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A review by spicycronereads
Knotting Before Them by Amy Oliveira
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I must have seen an ARC review or seen the author describing it and then pre-ordered and forgotten about it. I was pleasantly surprised when it showed up on my Kindle earlier this week. The concept of this novella is pretty cute. THE FMC Julia and her backstory are sympathetic and make you want to root for her.
I think it needed to be longer. A lot of things are told rather than shown. The three MMCS (Wylder, Noah, and…Tyler? Maybe?) are very one-dimensional. I have no idea what makes each of them unique. One of the beauties of an RH or why choose is that each of the additional partners brings something unique to the table. These characters aren’t differentiated enough.
In the author’s note she mentions that there is no more plot to be told but I think there was a lot of missed potential here - Where did Julia live previously and how did those places affect her? What was life like and what was the dynamic of the guys before Julia shows up? How does Julia come to terms with being a polyamorous omega? What is so important about the mountain? Is it connected to the Andes in some way? Why are there so few omegas to begin with? So many unanswered questions. I haven’t read much omegaverse so maybe some of this is part of the genre but I certainly felt unfulfilled. Now, when I am going to read a spicy little novella, I am prepared to overlook a lot about the plot, but this was just too underdeveloped for me.
In terms of diversity, Julia is Bolivian. There are not many other characters or plot points where dicersity could become a factor.
The spice? Well as the title suggests, there is knotting. That’s neither here nor there for me. But because of the flat characters, there wasn’t a lot of chemistry.I don’t mind when an MMC “paints” or “marks” an FMC in some way with his Sp3(r)m, but these characters don’t really establish any kind of dominant or submissive dynamic before it happens so it just seems kind of out of left field and disrespectful? .5 🌶️
Overall, this was a miss for me. ☹️
I think it needed to be longer. A lot of things are told rather than shown. The three MMCS (Wylder, Noah, and…Tyler? Maybe?) are very one-dimensional. I have no idea what makes each of them unique. One of the beauties of an RH or why choose is that each of the additional partners brings something unique to the table. These characters aren’t differentiated enough.
In the author’s note she mentions that there is no more plot to be told but I think there was a lot of missed potential here - Where did Julia live previously and how did those places affect her? What was life like and what was the dynamic of the guys before Julia shows up? How does Julia come to terms with being a polyamorous omega? What is so important about the mountain? Is it connected to the Andes in some way? Why are there so few omegas to begin with? So many unanswered questions. I haven’t read much omegaverse so maybe some of this is part of the genre but I certainly felt unfulfilled. Now, when I am going to read a spicy little novella, I am prepared to overlook a lot about the plot, but this was just too underdeveloped for me.
In terms of diversity, Julia is Bolivian. There are not many other characters or plot points where dicersity could become a factor.
The spice? Well as the title suggests, there is knotting. That’s neither here nor there for me. But because of the flat characters, there wasn’t a lot of chemistry.
Overall, this was a miss for me. ☹️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent