Alpha by Rachel Vincent

Review contains no spoilers for Alpha, but does contain them for earlier books! Recommend you skip this if you've yet to pick up the series, and that you should pick up book 1, Stray, right now ;)

"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."

Alpha is the sixth and final book in the Shifters series and I was lucky enough to receive an early copy thanks to NetGalley. I was ridiculously happy to find the link waiting for me in my inbox a week ago and started it straight away. Then stayed up til gone 3am to finish it. I could not stop reading it, I had to know what happened to Faythe and the rest of her Pride. It's an intense, emotional rollorcoaster and heart breaking though it was, I wouldn't have changed a thing nor could I have asked for more.

I was hooked on this series from the first page of book 1, Stray, and since then my love for the series has only grown. It is a firm favourite with me and one I would highly recommend. Book 4, Prey completely blew me away with it's intensity and heartbreak. It changed everything for Faythe and her Pride, and the whole werecat world in general. Shift then continued the changes as Faythe attempted to find her way out of an impossible situation, and carry on protecting her fellow tabbies Kaci and Manx as well.

Alpha picks up just a short while after the end of Shift. Faythe and the rest of the South Central Pride are about to meet Ethan's pregnant girlfriend for the first time. They learnt of her pregnancy immediately after Ethan's death in Prey, but until now they've not met her. They want to be a part of the baby's life, but Angela can't know of their true nature. And hiding it when war is about to break out is not going to be easy.

It's not long before things really heat up as Greg, Faythe, Marc, Jace and members of the other Prides, come together in the mountains again for another council meeting. This one to decide if Greg can remain as head of the Territorial Council, or if Calvin Malone - a cat desperate for power and control, determined to have his sons with all available tabbies, willing or unwilling - will take the head instead. And the battle for Faythe's heart reaches breaking point. She's got to decide for sure who she loves the most, who her other half is. Either Marc, the stray her family took in, who she has loved for years. Or Jace, her late brothers best friend who's suddenly proving himself to be alpha material as well. Doesn't matter who she chooses, someone is going to get hurt and she doesn't want more pain than they're all already facing, but she must choose. War is breaking out and it's not the time for divided loyalties within the Pride. Faythe is going to need everything she's got and then some to win this fight.

The Shifters series is one of my favourites and this book was everything I expected. It's a heart wrenching, awesome, bittersweet ending. I cried through a lot of the book I have to say. Rachel does a fantastic job of capturing emotions, pain and grief in particular and making it very real. It's hard not to sympathise with Faythe as she makes the tough decisions she has to make. Not always a case of right or wrong, and certainly never easy, but what has to be done for the continued existence of her Pride, and their allies as well.

Faythe does choose between Marc and Jace, and as Rachel promised it is her choice. Neither man dies to leave her only one option, nor does an unplanned pregnancy occur. It's Faythe's choice and it's almost as heartbreaking watching her trying to figure out her personal life as the rest of the book. There is a war going on and losses are inevitable in any war. So painful and harsh, but it's the truth and Rachel doesn't pull any punches. One of the reasons this series works so well for me is because I care just as much about the secondary characters as the protagonist. I love the glimpses in to Greg, Karen, Jace, Marc, Kaci and all the others, that we get. It's as hard seeing their reactions, their grief as it is getting Faythe's. Sometimes more so.

This book does a good job wrapping things up. It deals with the things left hanging from the previous two books and comes to what felt like a natural end point. There isn't any epilogue, a glimpse of Faythe's life a month or a year after the final chapter and I'm actually pretty glad of it. Faythe has come so, so far from the loud mouth brat she was in Stray. She's grown up, learnt what being a leader means, learnt when to fight and when to keep her mouth shut, learnt how to make the hard decisions. Where Faythe's story ends for us, there is still much more she faces and skipping those things to show us just the outcome would have left me feeling a little cheated I think. Instead, we get the ending the series deserved. It's heartbreaking, bittersweet, but ultimately fantastic and the best book of the series. It's very hard saying goodbye to characters I love, but there is so much room to imagine the future for them and that I love. Best book of the series, most heartbreaking, and yet with a satisfying conclusion that does the series justice and one I'd think most fans will love. 10/10

Shift by Rachel Vincent

Quick note to those couple people not speaking to me at present because I got Shift before you: I'm fine with it, love you and speak to you when you do get it! In the mean time, I'ma go read it again ;)

Spoilers for previous books, but not Shift!

Shift is the 5th book in Rachel Vincent's Shifters series and picks up a week or so after Prey. Faythe and her Pride are still deep in mourning for the loss of one of their own and busy plotting their revenge against Calvin Malone and his supporters for that death. But things take an unexpected and very dangerous turn when they are attacked out of the blue by Thunderbirds. Giant bird shifters with deadly hooked wings and talons, putting the werecats at a big disadvantage by their ablilty to fly. Faythe is determined to get to the truth behind the attacks, but can she do it and take care of teenage tabby Kaci? With her personal life in turmoil and Malone determined to have both tabbies for himself, it's going to be far from easy. But Faythe's never been one to back away from a fight.

I loved this series from the first book, and it's grown on me with every book. The characters are vivid and flawed, but have grown a huge amount throughout the series learning from mistakes and the difficult decisions that have been made along the way. Shift sees Faythe trying to deal with the consequences of one of her biggest mistakes, sleeping with Jace, without hurting either him or Marc. Jace has grown and changed a whole lot since Ethan's death as well. He's not content with playful flirtation with Faythe anymore, or being a low-ranking enforcer. He's showing potential that shocks those closest to him and gives greater depth to his character.

I couldn't help but feel for both Faythe and Jace as they worked together through this book, against the thunderbirds and Malone's cats. My heart ached for Marc and his place in the situation too, loving Faythe and wanting her to finally commit to him, unaware of her actions with Jace. And Kaci, a young werecat who knows little of their world and yet finds herself in the middle of a war, trusting in Faythe to keep her safe. Faythe is facing huge decisions, both personally and professionally, in the hunt to save those she loves and I felt every up and down, twist and turn along with her. I love how she's gone from a mouthy brat in Stray, to someone who has great potential to be a very good leader.

The action started on page one and never really let up. The thunderbirds were well described bringing them to vivid life, and something that gave me chills. There were some really great twists and I was never sure what was going to happen until the end. The tension built through the book right to the intense ending, but there were a couple good lighter moments that made me laugh too. I think this has replaced Prey as my favourite book of the series, although it doesn't hold quite the level of shock Prey did, it was so well put together and created a real tension that made it impossible for me to put down. I really feel for all the characters and the troubles they're in, and Faythe in particular, as she makes some really tough decisions. Things are a long way from over for any of them, and I really can't guess what's going to be thrown at them next! I'm really, really anxious to read Alpha, the final book in the series, and find out! 9/10