Pride (Shifters #3) - Rachel Vincent

Description

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...
My Opinion

First of all I really think I should slow down with my reading as I am definitely not getting my money's worth out of these books when I am reading one or two a day. I started Pride straight after I finished Rogue and finished it in the same day, granted I stayed up past midnight because I couldn't put it down, but that's besides the point...

This book was great and once again Rachel Vincent has me hooked on one of her series with her fantastic writing and engaging story lines. Pride take place mostly off the ranch and evolves around Faythe's tribunal but the story is linked with strays appearing in the surrounding woods. Both of these story lines together helped to sustain my interest as there was always something happening. I loved this book however I did skip or skim read parts due to the amount of detail Vincent went into describing corpses, hunts or killing animals as sometimes it seemed a little excessive at times (and yes I know cats hunting is natural but it's personally not something I enjoy hearing about in great detail).

I wasn't keen on how the book ended but that's due to a personal preference towards a character and hopefully it will get better in the next few books. Other than that this book is great. Once again it leaves you on a terrible cliff hanger that leaves you wanting more and was impossible to put down.

Rogue (Shifters #2) - Rachel Vincent

Description

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 for 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 of my mistakes are behind me. We're beginning to suspect that the dead are connected to a rash of missing human women and that they can all be laid at my feet--two or four, take your pick. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear...

My Opinion

Wow! The second book in this series definitely equalled the first. It kept me hooked throughout with a fast pace and lots of action. There is a slight change in Faythe as she takes on the role of an enforcer but her rebellious streak is still there at times and the contrast between the two sides of her is really interesting. I also like how her random thoughts (normally a reprimand to herself) are added, and some made me laugh at the witty humour.

Not being as long as Stray I was able to finish this book in a few hours and the cliff hanger it leaves you on made me start reading the third instalment almost instantly. I love how the relationship between Marc and Faythe develops in this book, and unlike romance novels their relationship is unpredictable due to Faythe's unwillingness to settle down. Which only adds to the books excitement, especially when Jace is added to the storyline.

Overall I'm loving this series and can't wait to see how it ends. 

Stray (Shifters #1) - Rachel Vincent

Description

There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . .
And I'm one of them.

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 . . .
My Opinion

It took me awhile to get round to reading this book as I kept putting it off for some reason or another, but yesterday it seemed like the perfect excuse to sit in the sun all day. And that is what I did, I spent the whole day reading it and finished within the day, even though it is over 600 pages. I loved this book, it was really engaging and I couldn't put it down until I had reached the end.

I liked the main character, Faythe, as she was both vulnerable yet a strong female lead. Her bad attitude and unwillingness to comply with the Pride's traditions, regimes and lifestyle kept me hooked and the love triangle that went back and forth between the book kept me in suspense of who she would end up with (if she ever was going to).

There was constant action in this book and it keeps you enthralled to the end and I'm so glad that I bought the whole series at once. Even though this was Rachel Vincent's first work it the last series I've read from her. After loving the Unbound and Soul Screamers series I had high hopes for this series and the first instalment has not disappointed. It's safe to say I'll be spending the next week reading the rest of the series.

Deconstructing INFATUATION – Merce Cardus

Description

Sometimes, whether you're single or with a significant one,
somebody appears in your life unexpectedly.
We feel the need to know who this person is,
the need to know exactly who this person is.
A story may offer different interpretations, even with several irreconcilable and contradictory meanings. As in Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta's story in Dante's Divine Comedy, this story is not about unfaithfulness either. This story is about infatuation: what burns inside of oneself when we let ourselves fall madly for someone.

My Opinion

I'll start by saying that when I received a request to review Deconstructing INFATUATION I was quite excited to read it. From the description it sounded like it wasn't going to be a normal romance story that sugar coated everything and it wasn't. This book was realistic and therefore intrigued me as I wanted to see how the story would develop outside the normality of the romance genre. 

The story follows Helen's life and how it is turned upside down by her new room mate Tiziano but for me there was a lot of detail missing. The book was fast paced but I found myself quite confused by the constant jumping around as I never really felt it went into enough description to help me understand. I would have liked to know more about the character's backgrounds to help me connect to the characters as I always felt distant from the story and never got lost in it.

This book (well it's really more of a novella) doesn't necessarily have a happy ending but I didn't mind that, it made a change from the 'they lived happily ever after' ending and kept in line with the realistic nature of the book. However for me it felt very rushed and didn't give a definite resolution, I would have liked to know a bit more about what each character did after and how they coped with the situations they find themselves in.

Overall I liked the initial idea and concept, the book kept me hooked but that was only because I was hoping that the story pick up and go somewhere, which in the end never happened. For me the story needed more detail and description as it seems a little rushed in places.

   2.5

Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) – Ally Carter

Description

The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers that months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie's summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.
Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It's a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

My Opinion

I had got a bit bored of this series up until now, the plot line of the previous two books didn't really engage me enough but Out of Sight, Out of Time has renewed my interest in the series. I could not put this book down, even when I had to.

This book seemed to have more action and mystery to it than the rest, which was great. The way it was written was really clever, especially the way Ally Carter linked all the clues together to try and help Cammie remember. There was a darker side to Out of Sight, Out of Time and sometimes it really felt like I was inside Cammie's mind, which was quite worrying, but the fact I was able to do this intrigued me more as I sympathised with Cammie.

I love books that deal with darker and grungy story lines and this was the first time in the series I saw this. I felt that the characters (especially Cammie) were no longer girls from a boarding school, trying to learn spy skills. Instead they were having to put the, into use in difficult and frustrating situations that keep you hooked.

Overall I was considering giving upon this series but this book had renewed my interest and I definitely want to know more now, so hopefully the wait won't be too long for book six.