In Review: Shift by Rachel Vincent

Released 3/1/10 441 pages.
Publisher: Mira
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0778327608

The fifth book to Rachel Vincent's Shifter series introduces the readers to Thunderbirds. Birds against cats? Don't laugh these are blink and you'll miss their shift, wing clawed menaces who can take a 300 pound cat high above the ground and drop him on his head. They aren't exactly looking to make friends, in fact they want revenge on Faythe and her entire pride, and distract everyone including the reader from the impeding war between the Prides.

On top of the greatest stall tactic of all time, Faythe continues to make decisions that leave me scratching my head and others dead, all the while the supporting characters marvel at how self sacrifing she is.

The love triangle is grating. Marc bothers me almost as much as Faythe does. I'm almost as tired of hearing that he's alpha material as I am that tabby's are important, when everything presented seems to point to the opposite. Marc is strong and fearless, but his temper is so over the top, and he is constantly cowed by Faythe that I can't see him being a good leader or being able to put the Pride before her. And it seems that Ms. Vincent is on a steady path of making Jace into Marc just to show that he's Alpha material. When did having an uncontrollable temper start meaning you were better capable of leading? I find myself wishing she would just chose Marc, as it's clear that she will even though she claims she suddenly loves Jace, so that we can just get onto the war already.

Of course, Faythe does the impossible, emerging the hero through all her follies and gains a new ally. The impeding war looms over the horizon with the final book in the series.