Dragged on and on

I wish this was half the length because it definitely got super boring.
Not a terrible book just drawn out too much.

The first twenty percent of the book and the last one percent of the book were great, but everything else in between was honestly just written for the sex, some people are totally down for that, but because I was so cute hooked to the story in the beginning, it was a letdown. If someone could tell me what happens in part two, that would be great.I just can't commit to reading it

This is well written and overflowing with character development that allows a deep connection with the characters. The Alphas are perfect in their gentle treatment of their Omega who was abused prior to meeting them. This story is a slow burn for an Omegaverse setting, especially with a heat in here, but it fits perfectly with the flow. The schmexy scenes lend a realistic feel to how a relationship builds with time and trust. I knew that ending was coming, and I kept bracing for it anytime in the last three quarters of the book. The cliffie makes it seem like things will get a lot worse for Josie before they get better...

Rating: 3.5 stars

I was drawn to this because of the cinnamon roll alphas who were protective and obsessive but at the core of it all just wanted to love their omega. Josie is a survivor of a ton of abuse both mentally and physically. She is a product of the rhetoric that omegas are property and to be owned, not cherished. The meet-cute (sort of) where Theo finds her in a Trader Joe's before she faints had me swooning because he was so caring towards her. Josie ends up meeting Cam and Ben along with seeing Theo again when she has pack interviews. She is wary, clearly, but she falls pretty easily into them. Josie is extremely insecure with her own body and the guys do their best to walk that line by supporting her and giving her the space to come to terms with her own self. I find that they are pretty supportive of her but when they disagree she so easily becomes afraid that they will ditch her because she had an opposing opinion. I was with this book until there was a setback to around 60% in? I wasn't sure how much if at all, Josie would grow. Sure, the timeline is really short and the guys are super caring and nurturing but they were fumbling over themselves to make sure that Josie was okay. I think Josie changed at the end but the cliffhanger makes me think we are gonna have a major setback.

Spice level wise there were some great one-on-one moments that helped define each of the guys. I find that this doesn't happen often in omegaverse books so it was a nice change of pace. There is one group scene towards the end and there was talk of bonding with each other. Josie's hesitancy is understandable but sometimes felt really frustrating which I guess is the point because of how much it holds her back.

So this is my first time diving into omegaverse. I've been wanting to give it a try and wasn't sure where to start. I saw a clip on TikTok about this book and it intrigued me so I figured let's give it a shot.

The plot and world building is decent. The way this world works is what intrigued me first. We get a decent amount in the beginning and the end. But the main chunk of the book focuses on the FMC dealing with her massive amounts of trauma and distrust, and learning to accept the MMC's affections and good intentions. I do feel like, it kinda droned a bit. I kept waiting for more plot with the government and her family to come, but we really only got it in the beginning and then a smidge in the end. I'm really interested though to see how book two goes.

Next, I'm a big dark romance girly. I love all kinds of dark romance and I'm definitely more used to morally grey MMC or villainous ones. But it was very refreshing and different and fun to have three completely cinnamon roll MMC's. I love all the MMC, they all have different but complimenting personalities. I love how obsessed with the FMC they are, and how they treat her.

The FMC is a little hit and miss for me. I understand the insane amount of trauma and brainwashing she has been thru. But she spends about 80% of the book crying and at some point im like, ok lady, let's get on with it. I understand trauma takes time to heal, but the majority of this book was just her wallowing in her trauma and barely working towards getting out of it. Also she was subjected to a lot of fat shaming so she has zero confidence and is constantly belittling herself. I love when we get a plus size or not model thin FMC, but i do tire of the lack of confidence the FMC always have or how everyone is constantly talking about her body. Sometimes I wish the FMC could just exist with their bodies and it not be a plot point. Again, I understand why in this world, but still just personal pet peeve.

The spice is excellent. Again, it's my first intro into omegaverse so there was a lot to learn. It's new and exciting and I enjoyed it.

All in all I enjoyed the book. It was good. Im excited to read more and see how the book concludes

After reading, more like devouring, Eliana Lee’s omegaverse duology and standalone I started following her on social media. I saw that she was working on an upcoming project with another author and wanted to check out their work so I could support them both in the upcoming months. Similar to Lee’s omegaverse, Emilia Emerson/Rossi has a duology and a standalone set in the same world with overlapping characters. For the purpose of this review I’ll be discussing both books in the duology: Forbidden Part One and Forbidden Part Two.

In Forbidden Part One we are introduced to our characters and a very tumultuous political system where alphas have stripped omegas of almost all their rights. There are many aspects of the politics and governing body that were very triggering to read due to our real world political climate, but thankfully all of our main characters are part of the rebellious alliance that is trying to dismantle this system and bring justice to omega’s.

Our FMC omega has experienced a lot of trauma, and so have her future alphas. It was hard to watch as she relived some of these experiences in dreams or flashbacks while her new alphas sat by helplessly until she was able to trust them. They gained her trust slowly and through repetitive positive actions that reinforced their genuine intentions. Each alpha was able to break down his own walls and explore their own trauma through the comforting connection they shared with their omega.

Our omega deals with body image issues, food issues, and initially has an aversion to sex or pleasuring themselves. While not all of these issues are resolved (because that would be unrealistic to how working through trauma looks in real life) we do see our omega progress throughout the story. This book does end on a cliffhanger that threads into part two, but don’t worry. Part two does deliver a happily ever after. Eventually. 

Unfortunately in order to arrive at that happy place in Forbidden Part Two, we the reader and our newly beloved characters have to go through absolute hell on earth first. I cried my way through most of the chapters in this book. The trauma and emotional turmoil was a physical presence in the room with me, hovering possessively (and not in the hot way) while I made my way through this story. I had to push through and remind myself I was promised a HEA, but holy moly was it a rough book to read.

I should also note that these books were long in addition to being slightly triggering. I did find myself skimming a lot of this book and just reading dialogue sections at times so that I could avoid some of the inner monologues of the pain and confusion while our characters were suffering.

Thankfully this book wraps up by piecing our characters back together, and I attempted to piece myself together right along with them. I’m not sure how well I accomplished that task on my own, but I am excited to start the third book in this series, which is a standalone that features an omega we met in this duology.

This story was a wild emotional ride, and while I do really love seeing characters cared for after a traumatic event, this novel definitely pushed closer and closer to my personal reading boundaries. I’m tempted to classify this story as a dark omegaverse romance due to some of the themes that were present, and extremely challenging to get through. On the positive side there was great representation for Dom/sub and BDSM dynamics, excellent cooking and baking scenes, and a fearsome alpha who has a wicked collection of romance novels. 

I wouldn’t recommend this particular omegaverse duology to anyone who is new to this genre, but if you want something that will pull at your heart strings, make you equal parts horrified, pissed off, and cheering for the ending then definitely consider picking these books up.

This book really spoke to me and I sobbed when it was over. I loved the FMC and the fact that she was curvy. I have often felt that I was not worthy of anyone loving me or wanting me because I didn’t have the ideal body type. I identified with the fight for body autonomy and I loved how much support her alphas gave her. It was a great story and great characters. I can’t wait for more!

just bite her

Great until the end. Some of the choices here are just foolish. Like, romance over safety just doesn’t make sense. Why would you ever prioritize romance over guaranteeing the safety of your mate? You could kind of tell towards the end what decisions were done simply for the plot and which ones were in alignment with the characters.