REVIEW: Becoming Alpha by Aileen Erin

Book 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.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Seventeen year old Tessa has grown up with the gift of sight. Her touch reveals to her the persons past events. Because of this “gift” Tessa has grown up bullied and has had to change schools often. When her father is hired at a school in Texas Tessa is more than happy to start somewhere new. What starts off as a fresh start for her quickly turns to be the changing point in her life. Tessa is not normal and her encounter with Dastien will make her even more abnormal. Her world changes when she is bitten and mated.

Tessa is a pretty good character. I found myself enjoying her tenacity and her fight to be able to think for herself and to deal with this her way. No matter how connected she felt to her mate she fought to make her own way. Her reactions were normal, her mistakes were understandable, and her decision was ideal. I didn’t find anything I didn’t like about Tessa.

Now Dastien was a riddle himself. He was sweet and caring one moment and then running away the next. In the end you understood why. What made me adore his characters was his ALPHA male. His war against himself and his wolf was so intriguing. I for one found myself wanting to learn as much as I could about him and am looking forward to it in the next books.

The romance was pretty good. Tessa was not a pushover but she also wasn’t so stubborn that it made me frustrated. Even though she had no choice in loving Dastien she still fought to find the “normal” in their relationship. And although many might classify this as an insta-love story, to me it had some building of it.

Becoming Alpha is book one in this series and I for one am looking forward to reading more about Tessa and Dastien’s story.

Pick up this book and prepare for an adventurous read!

HAPPY READING!!

~BLOG TOUR: REVIEW & GIVEAWAY~ Remember When (Book #1) by T. Torrest

Title: Remember When (Remember When Trilogy)
Author: T. Torrest
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Chick-Lit
Purchase Links: Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ B &N
Tour hosted by: HaveBookWillRead

Synopsis:

Ever wonder how often Brad Pitt’s high school girlfriend must ponder jumping off a bridge? Ever think about the girl that had her hooks in George Clooney before he took off for TV stardom? How about Leonardo DiCaprio’s ex, or Johnny Depp’s first groupie, or any number of young women who got left behind when their boyfriends set off for greener pastures and eventually achieved unfathomable Hollywood fame?

My name is Layla Warren and I don’t need to wonder about any of those things. I already know. Because years before Trip Wiley could be seen on movie screens all over the world, he could be seen sitting in the desk behind me in my high school English class.

This was back in 1990, and I cite the year only to avoid dumbfounding you when references to big hair or stretch pants are mentioned. Although, come to think of it, I am from New Jersey, which may serve as explanation enough. We were teenagers then, way back in a time before anyone could even dream he’d turn into the Hollywood commodity that he is today.

In case you live under a rock and don't know who Trip Wiley is, just know that these days, he’s the actor found at the top of every casting director’s wish list. He’s incredibly talented and insanely gorgeous, the combination of which has made him very rich, very famous and very desirable.

And not just to casting directors, either.

I can’t confirm any of the gossip from his early years out in Tinseltown, but based on what I knew of his life before he was famous, I can tell you that the idea of Girls-Throwing-Themselves-At-Trip is not a new concept.

I should know. I was one of them.

And my life hasn’t been the same since.

~MY REVIEW~

“I carved out little spaces within my heart; little, lovely mausoleums where I could lock each and every one of them inside, keep the memories safe and close to me forever.”

(Thank you to the author and HaveBookWillRead for providing me with an ARC of the book!)

Remember When is set in the 80's and takes all the older readers back to a time that to most was the epitome of what life should be like. Though Layla takes us back to tell us all about Trip Wiley and his life before he became a huge star we are also taken back to a fun decade. A decade where you hung out with your friends listening to Bon Jovi or Springsteen, where big hair was the trend, and movies like Pretty Women and The Breakfast Club were the movies to watch. T. Torrest takes you back in time and makes you remember your time in the 80"s and gives the younger readers a look into the past! 

I must say it was a pretty fantastic part of the story. Now lets talk about the romance!

When Trip Wellington moves to New Jersey the whole school is intrigued with the new guy. The guys make friends with him and the girls are all swooning over him. And Layla isn't excluded from that list of girls. Although she doesn't flaunt herself around him, from the very first time they meet, her heart belong to Trip. When they are assigned a project to work on she looks forward to that time with him and gets to know him better than anyone else in school. 

But Trip is the type of guy that should be with a beautiful popular girl and Layla, although she knows she's considered popular, doesn't consider her his type. That doesn't stop them from being the best of friends and always being together. Until the project is over and Layla is forced to acknowledge that her feelings for him are much more.


That is when their relationship gets rocky and stupid mistakes are made. It is also why I became frustrated with the story. Both spend their time avoiding each other and not acknowledging that something exist between them. Something like LOVE. They are both stubborn fools and they both lose alot of time because of it. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the story but was a bit vexed with the characters at the end.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading more of this series. The characters are much older in the second book so I'm looking forward to them all grown up. 

Pick this up. Read it. Enjoy it!

HAPPY READING!!

~Sneak peek into book #2~

There was a tangible shift in the air of the room; a gripping, electrical aura that stimulated the space surrounding his presence like a gravitational pull. I’d noticed this phenomenon when watching his movies, seeing the man that had emerged from the boy I once knew, but actually being in the same room with him was an entirely different animal. Trip Wilmington had been a gorgeous teenaged boy, no question. But Trip Wiley was a gorgeous young man exuding raw, unabashed sex at every turn.
   It was only slightly impossible to remember how to breathe.

BUY Remember When 2:  Amazon UK – Amazon US – B & N

~About the Author~


T. Torrest is a New Adult fiction writer from the U.S. She has written many books, but prays that only a handful of them will ever see the light of day. Her stories are geared toward readers of any age that know how to enjoy a good laugh and a dreamy romance.
She likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. She's not much into health food, but she does enjoy talking about herself in the third person.
A lifelong Jersey girl, she currently resides there with her husband and two boys.


Connect with T.Torrest: Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

~GIVEAWAY~
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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~BLOG TOUR: REVIEW & GIVEAWAY~ Surrender to Fate by Jacelyn Rye

Title: Surrender to Fate (Fate’s Path #1)
Author: Jacelyn Rye
Genre: New Adult Romance 18+
Purchase Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

Synopsis

Some say fate holds the cards. But what if love deals the hand? No love goes untested. Ever. Indeed, true love is left to prove itself. And that is exactly where fate steps in to play the game.

For William and Sarah, that game begins with growing up, in the unspoiled mountains of Colorado. In a time and space as clear as the Rocky Mountain skies above, these young souls together learn about life, what matters most, what endures, what doesn’t, and about love. Innocent young love moves ever so surely toward lives they both can picture, lives spent loving each other in a place they know so well and cherish.

Will and Sarah are ecstatically swept away in the swells of new love. And it is in their rarefied bliss that they make the fragile promise of first love, a promise that fate will soon rock and pound into doubt, guilt, and epiphany.

Unexpected and unprepared, these young lovers are suddenly torn apart, first by distance, and then by the far greater pressures of temptation that test the very fidelity of their heart-held promise. No longer able to console each other, hold each other, touch each other, they face the inevitable decision: move on to other loves, or cling to the faith that they will someday be together, again.

Will and Sarah stare down an unknown path, sensing destiny will not wait long before it comes to take them.

Wracked with doubt, they wonder if their love was real. Caged by guilt, they both feel tempted by others intent on stealing their hearts.

Fate plays hardest when love is tested. And Will and Sarah are no exception, letting go of their happy past to embrace hope for an uncharted future. Love plays hardest when fate tests. And so it is, even through their trials of the heart, Will and Sarah never really stop loving each other. Theirs is a love so real and pure that each just wants the other to find happiness, even if it's with another.

But fate does not surrender so easily. Dealing blow upon blow, both Will and Sarah are each struck by jolting events that take them to the very edge of life, itself.

Sarah and Will hold tightly to their past, but steadfast promises begin to wane. Life continues, filled with romance, drama, and two souls yearning to understand the challenges brought with coming of age, and learning that fate is ultimately in control. What happens to love when life is on the line? Can they both relinquish control when love is on the line? Will fate even allow them to find out?

~MY REVIEW~

"Sarah, the truth is, you'll find me, wherever you are."

(Thank you to the author and Literati Author Services Inc. for providing me with an ARC!)

William and Sarah grew up being the best of friends. But as the two grow they come to realized that  the feelings they have for each other is much more than friendship. When a scary encounter makes them realize that life is too short, both reveal their feelings of each other. During their time together they make each other promises they have no doubt they will keep. Because not Margaret, Sarah's evil nemesis, or anything else can get in the way of their love.

Until the struggles of her family drives them apart.

Promising to always find each other, Sarah and William are separated by circumstances that are out of their hands. With a promise to always find their way back to each other and keep in touch, both part ways. But with distance and no communication, things change.

In California, Sarah and her family move in with old friends and there she meets Adley. At first things are just fine between both. Until Sarah is tempted by her feelings and what her body craves. Adley is sweet, loving, hardworking, and so gentle. He makes her feel like she has never felt and he also keeps away the sadness of leaving Will. But Adley doesn't only want her friendship and her body. He wants Sarah as a package, heart included. Something he knows he doesn't have. Eventually Sarah struggles with the ultimatum Adley gives her. Leave Will in the past and have a future with Adley or hold onto their love. 

In Colorado, Will has his own battle going on. With the sorrow of missing Sarah and the pressure he has to help provide for his family Will is tempted by what Margaret offers him. A chance to forget, if only for a little while. When unfortunate circumstances befall on his family Will must make the ultimate choice. Hold onto Sarah and his love for her or go forward and provide a reprieve for his family.

In Surrender to Fate we see the beginning of Will and Sarah's growing love for each other and then just when things get juicy it is ripped away from us! At first I thought it was just frustrating. Not to mention that I was already turned off with the lack of connection to Will and the copious details that the author provided, which made the story drag. But then we meet Adley and I must say that this is one book in which I actually am in LOVE with the "other man". The scenes between Adley and Sarah are filled with so much PASSION (both emotional and sexual) you just have to put the book down and have a refreshing drink. I lie to you not. Be warn! :)

So even though I struggle with the two aforementioned issues, I did enjoy the storyline and some of the characters,especially Adley. I know this is Will and Sarah's story but for me, as of book 1, I'm rooting for the other team. I will read the rest of the series to find out what happens!

If you can deal with the two issues in this book then you will enjoy the book.

Buy it. Read it. Enjoy it!

HAPPY READING!

~About the Author~

Jacelyn spent her childhood growing up in the mountains of Colorado. After graduating from college, she moved to Southern California, where she still resides with her husband and two young sons.

~Connect with Jacelyn~ Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

~GIVEAWAY~
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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