Kaci Dillon is a man-eater. She’s grown up on the fringes of shifter society, hearing the whispers. One desperate act as a starving, terrified child has made her the first tabby in history with no romantic prospects. But whatever. Eighteen is too young to get married anyway. Still, when she stumbles upon an opportunity to get away for a few days, who could blame her for seizing it? Justus Alexander is screwed. Confined to the South-Central territory, awaiting trial for crimes he committed as a traumatized, newly infected stray, Justus has discovered that the tribunal already intends to vote for the death penalty. He has no choice but to run. Too young to touch the trust fund that could finance his escape, he’s betting on a big win at the poker tables—until Kaci, his secret crush, catches him sneaking out and demands that he take her with him to Las Vegas… After a wild night she can’t remember, Kaci wakes up with a ring on her finger, next to a young billionaire who can’t access his fortune until he turns twenty-five—or ties the knot. If she can keep her hands off her hot, charismatic new groom, she can have their unconsummated marriage annulled. But can she really abandon Justus to his death sentence, just to undo her own mistake?
It's been wayyy too long since I last visited the Shifters world! Rachel Vincent was one of the first "adult" authors I read. Her first series is what prompted the start of this blog...I have SO many feelings when it comes to her books and this world in particular! Wild Card is the last book in her Wildcats series which was a spinoff of the Shifters series. In these books we follow some of the secondary characters and watch to see them get their HEA endings and this is Kaci's story.
You don't have to have read the Shifters books in order to follow along with this story. Yes, it always helps as you'll know all the familiar characters and their history. But it's not necessary. Kaci was raised by Faythe and her pride when they found her as a 13 year old werecat. She was born to human parents and was never infected by a stray but a werecat she is. But she was also found eating human remains so she's been dubbed a "maneater" making many of the werecat guys wary of her. She hasn't had an easy life but she's been made stronger for it.
When Justus, Titus's younger brother, is getting set for his trial for infecting and killing humans and basically risking exposure of the pride to humanity, he decides the best course for him is to run. The cards are stacked against him and since he's a stray--meaning he was infected by another werecat--he's basically a second class citizen with no rights. So he's headed to Vegas to win enough money until his trust fund kicks in and he's leaving the country. What he doesn't expect is Kaci demanding to come along with him. She thinks it's just for a fun night in Vegas, but will soon learn the truth.
But naturally, things don't go quite as planned in Vegas and Kaci awakens the next morning with little memory of the night before and a ring on her finger! Yup! It was that kind of night! Now Kaci and Justus are on the run, from their pride, from other pride members trying to get to safety outside the country and have a happy life of their own, but danger is at every turn and in the form of familiar faces. They will eventually have to confront their pride and the tribunal waiting to sentence Justus for his crimes.
This book was just awesome! It was a short and quick read in the grand scheme of things but still an enjoyable one. I probably enjoyed it more because of my familiarity with the world and series. Seriously, seeing Faythe and Marc again had me GIDDY! I don't usually do giddy! Lol.
I love a good "on the run" book where the main characters are running from something or chasing something down. We've a bit of both in that and it just makes for an exciting time! There was romance, but it was not a heavy kind. Kaci and Justus always seem to get interrupted when it starts to get hot and heavy, but there are still plenty of heated moments in between. With Kaci being eighteen, she is definitely on the younger side of her previous main characters of this series and world series, but still technically an adult since she is out of high school. Nothing explicit happens on the page to say the least.
This is definitely a series that is best enjoyed if you've read the previous books in this world--which are frankly awesome and amazing and among the true definitions of Urban Fantasy! This is how I got into the genre! So while this spinoff series takes place years after the original books were published, both hold a special place in my heart!
If you're a fan of Urban Fantasy or action packed books starring supernatural type people coupled with a toe-curling romance, then this series is for you! Highly recommend!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
