Cate Tiernan’s Darkest Fear is the first book in the Birthright series.
As a child, Vivi Neves had always known her parents were different. Along with the fact that they were uncommonly beautiful, they practiced strange religions and had some odd traditions. But she never let it bother her until her thirteenth birthday. On that day, her parents revealed that they were haguari, a race of humans that can shift into jaguars. Instead of embracing her special abilities, she rejected them. She turned away from her traditions and tried to be as different from her parents as possible, but on her 18th birthday, a heartbreaking tragedy exposes her to the world of the haguari.
Vivi can be a difficult character to like. She rejects the powers that most people dream of having and rejects her family’s traditions. Like many 2nd generation immigrants, she wants her family to be as normal and American as possible instead of embracing her uniqueness and diversity. On her 18th birthday, a heartbreaking tragedy leaves her broken. She enters a time of stasis before meeting up with others who attempt to help her. Even with the help of others, Vivi’s road to recovery is tedious and irritating as she stubbornly refuses to do the things that will help her in the end. Over the course of the book, Vivi becomes stronger and more accepting of herself.
Darkest Fear can be a misleading book. Like many, I went into it expected a paranormal thriller, with high stakes and action. The book even began with a fast-paced inciting incident, but, instead of building the hype and keeping the plot moving, Cate Tiernan slowed it significantly. She gave us a mopey teenage girl who is trying to get over the loss of loved ones. It is a story about self-acceptance, overcoming grief and figuring out what direction you want for your life. The book keeps a slow, developing plot progression throughout the middle of the story, but sprinkles in action ta times. The plot isn’t remarkably interesting, especially for someone expecting a fast-paced novel. Darkest Fear also contains a huge cast of characters. Each one helps Vivi grow in their own way, but their sheer number makes them hard to differentiate. Many characters blend together because they don’t have enough personality to make them stand out. To make matters worse, many of the characters that do stand out are not very interesting. Hopefully, the characters will be developed in future installments.
I give this 359 page book 3.5 stars.
Birthright
In this world, a race of people known as the haguari live among humans. Haguari are exceptionally athletic and beautiful along with their ability to shift into jaguars.