His Midnight Bride

The Omega Brides #1

by Natalie Highland

Lady Beatrice Allou has spent her life disregarded and abused by the people in her life that were supposed to protect her. When she is engaged by her father, she hopes that her life and fortunes will turn around. But her husband to be is cut from the same cloth as her father and when he attempts the unthinkable, Bea is left with no choice but to flee. England, where Omegas are protected by laws, is where Bea finds herself, but with no money and no prospects she has no choice but to disguise herself and work as a boy at a noble’s estate. Lord Julius is puzzled by his new stable hand, he’s frightened, wary, and seems to want nothing to do with his Lord. But he refuses to have one of his staff fearful of him and does his best to put Jack at ease. When Bea’s disguise fails, when she falls to her stress and worry, and Julius comes to care for her, will love bloom in the space carved in Bea by the neglect of her childhood? Will love prove stronger than fear?

Genres: Omegaverse, Historical, Romance, Historical Romance, Fantasy, M F Romance, Abuse

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2023

Reviews

[Izzah ꒰Duchess of Cabria ಇ ⭑✧ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ ✧ ⋆꒱ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This my second 'HR meets omegaverse' book (different authors)

➜ Unlike the other one, which was regency + omegaverse only, this book has other more fantastical elements.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Booksprout and the author for a copy of this ebook and this is my freely given opinion.

This is the first time I am reading a book involving the omegaverse; it was not really a thing for me and while I am not adverse to it, I guess I just don't really get it. I decided to try this one because it was described as a Victorian romance. Because however it was an Alpha/Omega romance as well, it is more Victorian adjacent, as it involves the omegaverse/the Alpha/Omega dynamic, and has that fantasy/magical element to it, rather than a typical historical romance.

In this, Bea is an Omega, from a family where she and her mother are very cowed and dominated by her abusive father and given into marriage to a horrible abusive man with she fears for her life. With her mother's help, she manages to escape, and runs off the England, where Omegas apparently have more rights. She hides her identity as a stable boy, and comes to the notice of Julius, an English lord, and Alpha. When her identity is exposed, he feels protective towards her and offers her his protection. Bea is very timid, fearful, and distrusting of men in general, after a lifetime of observing and living abuse in her family, and the man she was promised to, and it is a long hard road for Julius to earn her trust, but he falls for Bea and her gentleness, and wants desperately for her to choose him to make her his mate. But he wants it to be her own choice, and will not do anything to frighten her or make her feel forced in any way.

Bea is a very fearful and timid character, perhaps understandably so - much like a whipped and abused animal, who is kicked or slapped over and over again whenever it comes up and dares to even sniff at a hand reached out. Julius is sweet, gentle, and very gentle, which is something she has never experienced with a male before.

There is such a strong thread of fear of abuse, PTSD, and timidity in Bea's life that I did not feel the romance of this story, and I guess I just don't really get the Alpha/Omega thing myself. There was hints of the historical, but not enough for me. This was not a bad read, but just not necessarily something I get. But I am willing to give it another try. This is good for those who want the type of romance where there is a frail, sweet, scared frail maiden being saved and protected by the strong handsome hero, who protects and cherishes her.

3 stars out of 5

[Jen Yonit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found much about this book confusing. I'll admit I started reading thinking it was another historical romance, so the first hint of paranormal was a shock. It never manifested into more than a sprinkling of crumbs though, leaving the story more historical and minimally paranormal. We don't get enough of a picture of the lore to make it all make sense, the author leans on the reader to pull from other books and series to piece together a coherent worldbuilding.

I did find the story started out well enough. The main character Bea has suffered much abuse at the hands of her father, and then the man she is "sold" to as a wife. Her also abused mother helps her escape to England where, disguised as a boy, she becomes a stable hand. Until she meets her absent employer, a nobleman and Alpha. It seems Bea's father was an Alpha, Bea is an Omega, and her abusive fiancé was neither, and was using her as a beard of sorts.

Super weird for her to go through "heat" without the lore and worldbuilding, but I went with it. Then there was a sham marriage, each trying not to inconvenience or pressure each other but hiding their true feelings, the usual historical romance trope. Until it all ended with a smidge of magic and some kind of biting kink, i mean werewolf mate marking.

The end felt a little rushed to completion, when part of the turning point is a 4 year old giving love advice, one knows it's hopped over a tiny shark. I had expected Bea and her husband to take the orphans to live with them, but there are more books in the series so maybe that part is resolved as well,

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first story in the "Omega Brides" series and reads as a stand alone. This is the first book I have read this author and I enjoyed this one very much. I could not put it down. It is a beautiful story that is a slow burn one about Beatrice and Julius. She has had a horrible life where she has been abused by her father and made to feel like she is property. What she wants does not matter so stay quiet. When her father betroths her to someone just like him she then suffers at his hands. The guy is an alpha want to be and wants his Omega to be silent, behave and be unseen. Her mother helps her escape on a ship. When she arrives in England she fines work in a lords townhouse stable. She is working with Lady who has also experienced abuse. Bea is pretending to be a boy and stay out of sight of the Lord Julius. When he sees her/him working with Lady something about the boy peaks his interest. Bea is very skittish around him and shows constant fear. When the horse and the Bea falls ill he is there to care for them. He also discovers Bea is an Omega. As an Alpha he now understands why he is drawn to her. This a story that might be a trigger for some but I think it is so nicely developed. He gives her choices and wings but she must decide what she wants. His Alpha side does come out on more than one occasion but he is always sweet, caring and gentle with Bea. Such a good read with some drama, abuse, danger, cruelty, sadness, passion, love and more.

[Melody Tregear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very unusual

I'm not sure but I think this is set in the regency era. However, while London is the main setting , I'm not sure what those living there, are, in this story. Otherworldly? Not sure. They are called omega's and alpha's and seem to be other than human. Where is the old country? Not sure. Some place north of England. Or is this perhaps England in a parallel universe?
There are several editing issues with either extra or incorrect words in some sentences rendering them nonsensical.
There is a trigger warning at the start of the book for sensitive content: physical and mental abuse.
The story is not clean in that it does contain sex scenes, even though the author has tried to keep it low-key, but I prefer closed bedroom doors so will likely not opt for this author's books in future.
Whoever this race is, they seem to worship a plethora of gods, have female healers and priestesses, etc.They also heal super fast
Overall, it was an interesting concept but lacked details regarding this species, the old country, their supposed abilities once claimed, etc.
I did like the hero and the healing journey of Bea and the story also has a nice ending, but I won't read the rest.

[Rose Seals · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Has everything you need to keep you reading- excitement, love, suspense, intrigue, romance, drama, twists and turns. Has some dark moments but still able to have a happy ending. Beatrice is an abused omega who's father sells her to a brutal man. He tries to be an Alpha but is not. She escapes him with the help of her mother to try to start a new life in a different country. She takes on the role of a boy and works in a stable owned by Lord Julius. After falling sick and being in heat, Julius helps her get better using calm and kindness plus other animals for her to care for. Lots of good characters but you also have the evil characters , who want either revenge or control on Beatrice or Julius. However they do not win. Beatrice and Julius have fallen in love and just need to be able to be open and speak of it honestly. Absolutely a great book to read. Can't wait for the next . Would recommend this book to all.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ash (so there’s this book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes and themes in His Midnight Bride include: marriage of convenience, soft MMC, hurt/care, secret identity, and darker themes of omega abuse that may be triggering to some readers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️ ½ /5
🪢/5 (omegaverse metric)

FMC: Bea - omega
MMC: Julius - alpha

This book was a really sweet, romantic, simple omegaverse read! I know quite a few folks have been looking for MF (non-RH) omegaverse books, which are kind of rare in the genre, but I can confidently recommend this one! This would also make a great starter book for people wanting to get into omegaverse, but don’t want all of the alpha-omega biology. There isn’t a lot of omegaverse specific mechanics, only claiming bites and scents/pheromones.

The FMC, Bea is really into animal care, and I loved seeing her flourish while taking care of the animals under her charge.

All in all, an adorable, caring story about a woman in need of care and a man who is dying to give it to her.

[Sandie Tangen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay

I had no idea this was a book from the supernatural genre, I thought it was a Regency romance, and to some extent it is. But the author can't seem to make up her mind as to which style this story is, and that's definitely an issue. I feel like it's based in an alternative universe, and if that's the case then it should be made clear because I found the odd references somewhat confusing. Perhaps there have been other books where this world has been explained but it seems to me that sort of thing should be reiterated in a new series for any new readers. The story is cliche but romantic, although both of the main characters were a bit too saccharine for my taste. Then there's the writing; the kindest word I can use is amateurish. This author needs better beta readers because there were a lot of grammatical errors, and the plotting could have been better too.
TLDR: Mildy entertaining but I won't be returning to this author.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise of the story from the start. I have never read an Omegaverse book, that was completely in the past century and old times. Furthermore, I have read a few with time journeys. But that was it.

So, I enjoyed reading this. Bea was a great character. She did evolve during the story. Of course. And I liked Julius too.

And the book had the important parts of Omegaverse. Which was significant for me. But still had some different elements, like that an Omega can bond with a Beta, but only if she chooses to accept the connection. That was something I have never seen in other books before.

Still, there is a feeling, that prevents me from giving 5 stars. I can't really pinpoint what problem I had. It's just, that I wasn't satisfied completely.

But overall, it was a good read. :)

[Monika Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book.

Story follows Lady Beatrice Allow, who is abused and trained by her father to be obedient in every aspect of her daily life. When he engaged her to a man as cruel as him she runs away with the help of her mother. She finds herself in another country and disguise herself as a boy so she could find work and hide. The main male character is Lord Julius where Lady Beatrice started to work as a stable boy.

Book is well written and I like author style.
It's a slow burn love story and it allows you to connect with emotions of main protagonists.
Author shows beautifully how kindness, patience, care and love can help to overcome fears and help to bloom and grow.

There are some triggers which are mentioned at the start. Lady Bea is suffering from PTSD as a result of abuse she endured.

My rating is 4 stars as ending felt a little rushed and I missed that "cherry on top".

I would definitely recommend it and can't wait to read next book by Natalie Highland.

[SHANNON YOUNG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood to read a tender love story where the MMC truly cherishes and cares for his love interest. This story hit the spot, especially in the beginning. There was a lovely caretaking scene, and he always makes sure she is not only giving full consent to all decisions affecting her life, but that she's in the right space emotionally to be able to give consent. The paranormal elements are present, but in a very low key manner.

I would have enjoyed this more if victim mentality hadn't dominated for so much of the story. Yes, we see slow and steady growth until the FMC demonstrates full agency and, ultimately, shares power with her true love. I applaud what the author was trying to achieve, I just don't think it was entirely successful. Still, I liked this book, and it delivered what I was looking for this afternoon.

[Em Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright this was…a mess.

Grammatically, this needed a heavy copyedit and at least two passes of a mechanical edit. Punctuation missing or in the wrong place, run on sentences and fragments, and incorrect word choices galore.

Plot wise, I think the author would really benefit from focusing less on the flowery language and more on developing plot and balancing it with exposition.

Character wise, everyone is as flat as cardboard and utterly unrealistic. Everyone pissed me off. The world building was underdeveloped (and raised quite a few “this is extremely Eurocentric” alarm bells), the characterization was slim to none, and the omegaverse dynamics were flimsy and underdeveloped.

In sum, I think the author has a promising future in their writing but really needs to focus on the building blocks of a solid story.

[Willow field · Rating 3 out of 5]

His midnight bride is a regency omegaverse where England is the safe place, and the FL is from a place that treats omegas like second class citizens. This had rough themes of abuse, but also redemption and recovery. I enjoy this story and meeting these characters, and love the time period twist.

Over all the storyline and world was well put together, but I did struggle with some time jumps and resituating myself because the jump wasn't fully clear. The characters I felt like had a lot of facets to them but I did feel like the FML felt stronger for a little bit and then suddenly sooo scared it hurt and the ML seemed grumpy and then overly wholesome.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pull your hair out annoying.

I understand the writer was trying to underline the A/O differences but this went off the road and into Duh'sville . The FMC was a paper pony. Beat down and timid but also very thick . Even tho he reassured her over and over again, at last count 12 times, she fled at the first hurdle, and when was the last time you read a book where the FMC breaks her arm and ankle on separate occasions from falling down!?! ..Shes just cringe worthy. If I saw an actual person behaving that way I wouldn't think them abused, I would think they had special needs. I got almost to the end and just gave up. Frankly the best thing about this story was the cover.

[Shanice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a mixed bag. Adding omegaverse to Regency style romance was rather intriguing, and I liked this take on the typical alpha/omega urges being bound by standards of propriety. I do wish the book took more time to explain the intricacies of alpha/omega norms in this setting. I enjoyed the romance between Bea and Julius, but the writing needed more polish. There would be passages that I found sweet and moving, only to be followed by numerous typos. The chapters are short, but the pacing is quite slow and dragged by overly repetitive passages at times. I think I'm open to reading the other books in this series though.

[Brier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bea has a backstory that really makes you want to protect and care for her. Abused and broken, she flees her life and is able to grant passage to a better land.

Julius is an Alpha not really looking for a partner. An Earl and a man who is kind and giving.

When their paths cross, it's a different kind of love story. And I loved every minute of it.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Books2lovenow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read

The characters in this book are really lovely. I adored the parts where the characters interacted with each other. When there was dialogue it was well written. Although, the descriptions of things were well written I felt that more interactions in real time would have taken this from a 4 to 5 stars. The book is a alpha/omega story but it veres from other books of that type so at times I was confused about what was happening.

The book was worth reading and I think Natalie will only become a better writer over time.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really has it all. Escaping a cruel man with the help of her mother she finds a job but pretends to be a young man instead of the omega she is. Now her boss is helping and with the heat as well. It's set in regency England and I'm a sucker for that so I loved it but the story I enjoyed too so I'm glad I read it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical omegaverse sounds wonderful and this was a nice story that used both of these as a background. Still, ultimately this was a story of survival and finding love after being treated horribly. It was surprisingly easy to read despite the horrors Bea had gone through and I liked the chemistry between her and Julius. The story focused a lot on her growth and her overcoming the brainwashing she had gone through and I liked that but it did leave the romance a little shallow (though okay).

[Rose Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read

So this wasn’t the typical duke/rake/virgin lady type book I was expecting. There’s a magical twost to the characters I wasn’t expecting.

The book wasn’t too bad of a read, but there were times it just didn’t keep my attention, so it took me longer than normal to finish it. There are also typos and grammatical errors I found, which also distracted me.

Overall not bad, not sure I’ll be finishing the series.

[Nicole Deanne Veracruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried several times for Bea and all the abuse and pain she suffered. Thank God her mom was strong enough and loved her enough to help her escape. Then comes Julius the perfect gentleman who falls in love with Bea. He shows her how a man should truly treat a woman. Can't wait for the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved! pulled me in from the beginning and held my interest all the way to the end. It was emotional, intense, at times thought how can someone go through so much. Highly entertaining but not in a funny, ha-ha way. It was more of an intriguing, enthralling, overwhelming way.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in the Omega Brides series, by a new Author to me and it seems to be her debut story. I enjoyed reading Lady Beatrice Allou who flees to England and goes to work for Lord Julius as a boy. The story is well written and I will be reading the next book. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a rule, I always hate Alpha/ Omega books, they always give me the ‘ick.’
This, however, is an exception. Think ‘Bridgerton’ meets fantasy.
It’s well written, apart from needing a little proof reading for typos, however this doesn’t distract from the plot.
I loved the story, it was well paced and interesting throughout.
This series is worth the read, and I’m excited to read book two!

[Angelica Larsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and intriguing book that I find entertaining. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

rushed ending

Omegaverse historical romance. Who woulda thunk. Overall was pretty good but the ending felt rushed and I would’ve liked more

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. There is a definite need for an editor. Wrong words used, extra letters, spaces in the middle of words. Interesting premise… but just okay.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridiculous

Struggled to finish. Kept thinking it was going to get better. Confusing. No explanation for the alpha omega thing and rather boring.

[Catheryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omegaverse historic romance??? Yes!

But..no. I found this book very sweet, sugar sweet. It was also very slow moving and Zapata level slow burn. Which is surprising for an omegaverse book. I thought it was great to show how she heals from years of abuse. But it was at a snails pace.... I wasn't sure what I was going to do if she adopted one more needy animal. Interesting concept but boring delivery.

[Estefany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hubieron partes buenas, y partes que la verdad necesitaban mas detalles o mejor desarrollo. El final fue fatal fatal, demasiado apresurado. Se que hay otro libro pero este merecía un mejor final, además la actitud de ella me llegó a molestar varias veces. Otra gran decepción es que la parte de Omegaverse no fue bien aprovechada excepto en momentos donde servía para explicar lo que pasaba.