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wrracct's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
mom2three's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a huge fan of The Controllers series and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this prequel/Cinderella retelling. I'm happy to say that my excitement was completely justified. This story had everything my heart was yearning for and more. It's action-packed, exciting, super steamy, and has a romance that would melt anyone's heart. The writing is superb and has a lot of detail into both the setting and the characters so it's easy to fall into and almost impossible to put down. I seriously didn't put it down and read into the wee hours of the morning. It also made me want to go and re-read the entire Controller series. I am trying really hard to not give spoilers, but there are so many amazing things I want to say about this one. Instead, I'm just going to say that it's the perfect romance story and I'm totally in love with it.
lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely my favourite book by L.V. Lane that I've read so far. Even though it has slight Cinderella themes cleverly woven throughout, this didn't have a frivolous or fantasy feel to it. Verity and Woodrow were both wonderful characters who I quickly fell in love with. Despite Woodrow's skewing of the odds, his conditioning of Verity, the depth and purity of his feelings for her were unquestionable, making it easy to forgive this domineering Alpha.
The recurring theme of lessons, along with being broken to produce something stronger, gave this story a richness and depth that simply wowed me. It skirted the line of dubious consent in that Woodrow manipulated Verity's reactions at times. However there was no malicious intent to harm her in any way, indeed no-one could doubt how much he actually cared for her.
My attention was quickly caught and then easily held throughout reading this story, with a plot that was both challenging and full of unexpected events. The prose flows smoothly, leading to an effortless read, whilst the characters are engaging and interesting - even the disagreeable ones! I was actually quite sad to reach the end of the book just because of how invested I felt in this pair and their love for one another. I already own the next three books and will be bumping them up my TBR stat.
The recurring theme of lessons, along with being broken to produce something stronger, gave this story a richness and depth that simply wowed me. It skirted the line of dubious consent in that Woodrow manipulated Verity's reactions at times. However there was no malicious intent to harm her in any way, indeed no-one could doubt how much he actually cared for her.
My attention was quickly caught and then easily held throughout reading this story, with a plot that was both challenging and full of unexpected events. The prose flows smoothly, leading to an effortless read, whilst the characters are engaging and interesting - even the disagreeable ones! I was actually quite sad to reach the end of the book just because of how invested I felt in this pair and their love for one another. I already own the next three books and will be bumping them up my TBR stat.
bittersweetsin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
gypsydawn's review against another edition
3.0
Alpha and omega
This is an omega verse story at it’s very core - conditioning, almost violent coupling, heat, pheromones, knots, all of it. I only marked it a 3, however, because I really couldn’t like Woodrow’s actions. That said, this book will be very suitable for some adult readers.
This is an omega verse story at it’s very core - conditioning, almost violent coupling, heat, pheromones, knots, all of it. I only marked it a 3, however, because I really couldn’t like Woodrow’s actions. That said, this book will be very suitable for some adult readers.
agraves16's review against another edition
I read a lot of dark books. I've read a lot of really amazing omegaverse. I read books with sa that actually end up being great books. This isn't one of those. This gave me the ick.
thebookplatypus91's review against another edition
5.0
“When an Alpha took an Omega it was an act of debauchery. Our massive bulk dwarfing their slight bodies, forcing their slick little pussies to accept a cock and knot because we knew it was what they needed to feel safe and loved. Rutting them to the point of exhaustion, then holding them close and purring while they drifted into sleep.”
This book was highly recommended to me as a top Omegaverse series.
It. Did. Not. Disappoint.
The complete absolute control the Alphas have over the Omega‘s is a total kink of mine when it comes to these power-play sub-genres of books.
I loved this hardcore. It had all knotting, nesting, purring, spanking, slick, and just... all the shit you want in your Omegaverse novels.
“I could see myself pandering to her every want. Spoiling her with pretty things. Filling her weeping cunt whenever and wherever she might have need. I would be her everything—the center of her world. I would spoil her utterly. Cherish her completely. A broken doll, wounded by a life of abuse her father had failed to protect her from. I’d fit the broken pieces back together, and in doing so, make her mine.”
No cheating. Once a Omega picks their Alpha, that’s it.
No cliffhanger but it opens up for the next book in the series.
*This is not a shifter book*
This book was highly recommended to me as a top Omegaverse series.
It. Did. Not. Disappoint.
The complete absolute control the Alphas have over the Omega‘s is a total kink of mine when it comes to these power-play sub-genres of books.
I loved this hardcore. It had all knotting, nesting, purring, spanking, slick, and just... all the shit you want in your Omegaverse novels.
“I could see myself pandering to her every want. Spoiling her with pretty things. Filling her weeping cunt whenever and wherever she might have need. I would be her everything—the center of her world. I would spoil her utterly. Cherish her completely. A broken doll, wounded by a life of abuse her father had failed to protect her from. I’d fit the broken pieces back together, and in doing so, make her mine.”
No cheating. Once a Omega picks their Alpha, that’s it.
No cliffhanger but it opens up for the next book in the series.
*This is not a shifter book*
sonja_ahrb's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been stuck on HBOMax since the beginning of the month, so it’s been a little over a week since I’ve read anything and I thought that I finally needed to find something to read. I’ve been into the Omegaverse recently, so when I say Omega Awakening, I decided to check it out. I love a fairytale retelling, the synopsis interested me and after I read the sample, I borrowed it from KU. For the most part, I really did enjoy Omega Awakening and I felt invested in Woodrow and Verity’s story, but there were some hiccups for me. I’ve kind of been going around and around in my head trying to figure out how to explain the things I wasn’t a fan of only to come up with an argument/explanation that gives me a reason for why it happened in the first place. Devil’s Advocate Me is really going in on Book Issues Me and I am not a fan, but I’m pushing through so I can move on.
One of my main problems was that the relationship between Verity and Woodrow seemed really unbalanced for most of their interactions which I know obviously that’s to be a bit expected what with the age gap and all, but it just felt Woodrow had almost all the power and Verity had very little. I do definitely think it’s more balanced at the end, but I would have liked to see more of a partnership between them earlier on or at least for the forming of it to be shown to us — and that brings me to my other issue which is that I feel like we were told Verity and Woodrow love each other, but we weren’t really shown it. It’s easier to believe that Woodrow loves Verity because he knows a lot about her, but I don’t think the same can be said about Verity knowing Woodrow. We don’t see a ton of talking or a bond forming between them except for bedroom times. That’s not to say we get nothing, I just wanted more because I did like Verity and Woodrow, but I didn’t love them as much as I think I could have.
That is just how I felt reading Omega Awakening, but it doesn’t mean you’ll feel that way, so take that with a grain of salt. Plus I really did enjoy it, the world was very interesting, it held my attention and I wouldn’t be opposed to visiting it again.
~ Sonja, 4 Stars
One of my main problems was that the relationship between Verity and Woodrow seemed really unbalanced for most of their interactions which I know obviously that’s to be a bit expected what with the age gap and all, but it just felt Woodrow had almost all the power and Verity had very little. I do definitely think it’s more balanced at the end, but I would have liked to see more of a partnership between them earlier on or at least for the forming of it to be shown to us — and that brings me to my other issue which is that I feel like we were told Verity and Woodrow love each other, but we weren’t really shown it. It’s easier to believe that Woodrow loves Verity because he knows a lot about her, but I don’t think the same can be said about Verity knowing Woodrow. We don’t see a ton of talking or a bond forming between them except for bedroom times. That’s not to say we get nothing, I just wanted more because I did like Verity and Woodrow, but I didn’t love them as much as I think I could have.
That is just how I felt reading Omega Awakening, but it doesn’t mean you’ll feel that way, so take that with a grain of salt. Plus I really did enjoy it, the world was very interesting, it held my attention and I wouldn’t be opposed to visiting it again.
~ Sonja, 4 Stars
inniebin's review against another edition
5.0
Oh...my...goddess!!
I am such a huuuuge fan of the Controller series - and this "prequel" type of edition didn't disappoint!
This book had all my favourite things in this series, it had parts I recognized from Lily's first book, making them slightly interlink - and I thought that was brilliant!
The book has a very good flow, I really loved the setting and how Verity's experiences are taken as "lessons in life" throughout the book. She's very young (18) and therefore has lived a very sheltered life - through her experiences in the hands of her stepmother and stepsister - has made her need to sort of "grow up" a lot earlier, she's a sweet young girl, but again she is only 18 and I thought the author managed to portray this very good in several scenes where I, as a much older adult, could see "hey...wait...that's OK, we all have a past", but Verity being so young - sticks to a first conclusion sort of almost "over-reaction" at times - which I found very fitting.
I loved her as a person, I loved her powers and how Ms. Lane manages to show us how difficult it must be - to have this spesific gift that Verity has. It's mentally very exhausting, and though some times very positive - we are also shown the dangers of it when you are pushed to your breaking point.
I loved Lily in this book and our "first peek" of her right before her own Book 1, and as I said it was slightly interlinked with Lily's first book, so we do recognize things from Lilly's book, just from a different perspective.
Now...Woodrow...
He was a breath of fresh air to be honest. He's not an "alpha-hole" in the ways that we are used to in the other books - or Alpha's in general.
He did remind me slightly of Lilly's father actually, in some of his mannerisms.
Woodrow is far older than Verity, he's in his early 40s, he's been in the army (forced conscription for 10 years is the norm for any Alpha in this series) - but he was also a Controller whilst there, and he also continued being a military man type afterwards, he for example was very familiar with our dear Ethan Black - because Black used to be one of his operators. :)
So again we get this interlink with Lilly's books.
I really loved Woodrow. He is very kind to Verity - his ultimate goal is to love her, show her love and give her and him a very happy, successful relationship.
But he's also not something you wanna mess with - we do see him in some good ole action and the way he treats and conditions Verity is also familiar to the other books, though ofc they are not in the army or in the war - but their own home etc.
All in all, I thought this was a super sweet addition to the series, and I hope this isn't the last we see of Woodrow and Verity.
Def. 5* from me!
I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.
I am such a huuuuge fan of the Controller series - and this "prequel" type of edition didn't disappoint!
This book had all my favourite things in this series, it had parts I recognized from Lily's first book, making them slightly interlink - and I thought that was brilliant!
The book has a very good flow, I really loved the setting and how Verity's experiences are taken as "lessons in life" throughout the book. She's very young (18) and therefore has lived a very sheltered life - through her experiences in the hands of her stepmother and stepsister - has made her need to sort of "grow up" a lot earlier, she's a sweet young girl, but again she is only 18 and I thought the author managed to portray this very good in several scenes where I, as a much older adult, could see "hey...wait...that's OK, we all have a past", but Verity being so young - sticks to a first conclusion sort of almost "over-reaction" at times - which I found very fitting.
I loved her as a person, I loved her powers and how Ms. Lane manages to show us how difficult it must be - to have this spesific gift that Verity has. It's mentally very exhausting, and though some times very positive - we are also shown the dangers of it when you are pushed to your breaking point.
I loved Lily in this book and our "first peek" of her right before her own Book 1, and as I said it was slightly interlinked with Lily's first book, so we do recognize things from Lilly's book, just from a different perspective.
Now...Woodrow...
He was a breath of fresh air to be honest. He's not an "alpha-hole" in the ways that we are used to in the other books - or Alpha's in general.
He did remind me slightly of Lilly's father actually, in some of his mannerisms.
Woodrow is far older than Verity, he's in his early 40s, he's been in the army (forced conscription for 10 years is the norm for any Alpha in this series) - but he was also a Controller whilst there, and he also continued being a military man type afterwards, he for example was very familiar with our dear Ethan Black - because Black used to be one of his operators. :)
So again we get this interlink with Lilly's books.
I really loved Woodrow. He is very kind to Verity - his ultimate goal is to love her, show her love and give her and him a very happy, successful relationship.
But he's also not something you wanna mess with - we do see him in some good ole action and the way he treats and conditions Verity is also familiar to the other books, though ofc they are not in the army or in the war - but their own home etc.
All in all, I thought this was a super sweet addition to the series, and I hope this isn't the last we see of Woodrow and Verity.
Def. 5* from me!
I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.
bookish_redpanda's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an interesting take on OV, and it had me intrigued from the get go. I loved the idea of a virus causing the creation of the designations, and there being a bit more to said designations other than the classic hierarchy. The world building in this is amazing, and it definitely left me wanting to continue on with the rest of the series.
It was also a very unique take on a Cinderella retelling.
It's definitely a dark romance, so heed the TWs before diving in.
It was also a very unique take on a Cinderella retelling.
It's definitely a dark romance, so heed the TWs before diving in.