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Hunting Club #1
Stripped
Someone wants their perfect weapon back, only she’s not coming quietly.
Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.
Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.
She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.
With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.
Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.
Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.
She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.
With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 4, 2009
5 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Colette
18 books223 followersParanormal author Marcia Colette is always hard at work on her next novel...assuming her day job doesn't get in the way.
Ever since her first book HALF BREED opened to fantastic reviews and became a Fictionwise Bestseller, she hasn't looked back. She can't write a story unless there are paranormal aspects or a certain level of creepiness involved. When not crafting novels with twisted plots and supernatural thrills, she's either diving into her massive DVD collection or working out on her elliptical. Marcia is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Paranormal Mystery Writers, and Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors.
The best place to find her is on her blog where she loves connecting with readers and other writers. Conferences/conventions where sci-fi, fantasy, and horror reign supreme are a good bet, too, along with the occasional romance conference.
For more information, check out her website at www.marciacolette.com"
Ever since her first book HALF BREED opened to fantastic reviews and became a Fictionwise Bestseller, she hasn't looked back. She can't write a story unless there are paranormal aspects or a certain level of creepiness involved. When not crafting novels with twisted plots and supernatural thrills, she's either diving into her massive DVD collection or working out on her elliptical. Marcia is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Paranormal Mystery Writers, and Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors.
The best place to find her is on her blog where she loves connecting with readers and other writers. Conferences/conventions where sci-fi, fantasy, and horror reign supreme are a good bet, too, along with the occasional romance conference.
For more information, check out her website at www.marciacolette.com"
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 26, 2010
This is really 2.5 read for me.
A woman, known as Keisha Walker finds herself on a stage in a smoky bar stripping for customers. But something isn't right. She doesn't feel like her name is Keisha and she definitely doesn't feel like she is a stripper. As a matter of fact, the more she thinks about it, the more wrong everything feels. And even worse, when she tries to remember who she is and what she really should be doing, she only gets a blank. What she does learn very quickly is that she is exceptionally strong, has a extremely sensitive nose (she can smell even the most infinitesimal scent) and she knows how to hurt people -- bad.
Following a primal instinct that tells her to get out and get out fast, "Keisha" manages to bust her way out of what is a small, nowhere town in the Midwest and get herself to Boston. Even as she travels east following some instinct that only her buried psyche knows, her memory starts to come back in frustrating fits. She learns her real name, Alexa but wonders why there are goons hot on her trail, intent on following her and bringing her back? What is so important about her that bodies seem to be falling in her wake?
Once in Boston some of the gaps begin to fill, she meets an erstwhile lover Matt who, as it happens, is a werewolf. While Alexa herself is half-werewolf and apparently a very lethal assassin. Alexa and Matt team up to find out why one of Boston's most elite businessmen is hell bent on keeping Alexa under control and completely unaware of who she is.
When I began reading this book, I was immediately sucked in. Alexa's confusion and her circumstances were presented with just the right amount of uncertainty (the book is told in first person) to get the mystery really revved up. And as she got herself out of her first precarious situation and met up with Matt, I thought I'd be in for a real treat she the two team up to get to the bottom of what the heck is going on. But curiously, the book fell flat in the middle. There was a lot of action, more people still showing up to get at her, but it felt like a lot of the time, she and Matt ran around in circles, being accosted without actually learning much of anything.
The story also felt a bit muddled. I didn't get a great feel for her paranormal universe. There are werewolves, vampires, witches etc. but they seem more like wallpaper than a fully realized alterna universe. And while Alexa had been missing for quite a bit of time, the reactions of the people when she returned seemed a bit subdued. The book felts a bit crowded with a somewhat unnecessary murder/lawyer/therapist sub-plot. Also I felt taken aback to learn in the last 10% of the book that Alexa has an entire family. I wondered where they were and why they hadn't show up earlier?
The book picks back up again in the last 20% of the book (can you tell I read this on my Kindle? heh). Things finally begin to move, and Alexa (finally) begins to take control of her fate. But even so I was still a bit disappointed. For such a bad-ass lethal assassin, she can off as still somewhat ineffectual. Matt also. I wanted more kick-assery from them and did not get it. I wanted that 'Hells yeah!' moment when they did something completely awesome and didn't get that either.
The villain is of a villain type I despise. Powerful and evil just because. No other motivation. He's just evil and wants more power. Yawn. This is the big bad they've been running from the entire book and when you finally meet him you're like...that's it?
The epilogue leaves open a door for a sequel. But I doubt if I will be looking it up, unless Alexa and Matt become more forceful than they were in this book. It is a shame because I think this author writes really, really well. But I was not compelled to stay in her world.
Also important to note: this is not a paranormal romance. While Alexa and Matt are acknowledged lovers and end up together, the romance portion of the book is almost nil. This is pure UF.
A woman, known as Keisha Walker finds herself on a stage in a smoky bar stripping for customers. But something isn't right. She doesn't feel like her name is Keisha and she definitely doesn't feel like she is a stripper. As a matter of fact, the more she thinks about it, the more wrong everything feels. And even worse, when she tries to remember who she is and what she really should be doing, she only gets a blank. What she does learn very quickly is that she is exceptionally strong, has a extremely sensitive nose (she can smell even the most infinitesimal scent) and she knows how to hurt people -- bad.
Following a primal instinct that tells her to get out and get out fast, "Keisha" manages to bust her way out of what is a small, nowhere town in the Midwest and get herself to Boston. Even as she travels east following some instinct that only her buried psyche knows, her memory starts to come back in frustrating fits. She learns her real name, Alexa but wonders why there are goons hot on her trail, intent on following her and bringing her back? What is so important about her that bodies seem to be falling in her wake?
Once in Boston some of the gaps begin to fill, she meets an erstwhile lover Matt who, as it happens, is a werewolf. While Alexa herself is half-werewolf and apparently a very lethal assassin. Alexa and Matt team up to find out why one of Boston's most elite businessmen is hell bent on keeping Alexa under control and completely unaware of who she is.
When I began reading this book, I was immediately sucked in. Alexa's confusion and her circumstances were presented with just the right amount of uncertainty (the book is told in first person) to get the mystery really revved up. And as she got herself out of her first precarious situation and met up with Matt, I thought I'd be in for a real treat she the two team up to get to the bottom of what the heck is going on. But curiously, the book fell flat in the middle. There was a lot of action, more people still showing up to get at her, but it felt like a lot of the time, she and Matt ran around in circles, being accosted without actually learning much of anything.
The story also felt a bit muddled. I didn't get a great feel for her paranormal universe. There are werewolves, vampires, witches etc. but they seem more like wallpaper than a fully realized alterna universe. And while Alexa had been missing for quite a bit of time, the reactions of the people when she returned seemed a bit subdued. The book felts a bit crowded with a somewhat unnecessary murder/lawyer/therapist sub-plot. Also I felt taken aback to learn in the last 10% of the book that Alexa has an entire family. I wondered where they were and why they hadn't show up earlier?
The book picks back up again in the last 20% of the book (can you tell I read this on my Kindle? heh). Things finally begin to move, and Alexa (finally) begins to take control of her fate. But even so I was still a bit disappointed. For such a bad-ass lethal assassin, she can off as still somewhat ineffectual. Matt also. I wanted more kick-assery from them and did not get it. I wanted that 'Hells yeah!' moment when they did something completely awesome and didn't get that either.
The villain is of a villain type I despise. Powerful and evil just because. No other motivation. He's just evil and wants more power. Yawn. This is the big bad they've been running from the entire book and when you finally meet him you're like...that's it?
The epilogue leaves open a door for a sequel. But I doubt if I will be looking it up, unless Alexa and Matt become more forceful than they were in this book. It is a shame because I think this author writes really, really well. But I was not compelled to stay in her world.
Also important to note: this is not a paranormal romance. While Alexa and Matt are acknowledged lovers and end up together, the romance portion of the book is almost nil. This is pure UF.
August 28, 2009
What could it be like to wake up from yourself and find yourself onstage and not on any stage but a stripped joint about to perform as the main act. That's exactly where Alexa Wells finds herself and what she finds herself doing. Stunned for a moment she know only one thing – this is not her and she wants her life back.
She quickly sets about to make things right. On the way she gets little bits and pieces of her old life, but nothing of the people she knew or how she knew the people she now comes into contact with. One such person is Matt York and he is not only in a rush to find out where Alexa has been for the past few months but he has no intention of letting her go again.
With her life in the same situation as her memory – in pieces, she is bombarded by a slew of people passing through her life and not all of them the friendly type – OK none of them the friendly type.
Alexa – for some reason reverts to a kick ass chick when confronted and she does not know where these skills are coming from. Not only does she have to find the missing pieces of her life – but someone is making a concerted effort in trying to keep her under their thumb and she knows she is not a woman to be under anyone’s thumb.
I visited Shape Shifter Romance blog a few weeks ago and STRIPPED jumped right off the pages at me – I had to have it. To say this book was good would be an understatement – it was kick ass and a bag of chips on top.
STRIPPED is the prequel to HALF BREED, which was released a few years ago, as I have not had the pleasure yet of reading HALF BREED I could see the cast from the moment go and I loved them. When I met Alexa she was literally in a fight for her life and doing a good job of staying one step ahead or so she thinks – her life starts getting more complicated when she meets up with Matt a man she apparently knew in the life she is trying to remember but not how she knew him is known to her. Matt is a force to be reckoned with and she only knows the little he is willing to divulge – but she wants more and she wants it now.
Within all this memory recall, forces are at work to get Alexa back – YES, they want her back. Alexa is a one woman demolition team and someone knows the value of having her on their team – but who. With enemies and angst coming at them left right and centre they have only a hand full of people they can rely on and not much time in which to get to the bottom of what is going on.
Marcia Colette has created a world of wolves and supernatural forces fighting for supremacy and one man seem to be winning it all. The pace is fast – the action brutal and the term “I’m Sorry”non existent. As a new to me author she tick all my boxes with very descriptive language and with a clear structure to the plot – I was loving the little side stories that she used to gel the plot together while opening me up to a whole slew of characters that were just as easy to hate as they were to love.
Urban Fantasy lovers this is a must read – Alexa is an heroine that stands out among the crowd and refuse to back down or die. With few trusted friend and patchy memory she leaves a trail of chaos behind her on the streets of Boston and the local supernatural community is all abuzz as they know change is coming and it just might be in one called Alexa Wells.
She quickly sets about to make things right. On the way she gets little bits and pieces of her old life, but nothing of the people she knew or how she knew the people she now comes into contact with. One such person is Matt York and he is not only in a rush to find out where Alexa has been for the past few months but he has no intention of letting her go again.
With her life in the same situation as her memory – in pieces, she is bombarded by a slew of people passing through her life and not all of them the friendly type – OK none of them the friendly type.
Alexa – for some reason reverts to a kick ass chick when confronted and she does not know where these skills are coming from. Not only does she have to find the missing pieces of her life – but someone is making a concerted effort in trying to keep her under their thumb and she knows she is not a woman to be under anyone’s thumb.
I visited Shape Shifter Romance blog a few weeks ago and STRIPPED jumped right off the pages at me – I had to have it. To say this book was good would be an understatement – it was kick ass and a bag of chips on top.
STRIPPED is the prequel to HALF BREED, which was released a few years ago, as I have not had the pleasure yet of reading HALF BREED I could see the cast from the moment go and I loved them. When I met Alexa she was literally in a fight for her life and doing a good job of staying one step ahead or so she thinks – her life starts getting more complicated when she meets up with Matt a man she apparently knew in the life she is trying to remember but not how she knew him is known to her. Matt is a force to be reckoned with and she only knows the little he is willing to divulge – but she wants more and she wants it now.
Within all this memory recall, forces are at work to get Alexa back – YES, they want her back. Alexa is a one woman demolition team and someone knows the value of having her on their team – but who. With enemies and angst coming at them left right and centre they have only a hand full of people they can rely on and not much time in which to get to the bottom of what is going on.
Marcia Colette has created a world of wolves and supernatural forces fighting for supremacy and one man seem to be winning it all. The pace is fast – the action brutal and the term “I’m Sorry”non existent. As a new to me author she tick all my boxes with very descriptive language and with a clear structure to the plot – I was loving the little side stories that she used to gel the plot together while opening me up to a whole slew of characters that were just as easy to hate as they were to love.
Urban Fantasy lovers this is a must read – Alexa is an heroine that stands out among the crowd and refuse to back down or die. With few trusted friend and patchy memory she leaves a trail of chaos behind her on the streets of Boston and the local supernatural community is all abuzz as they know change is coming and it just might be in one called Alexa Wells.
August 14, 2019
Hard to read.
Loving the world of werewolves and vampires I eagerly gave this book a try. Unfortunately it’s a tough book to read. The world is poorly developed with few consistent laws, the prose is wooden and matter of fact with very little real emotion and the fight scenes difficult to see in my minds eye. I couldn’t connect with the main character for all its written in first person POV. I think the whole world has promise but the author would do well to practice “show not tell”.
Loving the world of werewolves and vampires I eagerly gave this book a try. Unfortunately it’s a tough book to read. The world is poorly developed with few consistent laws, the prose is wooden and matter of fact with very little real emotion and the fight scenes difficult to see in my minds eye. I couldn’t connect with the main character for all its written in first person POV. I think the whole world has promise but the author would do well to practice “show not tell”.
July 16, 2014
This was one of those books that held my attention from beginning to end. I found the story to be fast paced and full of intrigue. Of course the mystery surrounds the dual personalities of Keisha/Alexa; a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation of which personality to win out.
The good:
I liked that we got to read a bit of both personalities, though Alexa is our heroine and the won we read 90% of the time.
Matt. The description of his butt alone makes him book boyfriend material. I like that he doesn't try to change Alexa, he likes her as she is and is willing to take the risk and love her as is. He is also strong, smart, and sexy.
Keisha. I'm not into hustlers, but she intrigued me and I wish that I knew more about her, the jobs she did for Gamboldt and her relationship with Sammy (hint. hint.)
Sammy. Its weird that I like him, he's one of the bad guys, but he managed to worm his way into my book heart. Every character is worthy of redemption and I hope he finds his mulatto cowgirl. (hint.hint.)
Dane. So hot. Stoic, strong, sensitive. The perfect alpha male.
Alexa. She is one of the few female heroine's that I genuinely like. She is smart, cunning, and strong without being to hard and manly. She appreciates her talents without coming across arrogant and knows her limitations; she is never weak, not even when she is crying. I like a character that is strong without being bull headed( hello there Katniss); willing to jump into the fray, but knows enough not to cut off her nose despite her face.
The Bad:
Matt and Alexa could have had more chemistry and the book could have progressed in certain areas. Reading about Alexa taking care of the Inn wasn't my favorite, but it was necessary since I would have been wondering who taking care of that for her.
I'm just saying:
Please write a sequel. PLEASE!
The good:
I liked that we got to read a bit of both personalities, though Alexa is our heroine and the won we read 90% of the time.
Matt. The description of his butt alone makes him book boyfriend material. I like that he doesn't try to change Alexa, he likes her as she is and is willing to take the risk and love her as is. He is also strong, smart, and sexy.
Keisha. I'm not into hustlers, but she intrigued me and I wish that I knew more about her, the jobs she did for Gamboldt and her relationship with Sammy (hint. hint.)
Sammy. Its weird that I like him, he's one of the bad guys, but he managed to worm his way into my book heart. Every character is worthy of redemption and I hope he finds his mulatto cowgirl. (hint.hint.)
Dane. So hot. Stoic, strong, sensitive. The perfect alpha male.
Alexa. She is one of the few female heroine's that I genuinely like. She is smart, cunning, and strong without being to hard and manly. She appreciates her talents without coming across arrogant and knows her limitations; she is never weak, not even when she is crying. I like a character that is strong without being bull headed( hello there Katniss); willing to jump into the fray, but knows enough not to cut off her nose despite her face.
The Bad:
Matt and Alexa could have had more chemistry and the book could have progressed in certain areas. Reading about Alexa taking care of the Inn wasn't my favorite, but it was necessary since I would have been wondering who taking care of that for her.
I'm just saying:
Please write a sequel. PLEASE!
July 19, 2015
Stripped Marcia Colette
It must be awful disheartening waking up and not knowing anything about yourself because of amnesia. Stripped written by Marcia Colette, a young woman with a keen imagination of dread and unnerving vibrations. Stripped is a book which captured my attention from the premise of a strong woman searching for her identity, paranormal activities and unsavory characters.
The atmosphere is depicted to be dark and the Ms. Colette does a great job of creating a mood of woo that stayed with me throughout the book.
The characters, setting, mood, rising action and resolution are apparent. I appreciate the numerous hours of writing and manufacturing a story with characters an audience can relate to and enjoy. Making Kesiha Walker a female force to be deal with was amazing. I delighted in Keisha’s no nonsense, kick butt and take names personality. The other characters Flora, Charles, Matt, Gamboldt were interesting.
The novel often appears to be written in the single faceted dimension and the secondary characters lack the depth necessary to hold the narrative together.
The flow of Stripped had in my opinion a few steps and I found Stripped hard to make the connection I usually enjoy when reading Urban Fantasy with a paranormal spin.
I appreciate Ms. Colette’s work and although Stripped did not click for me I believe others may enjoy it. Readers who delight in hard hitting heroine as Keisha/Alexa, her supportive network of people to embrace her will enjoy spending the time getting to know Keisha/Alexa and Matt. Keisha’s loyalty is a characteristic people want in their lives from friends because such devotion is hard to find.
It must be awful disheartening waking up and not knowing anything about yourself because of amnesia. Stripped written by Marcia Colette, a young woman with a keen imagination of dread and unnerving vibrations. Stripped is a book which captured my attention from the premise of a strong woman searching for her identity, paranormal activities and unsavory characters.
The atmosphere is depicted to be dark and the Ms. Colette does a great job of creating a mood of woo that stayed with me throughout the book.
The characters, setting, mood, rising action and resolution are apparent. I appreciate the numerous hours of writing and manufacturing a story with characters an audience can relate to and enjoy. Making Kesiha Walker a female force to be deal with was amazing. I delighted in Keisha’s no nonsense, kick butt and take names personality. The other characters Flora, Charles, Matt, Gamboldt were interesting.
The novel often appears to be written in the single faceted dimension and the secondary characters lack the depth necessary to hold the narrative together.
The flow of Stripped had in my opinion a few steps and I found Stripped hard to make the connection I usually enjoy when reading Urban Fantasy with a paranormal spin.
I appreciate Ms. Colette’s work and although Stripped did not click for me I believe others may enjoy it. Readers who delight in hard hitting heroine as Keisha/Alexa, her supportive network of people to embrace her will enjoy spending the time getting to know Keisha/Alexa and Matt. Keisha’s loyalty is a characteristic people want in their lives from friends because such devotion is hard to find.
July 6, 2011
Riley Jensen or Elena Michaels, Alexa is not.
I like her spunk but I don't like her mouth or her Kiesha identity. I also don't like all the pulp fiction speak she has. It's annoying.
Matt sound hunky though so props for that. Although, if you're gonna talk about strippers and sex and butt cheeks flapping in the wind and stuff - at least give us a good love scene. hahaha
and seriously - in Elena or Riley's werewolf worlds - that Boston alpha would be DEAD MEAT in a heartbeat. hahahaha. Not to mention all the other dudes that put their hands, fists and gun barrels all over her. Dang. Hybrid or not, some definite throat ripping is in desperate need here.
I am just not impressed for the price of this paperback.
I like her spunk but I don't like her mouth or her Kiesha identity. I also don't like all the pulp fiction speak she has. It's annoying.
Matt sound hunky though so props for that. Although, if you're gonna talk about strippers and sex and butt cheeks flapping in the wind and stuff - at least give us a good love scene. hahaha
and seriously - in Elena or Riley's werewolf worlds - that Boston alpha would be DEAD MEAT in a heartbeat. hahahaha. Not to mention all the other dudes that put their hands, fists and gun barrels all over her. Dang. Hybrid or not, some definite throat ripping is in desperate need here.
I am just not impressed for the price of this paperback.
November 17, 2010
Stripped starts out with the main character waking up with amnesia and I think it's safe to say it's hard to write a first person novel when that person has no memory of who or what she is. I was unable to connect with Alex and her relationship with Matt was hard to believe because she had no recollection of either. The story was a bit one dimensional and would have benefited from a second voice. This book wasn't awful but it really never picked up and seemed to be lacking in suspense and drama.
I would not recommend this book but I might read another book by Marcia Colette if the premise had more promise.
I would not recommend this book but I might read another book by Marcia Colette if the premise had more promise.
December 19, 2014
Would read more of these
won-t-finish
September 2, 2011Nook.
January 31, 2011
Stripped was a DNF for me. I gave it 100 pages - but never fully engaged in the story. I did not find it interesting.
M
M
March 10, 2011
Finally done an interesting read with lots of twists an turns
July 26, 2011
The book was good, and I think the story has the possibility of becoming a good series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews