Becoming Alpha

This is a book really have mixed feelings about. On the positive side, the plot is reasonably interesting and the characters are nicely distinct from each other. There are a few characters that are a bit too one-dimensional – such as the requisite spoiled rich girl at the boarding school – but the primary characters have more to do mention to them and are well enough written that I actually care about what happens to them.

On the downside, a fair amount of the plot in the book is fueled by one of my absolute least favorite tropes: people not talking to each other and thus misunderstanding what's happening. When the book starts, we meet Tessa, the girl who gets visions when she touches people or objects. We eventually learn that she is half bruja – a Mexican witch – who, it is strongly hinted, is supposed to take over her family's coven soon. Her parents, however, have not told her this and while she knows that others and her family supposedly have similar gifts, she doesn't believe that brujas are anything more then people essentially play-acting at spirituality. Similarly, when her father takes a job at a special boarding school for werewolves, all she is told is to stay out of the woods after dark, avoid the wolves in the area, and stay away from all of the students at her father's school. Nobody explains to her why. Of course, she meet one of the boys from the school and he ends up biting her lip as they are kissing. This leads to several scenes of various people freaking out, without explaining to her why. She becomes quite ill and has to be hospitalized – and it's only after she has spent a fevered week there that she can't remember that anyone tells her that werewolves are real and she is now one of them.

The same problem plagues the romance. She and the boy who bit her are very clearly meant for each other, but both of them seem to have an inability to talk to the other and instead will overhear snippets of conversation or see part of a situation (such as one of them hugging somebody else) and storm off before finding out what was actually happening. This results in one refusing to speak to the other while the other is trying to explain what the deal was, with the inevitable reconciliation to follow – lather, rinse, repeat.

It's a good thing that the characters are as interesting as they are, and the world is as well drawn as it is. Aside from the main romance, the relationships are reasonably well done, and Tessa's burgeoning friendship with her suitemate Meredith is fun and very reminiscent of campus life.

As for the rest the story, aside from the drama that is created by not talking to each other, it's interesting enough that I'm going to keep reading the series and see what happens. Hopefully, as the relationships mature, they will develop better communication skills!