“Forbidden” is the debut novel from author Emilia Emerson. It is a reverse harem omegaverse that is set in a dystopian world where omegas have no rights.

This is not a fluffy, sugary sweet story. Omegas are without rights, betas are the forgotten members of society, and alphas are controlling bc domineering. This story is angsty and, at times, I had to stop reading because the themes were too heavy for me.

As far as characters are concerned, our main FMC is Josie. Josie is an overweight omega whose heat is quickly approaching, meaning she needs to find a pack. Josie’s parents absolutely despise her and have treated her horribly, and it’s no surprise that her alpha fathers sit on the board who decide what rights omegas have. Against their wishes, Josie chooses an alpha pack that are not on the father’s payroll.

The alphas that Josie picks are Ben, Theo and Cam. Ben is outgoing, exuberant, and loves to bake. Theo is the surly alpha who moved from London to a very traditional alpha compound (think Handmaids tale). He harbors a lot of guilt from the way he was forced to treat omegas. In my opinion, he’s quick to anger but he’s very soft towards Josie. The last alpha is Cam. Cam, too, came from a traditional compound and has a lot of anger towards his parents and what they allowed to happen to his younger sister. Cam was put into some horrible situations by his alpha fathers, who insisted he become a man and a dominating alpha. Eventually, Cam was convinced by a friend to try a BDSM club, where he could learn that power doesn’t always have to be abuse. Interestingly, he knits when he’s stressed (which is often lol).

First, the alphas. These men are enamored with Josie. They’re obsessed with her and never gave in to the Omega Manual, such as the constricting meal plan. They also never gave up on Josie, which says a lot because she was SO FRUSTRATING.

As I said previously, Josie is overweight. She makes it her entire personality and, just when you think she’s accepted herself, ends up doing or thinking something that sets her back. The constant self shaming was exhausting and took me out of the story multiple times. Towards the end of the story one of her alphas brings up the topic of therapy, offering her the option to go and get professional help. Unsurprisingly, Josie turns it down. Let’s just say her alphas had a lot more patience than I would have, because I would’ve cut my losses way early on.

This book was a solid 3 stars for me until the end. That end scene brought it up to a four with how strong it was!