anne
Written on Sep 1, 2016
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....
- ISBN10 0778329070
- ISBN13 9780778329077
- Publish Date 26 January 2010 (first published 1 June 2007)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country CA
- Imprint Mira Books
- Edition Original ed.
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 618
- Language English
Reviews
Berls
Written on Jun 9, 2015
Stray was the start of what I expect will be a great series, with a great world and complex characters.
For one, I really like this world. I like my werewolf shifters just fine, but cat shifters are a nice change of pace - I don't think I ever got exactly what kinds of cats they are but I pictured Jaguars for some reason (if there's an actual type named and I missed it, someone tell me please). There's a sort of class system - cats born to the families have a higher class than strays, or those that are changed by another cat shifter - and, like all class systems, it has some problems. That created an interesting tension that I think could go far as the series progresses.
I also really like that women are a rarity - they have more boys than anything - and thus females are treasured. Especially since, as is typical in cat hierarchy, they are a matrilineal society. That had had frustrating consequences for the main character, Faith though. She doesn't want to lead or settle down in marriage and have her life be about giving her pride children - particularly a girl child. She wants to go to school and have a more "typcial" tragectory. I can 100% appreciate scoffing at the responsibilities that she has ahead of her and feeling so trapped by all the expectations that all you want to do is run. Faith apparently has quite the track record of running and I mostly love her for it.
I say mostly because sometimes she goes just a bit too far. Stubborn would be an understatement when describing Faith. She sometimes ignores reason to stick to her guns. And that got a bit irritating. I wanted to shake her and tell her how stupid she was being. Speaking of being stupid - she gets some information at the end of Stray that I'm almost positive will show up in future books because it seemed pretty damn critical and she just shrugs at it and moves on. Yeah dumb move.
But Faith is not a TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine most the time. Most the time she's a fiesty, smart, tough cat and I loved her for it. Her stubbornness was even endearing, especially since it made her a character that is flawed and has room to grow. I don't like my characters too perfect after all.
The pace was good and kept me engaged from beginning to end - Stray had elements of mystery, though mainly it was just a bit of suspense and action. I should note that it does have some scenes with fairly light sexual abuse (if there's such a thing) and mentions of rape, though not graphic. Just in case that's a trigger for someone.
I listened to Stray and Jennifer Van Dyck did a really good job. I thought the voices were distinct and the male voices weren't overly feminine. And I was able to listen at 2x speed with no loss of performance, which doesn't hold true for all narrators. I'm glad I have book 2 on audio too, because I definitely plan to continue soon and I will be listening for sure!
Angie
Written on Apr 18, 2014
I'm a bit on the fence about my feelings toward Faythe. On one hand, I was annoyed with just how stubborn and defiant she was. At times it seemed like she wasn't simply trying to make her point and live her life independently, but just wanted to avoid looking stupid by holding on to her argument even when she's already been proven wrong! But werecat society is pretty messed up, so I could understand her wanting to get away at all costs. I mean, they lock her in a cage when she tries to leave! There are bars on her bedroom window and no lock on the door! And she had to actually negotiate for privacy in the bathroom! I'd want to get away from that, too, but if there's a kidnapper and a rapist on the loose, and I was on his hit list, I'd stay home! She is quite kick-ass though, so she can hold her own in the face of danger which we see a lot of in Stray.
As much as I loved to hate the werecat society, and found it fascinating, I did have some lingering questions. Mainly, why does Faythe's father want her with Marc rather than Jace? Faythe and Marc have a romantic history, while she and Jace have always just been flirty friends, which is great, but I still have to wonder. Marc is a stray, which is generally looked down upon by Pride cats, and yet Jace is the one that isn't considered good enough. I found this strange, and it just nagged at me, despite Faythe and Jace not being romantically involved at all in Stray. Plus the Pride seems to have a one-track mind when it comes to the women, but there's a very strong possibility that Faythe and Marc wouldn't even have werecat children, while she would with Jace. It made no sense.
Despite my complaints, I really, really liked Stray. It's fast paced, and has a lot of great world building. And those 600+ pages just flew by! It didn't feel long at all, since I was always engaged in the story. Stray is a great introduction to the series, and had me excited for more!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Linda
Written on Dec 21, 2011
What a great introduction to a new series! Faythe is a very strong, young woman, who is ready to fight anyone and everybody for what she believes in. Even when she is scared stiff, she is somehow able to get back into it, and fight for her life.
Faythe had been away from her meddling shifter family for five years, running away both from a broken relationship and responsibilities she didn't want, she completed her BA in English lit (gotta love that one!)
Marc, her ex, came to pick her up when a female cat went missing, and she was brought back home to her family, who still wanted to meddle in her life, and make her be responsible.
Both Marc and Faythe are very strong-mindend, and taking no shit from anybody. But Marc still wants Faythe, and she only wants to get back to school, and be far away from thoughts about marriage, having loads of children and perpetuating Pride tradition.
When her cousin disappears as well, and all the cat-shifters find out that the first disappeared cat, Sara, is dead, Faythe has a really hard time to deal with it. On a drunken night, she hooks back up with Marc (which actually peeved me a little, I didn't want getting back together to be a drunken experience), then, she thinks about running away, but doesn't anyway. Only to be snatched herself.
The things she learns while in captivity are horrible! And the story is really dark and scary for a long while, but in the end, she is able to still win and save herself and her cousin.
I am hoping this series will continue to be about Faythe and Marc as a couple - I would love to see them both grow, and understand each other - and be really hot together :D
Amanda
Written on Apr 14, 2011
The rebellious-always-getting-into-trouble characters drive me crazy and frustrate me to no end. This is exactly what the main character, Faythe, is. So even though I got involved in the story almost right from the start, I was so exasperated with Faythe that I was ready to talk some sense into her, or smack her. You know, whichever worked best. As the story progressed, however, I got to learn more about her motivations, and while I didn’t always agree with her course of action, I definitely understood why. I don’t think I would have liked this book otherwise. As far as the plot is concerned, the middle portion of the book was far more entertaining for me than the ending. What happened in the middle had me staying up past my self-appointed bed time because I just couldn’t put the book down until I knew that Faythe would be okay. I did like that the ending wasn’t a cliffhanger, but at the same time kept my interest enough to make me want to pick up the second book in the series. Even so, the ending just didn’t demand my attention the way other parts of the book did. I am definitely interested in reading the second book of the series, but I can easily see where this series might not work for me, depending on how the author takes (or, perhaps more appropriately, took) it.
celinenyx
Written on Apr 4, 2011
The romance was more lust than love. I know they were supposed to have this history together, but I don't see the attraction. He is so idiotically possessive, while Faythe seems to rebel against anyone that wants to protect her. I have no idea how she can love Mr. I-beat-the-crap-out-of-a-guy-because-he-touched-you-once.
Except that this book lends itself well for ranting, I don't really see how this book stands out from the gigantic amount of urban-fantasy books out there. It's way too long (a massive 600+ pages) for a story that starts to pick up around halfway. When the action finally arrived I did like it though. The writing in itself is not bad at all, and it was quite enjoyable.
There are some scenes that crossed the fine line of my comfort zone. There was sexual assault and graphic torture. What stung me most was that the torture was performed by the "good guys". I'm sorry, I just can't live with that. I feel like we should be warned or something. You can't see from the cover or the blurb that this book has such violent aspects.
Not a big fan of this one, especially because I couldn't agree with the heroine at all. I have heard that the series does get better with every book, and though Faythe won't win a science quiz, she does gain some more common sense. I think I will read the next book in the series, but I definitely won't be rushing to get it.
Jo
Written on Mar 1, 2009
Faythe Sanders looks like an ordinary student, but she's hiding a dark secret: she is a werecat, a powerful, supernatural predator. Yet headstrong, independant Faythe a resents her power, heading to college to escape her family and her overprotective ex, Marc.
That is until a stray - a dangerous werecat without pride or territory - catches her scent. With two werecat girls already missing, Faythe is summoned home for her own protection.
But Faythe will do whatever it takes to find her kidnapped kin. She has claws - and she's not afraid to use them.
I really liked this book! It was such a great read. Lots of really strong characters, that you can't help but like. Faythe is stubborn, and determined to have a life of her own outside what is expected of her as a tabby in the pride - get married and have babies. She strives so hard to get what she wants, and you can't help admire her.
That's one of the subplots of the story; her determination to stand up against her father, the Alpha of the pride, and be independant. There is another subplot too, the relationship between Faythe and her ex, Marc. Marc loves her and wants her back, but Marc symbolises to Faythe everything she was trying to escape, and fights him at every turn. Then Jace, an enforcer for the pride, takes an interest in Faythe, and a love triangle forms with Faythe trying to fight it all from every angle.
Back to the main plot; this story is really quite disturbing and scary as it unfolds and we find out what's happening along with Faythe. Once she was involved properly, I found it very difficult to read, not wanting to know what would happen, because I could guess.
But this is an awesome book, it makes you face things you would rather not. It doesn't wrap you up in cotton wool, but puts you smack dab in the middle of it all, wondering how the hell could things get any worse, and worried for the characters. Seriously, an amazing book. I highly recommend!
From Ink and Paper - Fantasy book blog
wyvernfriend
Written on Jan 6, 2008
When she returns to the pride she finds that her minder is her former fiance. There's still a frisson of interest between the two of them.
I did enjoy the read and look forward to more in this series.