Review: Shift (Firstborn #2) by Raine Thomas

Shift by Raine Thomas

Publisher: Iambe Books

Release Date: August 24th 2012

Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance

Source: Author

Format: E-book

Goodreads Summary:

Having the ability to shapeshift, Sophia is familiar with change. But even she feels the rising tension in her homeland.

A shadowy male and deadly beast reside in their midst. The births of the newest Kynzesti loom. Hostile Mercesti continue to hunt for the Elder Scroll, and a traumatized female is too afraid to use her abilities to stop them.

Topping off Sophia’s stress is Quincy, the male she’s convinced can’t stand her. She rues the loss of their friendship, but can’t figure out how to move past it. She’ll soon learn, however, that mending that rift bears more significance than she ever imagined.

The search for the Elder Scroll takes on unexpected urgency, and Sophia finds herself in a race across the mainland. To stop the Mercesti led by Eirik, she and her companions must get past their differences and unite against them. If they don’t, Eirik will acquire the immense power he seeks, and two of the beings Sophia loves most will die.

My Review: 

Shift which is the sequel to Defy - book 1 in the Firstborn trilogy - definitely surpasses it's predecessor as a novel. And that is a lot to say because Defy was a rather perfect book for me. I read it in one day. That's right, one day. And anybody who knows me, knows that I like to take my time with the novels that I read because I like to analyze and dissect, everything. But I have to say, there is something quite magical about reading a Raine Thomas book for me. Her writing style is just so easy to slip into, she really has an amazing talent at creating worlds you can get yourself lost into and at really just painting a picture in your head. You literally feel a bit transported and forget about where you are at for a while, which to me is the testament to great storytelling.  


Shift for me definitely was the epitome of what a book should be like when it comes to character development and growth. There is just such an abundance of it and it was really great to get lost in the lives of these tremendously compelling and complex characters that Raine has created for us. This book not only had romance, but it had a really psychological touch to it. Every character had a challenge to overcome, a way of thinking that they needed to Shift in order to grow as people.

And now to the romance in this book. My goodness does Raine Thomas know how to write her romances. They are just Young Adult perfection. No insta-love. No love triangles. It is just so refreshing and the way she writes her male leads should be illegal. They are just so full of soul, depth without ever coming off as cheesy or sappy or overbearing. I can't get enough. And now to the main romance in this book, which is the story of Sophia and Quincy.


What can I say about Sophia and Quincy except that they have to be one of the most endearing couples I have ever read about it. What is so adorable about them is their cluelessness when it comes to knowing whether they like each other or not, they just have a certain naiveté that is so charming because since both characters are extremely intelligent, the reader can tell that their main problem is getting out of their head and following their hearts. For them in this story, it was about finding a balance between logic and trusting their emotions. And it was really great to read about. They were beyond lovely.

The secondary characters in this novel are also quite amazing. They are all really well developed characters that are fleshed out and have really unique character traits and personal dilemmas to overcome. With Raine Thomas books, I have noticed, you always are gonna be presented with a cast of characters that will not be used as just a literary device to move the story along, but who are just as important as the main characters and also really need to face whatever is challenging them emotionally or psychologically. For fans of the new characters presented in Defy, do not worry, you get a lot of Tate and Zachariah in this book too, who are always so much fun to read about and you also get to learn much more about the personality and quality traits of other characters who were not focused on as much in book 1, but who get to shine much more in Shift.

Something that really shined for me in this book besides the amazing character development, were the villains in this book. They were really delusional and power thirsty and cruel and we all know that in order for a hero/heroine to step his or her game up, you need that ruthless villain in the story to propel him or her from being a passive character to a very proactive one and that definitely happens in Shift. Furthermore, what I thought was really great about the way in which Raine Thomas wrote the villains in this book was that they really were cautionary tales of how not to be in life. Because some of these guys were just so power hungry and delusional that they would eventually forget logic and throw themselves so much into their evil plans that they would lose sight of everything and devolve into utter cruelty and madness, which we all know, for a while might make them feel powerful, but in the long run, always comes back to bite them in their tails.

My Rating: 5/5

Shift by Raine Thomas will be released August 24th 2012 by Iambe Books. Be sure to add it to your To-Be-Read pile on Goodreads!

And you can either purchase it in Amazon or Barnes & Noble 

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Trailer for Shift