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psydneigh's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Takes place a year after book 1. Love the untypical pack dynamics and seeing more of a male omega!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Rape
tita_noir's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well that was interesting.
I never really paid attention to the subgenre of 'Omegaverse' in erotica romance. What little I ever read about it just didn't feel like my cuppa. But I've liked Kathryn Moon's stuff. She is quite frankly the only author who has worked for me in the area of polyamory romance. She does the man harem thing really well.
And it isn't just all multiple sex all the time. She writes a good sex scene, but more importantly, she tells a good story. The plots are great and even more importantly, she takes the time to really create distinct characteristics among the man harem and she takes the time to create individual connections between the FMC and the each of the men. Probably why so many of her books are multivolume.
My only real complaint is that there is the tendency to make the FMC very much a 'not like other girls' character. A Mary Sue with a bit extra.
In this series we are in an AU where there are three kinds of people: Alphas, Omegas and Betas. These are not shapeshifters but people who have biological differences mainly centering around pheromones and an intricate role based social hierarchy. Packs are a found family group where you create a bond and the bond can be sexual or simply familial.
Alphas are the top of the food chain, they are the ones who create the bonds to form a pack and have a strong pheromone/scent that attracts people who want to be around them and bonded to them. Omegas are the sexual glue that hold the pack together. They tend to be very attractive and also have an irresistible pheromone/scent that attracts Alphas. Alphas strongly desire to bond Omegas.
And then there are Betas. They are the normies. Regular old humans, no pheromone/scent. They have no biological imperative to bond or be part of a pack like Alphas and Omegas, but it is a bit of a prestige/clout thing to be part of pack.
As this book begins we meet Lola who has quite a bit of damage. She acknowledges that all she wanted to do was to learn she was an Omega (apparently the onset happens sometime in puberty but can also happen later) and be bonded to an Alpha pack. Her BFF blossomed into an Omega and happily was accepted into a great pack and has everything Lola ever wanted. Lola was a bit jealous and in her desperation to find the same thing she let herself be manipulated by a criminal pack of Alphas who were also human traffickers.
That all ended on a night of extreme violence that ended in a shootout and a that evil pack decimated and most of the Alphas killed but Lola can only remember in flashes where she knows she was terrified tortured and raped. We get a fair amount of these flashes of Lola remembering that night and it is a seminal point in where she is when we first meet her.
She has been depressed and traumatized and staying with her cousin for an entire year until finally she is ready to join the world again. Now she avoids Alphas like the plague. Even being in proximity to one plummets her into an extreme panic attack. She will only ever have one night hook ups with Betas only and she even has a strained relationship with her Omega BFF whom she has kept at arms length for the past year.
The thrust of the book is of course, Lola's perception of Alphas and packs are skewed by her horrific experience. Also they fucked with her head so much she cant even trust her own instincts when she comes into proximity with a decent pack who evinces interest in her.
This first book has her slowly building a relationship with a Beta named Leo who is bonded to a powerful pack, one of the Alphas owns the media company of the fashion magazine she works for, and another is her direct boss. And then later she builds a second relationship with another member of the pack, Rakim, an Omega who is a model that she works with during fashion week.
I liked the slow progression of the relationships, how she met each member of the pack under different circumstances and built different relationships with each of them -- some more cordial and distant than others -- how they were very perceptive about her issues and tried to be respectful of her boundaries.
Beyond the relationship stuff we get a good amount of workplace drama and of course, the lone surviving evil Alpha who traumatized her rears his ugly head.
This was a great first book in the story. It laid the groundwork, created the background, introduced all the major players, put the major plot into motion and left enough story to tell in the final installment.
Oh yeah, there is a lot of smoking sex, mostly just between Lola and Leo and/or Rakim. But Matthieu -- the main Alpha of the pack-- the rich, urbane Frenchman -- comes in as a dark horse and wins her over a bit in the end. Matthieu was my favorite. (less)
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I never really paid attention to the subgenre of 'Omegaverse' in erotica romance. What little I ever read about it just didn't feel like my cuppa. But I've liked Kathryn Moon's stuff. She is quite frankly the only author who has worked for me in the area of polyamory romance. She does the man harem thing really well.
And it isn't just all multiple sex all the time. She writes a good sex scene, but more importantly, she tells a good story. The plots are great and even more importantly, she takes the time to really create distinct characteristics among the man harem and she takes the time to create individual connections between the FMC and the each of the men. Probably why so many of her books are multivolume.
My only real complaint is that there is the tendency to make the FMC very much a 'not like other girls' character. A Mary Sue with a bit extra.
In this series we are in an AU where there are three kinds of people: Alphas, Omegas and Betas. These are not shapeshifters but people who have biological differences mainly centering around pheromones and an intricate role based social hierarchy. Packs are a found family group where you create a bond and the bond can be sexual or simply familial.
Alphas are the top of the food chain, they are the ones who create the bonds to form a pack and have a strong pheromone/scent that attracts people who want to be around them and bonded to them. Omegas are the sexual glue that hold the pack together. They tend to be very attractive and also have an irresistible pheromone/scent that attracts Alphas. Alphas strongly desire to bond Omegas.
And then there are Betas. They are the normies. Regular old humans, no pheromone/scent. They have no biological imperative to bond or be part of a pack like Alphas and Omegas, but it is a bit of a prestige/clout thing to be part of pack.
As this book begins we meet Lola who has quite a bit of damage. She acknowledges that all she wanted to do was to learn she was an Omega (apparently the onset happens sometime in puberty but can also happen later) and be bonded to an Alpha pack. Her BFF blossomed into an Omega and happily was accepted into a great pack and has everything Lola ever wanted. Lola was a bit jealous and in her desperation to find the same thing she let herself be manipulated by a criminal pack of Alphas who were also human traffickers.
That all ended on a night of extreme violence that ended in a shootout and a that evil pack decimated and most of the Alphas killed but Lola can only remember in flashes where she knows she was terrified tortured and raped. We get a fair amount of these flashes of Lola remembering that night and it is a seminal point in where she is when we first meet her.
She has been depressed and traumatized and staying with her cousin for an entire year until finally she is ready to join the world again. Now she avoids Alphas like the plague. Even being in proximity to one plummets her into an extreme panic attack. She will only ever have one night hook ups with Betas only and she even has a strained relationship with her Omega BFF whom she has kept at arms length for the past year.
The thrust of the book is of course, Lola's perception of Alphas and packs are skewed by her horrific experience. Also they fucked with her head so much she cant even trust her own instincts when she comes into proximity with a decent pack who evinces interest in her.
This first book has her slowly building a relationship with a Beta named Leo who is bonded to a powerful pack, one of the Alphas owns the media company of the fashion magazine she works for, and another is her direct boss. And then later she builds a second relationship with another member of the pack, Rakim, an Omega who is a model that she works with during fashion week.
I liked the slow progression of the relationships, how she met each member of the pack under different circumstances and built different relationships with each of them -- some more cordial and distant than others -- how they were very perceptive about her issues and tried to be respectful of her boundaries.
Beyond the relationship stuff we get a good amount of workplace drama and of course, the lone surviving evil Alpha who traumatized her rears his ugly head.
This was a great first book in the story. It laid the groundwork, created the background, introduced all the major players, put the major plot into motion and left enough story to tell in the final installment.
Oh yeah, there is a lot of smoking sex, mostly just between Lola and Leo and/or Rakim. But Matthieu -- the main Alpha of the pack-- the rich, urbane Frenchman -- comes in as a dark horse and wins her over a bit in the end. Matthieu was my favorite. (less)
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Torture, and Kidnapping
emeraldblade's review
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual assault
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