Book Review - Avoiding Alpha

Avoiding Alpha
Author: Aileen Erin
Series: Alpha Girl #2
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 14th May 2014
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 290
Source: Review Copy - Ink Monster LLC
Rating: 
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Seventeen-year-old Tessa McCaide has come a long way since her abrupt entrance into the world of werewolves, but she still has a way to go before she’s comfortable with going full-wolf. So, she’s avoiding thinking about it any way she can. Thankfully her hot mate, Dastien Larent, is proving to be quite the distraction.

But when she finds her suitemate getting sick in their bathroom, she knows something’s majorly wrong. The curse on Meredith that suppresses her wolf is slowly killing her, and Tessa can't sit idly by while her best friend wastes away. Going against her pack Alpha, Mr. Dawson, by playing with magic she doesn't fully understand might not be her smartest move, but Tessa has never been one to follow the rules. She'll break every one if it’ll give her a chance at saving Meredith. But can she save her friend without losing more of herself?

After I'd finished Becoming Alpha last year, I was never completely sure that I would want to continue with the series, I felt it had a lot of room to grow and develop, with Tessa being both half wolf and half magical, and her relationship with Dastien being a little rocky at the beginning, so it was a huge surprise when I impulsively requested Avoiding Alpha off NetGalley the moment it hit the shelves and ended up getting it, not to mention the odd feeling of excitement I got deep in the pit of my stomach.

Everything that I feel could have been improved upon in this novel from the previous installment was taken on board and completely changed. Gone was naive, whiney and mopey Tessa and in came strong, independent and powerful Tessa who valued her friends and her families life before her own, was dedicated and carried something through right until the end and had that wonderful sense of humour she had in the previous novel hidden; everything I disliked about Tessa was almost completely eradicated and I thoroughly enjoyed getting my own way on that front of the book. As if that wasn't enough, the relationship between herself and Dastien was so much better in this installment than in Becoming Alpha; I was disappointed on how Erin had created the 'mates for life' to introduce some insta-lovey thing between these two characters, but their relationship became much more genuine in this installment, Dastien was more tuned in to Tessa's anxiety and uneasiness about going furry, while Tessa began to believe that Dastien really did want to be with her. When you take away that fact that he bit her and turned her into a wolf because she was his 'destined mate', their relationship is really quite realistic, Dastien isn't dominant or has control over Tessa which I really like about this series and it allowed them to develop together, which only made their sweet moments all the more sweeter.

Much like the first installment though, I did have a few problems. Once again, the plot was highly predictable and I had the puzzle solved by the time we were half way through, and for a girl that's meant to be intelligent, I'm surprised Tessa didn't get it sooner. Predictability to one side and sweet romances between Tessa and Dastien and Meredith and Donovon, my biggest problem with this book was how quickly it was over. I remember when I read Becoming Alpha and it took me a few days, but this book was larger and it took me under two hours, I don't know if it's because I read much quicker now or whether the pace of the book was just that quick that I flew through it, but it was so distressing seeing the pages vanish before my eyes much quicker than they had previously. For such a predictable storyline, I would have liked much more development in the witch/magic side of things so I could understand Tessa's heritage and so it could prepare me for the final installment in October and more connection to family like there was in the first installment and just something more other than sexual tension, funny banter filled friendships and Tessa being given a handful of books.

Overall, I do think this installment was much better than the previous novel. It felt shorter and was read quicker, and the plot stability was much the same, but the character development and relationships and alliances that were built were much better, and the simplest of details in the novel impressed me like the connection between wolf and witch and the talents that came with that gift, not to mention the amount of cheese in this novel, but I like my cheese very much, so I really didn't mind. I've become quite invested and attached the characters in this series and the writing style, so I'll most definitely be trying to finish this series later this year; I'm expected a good finale Erin, please don't let me down..