to know how things will play out when the story continues in Prey.
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I started reading Pride REALLY wanting to like it. I mean, it has one of those great covers that demand that you pick up the book and start reading. And the premise of the book was really compelling, too. It stars a young female werecat (referred to as a tabby) who is on trial for her life. Faythe stands accused of not only deliberately infecting her ex with lycanthropy, but also murdering him to cover up the crime. And she doesn't have enough friends in high places to guarantee an acquittal. Or even a slap on the wrist sentence.

Not a bad plot, huh?

Honestly, I expected this book to read more like the majority of the urban fantasy or supernatural romance novels I've read. You know, lots of excitement, interaction between supernatural beings of all shapes and sizes, conflicting romantic interests, erotic moments, and lots of blood and violence. Quite frankly, I got almost none of the above.

I think the biggest problem was using Faythe's trial as the central theme of the book. Over and over, we are drawn back to tribunal. Repeating facts, having the law of the pride repeated to us. It is almost like a lesson in werecat law and social hierarchy that drags out for hundreds of pages. And when there are so many other far more exciting plot lines left unexplored, it is like a smack in the fact to a potentially phenomenal book.

Aside from the trial, there isn't a whole lot going on. A few strays causing a little bit of trouble on the mountainside. Of course, one of the strays ends up being a tabby named Kaci, and in werecat society such a thing is unheard of. Kaci's story is actually the most interesting part of the whole book. While you will most likely figure out a part of the mystery surrounding her, you will also be shocked at the end by the rest.

All in all, I give Pride three (very generous) stars. It wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. But it was full of so much wasted potential...

In the first two books, Stray and Rogue we are introduced to the werecat community, specifically to Faythe's story. Faythe is one of very few female werecats and she's in the midst of discovering an identity and purpose for herself. That identity is at odds with the usual pattern of a female werecat's life, which is to marry young and have many children. Instead Faythe attended college, then returned to take up the traditionally male role as a pride enforcer. When she's placed on trial for turning a human and then murdering him, her role and worth are called into question.

I don't mind a feminist theme in urban fantasy. Even though this book is a little heavy handed about it, I enjoyed the premise of a young woman trying to prove and defend herself to a very patriarchal justice system.

The entire plot centers around the trial, which means that there are more politics and talks than action and violence. This suits the underlying theme well, and makes the book a good bridge in the series. However, it does have an unnecessarily slow pace--some of the trial details could have been cut to speed things along.

I find Faythe to be likeable and irritating by turns. I think the central problem is that she's 23, but acts more like a girl in her mid-teens. She's petulant, self involved, impulsive, and short sighted. It's all well and good for an author to give her lead character room to grow, but in this case Faythe borders on unlikeable. This is all balance only slightly by the fact that I wanted her to prevail because of her unique position in her society. In other words, were she not the only female of her species with a perceivable back bone and personality that stood out, I might find her truly loathsome. As it is, her behavior is only barely tolerable.

This brings me to the relationships, both romantic and otherwise. Marc has to be one of the most ill treated heroes I've ever encountered. Faythe wants to be with him, but on her own terms (i.e she refuses even the most surface level commitment). Not only are they completely dysfunctional as a couple, they don't seem to work all that well as a team. Even though Marc outranks her and has more experience, Faythe doesn't listen to him and rarely obeys him. I really don't care for them as a couple. Then there's Jace, the third corner in the love triangle just waiting to happen. I despise love triangles. Unless the author handles them with the utmost grace and originality they are the cheapest of romantic conflicts. The non-romantic relationships interested me far more. Faythe's and her father don't always see eye to eye because she doesn't understand his wisdom, but her admiration for him is apparent. A new character, Kaci the teenaged tabby, is introduced. Faythe's attempts to bond with her are actually quite touching and entertaining.

This is one of those books where the good elements only just manage to outweigh the bad. I still like this series well enough, but I'm not overly eager to finish it. 2.5 stars.

(Originally reviewed for Reading to Penguins)

"Pride", gets my highest starred rating for the series thus far. "Pride" is the third in Rachel Vincent's Werecats series and my favorite to this point. As I was reading the book I was thinking this book would be about a four star rating, but as I look back at the tale, I can't find a thing to justify taking off a star. "Prey" picks up where the "Rogue" left off. Werecat Fayth has infected her ex-boyfriend and than left him, creating an environment in which he went crazy without another were's guidance. Fayth never realized she even infected him, since she was in human form at the time. When he attacked her, Fayth killed him in self-defense. Now she is at the mercy of the Werecat Tribal Council. What are they seeking? Since there are some prejudiced members of the 'jury', they are seeking the death penalty. Since Faythe hasn't any desire to breed werecat babies, she must prove her value to the werecat community, if she has any hope of staying alive. Now they are sheltered at a lodge up just south of the Canadian border in free territory. Recently some hikers dissapeared and that mystery leads them to a group of stray, crazed werecats, amoung other things. Can Faythe prove her worth, by helping to capture the werecats? The werecat politics detailed here are intriguing, the 'evil' werecat alpha may have been more evil than the stray murdering werecats, and a new young tabby is introduced. Marc and Fayth have some issues playing out with their relationship as well, but its certainly not the main focus...(thats a good thing, in my book). I actually found Marc to be more well drawn and unique than in the first two books, where I couldn't really decide if I liked him for Fayth or not.
My favorite character by far here is a new one and I hope not one just introduced for this volume. He is Keller, a werebear or bruin, who lived in the mountains and Fayth believes he and others like him are the true 'bigfoots' people have reported seeing over the years. I would really like to see more from this unique and intriguing character. Fayth hasn't been my favorite lead female character, and she is still too impulsive and self-involved, but she makes some strides here. Her compassion and tenderness with the new tabby shows Faythe is a good hearted person, her affection for her father is also fun to watch here. While she is still far too impetious, at least in this installment, she is more aware of the consequences for being that way. I have to also point out that Vincent does one of the best jobs of ending a serial book that I have found. She manages to wrap up 'most' all of the main mysteries or stories going on in the book with her climax and then leaves several intriguing threads that make a reader more than a little eager to read the next one. I can see several directions Vincent could take the Werecat books, and the possibilites are astounding!

I didn't see were this book needed to be so long. Trials are boring, the things surrounding this one were a bit interesting but all in all this was a BIG let down. I still love the relationships, characters and will buy the next in the series but only based on how much I loved the first two books. This one was long, drawn out, a bit far fetched in many ways and only 'so-so' were romance was concerned. Not a fav, not a fav at all!

Pride picks up right where [b:Rogue|2314315|Rogue (Shifters, #2)|Rachel Vincent|[...]|4633523] left off. Faythe is on trial for not only infecting but killing her ex-boyfriend. While on trial a series of events occur leading the trial a little off course while they deal with the new situation.

I love how fast the story moved. You not only had the trial taking place with Faythe's life hanging in the balance but the falling out of Marc and Faythe, the stray attacks in the woods and the introduction of a new tabby. This installment in the series is definitely a page turner. I really liked the whole story behind the new tabby but again, the whole family aspect really shines through. There are a lot of times where Faythe points out how strong her father is and how proud she is of him. I cannot wait to read the next installment in the series.

Favorite quote...
"Radley rolled his eyes. He actually rolled his eyes at my father. Alpha of yhr south-central territory and head of the Territorial Council. Sure, I did that all the time but I'd also peed on his lap when I was two. No one else got away with such disrespect toward an Alpha, which meant Radley either didn't know who my father was, or didn't care."

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Wow! What a page turner! This book begins right where the last one left off and from the moment I started reading it, I was sucked in. Faythe Sanders is on trial for the infection and murder of her human boyfriend. While she is still frustrating, and way too outspoken, the events of this book really help me identify more with her and, dare I say, even LIKE her. While she is waiting for the Council to reach their verdict, new events occur that really test Faythe's maturity, as well as the bonds of her Pride. What I really enjoyed in this book is the greater focus on Pride relationships as a whole. Rachel Vincent has really left out no detail in creating this world of werecats that have their own distinctive ways of governing and law.

Some of the events of this 3rd part of the series can be hard to read. I would even classify certain scenes to be horrifying. After reading this addition, I have no clue how I found this book in the "Romance" section of my bookstore. The sex is basically nonexistent and the best part of all is that...I don't care.

This book also introduces new characters that are really compelling. I loved Elias Keller, the bruin (werebear) that fits perfectly into the "gentle giant" stereotype. Other new additions include members of the Territorial Council, as well as a new character with unexpected origins, whose story is heart-wrenching. I can't wait to read more about them in the continuation of the series.

Overall, the book was a great read. It really built on the foundations established in the previous novels and made me very happy that I stuck with the series. As I suspected, Faythe is really starting to grow and become a bad-ass bitch, instead of a whiny, spoiled one. Onto the next book in the series!

Assuming you have read the other 2 books, we all know that Faythe has huge trouble!! God, there's so much going on I don't even know how to put it on paper...err, internet paper?? Lol

I think I'll start off with Faythe's trial. So the Territorial Council was called to order because Faythe has been accused of infecting her human boyfriend then killing him to cover up her crime (which is soooo not true...okay, part of it is). However, the Council doesn't believe her! She admitted to infecting Andrew, but that was an accident! And Faythe killing him was also an accident. But they are saying that she did it to cover up the fact that she infected him! WTF!! And her verdict...well, I'm not gonna give it away because its something you just have to read!.

So while Faythe is dealing with all this and the 3 Alphas (her dad is not involved in this trial because of his relationship with Faythe) try to make a decision, there are Strays around that are causing trouble. Now, they are in free territory, which means that the Strays are allowed to roam freely. However, there are two missing hikers...yes, human hikers, and they think the Strays have something to do with it. So naturally it's up to the Pride (in this case Prides) to put a stop to this. And OMG you will never suspect what the Strays are trying to do! It's just crazy!

Even crazier...they found a tabby!! Oh. My. Gods. Faythe thinks she's a Stray, but the others don't agree with her. I also thought she was a Stray, but boy, were Faythe and I wrong!! And this is where I'm thankful for taking Biology; with all that recessive and dominant gene stuff...I actually understood what they were talking about!! lol

And another thing: werebear. Yeah, I'll let you think about that for a sec, lol. I actually had no idea they existed (they're proper name being bruin)! Rachel, you are awesome!! :D

As for the Marc-Faythe-Jace thing...well, we know that Faythe and Marc broke up. So I thought maybe Jace would get a chance. But no! Nada! And no, I still don't care for Marc. Jace on the other hand...*swoons* I don't know why Faythe doesn't give him a chance. I mean, how could you not fall in love with that guy ;) lol. Well, not just Jace, but the Wonder Twins in general. You just can't resist their charm. And by Wonder Twins I mean Jace and Ethan. Haha! I loved that!

I really enjoyed reading this book...I loved it! But Rogue has been my favorite book so far. Oh, one more thing...Team Jace...and Ethan ;)

I liked this one the best so far after reading the first 2 in the series! Fast moving and I like the introduction of the new girl character. Kept me wondering who she was and kept me reading! On to book 4!

i loved the first book in this series,stray. i was bored with the second book,rogue. this book takes all the backround info from rogue and is awesome. while rogue was boring, pride takes the same storyline (almost) and makes it exciting. i am looking forward to reading the fourth book,prey.