Summary

Tessa McCaide has a unique talent for getting into trouble. Then again, it isn’t easy for a girl with visions to ignore what she sees. Luckily Tessa and her family are leaving California and moving halfway across the country, giving her the perfect opportunity to leave her reputation as “Freaky Tessa” behind.

But Tessa doesn’t realize that kissing the wrong guy in her new Texas town could land her in far more trouble than she ever imagined. Like being forced to attend St. Ailbe’s Academy, a secret boarding school for werewolves.

Even if the wrong guy did accidentally turn her into one of “them” and doom her to attending the weirdest high school ever, Tessa can’t help her growing attraction to the mysterious Dastien Laurent.

When vampires attack St. Alibe’s and her visions pinpoint an enemy in their midst, Tessa realizes that boy drama and her newfound canine tendencies might just be the least of her problems.

Review

Becoming Alpha is an interesting story that unfolds before the readers eyes. Tessa, the main character, quite literally becomes and alpha, but much more happens alongside that. Not to be confused, she wasn’t exactly normal to begin with.

I have been recently re- obsessed with werewolf novels. I read myself sick of them a few months back, but I am so happy I chose Becoming Alpha to catapult myself back into the sub-genre.

A pattern I seem to find myself having is my need for strong female leads in the novels I read, and let me tell you Aileen delivers in this area. Tessa is not only a strong, independent character with a mind and mouth of her own, she is also the strongest female in the sense of her furry powers as an alpha.

The plot in Becoming Alpha is strange and I must say pretty left field for the stereotypical werewolf novel so that I was extremely and pleasantly surprised. The general plot is similar to others including the typical love interest, but once you get into the story and dig deep inside the web Aileen spun for the audience, there are so many details that set this novel apart. Not only does Tessa have to deal with becoming a werewolf, along with the family issues that presents, like I mentioned before she was not normal to begin with and neither is her family. Without giving away the big reveal, she has much more on her plate than werewolves.

Thinking back on this novel, I cannot put my finger on one element that I would change or wish was added. Becoming Alpha was the perfect length for me. While the number of pages was on the smaller side, the story lasted forever with excellent character development. The audience could experience Tessa grow and learn in the strange new world she was thrust into.

Reviewed by Rachel Keane

Series: Alpha Girl
Paperback: 404 pages
Publisher: Ink Monster (November 1, 2013)

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