Avoiding Alpha

I absolutely adored the first novel in this series, Becoming Alpha, so I had to see what happened next.
This novel focused on the fact that Tessa’s best friend, Meredith, has become sick because her wolf is fighting the curse that the witches placed on her. And if Tessa can’t find a way to quiet her wolf, her best friend will die. This novel takes place over merely a day, but it seemed so much longer than that. Tessa does a lot of dangerous things in this novel to find help, and with all of it going on, I found myself frequently forgetting that it all happened in one day. Erin was able to draw this day out extremely long—and she did it very well. By the end of the novel, she had me crossing my fingers in suspense of what would happen.
Tessa was the leading lady in this novel, as she was in the previous one. In this novel, she comes to learn more about her witchy heritage. She travels to the coven and learns more about magic in this novel than the last. But she is also having trouble controlling her wolf—she is hesitant to shift and it’s something that she struggles with for the duration of the novel. In this novel, we really see Tessa’s selfless side—she is willing to risk anything and everything to save her best friend. It made me love her character even more.
Dastien would be considered the main male protagonist in this novel. Dastien was the rock in this novel, always there for Tessa for support, even though he was dealing with the impending Tribunal. We didn’t see quite as much of him in this novel, seeing as the main focus was Meredith and Tessa. But he was there and as calming as ever.
There wasn’t too much romance in this novel, again because the main focus was helping Meredith. But Tessa and Dastien did have their moments, which was nice. They got along with each other just as well as they did in the previous novel, with both of them being pretty Alpha but getting along well because they love each other. I wish there would have been more romance simply because I love this couple so much, but that being said, I didn’t really even realize the lack of it until I was finished reading: the plot was that captivating.
This novel revolves around Meredith and calming her wolf. We finally get Meredith’s story about her curse in this novel, which was something that I had been wondering about after reading the previous novel. We also get a glimpse into Meredith’s love life, which was interesting to say the least. We learned a lot more about Meredith’s back-story in this novel.
Avoiding Alpha was another fantastically written and engaging novel from Aileen Erin. It hinted towards the Tribunal, which is hopefully what the next installment will be about. This novel was as great read and I couldn’t recommend this series more highly.

Avoiding Alpha by Aileen Erin is the 2nd book, or technically novella, in The Alpha Girls series. I reviewed the first story in the series Becoming Alpha some months back and I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait for this one to come out. I have had it on my Amazon wish list ready to purchase on Tuesday May 13th when it comes out since it was posted on the site. Then I was doing my daily check on NetGalley for new books to request and there it was! I clicked request so fast. Then later in the day while I was at work, on lunch when I was finally able to read my e-mails, I saw I had been approved for this book, 1 week early. My lunch comrades maybe had some concerns about my mental health that day given my squeal of excitement, happy dance in my chair, and my high pitched and speedy explanation to which they were still clueless but just moved right along.

I admit though there was a larger reason for my excitement, not only had I been approved for Avoiding Alpha but the other book set to release the same day which I also was super excited for sent me a pre-approved to read notice. Score 2 books I was dying to read a week early. Then my biggest problem was figuring out which to read first, and that I had to wait until I got home as there was no wi-fi at work, and let's be honest I wouldn’t have been too focused on work if I had started during lunch. So thank you to NetGalley and Ink Monster for letting me read and review this ARC. Spoilers ahead for book 1, just in case that wasn't clear.

We left Tessa at St. Ailbe's Academy where she has been through a lot but is adapting to her new life as a werewolf, if she is holding off on the whole going wolf part. She is still learning and slowly adapting to things. She went from being a girl who couldn’t touch things or people without seeing their life in her mind to being able to control that, having a powerful alpha mate, who sort of made her a were wolf, which broke a lot of rules. Yep, just a normal day. While Tessa and her sexy wolfy mate Dastien prepare for the Tribunal, yeah biting someone to make them a wolf is a big no no. Made worse by the fact that she is part witch and the coven isn't very happy they took one of theirs, even if she had never met them. That issue is set aside when Tessa's best friend Meredith starts to get sick, she had been cursed by the coven years ago but now her wolf is awake and its making her sick. She doesn't have long. Tessa is determined to find a way to help her best friend, even willing to deal with things she doesn't quite understand and make a deal with the devil.

This book had all the things that made me fall in love with the first book. The connection between Tessa and Dastien is steamy, yowza. I like all the different characters and the way the pack interacts, it's not based on age or experience but on power which is an interesting dynamic. Being there as Tessa struggles with the possibility of losing her first real friend was heart breaking. I read this book start to finish in a couple of hours. It was shorter than the first book, and now that I type the review I see it listed as a novella on Goodreads, so that probably explains it. Either way this is a great addition to the series and you won't be able to put it down. I easily give this book 5 Stars! Don't forget to check out both books, Avoiding Alpha comes out tomorrow Tuesday May 13th. Also heads up book 3 Alpha Divided is already available for pre-order on Amazon and comes out October 14th, which as far as most books go that is a short wait period.