Rogue by Rachel Vincent

Faythe Sanders is again back with her family. Reluctantly, of course. She's agreed to set aside her college degree in order to help her father, the local Alpha of a pack of werecats, as an enforcer. Even though Faythe's dad runs a tight ship it's not all bad - she gets to spend a large amount of her time honing her fighting skills (aka kicking her brother's trash) and hanging out with her boyfriend Marc. However, time spent on her father's ranch is never quiet and after a string of tomcats turn up dead and human women go missing, Faythe and the crew must try to put the pieces together before the rogue cat can strike again. But Faythe's choices have a way of coming back to bite her in the butt (sometimes literally) and this time the consequences may even effect her place within the Pride.

Faythe caught my eye in the previous werecat novel Stray with her fierce determination to become something other than a simple brood mare for the Pride. She's tough and impulsive and frankly still has a bit of growing up to do as far as relationships go, though to some extent I think she realizes it. Marc sure does. I will admit that watching their relationship develop in Rogue could often be described as a lesson in patience, but it was also obvious just how much they truly care about each other. To my way of looking at things, that's the very first step Faythe has to take in the growing up department and she does a decent job of taking it head-on. As a rare female in a large group of males, I can understand her desire to stretch the bands of convention - and for often butting heads with the macho males shes is constantly surrounded by. What makes me laugh more than anything however is Faythe's ability to attract trouble and cause disturbances wherever she goes. Seriously, the girl is a walking time bomb and I'm happy to simply follow along and watch the sparks fly.

What has to be the best part about returning to Rachel Vincent's world of werecat shifters is getting another up-close look at Faythe's relationship with her loud-mouth brothers and, most notably, her stead-fast parents. I was glad to see Faythe begin to bond with her '50s minded mom - who in my opinion holds much more power than Faythe ever gives her credit for. It never fails to make me smile when I see The Sanders as one big, scruffy family who can't help but snapping to attention every time their dad goes into Alpha mode. Heck, I probably would to. And that's not even mentioning the ridiculously soft spot I hold for Jace (can't you just see my goofy grin?).

series reading order:
~ Stray - my review
~ Rogue
~ Pride
~ Prey
~ Shift (March 2010)

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Angieville review
Darque review
Dear Author review
Ink and Paper review
Urban Fantasy Land review

book source: my local library