Summary: Tava Ell Var never really knew her mother, but she did know about her tragic fate at the hands of group of cruel shape shifters--a history set down by Tava's father as a warning about life on the Shifting Plains. After her father is murdered, Tava encounters a Shifterai war band fighting to rid the Plains of the terrorizing bandits.

Shifterai leader Kodan Sin Siin is sympathetic about Tava's suffering, but he's determined to bring the wary young women to the Plains. Because he knows her secret: She, like he and his men, is a shapeshifter. Once she joins them, he believes that she will see for herself the true fate that awaits her on the Plains, and most of all, lose her fear of his people. And, in time she will find her place in their fight--and by his side.

I have enjoyed reading Jean Johnson's novels for awhile now, she wrote The Sons of Destiny, a series of eight books, set in the same world as 'Shifting Plains'. 'Shifting Plains' is actually supposed to be a prequel set a long time before The Sons. Anyway...I love Jean Johnson's other work so I was super excited when I went to the book store to pick this book up. It didn't take me long to read it at all, it was pretty compelling from page one, I read about 150 pages into it before I realized it was lunch time...and for those who read my interviews...know that food is one of favorite things, just after books. I enjoyed the characters in this book...Kodan is a very compelling male and lead character, he grabs your attention and hold it, as does Tava. I would have liked to see a longer courtship for them though, a month seems like a short time to pick your life mare. They are both strong willed and pretty perfect for each other though...so who knows. The story itself was good, but to me seemed like just a story, I didn't really get a sense of urgency, like oh, the climax of is coming up, you know where you do the chair wiggle to get more compfy in order to keep reading longer. It seemed more like a story you would tell your friend about what you saw at the mall today. I am not however complaining about the quality of the story told, it was good, and it was very compelling, I had a hard time actually putting the book down...so its a story your friend tells you about the mall that involved awesome an awesome shoe sale. I really enjoyed it...but by the ending and some questions left unanswered, there will be another book after this one, oh darn!

P.S. There is an ample amount of steam in those pages, enough to need potholders while reading.

EXTRA!!! Jean Johnson will be here for a blog interview TOMORROW...so you know what that means...GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

For more information or for purchasing visit Jean Johnson's webpage.

Also posted: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2009/11/book-review-and-giveaway-shifting.html

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Tava Ell Var never felt welcome with the Mornai people. Her mother was raped by a Shifterai man and her father adopted her at birth. The town reviled her for her different and sometimes strange behaviors. When her father is killed by a group of bandits, she follows them and gets revenge. However, she has unexpected help from a band of Shifterai also hunting the same bandits. When the band of Shifterai follow her home, they come upon a nightmare scene where the leaders of the Mornai people are subjugating her and stealing her livelihood. She reluctantly agrees to leave with them and thus begins her new and improved life with "her" people.

I liked the courting by Kodan Sin Siin. The rules of his people are very strict and offer little in the way of romance...at first. Of course there is a female of his clan who causes trouble and it's really cool who Tava circumvents her. A totally enjoyable story that references a few things from the Sons of Destiny series but definitely a stand-a-lone book. I must admit to hating the cover of this book which has absolutely nothing to do with the female lead. They do not dress slutty at all and are covered basically from head to toe. I guess this is in response to the blatantly nekkid males that grace the covers of most paranormal romance novels.

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Good read - set in the world of the Sons of Destiny it is does not overlap. It is geographically and centuries distant from the brothers' island home [though two of the heroines in the books, Cat and Storm, do come from that culture.]

The heroine is rescued from the Valley where she grew up [and was about to be victimized by the village elders on the death of her father] for several reasons. The shifter leader recognized what kind of life she would have AND he knows [though the others do not] that she is a shifter. Everything she knows about men is bad and everything she has heard about Shifterai men is worse. Still the hero manages to get her to come along and she finds that the Shifterai embrace the very things that the men of her village were determined to beat out of her...

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I really like this book - interesting - made me think about how things were even if it was in a story form great

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