I love Rachel Vincent and this was no exception. Pride was a great book not quite as good as my favorite of her books Stray but definetely a strong second. Sorry, I did not like Rogue quite as well as the others. Her characters are always fun. The story is intriguing but I think it is the humor and "realness" of her charachters that really draws me in. Totally a must read! ( )

Even if the pace of the book was a little slower than the previous ones in the series I liked it very much, even more than "Rogue" to be honest.
I think that Faythe's trial was really well developed and I particularly enjoyed the power play between the Alphas and the political repercussion it caused.
I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Just one critic: cannibalism is CREEEEEPY and I've could have done without it!!! ( )

wow this was an intense book! ( )

Faythe is on trial for infecting and killing her human boyfriend – trying to convince a council of Alphas that something happened when they don’t only not believe her - but don’t even believe that what she claims is even possible

But the trial cannot happen in solitude – a whole army of strays have moved into the area and have to be dealt with

I expected this book to be a lot worse than it was. Admittedly after the last two books, the book could literally be possessed by a serial killing ghost that tried to attack me with a claw hammer and it would still be a better book than I expected. Still, my low expectations meant I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

In this book, the misogynist Alphas questioned Faythe on whether or not she intended to marry and how many kids she’d have – and if she didn’t have any immediate plans she was simply useless to werecat society: because what’s the point of a werecat female who isn’t pushing out the young ‘uns? Honestly, I expected Faythe to grab Marc’s engagement ring, suddenly become pregnant and problem solved! So, kudos, Pride for not doing this

In fact, in general Pride wasn’t nearly as offensively awful as the previous books, not even close. Partly this is due to the complete lack of spicy South American werecats (and general POC. You wouldn’t even know Marc was Latino if you didn’t know from previous books). Normally I would complain about lack of POC, but like the lack of LGBTQ characters I find myself slightly grateful simply because it means we won’t have to endure he representation (though we do have a ridiculous moment where 3 people share a single bed and leave another empty because a) the 2 men won’t let the other share a bed with Faythe and b) two men sharing a bed is terribad icky.)

The main issues I have with this book is that it completely ignores the context of the books that have come before. Like we have Greg, Faythe’s father who is pretty much cast as the Good One in this book. He is the reasonable Alpha. He is the nice Alpha. And he’s just being terribly trapped by the Alpha council who is totally awful and old fashioned and misogynist.

Except this completely brushes over the last two books where, if you recall, Faythe was locked in a cage for not being perfectly obedient. She was under such a level of house arrest that she worried she wouldn’t be able to use the bathroom without being watched. She has been set up almost from birth to be with a certain guy and no other choice was considered. Now this guy who imposed all this on Faythe is the “good one.”

Just as this book Faythe spends so much time pining over Marc who rejected her last book because she wouldn’t walk down the aisle with him. She is sasd, desperate to get him back and completely brushing over his violent, furniture destroying temper. And making light of him menacing other men for looking at her (remembering HE broke up with HER) – claiming he wouldn’t take it too far, despite the fact in previous books he half killed a man for daring to flirt with her. We’re just ignoring all that – now her saying no to him was totally a mistake she regrets

And that, that right there, is why this book annoys me so much. It’s not what is in this book that is the problem, it’s the fact that the shifting narrative excuses or ignores what has gone before because the antagonist has shifted. Greg is the good Alpha and kind father while Malone is the misogynist ruthless arsehole and Blackwell is the old fashioned misogynist arsehole. Marc is the perfect lover Faythe was a fool to let go – not the all-but-arranged marriage she was being forced into.

When we introduce Kaci (really, what is with the spelling of these names?!) it gets worse. See, Kaci, a new 13 year old female werecat all alone and vulnerable. Now, she’s a child so a lot of the narrative about how she needs sheltering and protecting could relate to her age: but ultimately her situation is based far more on her being female. She is being hunted for being female. Even Faythe is outraged that her father and brothers aren’t protecting her since she’s female – she repeatedly makes comments about them dropping the ball with her. But the entire first book was about Faythe wanting to be free from this stifling “protection.” This whole narrative, while not terrible in and of itself, serves as a complete justification for how Faythe has been treated in the first 2 books.

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There must be some hidden, golden rule somewhere that I tend to fall more in love with Urban Fantasy series by the third book. I don't know what it is - maybe the writer is in the middle of getting the story even better, or else I've just fallen in love more with the characters? Have no idea, only in this one I do know it's not because I love the main character. I actually loathe her.

I was hoping that, by this point in the series, she would have evolved, calmed down, and grew up a little. Instead she's still abrasive and makes me cringe at some of what she says and how silly she is in predicaments, but it was toned down a little this time. Marc is more likeable now, although I always liked him a decent bit. The mother and Manx aren't really in this one as the book takes place in a neutral meeting place for the shifter council. They were missed but we get lots of the father, who I always dug, and the brothers, who are fun.

I'm not usually into shifter internal politics, but the maneuvering here was actually interesting. There is a big change in the status of two of the main characters, so there is a small cliffhanger with that at the end. There's a lot of talking in this one compared to the action of others, but it works and pacing doesn't lag somehow.

Rachel Vincent has a creative way with words and dialogue that works. It's easy to envision the characters you're reading about. Their motivations are clear without needing spelled out. She must like the main character herself, and I know some other readers do, but for me she's the only downfall of the story.

I'm curious about the next book, as it's clear there's a lot of changes in store and potential dangers to the family, not just Faith herself. ( )