Book Review: The Hit by Melvin Burgess

The Hit

Melvin Burgess

304 Pages

Published February 25th, 2014

Live the ultimate high. Pay the ultimate price. The shocking return to YA by the author of SMACK.
A new drug is on the street. Everyone's buzzing about it. Take the hit. Live the most intense week of your life. Then die. It's the ultimate high at the ultimate price. Adam thinks it over. He's poor, and doesn't see that changing. Lizzie, his girlfriend, can't make up her mind about sleeping with him, so he can't get laid. His brother Jess is missing. And Manchester is in chaos, controlled by drug dealers and besieged by a group of homegrown terrorists who call themselves the Zealots. Wouldn't one amazing week be better than this endless, penniless misery? After Adam downs one of the Death pills, he's about to find out.

When I first received The Hit for review I was so excited to dig into it and see what this deadly drug was all about. While the book was an entertaining read, I did have my issues. Questions kept popping up in my head, and none of them were really answered, or were answered poorly. For example.. I just didn't find the story all that realistic. How can this tin little pill create the BEST week of your life, all before killing you?! You'd think it'd be out of your system by then or would have killed you sooner, right? What's even weirder is that it's exactly one week later the user dies, like, down to the minute. Just hard for me to believe.

The only other issue I had was that Adam was completely annoying and a total jerk. All he cared about was committing crimes and doing as many selfish things as he could in his last days of life. I understand that he really wanted to live it up, but couldn't he have had some better things on his bucket list? Swim in the ocean or climb a mountain or something like that? Not sleep with multiple women at once, get someone pregnant and kill someone? His character annoyed me so much that it made it hard to enjoy the story because I kept getting so bored with it.

The plot was pretty predictable but still enjoyable. We have the story of Adam and his ride with Death, and we have the undergoing plot line of the zealots and the revolution they are trying to begin. Chaos is rampant and it's clear that the government has pretty much ruined the country, though we never do figure out how this started or exactly what was going on behind the scenes. I liked all the non-stop action with Christian (the craziest character I've read about in a while!) and the zealots. Hope crept into my veins every time an antidote was mentioned, even though people kept denying the possibility of one.

Though this book irked me at times, I don't regret reading it. There was a lot of issues but the general premise was good and the plot interesting enough to almost override my issues with it. Though definitely not a favorite, I'd still recommend it to certain groups, particularly teenage boys who may relate with the main character a bit more than I did.

Book Review: Anything To Have You by Paige Harbison

Anything To Have You

Paige Harbison

304 Pages

Published January 28th, 2014

Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie—the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens—one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.

I loved this book at times and I hated this book at times. There was tons of dramatic situations we are exposed to that kept me flipping the pages, due to a high interest level. However , annoying characters made the interest dwindle over time, and I found myself shaking my head at how stupid teenagers could be.

Brooke was the loud friend. She didn't care about school all that much, just wanted to climb the ladder of popularity. Yeah, I know that it's common for teens to feel insecure about themselves and desperately want to be popular.. but really... this girl is awful. She's pretty sluttish, going after every boy she sees, even though she has a boyfriend that she treats pretty bad, if you ask me. She was rude and controlling when it came to her best friend, Natalie.. overall I really didn't like Brooke, even when she was being funny.

Natalie was an iffy character for me as well, though I could enjoy her more than Brooke. She was shy and had the potential to be popular, but unlike other teens she didn't really care. That I DID like - she was her own person. However.. she's a bit of a pushover. She lets Brooke walk all over her and boss her around like she's her parent. when she should have been standing up for herself.

Aiden... even though he's technically a cheater with a bit of an angry streak, I really liked him.. he's the only character in the book I liked. He seemed to be a sweetheart and I liked watching his and Nat's relationship grow and evolve. They had similar interests that really helped pull them together, and their romance is what redeemed this book for me.. without them getting together I probably would've hated this book completely.

While Anything To Have You has its' fair share of issues, there were things I loved as well. A fast paced plot filled with high stakes drama kept me engaged and satisfied me in the long run.

Book Review: The Cellar By Nashua Preston

The Cellar

Nashua Preston

386 Pages

Expected Publication: March 1st, 2014

When sixteen-year-old Summer Robinson goes missing one night, her family, friends and boyfriend are devastated. Nothing ever happens in Long Thorpe, so the disappearance of a school girl shocks the whole community. The police waste no time in launching a search and investigation, but with nothing to go on and no trace of Summer, hopes of finding her quickly fade.
Colin Brown, is a thirty-year-old solicitor living alone after the death of his mother. He suffered a traumatic and abusive childhood, and is left with no sense of right or wrong. Desperate for the perfect family, Colin, referring to himself as Clover, turns to drastic measures to get what he wants.

Have you ever been so engrossed in a book, so terrified by the words you were reading that you couldn't put it down, no matter how many feelings you were being hit with? The Cellar has me feeling just like this throughout the entire freaking book! I almost feel guilty saying I enjoyed this book, as it left me feeling so emotionally wrong. After the last page commenced I just sat there, staring off into space lost in my thoughts. The story the Preston composed has me feeling the entire rainbow of emotions, from hope to fear to burning hot anger. 

The story starts off fast, not letting us get to know our main character, Summer all too well before she is snatched by a man she's never seen before, who calls himself Clover. She's thrust into a cellar, though it wasn't the type of cellar that I was expecting. Instead of a cold, dingy basement she's forced into a bright and cheery downstairs with 3 other girls, a cellar that smells strongly of lemon disinfectant and other cleaners. Their captor is a madman who's head isn't on quite straight.. more like on backwards. He's obsessed with cleanliness and keeping young girls clean and "pure". He goes on late night killing rampages, targeting prostitutes and any girl who dresses skimpy or acts less than ladylike. Though he always acts polite around the general populace, he has an angry side to him that made him terrifying, and oh so dangerous.

The most interesting part of the story for me was getting to know the other girls. Rose.. she got on my nerves at first but as the story progresses, I see why she is so different from the other girls. While Summer, who was renamed Lily during her 8 month stay in the cellar, desperately wanted to get out and return home, Rose seemed to have given up all hope of ever leaving.. she'd already been his captive for years. Hell, sometimes she seemed happy, like she genuinely cared for the monster who kept her imprisoned. After some back story it becomes clear that they'd originally been in a relationship, before he threw her int he cellar to be his forever.

Next we have Violet.. poor Violet. She's more feisty than the other girls, the only one that Lily could actually relate to. She wants nothing more than to escape the cellar, and this is what often gets her in trouble with Clover. She isn't afraid to challenge him.. but challenging a beast like him often comes with some pretty harsh consequences.

Then there was Poppy, who seemed defeated at times, but nowhere near as badly as Rose. I feel like if fear wouldn't have been holding her back so much, she might've planned an escape with Lily, but she was just too terrified. Though she willingly did his bidding, it was clear that she still had her head on straighter than Rose, and was still able to think for herself.

My blood boiled every time Clover walked into the room. He was so vile and nasty, so delusional in thinking that these girls were his family. Watching him unwind and spiral out of control as the authorities came closer and closer to discovering him and his nasty lifestyle terrified me. I started this book at 10pm and by 1am I was finished, stunned into silence. The intensity of this read wasn't something I was prepared for, so be sure you're ready for some pretty intense feels and a long sit when you pick up this one!

 

Book Review: The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

The Almost Girl

Amalie Howard

416 Pages

Published January 7th, 2014

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.
Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.
Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren’t always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

I was pretty afraid of suffering mass disappointment from this title due to reading quite a few not so positive and overall "meh" reviews. This worried me a bit, as Strange Chemistry is known for publishing some of the most intense, thought provoking, action-packed stories out there. Discouraged, I put this one off foe a few weeks, only to finally push aside the negative reviews and give it a try myself. The Almost Girl was just like any other title published by Strange Chemistry: different, action-filled and super duper awesome.

Riven (love the name!) is a teenage girl, but she isn't like anyone from your average high school. She's from an entirely different world, one ravaged by war and disease, filled with danger lurking in every corner. Due to these harsh living conditions, Riven is understandably tough, as well as pretty damn calm and collected. On the exterior she seems cold and heartless, completely devoid of any love and emotion. Though this is an area she struggles with, I was happy to see that she actually did have feelings, and she did have her own unique weaknesses. Without these things, Riven would have been a character that was hard to relate to, but the author did a nice job of making her just real enough, just human enough for me to enjoy and really relate to.

Her latest mission as a general is to travel to Earth in search of a boy named Caden, who is rumored to be the clone to the prince of Nesposes, the city that Riven resides in. However, things get a bit hairy, and it takes her longer than anticipated to locate this target. Everything changes along the way and she finds herself drawn to this boy who makes her feel things she tries desperately to push aside, things that make her feel weak and inadequate. I really enjoyed the character of Caden and how he brought out both the best and worst in Riven. Their relationship is far from insta-love, which pleased me greatly. It's a slow burn with many bumps along the rode before the could finally be together, but the chemistry between them was intense, even if Riven tried to deny it being there.

The Almost Girl was an intense read, and lots of blood was spilled throughout the pages. Things got real and shit hit the fan fast, everything moving at a gallop. I loved turning the pages as fast as possible, trying to keep up with all that was going on in these two worlds. There is politics, treachery and tons of lies and betrayal, with everyone in one huge power struggle. Needless to say.. this book rocked my world and blew me away, and I ended up really enjoying it despite some of the not so grand things I had heard about it. Just goes to show that not everyone will look at a story in the same way.

Book Review: Anyone But You by Kim Askew & Amy Helmes

Anyone But You

Kim Askew & Amy Helmes

222 Pages

Published January 1st, 2014

These violent delights have violent ends...
Gigi Caputo is fed up. A vicious act of vandalism has dealt another blow to her family's proud pizza heritage, and the Montes--owners of a rival Italian restaurant--are clearly to blame. The hostility goes far beyond bragging rights for best pizza in Chicago. The Montes have been bent on destroying Cap's for four generations. Even if it means putting herself in harm's way, Gigi's determined to get to the bottom of the feud. Instead, in a secret encounter with Roman Monte, the very boy whose relatives have brought her family such grief, she finds both danger and love at first sight. If the daughter and son of these two warring families fall for each other, can it be anything but a recipe for disaster? Slowly, Gigi and Roman learn that their story is fatefully linked to the summer of 1933, when two twelve-year-olds, Benny and Nick, hop the turnstile at the Chicago World's Fair. The most stunning wonder of the fair is Stella, who innocently causes a lasting rift between the two boyhood. Wending its way through past and present day, this modern take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is bittersweet, funny, and intensely exciting. It's classic romance--a tale of hate and the only force that can ever defeat it: love.

I'm a big fan of retellings, though I don't read nearly enough of them. Though I've seen plenty movie adaptions and retellings for this classic tale, Romeo and Julier, I think this is the first I've actually sat down to read. The similarities were quite eerie, with the last names of the family bearing a healthy resemblance. Our main character is Gigi Caputo, a teenage girl who helps out in the family pizzeria. Decades ago this family restaurant began, and for as long as anyone can remember, they have been at war with the Montes, another Italian family who owns a pizza shop in their small town. In fact, the feud has been going on so long no one is quite sure what started it all.

Through some interesting circumstances, Gigi finds herself meeting a handsome boy her age who goes by the name of Roman. Sparks fly instantly and before she knows it she is falling for this boy she barely knew: a very strong sense of insta-love here. Normally this is something I hate, but I was prepared and saw it coming since, after all, this is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the biggest inst-love story of all time. It's not until she's already attached to him that she discovers he's a member of the Monte clan, one of her sworn enemies. Obviously her family freaks, and the story goes from there.

Throughout the book the couple battle for the right to be together, all while trying to solve the mystery that is the feud between their families. The book alternates between past and present, and I really liked slowly finding out why the feud began in the first place. I saw it coming long before it was revealed, but it was still a fun ride. We also get to see financial hardship and a lot of pressing times on the Caputo side, and the whole time I had my fingers crossed that they'd somehow manage to pull through.

Gigi and Roman were both decent characters, though I preferred Roman more. I loved how sweet he was, how he'd do anything to stay with Gig: and he was such a gentleman! Gigi was good too, though a bit whiny at times and pushy. As a teen girl under a fair share of stress though, this was understandable and didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story all that much. Anyone But You was short and sweet, a great reminder of why I need to pick up more retellings in the future.

Book Review: Why We Took The Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Why We Took The Car

Wolfgang Herrndorf

256 Pages

Published January 7tth, 2014

A beautifully written, darkly funny coming-of-age story from an award-winning, bestselling German author making his American debut.
Mike Klingenberg doesn't get why people think he's boring. Sure, he doesn't have many friends. (Okay, zero friends.) And everyone laughs at him when he reads his essays out loud in class. And he's never invited to parties - including the gorgeous Tatiana's party of the year.
Andre Tschichatschow, aka Tschick (not even the teachers can pronounce his name), is new in school, and a whole different kind of unpopular. He always looks like he's just been in a fight, his clothes are tragic, and he never talks to anyone.
But one day Tschick shows up at Mike's house out of the blue. Turns out he wasn't invited to Tatiana's party either, and he's ready to do something about it. Forget the popular kids: Together, Mike and Tschick are heading out on a road trip. No parents, no map, no destination. Will they get hopelessly lost in the middle of nowhere? Probably. Will they meet crazy people and get into serious trouble? Definitely. But will they ever be called boring again?
Not a chance.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from Why We Took The Car, but it sure was a surprising read. The story starts off hard and fast, with our main character, 14 year old Mike, being interrogated by the police. He's clearly badly injured and immediately tons of questions popped into my mind. Why is he hurt? How badly? What is such a young kid doing at the police station? What the heck did he do to land himself in such a serious situation?!

Sadly, my questions weren't answered for quite some time.. and I think that was the big beef I had with this book. I don't tend to be the most patient person, and I was a little ticked off and quite confused when the story shifted to a completely different area of this kids life. We're lead on to see how his life was before, for much of his childhood. We get probably over a third through the story before we even get a hint of what started this journey, why he and Tshick stole a car and how they wound up at the police station and eventually the hospital.

Once we finally get the ball moving, Why We Took The Car was a fairly decent coming of age story. The writing style was simple and pleasant, and you could really tell that it was told from the point of view of a young teenage boy. Many of the things.. ok.. pretty much everything, Mike did was pretty stupid, but hey, that's how a lot of youngsters are, eh? It was a bit weird that he just went along with what Tshick said without much questioning, but I decided not to be bothered by that. Instead, I let myself be swept along with them on their road trip across Germany.

Things moved pretty fast in the second half of the book, the two boys always on the run from any cops they caught a glimpse of. Some pretty strange stuff ended up going down, some of which wasn't all that believable, but still.. awesomely strange things always happen in road trip stories. Though lots of self reflection happened on the part of Mike, I didn't witness too much character growth, which disappointed me a bit. After all the reflecting her had done, I was hoping for him to think more highly of himself. Even at the end of the book he was hung up on how "boring" he was. Judging by his recent trip, I'd say he was anything but boring.

Though not a favorite of mine, Why We Took the Car was still an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. If you're looking for a crazy story full of thrills and silliness, sit down with this one and be prepared for something truly unique.

Book Review: Angelbound by Christina Bauer

 Angelbound

Christina Bauer

532 Pages

Published December 17th, 2013

Eighteen year old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your every day quasi-demon, half-demon and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she hasn’t lost a battle yet.
But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren’t enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla’s school, she knows that things are changing and it’s not looking good for the quasi-demons. Myla starts to question everything, and doesn’t like the answers she finds. What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won’t anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla’s not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla’s going to shake up Purgatory.

Myla wasn't your average, everyday character. She was a hybrid of sorts; part demon, part human and part something she isn't yet aware of. She was completely spunky, sarcastic and strong, and I loved her to pieces. Though she isn't aware of her roots when the story begins, going along with her down the path of discovery was a thrilling and ultimately shocking ride.

Myla lives for battle and fighting, often being summoned to a place called the arena, a special are where souls are either banished to hell or released to heaven. It's Myla's job to keep the bad guys being sent to where they belong, though each battle is a matter of life and death. She's ruthless and skilled far beyond her years, having been training for much of her life. Though her mother is overbearing and protective at times, not feeling comfortable with the constant chance of her daughter's death, she was overall a supportive key character.

When everything about the world she knows begins sliding away from her, Myla knows she must dig in deep and throw herself into the action. Along the way she discovers who she really is, learns the dark past that is her family history, kicks plenty of demon ass and even hooks up with a steaming hot Thrax boy named Lincoln, who also happens to be a prince.

Lincoln seemed so so dreamy to me. Though he starts out arrogant and cocky, as many male main characters seemed to, he grows on you so quickly. Deep down he's sweet and had his heart in the right place, putting the greater good of his world high up on his priority list. Though he was only a prince, in my mind he already should have inherited the throne.

Angelbound was a unique twist on a number of different plot points. There are angels, demons and so much more that intertwine together to create a fascinating set of characters in a mystical land much like our own, but at the same time so very different. A definite winner in my book, this is one you won't want to put down.

Book Review: Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Secret Lies

Amy Dunne

288 Pages

Published December 16th, 2013

Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love?
Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance.
Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and her seemingly perfect life.
Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened?

When Nicola flees from her home, terrified of being murdered at the hand of her cruel abuser, she thinks life is over as she knows it. Understandably she feels lost, confused and depressed. Thinking no one cares for her, she has no plan in mind except to escape. Everything changes when she runs into her fellow classmate, Jenny.

Jenny was a character I slowly learned to enjoy. At first she seemed just like the rest of her friends, stuck up and quick to judge - I personally hate people who act like that! Over time her true colors shine through and we get to see that she's actually kind and caring, though still a bit pushy and aggressive sometimes.

Nicola is a bit more on the timid side, taking her time before really speaking her mind. With the shady past she's had to endure, it's no wonder she can be super shy and awkward at times. I felt for her throughout the whole story, shedding tears on her behalf. Though she made her fair share of irrational decisions, in the end I really could see where she was coming from.

I wasn't expecting this to be a story about a lesbian relationship, but it was a pleasant surprise that I saw coming pretty early on in the book. I don't normally read this kind of thing but I ended up really enjoying seeing all the issues that come with a hidden relationship like this one. Their love for each other was strong, powerful enough for me to feel even though I was millions of miles away.

I was so glad that Jenny helped Nicola conquer her inner demons, and I'm glad that the bastard who hurt her finally got put away. If you're looking for a story that will rip your hear into tiny pieces but leave it patched up in the end, Secret Lies is a great story to settle down with tonight.

Book Review: Drawn by Cecilia Gray

Drawn

Cecilia Gray

Published 'December 15th, 2013

325 Pages

A wholly original tale of friendship and betrayal through the eyes – and lies – of one extraordinary girl.

Sasha has a secret – that she can make you spill your secret with nothing more than a question. Her strange gift makes her a burden to her foster family and a total freak of nature. Not that Sasha cares. Why should she when no one cares about her?
Then the CIA knocks on her door. They want to give Sasha a new identity and drop her into a foreign country to infiltrate a ring of zealous graffiti terrorists. They want to give Sasha something to care about.
To survive a world where no one is who they seem, Sasha needs to make people trust her. But when that trust blossoms into love, Sasha is forced to decide between duty and friendship, between her mind and her heart, and whether to tell the truth or keep her secrets.

Sasha is a girl with a gift, one that she sees as more of a curse. She has the unique ability to make people speak the truth - whether they like it or not. Growing up, this obviously causes some problems. She's seen as a freak, has difficulty connecting with anybody, and isn't the tightest with her foster family. Just as she thinks she's doomed to a life full of misery, Sasha gets a visit from the CIA and her life is changed forever.

In Drawn, Sasha has a new life. She works for the CIA, helping to solve difficult cases. Her specialty is making criminals spill the beans, no matter how terrible a crime they committed. When she is relocated to a new country for her biggest case yet, Sasha is both terrified and excited. She resides with a new temporary family, befriended the daughter who has no idea who she really is.

With a sensitive case that puts her in a number of awkward situations, Sasha finds out more about herself than she ever thought possible. Friendships are forged and boundaries are pushed, and for the first time ever, she finds herself siding with the criminal. Watching and reading about her internal struggles was different than many of the other books I read, but I really did enjoy getting deep into her thoughts.

There were cool comic strips at the beginning of chapters that I feel added a really nice touch. Sasha loved to draw and the story revolved around all things art. Everything was intertwined perfectly, and while I wasn't too keen on the story in the first few pages, things quickly changed for me. Drawn was a unique story that left me thinking about our world and many of the issues surrounding it.

Book Review: Becoming Alpha by Aileen Erin

Becoming Alpha

Aileen Erin

Published December 17th, 2013

273 Pages

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, givingher 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

Tessa is a seemingly normal teenage girl. She has an average, ordinary life doing all the things that normal teens her age do. However, gripping visions that she can't control have made her life strained and difficult. Pretty much anything she touches sends her off to la-la land, a place where she sees far more than she ever would have liked. Avoiding people and such has gotten her a bad reputation as a freak who's up to no good, so her family packs up and moves to Texas in hopes of helping her find he footing and shed her bad rep. However, their new town hides many secrets.. including a pack of werewolf's

Though most people in the town seem to be completely aware of this, Tessa isn't let in on the big secret, and winds up receiving her first kiss from a handsome boy named Dastien, who attends a school for the trouble called St. Alibe's. When things get hot and heavy, a rough bite to her skin transforms both her and her life forever. Tessa was now one of them.

I liked both Tessa and Dastien a lot. Though they are both unsure at times and completely awkward around each other, it was obvious how they truly felt. Though Tessa is understandably reluctant to welcome him back into her life after the pain he caused her, I loved watching them slowly fall deeper and deeper in love, despite many obstacles.

Getting deep into the world of magic, visions and werewolves was a thrilling ride that I didn't want to end. Erin does a great job painting pictures in my mind, and at times I felt like I was right there with Tess and Dastien. Becoming Alpha was a great first installment to what I'm sure will be an intriguing series.

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