Faythe Sanders is a female werecat who’s been attacked by a “stray” while at college. She didn’t like her life being laid out before her (especially with her not having lived it yet) so, she left the protection of her Pride for college and now grad school. Faythe is summoned back to her Pride at the behest of her father, the Alpha. Marc, her ex-fiancé and the Pride’s chief enforcer delivers her father’s message. Along with Faythe’s attack, several other female werecat’s have been attacked and have disappeared from the North American Prides. This isn’t a request, and as much as she doesn’t want to, Faythe finally agrees to return.
She is confined to the ranch her Pride calls home for her own protection. Unfortunately, for her this means that everything she ran away from to go to college is still there to be dealt with. Her family and Pride, her former lover Marc, and ultimately the destiny she is supposed to fulfill. This is all still too much for Faythe and she bolts only to find herself also captured by the stray. Learning the kidnapper’s plans, she must find a way to escape not only for herself, but also for the future of the Pride.
Stray suffers from a problem I seem to find in the majority of the first of a series books, it takes a while to get going. At least a third of the book is setup, explaining what has happened in Faythe’s past to bring her to this point. Fear not because it is all worth it. From her problems with the Pride to her break-up with Marc, it does all coalesce into a fine novel.
I do love my shapeshifter books. Especially when the author brings something new to the table, and I believe Ms. Vincent does. If you’ve ever owned a cat (owned is the wrong word since they tend to choose who they wish to be around the most) or multiple cats, you’ll see the similarities in the Pride’s group dynamics and that of domesticated felines. From Faythe being rebellious and at times selfish to the casual violence sometimes found in the Pride.
If you’ve read and enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten then you'll enjoy Stray as well. Stray also possesses a strong female, shapeshifting protagonist and her struggles to find her place back into her Pride. Once Stray finishes with Faythe’s backstory, you’ll find it extremely hard to put down. Ms. Vincent has put quite a bit of thought into the werecat society (plus, the shapeshifting process itself), and you can tell that she has more surprises in store for the readers of future her novels.
I give Stray 3 out of 4 stars. The next book in the Werecats series is Rogue.
Please Support This Site and Pick Up a Copy Here: Stray (Werecats, Book 1)
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· Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
· Publisher: Mira (June 1, 2007)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0778324214
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