Stray by Rachel Vincent

Stray by Rachel Vincent, ever heard of it? If not, ever heard of the popular series, Soul Screamers? If not, well I don't know what to say to you. 

Summary:

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 shapeshifter, and 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...



So, yeah. Sounds pretty interesting right? I mean, it might sound a bit corny and whatnot with the 'I got claws and I'm not afraid to use them' part.  But if you ignore that, it actually sounds really interesting. Or maybe it was just me.
Anyway, just for clarification: 'tabbies' is what the main character, Faythe, calls the female werecats. She calls the male ones 'toms'. You know, like a tomcat.

I've had quite a few of Rachel Vincent's books on my to-read shelf, but Stray finally caught my attention.
Honestly? I was hooked from the beginning. Like, not even after reading the very first sentence, I was sucked into this amazing story. I've never read anything like Stray and it's always a relief to come across something new. Faythe was definitely my kind of girl. She was tough, brave, stubborn, and just outrageous. She was a strong heroine, and I admired her. Although, I don't really understand her past with Marc. It just didn't come clear to me.
I mean, at the beginning of the book, it seemed like Faythe and Marc hated each other without a doubt. But, surprise, surprise. Things change.

Other than having to force myself to read the last 40 or so pages, I actually liked Stray a lot. This is the first Rachel Vincent book I've ever read and I totally see myself reading more of her books.


Here's the whole series:




(The whole Shifter series in order form top left to top right and bottom left to bottom right.)