Stray, by Rachel Vincent

Stray, by Rachel Vincent
(Shifters, #1)
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: June 1, 2007
Mass Market Paperback: 618 pages
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Buy: Amazon
Source: Bought
Challenge: Off the Shelf, Book Blogger Recommendation
Rating: 
To learn more about my rating badges, click here!

There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . . And I'm one of them.I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . . .

This is another re-read for me. I read Stray  a couple of years ago. I only read the first two books in the series, but never continued. So I decided to re-read Stray  & Rogue to refresh my mind so I can continue and finish the series. I have to say, I really forgot how amazing this series is.

It pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you along for the ride. The writing flows very nicely together and you can fly through more pages than your normally do a minute. I can't really think of anything that bugs me, other than the characters and the things some characters do in the story, which is SUPPOSED to happen. =) In which it is good.

I love the main characters, Faythe. She is truly a kick-ass heroine. She's brave, sarcastic, stands up for herself, and knows how to kick ass when she needs to. She doesn't let anyone push her around, and I love all of that about her. I can't believe I forgot how awesome she is! She makes me laugh constantly throughout the books.

I also love Marc, her family and Pride. They all have so much personality to them that you feel like you know them. I wish my family was that close. And aaaah, Marc is so yummy! (J, if you're reading this, you knew this was coming! I bet you think Faythe is yummy, but you're just too scared to say it.)

Overall, this was amazing the first time I read it, amazing this second time around, and I will definitely be re-reading it again in the future. It has a unique story line and there are WERECATS! Not werewolves, WERECATS! You can't say that isn't cool. And it's not housecat. It's BIG cats.

NOTE & WARNING: This is an ADULT book. It deals heavily with rape. There aren't any actual rape scenes in the book, but it is talked about and and attempted. This is a great series, but probably not so great for those under 16.

The second book in the series is called Rogue. It was released on April 1, 2008.