Helpful Score: 2
Rogue, sequel to Stray, is essentially an urban fantasy, one in a growing list of books that are told first person by a young female protagonist. Other examples (that I have read/encountered) include Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series, Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harries--the list goes on and on. This style has the advantage of giving the reader a vicarious fantastical experience--magic, violence, sex, love--all brought to us by an easy to relate to lead character. In Rachel Vincent's Shifter's series we have Faythe Sanders, a cat shifter who is learning to balance her need for independence with her responsibilities to her Pride. So how to these books measure up when compared to the rest of their sub genre?
Faythe represents a rare and important minority in her species--a tabby, or female cat shifter. There are certain expectations of her within Pride culture--she is supposed to marry in order to reproduce children. Also, her husband would normally become the next Alpha (leader) of the Pride. She is supposed to be guarded and coddled. But Faythe has a mind of her own. Following events in Stray she becomes the first ever female enforcer--an exclusive band of fighters that serve the Alpha and protect the Pride. Her father is grooming her to inherit his place as Alpha, a concept that won't be easily acheived or accepted by the larger cat community. In the mean time Faythe is juggling her romantic relationship with Marc, a fellow enforcer, who is forever pressing her for a commitment.
The plot heats up when Faythe receives cryptic phone calls from her college boyfriend, an ordinary human, who is now threatening her. She's also investigating the murder of several cats on pride territory, and a possible link between these and enemies introduced in Stray.
The plot is not particularly complex, but it is dense enough to keep you entertained almost all the time. The elements of the story are diverse--romance, action, mystery, and political drama. But at its heart this book in combination with Stray is really about Faythe's development from immature selfish brat to strong, loyal, resilient leader.
Faythe is an extremely frustrating character. I found myself hating her at several points in the series up to this point. She's judgmental, self centered, and irrational. Up to this point I feel that she is very well written. We see her developing through trials and tribulations. She realizes when she's wrong and makes some effort to improve herself. And she's not without likable qualities. She's sarcastically funny, tough, and reasonably smart.
My greatest frustration and disappointment up to this point is Faythe's relationship with Marc. The way she treats him is horrible, and is probably what I hate the most about her. I feel like they are so dysfunctional as a couple that I don't know whether I want them to be together or not. I really wish that I could get attached to them as a pair, but I just can't.
In this book the secondary characters get a little more depth to them, an effort which I appreciate. They still aren't completely fleshed out, but they at least seem like real people with personalities. Marc's violent, passionate nature is shown and explained. We see Owen the optimist. Ethan the party boy. Faythe's father is actually a fairly dynamic character, demonstrating intelligence, wisdom, and respectability. The character that surprised me most was Faythe's mother--I ended up really liking her. At first she seems ordinary, a mindless housewife. Little by little, however, we learn that she has the heart of a fighter and a leader. Part of Faythe's growing up experience involves realizing that her mother's value and seeing her choices from a different perspective. Even the villains are multidimensional characters.
In the end, there were some problems in the book. Some of the secondary characters are pretty forgetable. There are a few plot holes, though nothing critical that I could spot. Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable book.
Faythe represents a rare and important minority in her species--a tabby, or female cat shifter. There are certain expectations of her within Pride culture--she is supposed to marry in order to reproduce children. Also, her husband would normally become the next Alpha (leader) of the Pride. She is supposed to be guarded and coddled. But Faythe has a mind of her own. Following events in Stray she becomes the first ever female enforcer--an exclusive band of fighters that serve the Alpha and protect the Pride. Her father is grooming her to inherit his place as Alpha, a concept that won't be easily acheived or accepted by the larger cat community. In the mean time Faythe is juggling her romantic relationship with Marc, a fellow enforcer, who is forever pressing her for a commitment.
The plot heats up when Faythe receives cryptic phone calls from her college boyfriend, an ordinary human, who is now threatening her. She's also investigating the murder of several cats on pride territory, and a possible link between these and enemies introduced in Stray.
The plot is not particularly complex, but it is dense enough to keep you entertained almost all the time. The elements of the story are diverse--romance, action, mystery, and political drama. But at its heart this book in combination with Stray is really about Faythe's development from immature selfish brat to strong, loyal, resilient leader.
Faythe is an extremely frustrating character. I found myself hating her at several points in the series up to this point. She's judgmental, self centered, and irrational. Up to this point I feel that she is very well written. We see her developing through trials and tribulations. She realizes when she's wrong and makes some effort to improve herself. And she's not without likable qualities. She's sarcastically funny, tough, and reasonably smart.
My greatest frustration and disappointment up to this point is Faythe's relationship with Marc. The way she treats him is horrible, and is probably what I hate the most about her. I feel like they are so dysfunctional as a couple that I don't know whether I want them to be together or not. I really wish that I could get attached to them as a pair, but I just can't.
In this book the secondary characters get a little more depth to them, an effort which I appreciate. They still aren't completely fleshed out, but they at least seem like real people with personalities. Marc's violent, passionate nature is shown and explained. We see Owen the optimist. Ethan the party boy. Faythe's father is actually a fairly dynamic character, demonstrating intelligence, wisdom, and respectability. The character that surprised me most was Faythe's mother--I ended up really liking her. At first she seems ordinary, a mindless housewife. Little by little, however, we learn that she has the heart of a fighter and a leader. Part of Faythe's growing up experience involves realizing that her mother's value and seeing her choices from a different perspective. Even the villains are multidimensional characters.
In the end, there were some problems in the book. Some of the secondary characters are pretty forgetable. There are a few plot holes, though nothing critical that I could spot. Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable book.
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