Shifting Pride, by Laura Diamond, is a young adult paranormal romance about 16-year-old Nickie. Her father disappeared almost a year ago, but she still believes with all her heart that he is still alive. Her mother wants to move on and throw a Memorial Banquet in honor of it being a year since his disappearance – which is hard for Nickie to deal with since she knows he’s still alive. This belief is more confirmed after she receives his watch in the mail.
Nickie soon meets Xavian, who is the new kid on the block, so to speak. He seems to be watching her for some and he won’t give her any clues as to what’s going on. One night, though, he has to give up and tell her – since, you know, she just grew a tail and whiskers! Xavian is also a shapeshifter and they embark on an adventure to save her dad, all the while while she tries to figure out how to be a cat!
I have to say that at first, I was skeptical of this book. The only paranormal books I have ever read have been the books that True Blood is based off of and Twilight. I loved the Twilight books (didn’t care for the movies) and am obsessed with True Blood the show but only got through the third book in the series. Well, I think that Shifting Pride has even surpassed my love of the Twilight books! It took me a couple of chapters to really get into it, but after that, I was hooked. The love story that comes through with Xavian and Nickie was a good one. I have to say that I kept going back and forth between being frustrated with him and loving him like Nickie did, since at first he wouldn’t give her any information and kept her in the dark. But I understand his reasoning. I definitely recommend this book if you’re into paranormal books, and even if you’re not, it has a good love story to it as well.
Laura Diamond is the author of all things Young Adult, including paranormal, dystopian and horror. Since she is a board certified psychiatrist, Diamond knows how to work the emotions because she knows how people react. Each book she writes she usually begins with just a single character – she envisions what they look like, how they perceive their world, what challenges they have to navigate, and who is with them along the way (friend or foe). She likes writing Young Adult novels because it’s during a time in life that has lots of challenges and intense emotions going on. The paranormal interest comes in because she has always had an affinity for magical creatures and dark worlds.
Now, for a giveaway for all of you! You all have a chance to win the novella and prequel to Shifting Pride, called New Pride. It is about Nickie’s dad, Richard, and his tenuous friendship with Derek, who is from an unstable, rogue group (he comes into play in Shifting Pride, too!). To enter to win, all you have to do is go to Laura Diamond’s fan page and register. Random entries will be chosen to receive the novella! I wish you all the best of luck!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
Thanks for such a lovely review! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂 I really enjoyed reading it! I need to read ‘New Pride’ now!