Trash Panda

Shift Work #3

by Alex Silver

I'd give my best friend, Rollie, anything he needs from me. After all, he gave me a place to live when I needed space from my family. It doesn't seem like a big deal to share my prescription with him too. We share practically everything else these days, so why not help him out? Not like anyone else is willing to help shifters like us. Only my condition is getting worse and I can't seem to hide it anymore. That's not the only thing I can't hide; somewhere along the line, I fell for Rollie, but how could he feel the same about me when I feel like garbage?

Trash Panda is an M/M omegaverse romance between a raven shifter omega and a raccoon shifter omega. It includes hurt/comfort, infertility, adoption, found family, and all the shiny things.

Genres: Shapeshifters

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2024

Reviews

[❀ Jess ( Semi hiatus )]

DNF @76%

This is NOT safe, I kept pushing through thinking it was going to get better but it does not. This is very angsty. One MC uses sex as self harm. There's mutual pining but they don't talk about it until way later into the story. On page sex with hook ups, threesome.

When they finally decide to talk and open up about wanting to be mates they settle on an open relationship allowing the Raven MC to continue to have sex with the Alpha fuck buddies that don't rough him up.

So all in all, it has everything I hate and avoid and I fooled myself into thinking the 'comfort' part of the hurt/comfort would be worth it. Turns out this author is not for me and i shouldve stopped reading at the second chapter 🙈.

[Molly Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this is my first omegaverse story from Alex, and I can definitely say it will not be my last if they all hit like this. Rollie & Seb have been best friends for years and have been there for each other through the thick and thin. Seb is unable to carry children due to an illness that makes them present alpha even when they are omega. Rollie is intersex but chooses to be male and omega. These two share pills to be the better versions of themselves even though they have consequences, neither expect. Their story is an emotional ride of accepting one's self after past trauma to come out on the other end truly happy. They are one of those couples you know can make it through anything because at this point in their friendship they already have and mix in being mated, it can only become stronger.

[Zoë Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st person, present tense, dual POV
Thomas Rollie (trans omega), head manager at the local grocery store
Sebastian Korbin (omega with creep), odd jobs, raven at the Willowdale Zoo

I didn't realize this was part of a series when I signed up for the ARC, which is my bad so I'm pretty sure I'm missing some worldbuilding and context, which meant I had to play a little bit of catch up with an a/b/o world and a pretty big cast of characters. I'm going to have to admit the ravens kind of bled into each other, there were so many of them it was frankly overwhelming. That said, I didn't have any real trouble following the story.

This is a bit of an angstier read, so mind the trigger warning. It's heavier (but not suffocatingly so) for the first quarter to third of the book and then gets appreciably easier to handle. Serious topics and behaviours were dealt with appropriately and not just swept under the rug. I found the story being told to be quite compelling and I couldn't wait to see it unfold.

I was hooked right from the beginning. What a great meet-cute! Drunk Rollie made me laugh. I loved Seb's caretaking, which is a side he doesn't show many. I'm a sucker for found family in a story and this had it in spades with both Seb's rave and within the greater Four Corner community. My heart broken for Rollie any time he thought about his birth family and gaze so I was happy he had finally managed to find his place.

I love a best friends to lovers tale and this was such a satisfying one, both guys have their share of issues and trauma to deal with but they know and love each other so deeply that they easily make one and other a priority. Seb in particular is scarred by his past and medical issues, but that makes him all the more eager to ensure Rollie is healthy and happy, even to his detriment. It's evident in the care that that take with each other that they are meant to be. The cuddling and preening that comes from their animal side was just so sweet and cute. While their happily ever after is unconventional, it works for them and you will root for them from beginning to end.

I loved this omega/omega pairing and the progression of Rollie and Seb sharing themselves with each other only with an alpha to act as a buffer between them to embracing their relationship as mates.

I really enjoyed the story and will likely revisit the series in the future to catch up on what I missed out on.

I was given an ARC and voluntarily wrote an honest review.

[Liza Broadaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omegaverse is not my usual and this was a lot for a novice as far as dynamics but I loved both MCs. The found family in the ravens was beautiful as was the acceptance of who each person saw themselves. 2 BFFs who’s greatest treasure was eachother but they were both a little broken on the inside and thought the other deserved more than each other to be mates. If you are an omegaverse fan I think you will really like this one!

[charmene saint-victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

This has been on my pre order list and it did not disappoint. I love this series. I love how it tackles gender and tropes that other omega-verse ignores. Omega/Omega books are so rare add the trans aspect and you have a welcomed novelty. Thank you for writing this!

[Isaiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating based on beta read. I have no doubts it is better, just not the biggest fan of a/b/o or mpreg.