Rogue

Ms Vincent, I am an idiot! LOL I almost didn't see how fantastic and awesome your Shifters series is and that would have sucKed!! Thank goodness there are other readers and bloggers out there that saved me from doing that because I am well and truly hooked on your books now:D I just finished reading Rogue and by the time I was on chapter 5 I was wondering how I ever felt so "meh" about Faythe, Marc, and all the other Pride peeps.

Faythe has won me over and I guess because I started out as not a fan, I love her that much more now that her story has drawn me in so deep. I find her relationship with her father and mother so interesting to watch as she works at building autonomy while balancing it with interdependance necessary for a show more shifter in a pack. It's something that definitely affects her fear of commitment to Marc too. I love Marc but just when I feel like Faythe is being dumb for not committing to him he does something over-the-top that makes me say, "well damn Faythe, you are right".

Then there's the details of the series itself: when I read book 1 I didn't expect some of the smallest details to turn into important leads in this book. I've been so used to the routine of reading series that I thought I pretty much knew exactly what was coming but Rogue did a great job of surprising me with a couple things and I liked that. Now I can't wait to read book 3 but since I'm short on cash I have to suffer and wait my turn for it through the library! lol show less

I liked it but not as much as I liked the first in the series. The plot per se was interesting (more so on the second half of the book) but the part dedicated to the relationship between Faythe and Marc was, for me, very frustrating!!!

I want to love STRAY and ROGUE. Rachel Vincent builds an interesting world with both a caste system and gender bias. She portrays the werecats as they enter a time of change - where a stray might be adopted by a Pride, a girl might inherit, and the strays are tired of being pushed around.

While I enjoy the world, I do not love the main characters. I do love some of the secondary characters. Jace, in particular, is a sweetie. I rooted for him in the first book. Faythe's mom is a BA disguised as June Cleaver, but Faythe is too self-absorbed to notice until the end of ROUGE. Luckily, Faythe become less self-absorbed throughout the story. Her personal growth could move a bit faster, but I saw evidence that she was beginning to think of the show more Pride first.

Nothing in Marc's personality changed to make me like him better. Take this sentence: "I'd never known him to demand anything less than all of my attention, and I didn't recognize this polite, courteous behavior." There was a more alarming quote, but my bookmark failed to stay in place. Their relationship seems abusive to me. Not just on Marc's part, but on Faythe's as well. He flat out states he does not trust her. ROGUE is a paranormal romance. In my romance stories, I need the main couple to be in love. Marc and Faythe feel mutually dependent rather than loving to me.

The mystery half of the plot - tracking down a killer of tomcats and kidnapper of strippers - felt like it was given equal weight, but the culprit was too obvious. Faythe shows her brain many times in the novel. With her mental faculty, she should have put the pieces together long before she did. On the other hand, I liked Manx. I wish she entered the novel earlier so she could have more screen time.

I still plan to read PRIDE when it comes out. The action scenes are fantastic and Faythe could grow to be a strong heroine. But if Faythe shows little growth again, I might not stay for all six planned werecat novels. show less

Bought for myself
BBA Series Challenge
Overall Rating 4.50
Story Rating 4.50
Character Rating 4.50
Audio Only Rating 4.50

NOTE: I get why people love this series now. Rogue hooked me where Stray almost scared me off. I am glad that I am listening to this series in audio form. I think Jennifer Van Dyck did an excellent job with the narration.

What I Loved: As much I did not like her at all in Stray, I have to say that Faythe has grown by leaps and bounds in this book. Her story is captivating and heartbreaking! Marc is a perfect counterpart to her with his own hangups and insecurities. I have a feeling they are going to break my heart a few times over the series. I have to say though, let's hear it for the Mama of the Pride! I love Faythe's show more parents in general (again kudos to Rachel Vincent for the strong family core) but it was really Mama that kicked butt and took names in this book. I also loved the addition of Minx to the mix and hope she sticks around.

What I Liked: Brothers! You have to love them, want to kill them, and then appreciate them for everything they add to your life. Rachel Vincent is amazing at bringing a slate of characters in and making them all important. I am very interested in each of their stories and how they play out over the course of the series.

Complaints: Cliffhanger (sort of)! More like I immediately wanted to jump to book 3 (Pride) which I guess was the evil plan all along!

Why I gave it a 4.5: Did I mention I get why everyone is in love with the series now? What a great ride and can't wait to read/listen to more! show less

Bought for myself
BBA Series Challenge
Overall Rating 4.50
Story Rating 4.50
Character Rating 4.50
Audio Only Rating 4.50


NOTE: I get why people love this series now. Rogue hooked me where Stray almost scared me off. I am glad that I am listening to this series in audio form. I think Jennifer Van Dyck did an excellent job with the narration.

What I Loved: As much I did not like her at all in Stray, I have to say that Faythe has grown by leaps and bounds in this book. Her story is captivating and heartbreaking! Marc is a perfect counterpart to her with his own hangups and insecurities. I have a feeling they are going to break my heart a few times over the series. I have to say though, let's hear it for the Mama of the Pride! I love Faythe's show more parents in general (again kudos to Rachel Vincent for the strong family core) but it was really Mama that kicked butt and took names in this book. I also loved the addition of Minx to the mix and hope she sticks around.

What I Liked: Brothers! You have to love them, want to kill them, and then appreciate them for everything they add to your life. Rachel Vincent is amazing at bringing a slate of characters in and making them all important. I am very interested in each of their stories and how they play out over the course of the series.

Complaints: Cliffhanger (sort of)! More like I immediately wanted to jump to book 3 (Pride) which I guess was the evil plan all along!

Why I gave it a 4.5: Did I mention I get why everyone is in love with the series now? What a great ride and can't wait to read/listen to more! show less

My experience with series books is that sophomore jinx is very much a reality. There are several possible causes: a planned trilogy that tends to sag in the middle, a swiftly-produced add-on to book that was never intended to have a sequel, or an author who just hit the big time and isn't terribly sure on his feet. Whatever the cause, book #2 tends to feel like a step down from book #1. But there are always exceptions, and with the followup to Stray Rachel Vincent has done things right. Not only does she tell a much better story, she's improved markedly on her setting and world-building. Stray was a book with potential, but Rogue has started to realize it.

Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics.

Okay, so Faith has decided to stay on in the pack for a few years trial and seems to have given up on ever returning to college basically. Maybe it’s back in her mind somewhat but she seems to have shrugged off most inhibitions and objections that she held in the first book. It seems her father is training her to be an enforcer and eventual pack leader, which is unheard of for a tabby (female).

I’m still not crazy about her personality, but the story for this one rocks more than the first. She receives a call from someone she was close to in her college days and found out that she accidentally ruined his life. Most of the book is spent with this guilt as he has joined with enemies from the previous book to continue reigning terror show more everywhere.

The charm in this series is the ties between Faith and Marc, the lead enforcer who is her on and off again hunk, her father, mother, and brothers. They all bring together a unit that is enjoyable with its conflicting personalities. The inner workings of the pack and how it all ties in with other packs and those struggling politics add punch.

Because of the relationship digs into her and Marc, there is more romance in this one than the first. I liked her mom and dad from the original novel but they are even better here. I LOVED Manx’s personality and hope a lot more is done with that cat.

There’s plenty of action and it never lets up long as a lot is going on with each scene, both emotionally and physically. Nail biting scenes and tension hold strong, while the ending has a brutal part that was hard for me to stomach. I’m pleased to see it was also hard for Faith to stomach; that redeems her somewhat in my mind. I do think she has some growing up to do still, is too harsh for a protagonist, but the story itself is interesting, making the series worth continuing.

There is a small so-so cliffhanger that annoys a little. show less