Review - Pride by Rachel Vincent

The blurb has spoliers if you haven't read the first two books, but the review is spoiler free!

I'm on trial for my life. Falsely accused of infecting my human ex-boyfriend—and killing him to cover up the crime. Infecting a human is one of three capital offenses recognized by the Pride—along with murder and disclosure of our existence to a human.

I'm two for three. A goner.

Now we've discovered a rogue stray terrorizing the mountainside, hunting a wild teenage tabbycat. It's up to us to find and stop him before a human discovers us. With my lover Marc's help, I think I can protect the vulnerable girl from both the ambitious rogue and the scheming of the territorial council.

Pride is the third book in Rachel Vincent’s Shifter series. I was told at a Rachel Caine signing that this series is amazing and particularly the third is exceptional, I wasn’t disappointed. Firstly I’d like to express how original I think these books are, I can’t compare the Shifter series to any other books I’ve read. In the Shifters series there are prides of werecats who are living in secret from humans. They follow an old fashioned way of living where the males do all the hunting and the females breed. Well, the protagonist Faythe Saunders does not follow that way.

In the beginning we are immediately thrown into the two central storylines of the novel. One is being Faythe’s trial for accidentally killing a human. And the other, more mysterious plot is humans going missing in the remote mountain area nearby where the prides are currently living.  

One Character I think deserves special mention is Calvin Malone; he really upped the antic and got me engaged in the plot. Malone is a judge on Faythe’s trial and is pretty much determined to destroy her life, literally. His cunning ways got me frantically flipping through pages to see what he did next to Faythe.

I also enjoyed the mentor/ big sister relationship between Faythe and Kaci.  When Kaci was first initiated into the story I expected her to be shy, weak and a liability, but she turned out to be funny, strong  willed and confident. There are many reasons why I read this series and Kaci is now one of them. I look forward to seeing Kaci’s character develop in the next instalments.

Rachel Vincent weaved together an almighty climax. In books I sometimes struggle to imagine fight scenes, but Rachel Vincent’s writing style made it clear and easy to follow. She definitely pulls out all the stops for a very dramatic ending.

This book really didn’t give me a choice, the moment I opened it I was hooked. So if you’re looking for a fast paced, enjoyable read, the Shifter series is perfect for you.

Favourite character: Kaci Dillon

Least favourite character: Calvin Malone

Rating: Four out of five stars