A review by emleemay
Pride by Rachel Vincent

2.0

This is not so much a review as it is a sorrowful, heartfelt complaint that this series is headed straight down a path where I never wanted it to go. I thought Faythe would grow as a person, a woman and a werecat and learn some valuable lessons that would lead to making more educated decisions for the Pride and for herself. But I can now most definitely predict the outcome and I hate it. Note: I also confirmed my suspicions by glancing at spoilers - not to worry as I won't put myself through finishing this series.

Other people's reviews seem to suggest that Faythe is a rather disliked heroine because she's bossy, stubborn and often makes rash decisions. However, these were the main reasons why I got into this series and why, for me, it stood out so much from the massive amount of urban fantasy novels available that have a heroine that fits so perfectly into a pre-defined mold. I loved the fact that Faythe had enough about her to stand up to all the men who were fighting for control of her and I hate that the author seems to be going down the route of "the moral of this story is... don't think for yourself if you're a female werecat".

I wanted the series to be a lesson in how Faythe could stand up and make her own decisions, even if they go against the wishes of her father and/or boyfriend. Though it seems that every time she finally took matters into her own hands, everything went wrong and she was left looking like a stupid girl who didn't do what the big men said.

Oh, and honestly, I can't fathom how anyone could see Marc as a decent love interest and the right choice for Faythe. He is nothing but an uptight, violent control-freak. I was taking part in a conversation on one of my group forums about this series and heard Marc described as 'intense'... so apparently his erratic behaviour is what turns people on. I don't know but I do know I could never be with someone who has to make a show of 'dominating' me to prove himself, and I mean in a Pride "you must obey me" kinda way and not in a kinky way. His open disregard for what Faythe wants and the way he turns his nose up at her desire for indepedence just makes my blood boil in fury.

And I wouldn't even mind if she didn't have a yummy, kind, sexy and funny alternative that would do just about anything for her. You see, I've read reviews where people say they love Marc and hate Jace. Now, how can you hate Jace? He's all kinds of fun. If you haven't read this series and are now forming some opinion that Marc must be the sexy bad boy and Jace must be the nice guy and I'm the kind of girl who has a feminist rant at the dangers of the bad boy stereotpye... you couldn't be more wrong. Here's how I see these two candidates for Faythe's heart:

Marc - uptight, violent, controlling, "intense", plays by the Pride rules.

Jace - funny, sexy, actually cares what Faythe wants not what she should do according to werecat rules, a rulebreaker.

Anyone here ever watch Buffy (if not, go here now and do nothing else until you've finished it!)? Well, Marc reminds me of a more violent version of Angel and Jace reminds me of Spike *swoons like a fangirl*. I like 'bad boys', those who are wild and disregard the rules... and I like them to be fun too. Marc's a square and the realisation that the author has super, never-ending love planned for him and Faythe is what made me reluctant to read on.

Too bad, Faythe and Jace would have been worth over-looking the silly love triangle thing for.