RACHEL VINCENT - SHIFTERS SERIES - ADULT URBAN FANTASY - SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY # 10 - MIRA

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY # 10

RACHEL VINCENT

SHIFTERS SERIES

GOODREADS

Hell. Yeah!

Loved this adult urban fantasy series.

Faythe is a shifter, a were-cat. Her father wants her to take over as Alpha. She doesn't want this responsibility. Let the danger and shenanigans, begin.

I started reading this series in November 2011. I got addicted real quick.

I wrote a couple poem reviews for Stray - Shifters # 1 and Rogue - Shifters # 2. 

* goes cross eyed * 

This is a highly popular series and sometimes everything has already been said in the last 20,000 reviews.

Heheee! It's what happens when you start a series later than the other gazillion readers.

Every now and then a poem hits my head and I have to write it instead of a normal style review. Trust me, I know no rules in the poem world, I just write what hits my head, so I'm no doubt breaking a few rules, but , eh.

Faythe has been left free,

A tabby amongst the boys is a rarity,

Her brothers are watching,

Her father’s ever present spies.

Faythe wants just to learn and discover life,

Settling down becoming a housewife ,

Is just not her style,

Meanwhile rare tabbys are kidnapped and dying.

An Alpha is what Greg wants Faythe to be,

He is grooming her to take over,

She will no longer be free,

An Alpha equals a Pride full of responsibility.

Marc is her match,

But Jace wants some of that,

Faythe is not his to touch,

Marc will show Jace how much.

Rachel Vincent wrote a great tale,

A bad ass book of 618 pages,

I want to know more,

This party has only just got started.

Marc and Jace. Rachel sure had me tangled up inside who I wanted Faythe to end up with. By the time I read the last book, Alpha , I certainly had been put through the ringer with my emotions with these two lads.

Each book got better and better , until I was hungering for Alpha, even though I was sad it was the last.

I still wish for more, especially a spinoff of one of the characters, just to make my heart feel better.

Heheee!

This is part of what I had to say in my last review for Alpha.

The thing with the Shifter series is Rachel really has you in a bit of a mess after each book finishes. She really brings her characters to life, they appear to be standing before you and so real you could touch them. You ‘feel’ like you are hurting as bad as Faythe. I felt quite connected to Faythe.

My reviews can be found HERE.

For all things Rachel Vincent , check out her web page HERE

I met Rachel when she came to Australia in 2013

The Shifter series is a really cool urban fantasy series not to be missed, I highly recommend it.

ABOUT AUTHOR

A resident of Oklahoma, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ALPHA by RACHEL VINCENT - SHIFTERS # 6

By: Rachel Vincent
Published By : MIRA
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from library, 472 Pages

RATING : 5 HEARTBREAKING STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

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.

BOOK REVIEW:

I am a HUGE fan of Rachel Vincent’s writing. Her Soul Screamers series ( YA genre ) is amazing writing. Her adult series, ‘Shifters’, is filled with emotion.

I have come to the end of my Shifters series journey. I loved how Rachel finished the series off.

This book had my heart being pulled in a tug-of-war.

When I first started this series I was Team Marc, Jace was a fun guy and that was it. Rachel decided to bring Jace into a triangle that had me pulled left and right, up and down. I would be a little angry that Faythe could not easily pick Marc.......but then.....Rachel wrote Jace in a new light. I got as confused as Faythe.

Jace has the less tense, more playful nature that I thought was good for Faythe....but then.....she showed me how hurt Marc was and how deep his love was. How Marc had nobody but Faythe in his sights. Then she made Faythe fall for Jace....OMG!!! Let the mind games begin.

I am normally very clear cut on who is my Team guy in a book. For an author to get me so tangled up, so under the skin of her triangle guys , is rare. I was flopping around emotionally like a fish out of water.

The reading kit is needed for this book:

Lots of tissues.

A pillow to scream into.

Strong tape to hold your heart together, cause it keeps breaking.

A friend who has read the series , you can connect with .

And a whole lot of FAITH.

There is a war brewing and all stops need to be pulled out.

Oh, the guy that needs to be totally slapped with a stinky dead fish from me , had me fuming and the other guy that just needed the biggest smack down. Both so dangerous, one so corrupt, it kept me breathless how he manipulated the laws and rules.

I am going to miss this series.  I would love a Jace spinoff as much as I wanted an Adrian spin off from Vampire Academy series.

The thing with the Shifter series is Rachel really has you in a bit of a mess after each book finishes. She really brings her characters to life, they appear to be standing before you and so real you could touch them. You ‘feel’ like you are hurting as bad as Faythe. I felt quite connected to Faythe.

I highly recommend anything Rachel Vincent writes. She has a wonderful gift of the gab.

FAVE QUOTE: ( Somebody tear my heart out now...)

“But I love you more. He could walk away from you with a broken heart , if he had to, and live to love another day. But I can’t. Since the first time we kissed, there's never been anyone for me but you. Not in my bed, not in my life, and not in my heart.  And there never will be. And that’s what I need to hear from you. Now. “  His hope and fear and desperation , were so thick in the room that I could hardly breathe. “Purgatory’s just another kind of hell, Faythe.”

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - SHIFT by RACHEL VINCENT - THE SHIFTERS # 5

By : Rachel Vincent
Published By : Harlequin, MIRA
Released ; Available Now
Details : Paperback from library , 441 Pages

RATING : 4.5 JACE, I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING...eeeEPPP! STARS!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

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...

BOOK REVIEW:



Crikey this book has me totally worried about Marc and Jace. Oh , you have to read to understand.


I love Marc and I have always loved Jace. In the back of my mind I have wanted Jace with Faythe, but I knew how strong and over protective Marc was. Marc is good for Faythe and he loves her deep and he wears it on his sleeve. Marc is a powerful man and wants what every guy wants. He doesn’t ask for a lot. He even settles for having Faythe by his side and the passionate moments that consume them. But is it now just lust for Faythe? Are they still on the same page?


In this book we start to see past the fun Jace who is loyal and can be the playful, yet in love friend who keeps it in check, to himself. We see Alpha potential and a back bone and a need to get the girl....bad. As the reader we learn what Jace probably hasn’t yet thought about. May the best man win. I don’t want to lose one of them.....I think I might...*sniffle*


Rachel brought Thunderbirds to the table in this instalment. Who knew? I didn’t think Thunderbirds could be such a page turner. They are an interesting lot and I think we may be reading more about them in Alpha. One minute they take Calvin’s lies and act on them, the next minute they won’t listen to the truth. They are annoyingly stubborn, their punishments are set and it takes everything Faythe has to try to convince them they have been played.


This book has some pretty raw violence, more so than the other books. I really liked how Rachel made it a very tough book on many characters. She wasn’t pussy footing around, pardon the pun.


I think every reader has felt Marc’s raw emotion over where his relationship stands with Faythe. His only real threat was Faythe herself pulling the plug....until now.


Will the much more mature Jace stand up? Jace has lost deeply, there is no going back. It’s time to think about himself and he is wanting that Happily Ever After with Faythe. Lord , did he choose the wrong gal. Now Marc has wisened up, ‘Alpha’ is going to be a book that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I read the blurb and it is tearing me up already.


Would somebody pleeeeaaasse keep the Tequila away from Faythe...hehe!



FAVE QUOTES:


“If I love you more than you love me, I'm as good as dead. Yet I can't make myself take it back. I can't just walk away from you, because every time you pass by me without smiling, without touching my hand, or at least making eye contact, it feels like I'm dying inside. And I'm pretty sure that hurts worse than whatever Marc would do to me. Whatever your dad would do. Hell, Faythe, I'm pretty sure that never touching you again would hurt worse than the nastiest death Calvin could think up for me.”





  “You deserve better than me,” I whispered, and the selfish part of me hoped he wouldn’t hear.

  He heard.

  Marc spun me around so fast I would have slipped again if he weren’t holding me up. We were so close drops of water from his chin fell onto my chest, and I had to crane my neck to see him.

  “You are perfect for me, Faythe, just like you are, because you’re not perfect. You’re headstrong, and impulsive, and outspoken, and I’m possessive, and overprotective, and too easy to piss off. We’re both wrong for a lot of things, but we’re right for each other. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. I didn’t know what else to do.”





  “It hurts to move my arm and my fingers aren’t working very well. I just need help. That’s it. Okay?”

  “Yeah. No problem.”But he shifted uncomfortably, and I glanced down to find a prominent bulge in the front of his jeans.

  Uh-oh. “You sure?”

 “Okay , maybe a small problem.” He grinned. “But not that small....”





  “How hot do you want it?”

  I rolled my eyes and indulged a smile, trying to break the tension. “Does nothing you say sound innocent?”

  He returned my grin. “Not if I can help it.”





  “He’s always been protective of me. You all have. Hell, he stepped in front of a bullet for me, Marc. That’s no different from this.”......

  “The hell it isn’t.” He dropped the bags on the bedspread next to me but didn’t sit. “He’s never tried to defend you from me.”

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - PREY by RACHEL VINCENT - THE SHIFTERS # 4

By: Rachel Vincent
Published By : MIRA
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 393 Pages

RATING : 5 EMOTIONAL STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

Sometimes playing cat and mouse is no game…

Play? Right. My Pride is under fire from all sides, my father's authority is in question and my lover is in exile. Which means I haven't laid eyes on Marc's gorgeous face in months. And with a new mother and an I-know-everything teenager under my protection, I don't exactly have time to fantasize about ever seeing him again.


Then our long-awaited reunion is ruined by a vicious ambush by strays. Now our group is under attack, Marc is missing and I will need every bit of skill and smarts to keep my family from being torn apart. Forever.


BOOK REVIEW:



Pretty much from the get go you are in for quite a ride in this instalment in the Shifter series.


This book is quite sad in places, like I mean...real...sad!


Rachel snuck this up on me and I just didn’t see it coming. I was reading and then I was like.....*sniffle, blows nose* Two words just break your heart....*sob*


Very sad.


Tequila, Tequila, Tequila......not good to partake in when emotions are raw, not when you are swigging straight from the bottle. Nothing good can come of Tequila straight up.


Rachel is quite brutal with some of her characters in this book.


You really see Faythe taking control of the Pride and making decisions , showing she is Alpha material. She also shows us that underneath her stubbornness not to bend to the wills of the male cats, she has this nurturing side. Kaci is like a sister to Faythe and she won’t give up on her.


There is action, lust, love, betrayal, several ‘stinky dead fish slaps" needed to be issued. Sad, sad moments, grief, sweet moments, the law has spoken, hope, loss and just keep the tissue box close by. I recommend man size tissues.


Ms. Vincent doesn’t hold back, she writes to bring you to your knees with sadness. This book does leave a little bit of it inside you when you have finished. It also leaves you with this big question mark over what Faythe has done. Oh the complication she has just added to her life.

Thank goodness I have ‘Shift’ ready to crack open because I think it will be a hell of a ride.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - PRIDE by RACHEL VINCENT - THE SHIFTERS # 3

By: Rachel Vincent
Published By: MIRA
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 553 Pages

RATING : 4.5 MALE WERECAT STARS!!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

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.


If I survive my own trial…

BOOK REVIEW:



Faythe sure is like the Pied Piper when it comes to trouble. It just follows her and then catches up to her with HUGE consequences.


Awwww, Faythe and Marc....these two characters have such strength between them that they will do what is necessary for the Pride at the cost of ‘them’. It does make your heart ache to see the once uber stubborn Faythe start to take control of her mistakes and she really does mature in this book.


Marc.....I really get him now. I always loved him, but when he and Jace had their smackdown...well ....I hoped there was more to Marc as I really like Jace, he’s gorgeous and funny. There is a lot of pain under Marc’s fur. I understand now how much inner strength being the Alpha’s assassin/interrogator, top Enforcer brings with it. It’s a huge job to be in charge of, on many levels. You really ‘feel’, Marc’s heart and sadness over Faythe and her stubbornness, her inability to think past what she could lose if she married Marc. Rather than what they as two werecats could gain.


The title ‘Pride’ means a couple things in this book. Another badass thick book which I devoured and want to rip into ‘Prey’.


I love the new characters that Rachel has brought to this book. We have a ‘Bruin’, yup! a bear shifter and I love him!! I bet he isn’t the last person picked for a team.


I am sniffing a little something in the air with Ethan and a certain someone. Granted the someone is young, but if Rachel hasn’t finished this series off with the young someone aged appropriate and Ethan and her eligible, then I would love a spinoff of Ethan and ?


I loved the way Ethan the lover of all females dropped to his knees in front of her. But! I haven’t finished this series so who knows?


I’m starting to see real Alpha material in Faythe now. I think Greg is a bit of a spunk , I am also getting the feeling that he is on the way out and Faythe will be on the way in.


I would really like to give Calvin Malone a ‘stinky dead fish ‘ slap,  he is grrrrrrr......manipulative and has his own agenda. He is a thorn in Faythe’s side.


The story really pumps along and I really enjoyed this book. Rachel has put in several ‘ewwwwww’, moments and some nice werecat ‘slashdowns’. Some of the characters are in need of some heavy duty painkillers. I am loving this series and highly recommend it.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ROGUE by RACHEL VINCENT - THE SHIFTERS # 2

By: Rachel Vincent

Published By : MIRA

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback from library , 377 Pages

RATING : 4.5 MANLY MARC STARS!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

Okay, so cats don't always land on their feet.

 I know that better than most.

Since rejoining the Pride, I’ve made big decisions and even bigger mistakes — the kind paid with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove to my father, the Pride and myself. And with murdered toms turning up in our territory, I’m working harder than ever, though I always find the energy for a little after-hours recreation with Marc, my partner both on and off duty.

But not all my mistakes are behind me. We’re beginning to suspect that the dead are connected to a series of missing human women and that they can all be laid at my feet. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear…

BOOK REVIEW:

Strays are winding up dead,

Their necks no longer connected to the rest,

Female strippers are going missing,

Is there a pattern that is hidden?

Andrew, Faythe’s ex is calling her mobile,

Marc if he knew would fly of the handle,

She thinks nothing much of it,

Too late, she has dug a deep, deep pit.

Faythe is surrounded by smexi brothers,

There is also Jace and the others,

Faythe must come clean to her dad,

Marc overhears and is beyond mad.

She fears for what she may have lost,

For Marc it is too much,

Where does he stand in their relationship?

Will Faythe move on again in two and a half years away from him?

Faythe can partially shift,

Greg needs to see proof as Faythe is in deep shit,

Her life is on the line,

She has a hearing in eight weeks for her crimes.

Will she live or be sentenced to die?

Michelle



BOOK REVIEW - STRAY by RACHEL VINCENT - SHIFTER # 1

There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . .

And I'm one of them.

By : Rachel Vincent

Published By : MIRA
Released : Avaliable Now
Details : Paperback from library, 618 Pages
Sourced : Coolum Library

RATING : 4 SMEXI MARC STARS!!!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

 I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.

Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.

I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.

This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . .

Faythe has been left free,

A tabby amongst the boys is a rarity,

Her brothers are watching,

Her father’s ever present spies.

Faythe wants just to learn and discover life,

Settling down becoming a housewife ,

Is just not her style,

Meanwhile rare tabbys are kidnapped and dying.

An Alpha is what Greg wants Faythe to be,

He is grooming her to take over,

She will no longer be free,

An Alpha equals a Pride full of responsibility.

Marc is her match,

But, Jace wants some of that,

Faythe is not his to touch,

Marc will show Jace how much.

Rachel Vincent wrote a great tale,

A bad ass book of 618 pages,

I want to know far more,

This party has only just got started.

Michelle