Strained by Marcia Colette (excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Strained

by Marcia Colette

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GENRE:  Urban Fantasy

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BLURB:

Alexa is keeping a secret from her husband and being half werewolf isn't it. After all, he’s a full-blood and doesn't care that there are those who think their union is an abomination. Despite their abnormalities, the Yorks have settled into suburbia and gone out of their way to look like the couple next door.

Their rouse may have fooled an entire community, but not the Georgia Pack. The Yorks have encroached on their territory. Most interlopers end up dead, especially when the bounties on their heads invite stalkers, killers, and psychos to collect. Despite the trouble the Yorks have brought with them, the domestic suburbanites have intrigued the pack.

Alexa’s less domestic than she seems. Eight months ago, her bounty hunting club disbanded after several team members lost their lives in an ambush. Since then, the club has reemerged and are expecting Alexa to take her rightful place among the ranks.

Keeping the truth from her husband about her extracurricular activities will strain the Yorks’ marriage and risk everything they’ve worked hard for. But, that’s the price Alexa pays when her deception becomes deadlier than her aim. A deception that also keeps her alive.

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EXCERPT

“Is your rogue grandfather still alive?” Kalei asked.

I nodded. “He’s out there somewhere either dead or causing havoc everywhere he goes. Who cares? Hell, it’s been a long time since I have.”

“What about your sister?” Stephan’s gaze reeked with concern. “Is she...?”

“Genevieve is a quarter.”

“How did you escape from your grandfather?” Kalei asked.

“Who says we did? And what business is it of yours?” Werewolf etiquette or not, I was tired of the twenty questions and didn’t like where this was headed. Some situations were better left in the dark where they belonged. Talking about it only drummed up terrifying memories that would stay obviously with me for the rest of my life. Not talking about it seemed to give them less power over me. I preferred the latter.

“Lex,” Matt whispered, his hand reaching for my knee under the table. A gentle squeeze reassured me it would be okay.

It was official. These were more his friends than mine. My upbringing wasn’t any of their business.

Matt nodded, motioning for me to go on. I wasn’t doing this. Not here and not with these people.

“Excuse me.” I threw my napkin on the table, shoved my chair away, and stormed out of the café. If Matt wanted to indulge these misogynistic monsters, then he’d do it without me. I was playing my human card now. The hell with werewolf politics and mannerisms.

Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Author Marcia Colette didn’t start out reading or writing books. She had earned a bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before going on to complete her Masters in Information Technology at American Intercontinental University in Atlanta, GA.

While riding the MBTA train back and forth to her job in Boston as a software consultant, she picked up a copy of John Saul and never looked back. It wasn’t long after that when she started writing her own stories. Five years later, she signed a contract with Double Dragon eBooks to publish her first urban fantasy novel.

Her next novel was a paranormal romance entitled Unstable Environment and was picked up by Parker Publishing, LLC. She went on to sell her next urban fantasy entitled Stripped to Samhain Publishing, LLC. During that time, she also released Bittersweet (YA), Hazardous Environment (Paranormal Romance), The Spider Inside Her (Urban Fantasy), and Deadlier by the Dozen (Urban Fantasy) under her own independent publishing label Dusk Till Dawn Books. She has sold several short stories and novellas to Mocha Memoirs Press and has continued her Alexa York series with Purple Sword Publications.

Marcia also writes science fiction under another pen name.

Still holding her own as an IT Manager, Marcia is a single mom who lives in South Carolina.

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GIVEAWAY

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The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

3.5 stars

Strained by Marcia Colette is an urban fantasy tale starring Alexa (Lex) York, half werewolf/half human hybrid.  She is trying to settle in with her husband, werewolf Matthieu York, and stay under the radar in Atlanta, but the remnants of her former hunting club of bounty hunters seems determined to draw her back in.  Rogue werewolves, pack territorialism, and marital strain with her true mate all complicate her life, but Lex is nothing if not resourceful and will prove that she has the will to withstand any number of challenges…hopefully.

There are lots of interesting twists in this action-packed tale, including a crossbow-toting sniper, an Amazon-turned-werewolf, and a group of bounty hunters who not only fulfill contracts on werewolves but also don’t cavil at selling their pelts.  The contrast between this pragmatic, violent, and bloodthirsty group and the intense bond between Lex and her husband is sometimes a little disconcerting, especially given her secretiveness and inability to be totally honest about her actions and motivations. 

I was a little confused about Lex’s love-hate relationship with several people, including her uncle Graham, and I was puzzled about the bounties which seem to be multiplying at a rapid rate with motivations that range from revenge to reduction of competition.  I love capable heroines but I was not quite convinced that this one was as logical and well-trained as she could be, and I suspect that part of the problem may be that this turns out to be part of a series, so theoretically there is quite a bit of backstory that impinges on the events in this book and may explain some of the connections that are alluded to.  I like that Lex is unafraid to make mistakes and keeps on trying, no matter what obstacles she runs (jumps?) into, I think this story has lots of intriguing aspects, and I love Lex’s feisty personality, but I would like a little more depth and maybe a more detailed recap of what has brought us to this point. 

An ARC was provided to me for review (which may be part of the reason I am unaware of all of the connections)