Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Retrograde 
SERIES: Southwestern Shifters (Book 11)
AUTHOR: Bailey Bradford
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 202 pages
BLURB:
Letting go of the past to embrace the future…
Things are changing for Marcus and Nathan, in more ways than one. Nathan is still trying to deal with the action he took in order to save Marcus’ life. It isn’t easy to do, and sometimes he fears he’ll give in to all the doubts and fears plaguing him.
What they need is some time alone, without guards shadowing their every move, no one to interrupt. Because soon, they’ll be busier than ever.
A short vacation before the annual gathering of Alpha Anaxes at the compound, that’s what they decide to do. But their vacation isn’t so private when they discover a wild pack of young shifters barely surviving.
Changes are coming.
A strange young shifter with abilities neither Marcus nor Nathan have ever seen before. Alpha Anaxes and attitudes. An intruder in their midst. And with the help of Shania, the pack doctor, the most important event of Marcus and Nathan’s shared life is about to happen.
Changes are coming, and they’re coming fast.
REVIEW:
Marcus and Nathan have been through quite a bit in the last few years and the strain of keeping everything together is starting to show. Taking a small vacation and some time out for themselves is just what they need before jumping right back into the swing of things with a meeting of the Alpha Anaxes from around the world. Things are never so easy, however, and a run in with a young, scared shifter brings unexpected changes to the pack on the heels of the changes to Marcus and Nathan’s family.
I’m not ashamed to admit that this series is like a drug to me; I’ve read every story and enjoyed them all, some more than others, so a new book is usually a cause for some joy. This latest installment features Marcus and Nathan but also brings back some familiar faces from the earliest books: Gabe and Mike, Aiden and Zane, and Todd and Adam all make an appearance and I was really happy to see them. There are others from more recent books, as well, but the first couples will always remain my favorites.
Marcus and Nathan have been through some really tough situations over the last several books but it was nice to see the characters continuing to change and evolve, both in their relationship with each other and with the leadership of their pack. There was a good pacing to the book but instead of one main storyline, there were three different things going on: Marcus and Nathan’s plans for their family, the shifter children, and the meeting of the Alpha Anaxes, all of which were brought together with the overlying problem of what to do with the pack. Nothing was simple and I did enjoy seeing different facets of what Marcus and Nathan deal with but I kind of miss having one main problem through the story like in earlier installments instead of flipping between issues. Also, Marcus and Nathan have featured in more books than any other characters and it would be nice to have a book without them playing such a forward role in the future. That being said, I still really liked this book and the ending makes me wonder if this is it for the series (though I really hope it isn’t) because it ended on such a great note. If you like shifter stories, you might want to check this series out; the characters and problems are diverse and entertaining but you really need to start at the beginning to get the most out of it since each book builds on the one before it.
RATING: 
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