Pride
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Pride 〰️
I really enjoyed my second re-read of this book, especially since I read this series so long ago that I forgot most of it, and it’s like reading it fresh again. As with the other books, there were some issues. (Can you say toxic masculinity in the book?) But just because some things irked me or just made me question things, none of it took away my enjoyment from this book, hence the high rating. This series has some flaws, for sure. (Like some racist undertone and all the toxic masculinity). But I’m still having a blast reading it, which is odd for this third book since there is a lot of (cat) politics, which I’m not a fan of, and the fact that most of the book takes place inside a cabin. Faythe is yet again essentially locked up in another book. (Well, she wasn’t as much in the second book, but she spent most of her time “locked up” in book one and always has someone watching her in any book).
So, here are a few mini rants(ish) regarding this book.
-I'm not too fond of politics. And this book has a lot of politics, albeit with cats. At least Vincent can make it more interesting because it has to do with cats rather than human politics.
-I don’t think it was wise to be calling the stray Hannibal so close to Kaci. Sure, she may not have been listening, being in shock and all, but still. They even made it a point to make sure she wasn’t listening during their conversation (but in regards to another topic), so they had to have known she could pick up on the man-eater’s name and that it would hurt her even more, to know what they think of people like her, even if she did it out of instinct and survival rather than on purpose. Just felt a little insensitive to me.
-I’ve wondered this with the first three books, but more so now. Do these people not have jobs? I mean, some seem to, but like they take a lot of time away from work and yet aren’t fired for it. I know where business comes first, but if they want to keep the human facade going, sometimes I wonder if the humans would question why they take so much time off work all the time. I mean, they wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that it’s because they’re werecats, but they’d have to know something is up. And if the werecats are hellbent on not having humans figure out their existence, they’re not really helping themselves. (I could just be thinking way too much into this.)
-What do they plan on doing with the cabins they rented? I know they’re good at clean-up, but they really wrecked the whole place and surrounding areas. I know the novel didn’t take place over a long period of time, but what if they have to stay longer to clean up the mess? I’m sure there are other people who booked the cabins. (This is a minor nitpick point for me, however).
-This point isn’t a negative remark. I want to say how awesome it is that we get to see a Bruin in this book. If memory serves, we’ll see Thunderbirds at some point in the subsequent novels, though I can’t recall if we'll see Keller again. Well, okay. I lied. There is a slight negative to this point (though it has nothing to do with Vincent’s writing). I would love to know more about Bruins and see more than one in action. Especially a female Bruin. Are they as rare as tabbies? That’s a question I hope to see answered, as I can’t recall if it gets brought up in later volumes.
That said, I’d still recommend this series to urban fantasy fans and shifters. I think the world-building keeps getting better with each book, and I love Faythe and her sass. (Though she could learn to tone it down when her life depended on it. Which it often does. I mean, I get needing to say what she has to say, but sometimes it gets her into more trouble than it’s worth).
