Review: Darkest Fear

DARKEST FEAR
Birthright #1
Cate Tiernan
Paranormal Young Adult
368 pages
Simon Pulse
Available January 7th
Source: e-ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Vivi has known the truth about her family—and herself—since she was thirteen. But that doesn’t mean she’s accepted it. Being Haguari isn’t something she feels she’ll ever accept. How can she feel like anything but a freak knowing that it’s in her genes to turn into a jaguar?

Now eighteen, Vivi’s ready to break away from the traditions of her heritage. But all of that changes with the shocking, devastating deaths of her parents and the mysteries left behind. Vivi discovers family she never even knew she had, and a life open with possibility. New friends, new loyalties, and even romance all lay ahead—but so do dangers unlike anything Vivi ever could have imagined.

MY THOUGHTS
Darkest Fear is a tale that begs lovers of paranormal stories to pick it up, promising a closer look at a lesser-known shifter than the werewolves who are so prevalent in supernatural fiction, and while the jaguar-shifter element holds us fascinated throughout, this first installment feels more like a novel-length prequel rather than the opening book in the series. We’re introduced to a variety of different plot threads–not so many as to be frustrating luckily, just enough to give the story a well-rounded feel–but unfortunately not a one of them finds resolution before the end. Whenever we pick up book one of a series, we know not all our questions will be answered by the time we reach the last page, but with Darkest Fear we’re like runners warming up for a big race, working our way up to the starting line fully prepared to make swift progress toward our ultimate destination, but then the gun never even goes off and we’re instead left behind the line wondering what happened.

Vivi is a young woman who can be a challenge at times, her disgust and rather violent aversion to her Haguari (jaguar shifter) heritage something that’s a touch confounding for us as readers. If Vivi had just discovered her ability when we first meet her, her confusion, anger, and fear would be completely understandable, but we come into this story years and years after her parents have–quite unsuccessfully–brought her into the Haguari fold. Trying to come to terms with the fact that you can change bodily forms is certainly not something that everyone would rejoice over upon discovery, so in the beginning we can't help but give her a bit of a break and attempt to give her the benefit of the doubt as we get to know her. There’s many a moment in which it seems as though our faith in her has been appropriately placed, with Vivi starting to realize how childish and hurtful her complete rejection of her heritage had been to her parents and continues to be to those around her, but then as soon as an opportunity to embrace the Haguari in her presents itself, she backs away from it so quickly we practically get whiplash trying to follow.

This pattern repeats again and again over the course of the story, Vivi simultaneously finding comfort in the presence of the Haguari relatives she never knew she had and yet running away from all that they hold dear when they try and share it with her. It’s not to say Vivi is unlikable however, she’s quick to recognize this behavior in herself even though she doesn’t make a huge effort to change it until the end, so our time with her is not time we necessarily regret spending. It’s clear Vivi’s growth and the gradual discovery of who she is both as a human and a jaguar is going to be a prominent aspect of this series as it continues, so hopefully the Vivi of future books will be the fierce and proud young woman we so desperately wanted her to be in this one.

The lack of resolution in terms of Vivi’s acceptance of her heritage, though at times frustrating, is not one of the reasons this book feels so much like a prequel, that honor lies with the remaining unresolved plot threads: the romance with her boss at work, the murder of her parents, the discovery of a couple key family secrets, and the dissolution of her relationship with both her aunt and her human best friend due to the lies she continues to feed them (though her reasons for not telling her best friend about being a jaguar shifter make sense). We’ve made hardly any progress on the above items when we suddenly find ourselves on the last page, a semi-cliffhanger leaving us scratching our heads as to why this particular moment was the moment chosen as a stopping point. Overall Darkest Fear, while entertaining enough, is a touch disappointing in the end when all the promises made go unfulfilled, but perhaps book two will step up to the plate and make good in the way we’d hoped this first one would.

Rating: 3/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.