Alpha: Shifters Book 6 by Rachel Vincent

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING! This is the final book in a 6 book series so there are previous book spoilers in this review. You've been given fair warning.

Faythe is sure that war is coming but she's not sure what expect. There hasn't been a full-scale civil war in the werecat community in decades and everyone was kind of hoping to keep it that way. Unfortunately with Malone creeping in on the Faythe's pride's territory by trying to declaw her and having her brother murdered, there doesn't seem to be much other recourse.

Of course Faythe's problems can't possibly end there because due to extenuating circumstances she's got to choose between the two men that she loves. Marc has known her since she was a rebellious teen and has been her sturdy rock. Unfortunately in her darkest hours, after Ethan's death and when she thought Marc was dead too, she gave in to her needs and had a tryst with Jace. He had always been there trying to convince her to him a chance and now he's got the opportunity. Too bad whoever she is with will one day become the Alpha of the Pride and at the moment Malone is doing everything he can to make sure neither of them are eligible.

When the Territorial Council meets to vote on their new head, the werecat community shatters and nothing is the same. Friends and family will die, new bonds will be forged, and old ones will be lost forever. For Faythe, at least one thing is certain: she will keep her Pride.

This was an amazingly incredible finale to one of the best urban fantasy series I have ever read. Rachel Vincent is a master at weaving an enticing and enrapturing tale and she is at her best with this novel. Watching all the books' details combine into a believable and emotional conclusion was quite fascinating. Faythe is as kickass as ever and the reader can't be disappointed in her performance. While I was very sad to see some of my favorite characters fall in the war, I completely understood the necessity. And let me just say, I was quite pleased with Faythe's choice in mate. Go Team _a_ _! (He he, you thought I was going to tell you didn't you? Silly people) Seriously, if you enjoyed the other novels or haven't tried them yet, I assure you that they're worth it!

Shifters Series by Rachel Vincent Mini-Reviews Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my mini-reviews of Rachel Vincent's Shifters series. If you missed Part 1, check it out here. If you're ready though, go ahead and read below to find out more about the wonderful werecat world.

WARNING: I put these three in a separate post because they contain spoilers for the first three books. You've been warned!

Prey
After coming out on top during her trial, Faythe has returned to the Lazy S ranch once again, only this time it's without her exiled lover Marc. While it's hard on Faythe, she has her hands full with the protection of Kaci, Manx, and baby Des. Faythe is really trying to coax Kaci into understanding that her cat form is nothing to be ashamed or frightened of.

But when they come under attack by a huge pack of strays and then a Pride member is outright murdered on their own property, the Pride goes into a tizzy. Someone is pulling the strings on this operation and they're going to pay dearly, not only for their actions, but also for what their actions cause Faythe to do in her love life.

Shift
With a Pride member dead, the Pride gathers its allies at the ranch to prepare for the coming civil war. There is no other answer for what has occurred in their society. While her father is impeached from the territorial council, the South Central Pride is virtually cut off from everyone else. Which is why the Thunderbirds had no real trouble cornering them and beginning to pick them off one by one. Now the Pride is scrambling to bring them proof that they are not responsible for the death of the Thunderbirds' Flight member. Everyone is depending on Marc, Faythe, and Jace to keep their tempers in check and work together without tearing everything apart.

Alpha (set for release on October 1, 2010)
This is the blurb from the back cover. P.S. I am in LOVE with this cover. It's my favorite of them all!

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE...

The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we've been busy. But now it's time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother's death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council.

It's not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I'm heading for a final showdown that can--that will--change everything forever. A showdown I'm not sure I'm ready for. But life never waits until you're ready. From Goodreads

So there you have it folks. Are you intrigued? If you haven't read one yet, go to your library and grab Stray. They're amazing and fantastic! I'm kind of sad to see the story end with Alpha, but Faythe's story can only go so far. Congratulations to Rachel Vincent for an incredible job well done. I can't wait to see where Faythe winds up!

Shifters Series by Rachel Vincent Mini-Reviews Part 1

I did a similar post on the Mercy Thompson series that I love so much by Patricia Briggs a few months ago. Well seeing as how I have managed to fall in love with yet another shifter series, I figured I would do a post about it as well.

Rachel Vincent's werecat Shifters series, staring the completely fallible and wonderful colorful Faythe Sanders, is a fun, quickly-paced series covering six novels. We meet Faythe when she is summoned home from grad school for her own protection. Needless to say, she doesn't go back to school what with all the kidnappings, attempted murders, oh and over-protective ex-fiances hanging around. The books follow Faythe as she tries to navigate her very modern self-existence within the rather 1950's view of a tabby in her pride.

She's smart, she's sassy, she's stubborn, and most of all she just wants to live her life without it being dictated to her. I feel that all women can relate to her, and even some men can, on some level or another. Below you'll find a synopsis/mini-review for the first three books. The other three will be provided in a later post.

See my full review of Stray.

Stray
All Faythe wanted was to be left alone. She was working on her graduate degree, but the werecat community just couldn't leave her alone. After fighting off a stray (a once human, made into a werecat through an illegal attack; no pride) Faythe is summoned home for safety. Someone is snatching tabbies and they're not giving them back. Despite all precautions to the contrary, Faythe becomes one of the snatched. In a race against the clock, Faythe must work quickly to figure out who is behind this, what their plans are for the tabbies, and then set them straight.

Rogue
We pick up where we left off in Stray with Faythe being cooped up in the house of werecats trying not to go crazy. Now as enforcer though, she's getting to see some action and prove her worth. She doesn't want to be seen as weak, so she does whatever is necessary to prove that fact. Even if it means working with her on-again boyfriend/ex-fiance Marc as a partner. While out on a mission, the two come across a dead stray. They do their job of covering it up, so the humans don't find out, but as more toms (male werecats) start to die, the trail becomes hotter than ever. Someone's killing toms in the same places that human girls go missing and it's up to Marc and Faythe to stop them. But who do you look for when anyone's a suspect?

Pride
Faythe Sanders is mischievous at her best, but certainly not intentionally combative. Well, only when the situation calls for it, and the situations she is on trial for were just that. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the council, Faythe has broken some of their major rules and must now pay the price. Only in this world, you are presumed guilty unless you can prove otherwise. Faythe is struggling to keep her temper in check while trying not to freak out about that fact that if found guilty the best outcome is the loss of her claws and the worst being execution. Given that she's one of the few tabbies in the US, that speaks volumes about her alleged crimes. It just so happens though that Lady Luck has not abandoned Faythe yet. The large number of hostile strays in the area is suspicious and the council wants answers. If Faythe can prove her worth, she can keep her life.

Tune in on Thursday for the next three books!

Stray by Rachel Vincent

Can't a girl catch a break? Not when you're one of 8 breeding female werecats in the continental United States; and especially not when you are an Alpha's daughter.

After growing up in a gender-biased society of werecats where females are only expected to have litters of children to further the species, Faythe Sanders escaped the oppressive rule of her Pride and her Alpha/father for the care-free whims of college life. After completing her BA, Faythe stayed on to continue grad school and her normal life. Normal, human boyfriend Andrew and a normal, human roommate have done wonders to keep Faythe centered and focused and decidedly ignoring any non-human activities.

That is until she happens upon a stray on campus one night. Since this is the South Central Pride's territory, this stray is breaking the law and needs to be sent back to the free territory. Only he doesn't smell like a normal stray; he's spicier than that. After getting into an altercation with this stray and breaking his nose before he ran off, her father's enforcer show up, in the form of stray-turned-Pride-cat and former fiance Marc Ramos, and inform her that she will be coming back to the ranch immediately. Upon arrival it is like being thrown back in time as nothing has changed at the Lazy S ranch. Her room is the same, her brothers are still over-protective, and her parents are forever trying to get her to settle down with a husband and children.

Only upon further inspection is she told that her cousin Sara has been kidnapped and several young women have been mauled and murdered recently. Naturally Faythe rebels against being brought back to be "protected," she wants to help and fight whoever is behind this nefarious plan. Soon enough, there is more fuel to the fire when her teen cousin Abby is taken and Sara shows up murdered. As the Prides band together to find this murderous cat, Faythe gets more than she bargained for when she asked to help. The force of parental pressure, and sexual tension between Marc, Jace, and herself, causes Faythe to forget her surroundings and become the next kidnapped tabby.

In a race against time, Faythe discovers what true courage is, who she can really trust, and that protecting is what is meant to do.

Stray is the beginning of a great werecat series by Rachel Vincent. While she may have some flaws, Faythe Sanders is a strong female character who proves that no one is perfect, but that doesn't mean you stop trying. She does what she thinks is best and what her heart tells her is right, despite the consequences. Now, this can get her in to trouble, more often than not, but at the same time it is what makes her so likable as a character.

She's not the only one though. There are SO many characters in this book because Prides are necessarily small. Faythe's older brothers run the gamut from uber-responsible lawyer Michael, to fun, frolicy Ethan. Marc and Jace are the main love interests and as such are definitely beyond the realm of normal hotness. Faythe's parents are the very image of what I would expect a sire and dam to be like: overprotective, caring, understanding, and yet firm when necessary.

The plot is built so that as you go along, you find yourself trying to figure out who is responsible for what, because all of the necessary clues are found in the story itself. Often times I find that the main character solves the mystery with outside information that the reader is not privy to and it just irks me; but here that is not the case. The story plods along and carries you all the way to the very end, with the climax just a few short pages from the end! It's fantastic!

Overall I'd have to say that Rachel Vincent has now won a spot in my "awesome" shelf with this book and series. Make sure to check out all the books, in order of course,:

Shift is scheduled for release March 1, 2010 and the final book in the series will be entitled and is tentatively set for October 2010. Stay tuned for more Shifters action.

Also, if you like her werecat series, Rachel Vincent has also written a bean sidhe series about a teenage girl who has just discovered that she is a bean sidhe. The series is called Soul Screamers and it already has a prequel novella (available for download here) and two published books (My Soul to Take & My Soul to Save). I am having a Soul Screamers week at the end of January to celebrate this fantastic series. Find out more about the celebratory week and GIVEAWAY here.