Stray by Rachael Craw... KAPOW!

Check out my review for book one Spark
Stray Spark Book Two
Contains spoilers for book one
Written by Rachael Craw
Science Fiction, Romance
Published September 1st 2015
425 Pages
Thank you to Walker Books Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
It’s hard to remember hating anything as much as I hate Affinity; a bone deep loathing for the faceless unknown and the concrete walls of my own DNA.

Evie is a Shield, designed to kill in order to protect, and the Affinity Project have finally come for her. But Evie isn’t ready for the sinister organisation to take control of her life, her body, her mind. She isn’t ready to follow their rules about who may live and who must die, not when it condemns the innocent. She has one option. Risk losing everything and everyone, including Jamie, and run.
Evie knows they're coming. The Affinity Project who monitor those with genetically engineered DNA are set to descend upon Evie, harvesting her memories to find her brother Aiden. After bleeding life back into her twin, Evie needs to prove he is no longer a threat to best friend Kitty but being detained in a secure facility means breaking her twin out. But freeing Aiden comes at a price, deceiving both Miriam and Jamie while Kitty is used as bait. 

The Affinity Project are the silent hunter and Evie now faces a life on the run. While her decision means Aiden's freedom, it also means that Evie's loved ones will face Affinity, tortured and held accountable for her actions. Evie will face the ultimate decision, to betray those who have kept her safe or abandon the brother she barely knows.

Kelly's Thoughts

Stray was explosive! Superhero teens with strength, speed and skill beyond the realm of human DNA. They walk among us, belonging to a ruthless organisation simply known as The Infinity Project, abiding by their rules in order to survive. Evie is a Spark, an engineered protector who only recently learnt that her life has been a lie. Her mother isn't who she thought she was and now Evie has a twin brother, locked away after his attempt on Kitty's life, Evie's best friend who she was created to protect. But as Evie's blood helped breathe life back into Aidan, Evie also believes it has deactivated his urge to harm Kitty and knows the only way to keep him safe is to prove he is no longer a threat. Not an easy task while he is currently behind bars. 

True to her nature, Evie is selfless and to free Aidan, she must challenge everything she's been taught and betray both Miriam and Jamie, Kitty's brother and the boy who is destined to be with another. In Stray, Evie faces even greater challenges. She is now being tracked by The Affinity Project, so her controversial relationship with Jamie is on the verge of potentially destroying them both. Readers also learn more about Affinity, the secret organisation that treats those with the unique DNA sequence as mere objects, to manipulate, to control and to do their bidding. Evie is now faster, illegally trained and in order to help Aidan escape and his survival, is forced to take Affinity on... And win. 

The Final Verdict

Stray is by far more emotional than it's predecessor. I fell in love, then fell apart as the storyline completely unravelled before me. It was glorious and beautifully written. This series gathers strength with each installment, setting the scene for Evie and the spic showdown against those who believe they can control her. They're sorely mistaken. It's epic and demands to be read.

29 comments

  1. Yay! I'm so glad you found this a thrilling read, Kelly! I've been seeing this a lot on Australian blogs, and I LOVE the comer's simplistic awesomeness. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cover is so awesome! The spines of the series line up to show a completed image as well. how cool is that! The series is incredible, the superhero is strong in this one.

      Delete
  2. Wowsers, thank you so much Kell. I feel very spoilt and I'm just rapt that you loved it. Bless your cotton socks! <3 <3 <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rach, it truly was incredible ❤ Now let the nagging for Shield begin.

      Delete
  3. Damn. Why don't I know about these books?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You do now Joy. You need this series in your life. It's fast, furious and incredible. It gathers strength with each installment too.

      Delete
  4. Great post Kelly (and Rachael)!!
    I'm SO EXCITED that Stray is out! Now everyone can find out exactly why Stray ended up in the timeout corner :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not surprised Cassie, my goodness how emotional was it! Oh how my heart ached!

      Delete
  5. What a fun post Kelly! To be honest, you had me at superheroes. The fact of the matter is, aside from bingeing one whole season of Gotham, I am still craving some superhuman-power-non-stop-action-entertainment and this series looks promising. I'll have to get started on book one though considering this is book two! Why have I not heard of this series!? Regardless, great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well look no further Claudia, this is definitely the series for you! It's a little bit Xmen, a little superhero action, swoony romance and a strong female friendship. It's super intense and highly emotional too. I'd love to see what you think of it.

      Delete
    2. I'm adding it to my Christmas list :P

      Delete
  6. YAY I absolutely loved this post, Kelly - and Rachael - loved your guest post <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd love this series Britt, it's incredible!

      Delete
  7. EEEE I am excited! I saw this at my local today but I forgot to bring my wallet so I couldn't buy it. I am totally going back tomorrow. So happy to see that the series will flesh out its characters and world more, I was a wee bit disappointed with the info dump in Spark - but everything I have read on the internet assures me Stray is the superior successor!

    Aentee at Read at Midnight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had issues with the big blocks of information in Spark too Aentee, but so happy to report that there's none of that in Stray. It's bigger, bolder and more explosive. I loved it. Passionately. I do hope you grab a copy soon, I;d love to see what you think of it.

      Delete
  8. Eeeeep!! How have I not heard of this series yet? Must. get. on. it. ASAP!!! Thanks for the review Kelly :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've never heard of Spark? Tracey, where have you been? It's only the hottest series in Aussie young adult at the moment. Oh, you need to grab a copy and join the #SparkArmy as soon as possible.

      Delete
  9. You should name your fandom Sparklers. :D Wow, though, this sounds great! And to know the sequel is even better than the first book... that is very encouraging.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that name was thrown up at one point, but it makes us sound like a dance troupe. The sequel is completely full of kickassery, even more so than book one. It's one of those books I recommend to everyone, even those who don't normally read science fiction. It's one of those cross genre series that appeals to everyone.

      Delete
  10. Awwwww what a lovely post <3 And Rachael definitely deserves every five-star rating she gets!! I absolutely LOVED Stray - so much more explosive than Spark, for sure :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Completely agree Em. It was absolutely incredible! And she's so humble and the amount of time she spends with us all, chatting it up on Twitter too. She's by far the most sociable author I've met. I hope Walker Books can bring her over for the series finale so we can all engage in group hugs and cake.

      Delete
  11. That last gif is the cutest thing ever. Great review, Kelly, and what a fab guest post. I'm sure it's amazing to be an author and see that people truly love your work and are willing to create art around it and write amazing things and generally be supportive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Rach has such passionate supporters, myself included. I absolutely adore this series Lauren. You're library might even be able to order in a copy. I'd love to see what you think of it.

      Delete
  12. This series sounds amazing, Kelly! I need more awesome sci fi books and the fact that it's from an Australian author makes me want to read the book even more. Evie sounds like a great character and if this book is even better than the previous one (such a rarity!), then I know I'm in for a treat. I need to find a way to get these books here in the US.
    Great review, Kelly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rachael Craw is actually from New Zealand, but they're practically Aussies anyway. It's amazing Nick. Evie is an incredible character, she's touch but has such humility and likability. They're definitely available on Amazon if you have a Kindle.

      Delete
  13. Awesome review Kelly! It was so great to get to hear more about The Affinity Project in this book, and all the character relationships/action made it a thrilling read. WOW is all I can say :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Glad to hear you enjoyed this one Kelly! Spark is somewhere near the top of my TBR list at the moment, I'm hoping to get to it later this month. I have a feeling I'll be reading Stray straight after it!

    - Wattle @ Whimsical Nature

    ReplyDelete
  15. I completely agree, this one was freaking epic wasn't it? So many twists and turns and ACTION! Loved the guest post from Rachael, she's just such a big supporter of us bloggers and readers and in turn, we just shout about her book from the rooftops.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I remember when the first book came out last year and you guys were all talking about it :') I wish someone would buy the rights and bring this series here already! I've wanted to read the first book since I heard about it and now y'all are making the sequel sound even better.

    I WANTS SOME SUPERHERO TEENS AND SWOONY BOYS IN MY LIFE. *sighs*

    Fantastic review, Kelly <3

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

    ReplyDelete

© Diva Booknerd. Design by Fearne.