Review: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Title: Stray
Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: 1 June 2007
Source: Library
Reviewed by: Sapphired Dragon
Sapphired Dragon Rating:

****

Synopsis (via Goodreads): 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 . . .

Review: I nearly didn't read this. I had been over shifter type novels for a while, there was only a couple of days till it was due back to the library and it was only due to the fact that Rachel Vincent had been recommended to me by a number of people that I decided to give it a go rather than returning it unread. Let me just say I am so glad I decided to give this book a go as I was pleasantly surprised. 

My biggest issue with most shifter type books I have read both in YA and adult genres  (and bear in mind this might possibly be because i read a whole heap of them one after the other) has always been that the stories all kind of blurred into one so I couldn't always remember which characters or slightly different circumstances went with which book.  What I liked about this book was that

A) The story while geographically taking place in Texas and surrounding states mostly took place in the pride

B) Yes there was romance etc but the main plot of the female shifters going missing and Faythe's struggle for independence from the pride was front and centre and an interesting and engrossing story

C) The characters and the character interactions, particularly between Faythe and her father/alpha and Faythe and her brothers was compelling and believable. Both Faythe's disbelief and frustration when her father and brothers didn't see things the same way she did and by the same token wanting to tell her to be quiet when opening her mouth in a conversation with her father.

I very much look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and indeed have already borrowed the next two from the library.

If you are into an adult shifter tale that is a cut above the rest, i would definitely recommend Stray.

Most certainly earns a four star Sapphired Dragon Rating.

Sapphired Dragon XX