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A review by booksafety
Lilacs and Leather by Thora Woods
5.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
He’s one more smart remark away from learning that the term “fragile” can describe both glass and bombs.
As a person who has trouble breathing when non-monogamy is even mentioned, you would think this series would scare me, but it really doesn't. I'm rereading the series (listening to the audiobooks), and it does such a good job of explaining polyamory and making sure that everyone, characters and the readers alike, are comfortable and have consented to everything going on. It's really well done, and I especially love this quote:
“I am in love right now,” he replies without missing a beat. I furrow my brow. “Then why am I here?” I ask hesitantly. “Because no one person should be solely responsible for another’s happiness and wellbeing,” Rhett replies. [...] “People aren’t jigsaw puzzles, love. We don’t have missing pieces, and, even if we did, I don’t think it’s fair to look for them in another person. It’s setting both parties up for bitterness and heartache when one inevitably asks for something the other can’t give.”
There's a lot of moving parts and tons of character development that needs to happen on top of the actual relationship developments in this series. Since I've already read the entire thing I know I'm not the biggest fan of the FF relationship as the alpha female isn't very easy to like and that entire relationship pretty much takes three books to develop. She is the prime alpha of the entire pack tho and has a ton of responsibility and guards her heart closely. Definitely not an easy situation.
Most of the dynamics are super sweet though, and they've all got their own distinct relationships, which I love. They all make sense as couples without changing up their personalities any. Just different parts of their personalities that gel well together.
I'm also thankful for the well-done BDSM aspects. There's a lot of focus on safety, trust and consent, which just warms my heart.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Omegaverse
Poly pack
MM - FF (eventually) - MF
Past trauma
3 alphas - 1 beta - 1 omega
Trilogy (book 1)
BDSM
Wealthy pack
Nesting/scenting/heat/knotting
Consent and safewords
Dom/sub dynamics
Purring
Tattooed MMC
Praise kink
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Death of a family member (off page)
Prescription drug use
FMC victim of domestic abuse (past)
Past abuse (sexual)
Past verbal abuse (detailed)
Past physical abuse (detailed)
Attempted force-bonding (details)
Restraints during sex
Erotic spanking
Vomiting
FMC sexually harassed by minor character
FMC fat shamed by minor character
PTSD symptoms (flashbacks, nightmares)
MMC disowned for being bisexual (past)
Breath play (collaring)
Pack tricked/forced into bonding with bad guy SC (past)
Face-fucking
Threesome
Homophobic families
Three pack members sexually assaulted (past, off page, during force-bonding)
MC stalked and photographed (including while having sex)
Car accident (injured MC)
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No. Fen is set up on a date with random dude but isn’t at all interested in him.
Breakup: Sort of, briefly
POV: 1st person, multi
Genre: Poly omegaverse romance
Pairing: MMFM (changes to FMMMF during the series)
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles (at least in this book)
Main characters’ age: Omega FMC: 25, others not specified
Series: Series
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages:
“You feel her out first. It’s not like what we have going on is… conventional. It might be too much for you to bring your boyfriend along to ask her out.” Right. Heat rises in my cheeks. “I didn’t think about that,” I admit.
My ex was a good ol’ Christian boy, so it was missionary or bust most of the time, and even that was slathered in a heavy coating of ‘lust is a sin and fornication is for reproduction.’
“Why do you smell like flowers?” Lucas asks sharply. I roll my eyes. “I visited a florist on my way home.” “Are you planning a wedding and not telling us? I’m flattered, of course. But you could at least do me the courtesy of proposing before you book the vendors,” Luc says, a brow cocked.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
He’s one more smart remark away from learning that the term “fragile” can describe both glass and bombs.
As a person who has trouble breathing when non-monogamy is even mentioned, you would think this series would scare me, but it really doesn't. I'm rereading the series (listening to the audiobooks), and it does such a good job of explaining polyamory and making sure that everyone, characters and the readers alike, are comfortable and have consented to everything going on. It's really well done, and I especially love this quote:
“I am in love right now,” he replies without missing a beat. I furrow my brow. “Then why am I here?” I ask hesitantly. “Because no one person should be solely responsible for another’s happiness and wellbeing,” Rhett replies. [...] “People aren’t jigsaw puzzles, love. We don’t have missing pieces, and, even if we did, I don’t think it’s fair to look for them in another person. It’s setting both parties up for bitterness and heartache when one inevitably asks for something the other can’t give.”
There's a lot of moving parts and tons of character development that needs to happen on top of the actual relationship developments in this series. Since I've already read the entire thing I know I'm not the biggest fan of the FF relationship as the alpha female isn't very easy to like and that entire relationship pretty much takes three books to develop. She is the prime alpha of the entire pack tho and has a ton of responsibility and guards her heart closely. Definitely not an easy situation.
Most of the dynamics are super sweet though, and they've all got their own distinct relationships, which I love. They all make sense as couples without changing up their personalities any. Just different parts of their personalities that gel well together.
I'm also thankful for the well-done BDSM aspects. There's a lot of focus on safety, trust and consent, which just warms my heart.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Omegaverse
Poly pack
MM - FF (eventually) - MF
Past trauma
3 alphas - 1 beta - 1 omega
Trilogy (book 1)
BDSM
Wealthy pack
Nesting/scenting/heat/knotting
Consent and safewords
Dom/sub dynamics
Purring
Tattooed MMC
Praise kink
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Death of a family member (off page)
Prescription drug use
FMC victim of domestic abuse (past)
Past abuse (sexual)
Past verbal abuse (detailed)
Past physical abuse (detailed)
Attempted force-bonding (details)
Restraints during sex
Erotic spanking
Vomiting
FMC sexually harassed by minor character
FMC fat shamed by minor character
PTSD symptoms (flashbacks, nightmares)
MMC disowned for being bisexual (past)
Breath play (collaring)
Pack tricked/forced into bonding with bad guy SC (past)
Face-fucking
Threesome
Homophobic families
Three pack members sexually assaulted (past, off page, during force-bonding)
MC stalked and photographed (including while having sex)
Car accident (injured MC)
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No. Fen is set up on a date with random dude but isn’t at all interested in him.
Breakup: Sort of, briefly
POV: 1st person, multi
Genre: Poly omegaverse romance
Pairing: MMFM (changes to FMMMF during the series)
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles (at least in this book)
Main characters’ age: Omega FMC: 25, others not specified
Series: Series
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages:
“You feel her out first. It’s not like what we have going on is… conventional. It might be too much for you to bring your boyfriend along to ask her out.” Right. Heat rises in my cheeks. “I didn’t think about that,” I admit.
My ex was a good ol’ Christian boy, so it was missionary or bust most of the time, and even that was slathered in a heavy coating of ‘lust is a sin and fornication is for reproduction.’
“Why do you smell like flowers?” Lucas asks sharply. I roll my eyes. “I visited a florist on my way home.” “Are you planning a wedding and not telling us? I’m flattered, of course. But you could at least do me the courtesy of proposing before you book the vendors,” Luc says, a brow cocked.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr