Alpha

by Rachel Vincent

THE ONLY THING I KNEW, BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DOUBT- I WOULD LIVE AND DIE FOR MY PRIDE"

Everything is about to change for werecat Faythe when her father is ousted from the council that controls their secret world. And a shocking tragedy jeopardises her future as Alpha of the pride.

Now a rebel on the run, Faythe's biggest fight lies ahead.

Old allies from the supernatural world are ready to stand by her side. And weretoms Marc and Jace would give their very souls in the duel for Faythe's heart…

Yet as their enemies draw near Faythe knows that she—and she alone—can lead the pride into what may be their final battle.

A MUST-READ for fans of KELLEY ARMSTRONG.

• ISBN10: 0778304043
• ISBN13: 9780778304043
• Publish Date: 15 October 2010 (first published 1 October 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Library ed
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 480
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Angie]

Alpha was quite the satisfying ending to this awesome series! It was finally time for the Council to officially vote and remove Faythe's father from his seat, but not before they presented some evidence collected in the previous book. They hope to convict Malone of treason, but of course, the Council's backwards laws don't admit the evidence, which brings them to Plan B: war! The prides are nearly evenly divided, but Faythe knows that there is no way they can win without an extra edge. I bet you can guess what the edge will be. The war isn't the only problem Faythe needs to deal with. She still needs to choose between Marc and Jace.

I can't go into a lot of detail on what I enjoyed about Alpha, since it will all be spoilers. I saw several things coming, so they didn't pack as much of a punch as they could have, but that didn't make me any less engaged. The battles were a bit repetitive, since they each followed the same formula, excluding the final one. This made the book feel a bit slow in places, despite the action going on.

Of course, I must comment on the romance. This is what I was most interested in and Alpha does not disappoint! Things are super awkward and tense due to Faythe's relationships with Marc and Jace going public. This is just not done in werecat society. In the beginning, Marc made me mad since he was so mean to Faythe. His anger is justified, but I think it upset me because Jace was being sweet and supportive, while Marc who claims to love Faythe above all things can't even bring himself to look at her. However, I knew who Faythe was going to pick, and he's who I wanted her to pick. Whenever she discussed her predicament with a third party, she never once talked about one of them the same way she spoke about her choice. It was so obvious, even if she didn't realize it until the end. Happy ending!

I really liked Alpha. I'm happy with how everything turned out, despite all of the death and heartbreak to get there. Most of the loose ends seemed to be tied up, except for one that I can think of right away: What happened to Angela, Ethan's girlfriend? She was very noticeably missing, understandably, but I wanted to know if they'll include her in the pride now. And while I thought this was a great way to end, it also felt like just the beginning to me. I definitely want more! Faythe has a lot more trials to face, and I would be interested in reading about those.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Linda]

Those fights were amazing! I cried when Greg died, and when Faythe had to deal with the mysoginistic council only minutes after that. But Faythe stayed strong anyway. She continued to fight, to have ideas and to believe that she could lead her Pride towards a better future.

On top of all her political problems, she continued to have her personal problems - and that made me feel even worse for her. Both Marc and Jace could have been good for her, however, I had my soft spot for Marc during the whole series, and was very happy she actually asked him to marry her in the end.

The biggest surprise of this book was Ryan, he finally stepped up and did what was necessary, not for himself, but for the women he loved, and that was totally awesome, although I agree with Faythe, it doesn't absolve him from what he did to Sara, Abby and Faythe during the whole kidnapping tabbys thing.

A great series, every page filled with excitement, graphic fights, and some pretty hot love-scenes. Definitely a re-read down the road!

[Artemis]

I literally devoured this entire series. Though I have to say I hate feeling fustrated when you know a set of characters is good and another is bad, yet the bad ones get all the power and ahhh! anyway really good light summer read, a bit on the descriptive side but honestly i enjoyed these :)

[Jo]

Power, revenge, and justice - prepare yourself for the final battle! In the final chapter of "The Shifters Series", Faythe and her Pride must fight a tyrannical werecat intent on taking over the territorial council, and the south-central Pride in particular. It's down to Faythe to take on the role of Alpha before she feels completely ready for the job. Forced to rise to the occasion, Faythe must balance experience, advice, and the urge for vengeance. She must also finally choose between Marc and Jace...No decisions will be is easy, and not everyone will survive this epic fight to the death. From Amazon UK

As the final book in the Shifters series, I was really looking forward to reading Alpha yet not at the same time. I'd get to find out all the answers to the questions left over from previous books, but I'd also have to say goodbye to Faythe, Marc, Jace, and everyone else. Now I've finished it, I can only say this: what an amazing way to end the series!

All those ends get tied up; we find out who ends up being the head of the territorial council, we find out who Faythe chooses between Marc and Jace, and we find out the outcome of the war. And I can't tell you how amazing it is! I actually think "amazing" is a bit of an understatement.

What I loved most about this book is the politics. Alpha is as action packed as all the other books in the series, but it also has a lot of decision making, organising, strategising, and a lot of Faythe having to use her head. But it's not all plain sailing. Vincent drops stumbling block after stumbling block in Faythe's path, causing her to re-think, re-group, restart. Faythe's strength in such impossible situations is incredible, especially when you consider the emotional turmoil she's also under.

Marc and Jace find it difficult to wait for Faythe to make her mind up over who she wants, and what's so difficult is she loves them both so much. There are a few times throughout the novel when one or the other's reactions to certain events made me think I knew who Faythe would end up choosing, but then wonder if they were just red-herrings, so I was never really sure who would end up being Faythe's guy. I won't say whether I was happy or not with who she ended up choosing, because that may give it away, but I will say it was emotional and heart-wrenching to read Faythe try and make a decision.

There were a few other emotional events throughout the book that would have left me in floods of tears if it weren't for the fact that I was at work at the time and couldn't be unprofessional. No-one writes such excruciating scenes like Vincent. The agony that these characters go through emotionally is just so raw, it's literally painful to read.

The action in this book is just phenomenal. Really. The war is just terrifying in that everything is happening so fast in so many places, you don't know who's hurt, who's dead, who's alive. Having read the previous books in the series, I know that violence and gore are to be expected, but Alpha takes it to a completely new level. I didn't think I could be shocked by the violence that I read, or by the actions of some of the disgustingly evil antagonists, but I was, time and time again.

But now it's finished. I closed the book feeling extremely happy with how the story ended, but so, so sad that that was it. That there would be no more from Faythe and her family. I get so emotionally involved in books, and in this series especially, that I actually feel that friends have died. I finished reading right before going to bed, and I laid there not sleeping for ages, not being able to get the story out of my head. As sad as it may sound, I miss them all already.

This is not a book to be missed! It might possibly be my favourite of the series. Vincent has far surpassed my expectations, and my awe of her has no limit, it seems. An incredible finale from an incredible author. I seriously cannot wait to see what adult series Vincent brings us next.

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog.

[Melanie]

I loved this book. It was fast-paced and very action-packed. I was very concerned for how the series would end. It was not that I did not have faith in Ms. Vincent to write, because I think she is a phenomenal write. I have just been burned by the ending of a series more than once. I was also concerned with how the Marc/Jace thing would work out (I will say, I have seen cop-outs on this too with some other series). At one point, I thought that was going to end badly, but it turned out great. I will not say who came out on top, but I will say that I happy with how it turned out (And the person I was voting for was not the winner). I think I can see a happy ever after in everyone's future, even if it is not the the near future.

I will say that this book is one of the best end-of-series books I have ever read. I think that Rachel Vincent did a great job. I could barely set the book down (and probably wouldn't have if it were not for obligations I could not get out of). I will also say that this book did make me cry on more than one occasion. I have recommended this series to several people and will continue to do so.

As sad as I am to see this series end, I can't wait to see what she will bring to us in the future.