Stray (Shifters #1)

The book was okay, compelling enough to convince me to finish the story bur not enough to read the next book. The main gripe I have with this book is making the villain Brazilian started to feel a bit racist. I am a Mexican married to a Brazilian so I know what it is like to speak Spanish with a Portuguese speaker and there was legit no reason for the antagonist to keep sating random Spanish words. Every time he did I would cringe and debate about finishing the book. If the author wanted him to be a Spanish speaker from the Amazon he could have been from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, or Venezuela. Why insist on making him Brazilian and not speak Portuguese when mocking the hero? He even speaks Spanish with his brother! It makes absolutely no sense and really frustrated me. I get this is a fantasy but please respect actual cultural norms if you name them in your books.

“I wasn’t that bad.”
She smiled. “You broke Ethan’s arm.”
“It was self-defense. He wouldn’t let go of my foot.”
“He was helping you tie your shoe.”
I shrugged. I remembered it differently.

Faythe has always been a handful it seems. She is smart, stubborn, headstrong, slightly aggressive and defiant. So much so that at times in the book she was hard for me to like. But she is a werecat so all of those attributes are a benefit to the only female of her family. Faythe has been trying so hard to run away from her family and her past. She ran off to college to try to escape the life she was supposed to have and Marc the man she was supposed to love. But when the women of the other prides start going missing she is called back to her family for protection. She has to leave behind Grad School and her very human boyfriend Andrew. While she hopes that it is only temporary Faythe can’t help the feeling that she will be sucked back into the life and the man she was so desperately trying to avoid.

It was an addiction. A pointless, self-destructive addiction. But really, is there any other kind?

There are things that I really liked about this book and things that really bothered me. Let me start with the stuff I liked. I loved the idea of werecats and prides and the setup of the world they live in. I enjoyed reading about behaviors while in cat form and the family structures. I found it fascinating and a different take on the whole `were’ thing as a whole. I enjoyed the writing style, pacing and most of the characters. There are plenty of Alpha male moments and Marc is the ultimate alpha trying to protect the woman he loves that broke his heart so many years ago. Even though Marc was a bit over the top with his animal instincts at times I still thought his whole alpha male thing was attractive and sexy in the book. But girls, in real life, most of his actions would be wrong on so many levels.

The thing I didn’t like about the book, and this is just my personal preference, was the actual storyline. Wait, don’t hate me, the plot was well thought out and flowed well, however the content of the storyline is what I didn’t like. I say this only because a portion of this book is about capture and rape. While there is no actual rape scene to read, a few of the women in this book are brutalized and you know it. I have a very difficult time with this type of content and while it was written well and not too graphic the subject is slightly disturbing to me and the detracted from my overall enjoyment of this particular book in the series.

I told you not to touch her. And I meant it. If you lay a hand on her again, you’ll have more to worry about than her ripping out your heart. I’ll save her the trouble and do It myself

That said there is a lot of potential for future story arcs in the series. I like the overall concept and so I will read on in the series to give it a solid shot as I think I will not have an issue with the content in future storylines. Faythe has a lot of growing to do and I can’t wait to see if she can keep up with the boys and kick some butt in the future.

“I know when to quit, Faythe. I quit when my heart tells me there’s no chance of success. But it’s not telling me that. Not yet. Not about you.”

Faythe is a shifter who has been running from her responsibilities as daughter to the pack alpha, by continuing school and trying to integrate into mainstream life. But when kidnappings begin happening among other shifter females, she is called back home and back into the world she left behind.

Overall I enjoyed this story. The romance was interesting, even if we didn’t get to see much of it in this book. I am hoping that at least part of the continuing series deals with Marc and Faythe some more. There were parts of the story that were kind of sluggish to me, and there should be some trigger warnings for kidnapping, violence, and attempted rape.

I have to admit, Faythe’s spunk at the beginning of the series was very familiar to me as a woman in a male dominated field. However, her tantrums and lack of growth over the series annoyed the crap out of me, and by the last book, the love triangle just wore on my nerves. I have to admit I was one of the Faythe haters, and by the time I got to the last book I was seriously considering reviews of others in my position who wished they had just left the last two books on the shelf. However, after reading Alpha, I’m glad I didn’t heed this advice. This book showed exactly how much Faythe had grown over the series and that she was ready to make the final step into her role as alpha, even if the girl was unable to make up her mind about which lover she wanted to choose (which really DID annoy the crap out of me).

As a disclaimer, this is most definitely not my typical read, I got started on it during a trip to visit family and my aunt had it on her Nook, so with nothing better to do for the day while she was at work, I decided to have a go. I was half way through the book by the time she returned home and was deep into book 3 by the time I returned home a week later. Being a 37 year old, far from prudish woman, in a relationship for the last 8 years with the love of my life, and having put myself thru school n built my resume from scratch without a person in a position to help my entire life, I initially found her determination to break from the marriage and baby-making role refreshing. However, she quickly began to wear on me as a typical millennial who would see the whole world bend to her will. She seriously grated on my nerves. However, I am glad I stuck with the books until the end. Faythe did redeem herself in the last book, and while she did have flaws still which made her seem more human than bratty, I was proud of the growth she had made. Alpha did not seem as rushed to me as some people criticized, it just had a faster pace than the other books. I was so happy with person she had become, I wanted to read the series again with this new knowledge, hopeful it would make me see her throughout the whole series in this new light. I rarely like a book, or a series of books, enough to want to read them again immediately after finishing them but I did with this one. However, I am finding Faythe more annoying the second time thru and even tho I am only thru the first half of the first book I am not sure I’ll make it thru the second reading. I hope I do tho.

I rarely write book reviews and I hope this one is helpful for those Faythehaters who think they can’t make it thru Alpha, because it is definitely worth the read.

Sorry, no spoilers here, but allow yourself to be unbiasedly be drawn into the wonderful conclusion of a great series if not for the big furry soap opera line. It did make me chuckle. Hopefully this review is informative. The 4 stars is for the book and the series overall. I bought the first book for my mom to read. My mom like Faythe’s mom, is a badass in disguise. I also, unlike other reviewers, enjoyed the fact the ending was left so open. For me it meant the characters didn’t die off or go away when I finished the series, but that they could live on in a life n manner I decided I liked and felt real for me. I always mourn the ending if a book as the characters are then gone and the new world I’ve discovered thru reading is gone. But this ending made the world live on for me which I really enjoyed as I thoroughly hope happens for a majority if you as well.

Thanks for reading my review and double thanks if you find it useful and are pleased that it inspired u to finish the series 🙂

Enjoy!

~Ekko

I was immediately drawn to this book as i love fictional and mythical creatures. Always wanted to be shifter myself.

This follows story of young women trying to strive for independence in a mans world. She is strong and witty kick ass women. This is such a page turner, from love, tragedy and mild violence. Leaves you wanting more.

Rachel Vincent is a brilliant writer and story teller. You feel deep connection to all the characters. Leaving you breathless, screaming at the characters and cheering for joy. This book was emotional ride and i can’t wait to bite into the next 5 books in the series.

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