On Missing Fathers: A Review of Shifter's Pride by Laura Diamond

I'm always inclined to like shapeshifter books. They're my comport reading. So when a request to review this book found it's way to my email, I couldn't refuse.

Nickie's father has been missing for over a year, and most people accept that he's likely dead. Nickie, however, is determined that he must be alive and she must find him. Nickie has been noticing some changes in herself--in her mood, motor skills, food preferences, and so forth. This, coupled with a mysterious note that may or may not have come from her father, leads her to believe that something big is about to happen to her.When she meets Xavian, the sexy new guy who seems to take a strong interest in her, she's not sure whether to be excited or terrified.

Nickie is characterized fairly well. She's you're normal, average teen, but she manages to not be a blank-slate heroine by having legitimate interests and a bit of a personality. I thought the author was very clever to utilize her talent as an actress in the climax. She's not useless, and her powers and abilities are interesting enough to build a series on.

Xavian and Nickie are an okay match, as far as such things go. Their romance is not sweeping or consuming, but not totally absent either. I liked seeing Xavian try to guide Nickie through the changes in herself--he's very supportive.

This book's major weakness is pacing. The first 3/4 were terribly slow, spending far too much time on exposition and just plain nothingness. It's somewhat redeemed by it's satisfying climax, but 75% boring is a pretty damning number.

My parting words for this book are this: it's not the best shifter book out there, but it's certainly not the worst. To be more specific, the writing was competent enough and the characters interesting enough that this could very well be a very interesting series. 3 stars.