But I chose them instead. My pack of broken alphas. And the Ghosts will burn this world to the ground to keep me safe.
As we gather unexpected allies and prepare to strike at the heart of the Council, I realize something that terrifies me more than any enemy.
I'm not just their omega anymore. I'm their salvation. Their reason to live. Their reason to die.
And when the Council threatens everything we've built, they'll learn exactly what happens when you back five ruthless alphas and their feral omega into a corner.
The Ghosts are coming for blood.
And this time, we're bringing an army.
Psycho Pack is the third book in the Ghost Alpha Unit series and the final book in Ivy's trilogy. These are not standalones and must be listened to in order.
For mature listeners. A complete list of content warnings can be found on the author's website.
URGH it hurts my heart to say this but there was something off with this book. I loved the first two. The writing in this one was much much more flowery and descriptive which I disliked immensely. The only part of this book that I liked was Wraith. He's a precious angel that should be protected ♡
I never thought I'd say this but there is such a thing as too much steamy time in one scene. The cave scene came out of left field (because they were currently on the run/in danger)and was unnecessarily long for no reason. Things just kept getting added on. Let me be clear that I've been reading adult paranormal romance for at least the past decade and a half and reverse harem for the last few years. The knotting and A/B/O dynamics don't bother me in the slightest. I think I would have preferred if that scene were divided up throughout the book instead of all at once out of nowhere. There was a point when I started skimming because I just wanted the story to start moving along again. Also, why put the spotlight on Plague and Whiskey out of all of them? I'd much rather know more about Thane and my baby boy Wraith.
I don't know what happened to the overall pacing of this trilogy because it was not this slow as molasses thing in the first two books. I truly wanted to love this but it had so much going against it for me. Even though this last book did me dirty I will probably be giving the next trilogy set in this world a try because I'm curious ♡
I'm incredibly disappointed with how this third book came out, and I'll be adjusting my rating of the second book in relation to it.
First off, I really wish authors would stop using a series to set up the characters for their next one. It feels lazy, and it's incredibly frustrating to lose on page time for the setup of a series I haven't even committed to reading next. Introduce your darn characters in their own darn book.
Second, my frustrations about the framing of the second book remain and, if anything, feel much inflamed. There's a clear preference for the characters of Wraith, Whiskey and Plague, pretty much in that order, to the point that you're wondering why Thane and Valek exist.
Thane's main purpose in this book seems to have been to highlight Whiskey's lightheartedness by always being the one to elbow him in the ribs. Every single damn time. If he's the "leader" then colour me surprised, because surprise prince Plague gives out a lot more of the orders than Thane ever seems to do. His other purpose was to highlight what a marshmallow Wraith really is, by means of an entirely irrelevant memory that drags on for half a chapter, and the "moment of truth" where he saves Wraith from having to do a heart-wrenching choice. Apparently.
Valek also doesn't get amazing treatment this book, starting with a lot of hatred from the entire team, and Ivy stringing him along with indecision until... 80-odd percent in? Then again, Thane gets similar treatment.
The treatment of both characters gets on my nerves because they're interesting, and it feels annoying to be let down by them being basically cardboard figures to make this seem like it's a larger pack. The author could have just settled on the characters she actually liked and not teased us with a poor delivery of characters she wasn't interested in.
And if you've read the whole book without skimming (congratulations, I couldn't), you'll probably remark that it's hard to say that we don't get in Valek's head or in Thane's, but their points are long-winded and both resume pretty much to a belief that they don't deserve the gift that is Ivy. Not sure what the gift is, since my girl spent 2.5 books ignoring the ever living fuck out of most of the pack before suddenly realising she was in love before being kidnapped by Valek.
The book is too long, we get entirely too much drawn out drama for the sake of drama. Woe is Plague, poor baby killed someone he knew! Oh, and he's so ashamed of his inappropriate feelings towards other alphas! I mean, he didn't seem ashamed of much in the previous two books, but yeah, why not, let's change the characters to enable the plot.
We also get treated to a way too long scene where Plague and Whiskey get together early in the book. This happens in a cave, in the middle of a blizzard, while everyone is struggling to stay warm. Why it took them two books to eventually talk through a scene that started out in book one is a complete mystery to me.
But yeah. Just disappointed. I thought the author had great potential, but there needs to be a lot more thorough editing, and more critical beta readings, if this is to become good. In my opinion, the entire book series needs to be reread and rewritten to ensure that the characters all get a decent plot arc.
Drop the frustrating low self esteem that all of them seem to have, mature them to the point where they actually behave their damned age, make every single scene that makes it on page meaningful for the plot arc, and generally tighten up the writing. Also, add gods damned lube for all the anal scenes for crying out loud. You can't write constantly about how amazingly huge these men are and then consistently use no lube. That's not how bodies work.
Not sure I'll be picking up another book by the author until some points get addressed seriously.
Look, honestly this whole series is ridiculous way beyond my ability to look past it and the smut is not even slightly appealing but I liked the bromances and Wraith (obviously).
The Pros
- The bromances. These were by far the best part and they didn't really start to show until book three.
- The grammar and syntax (barring a few typos in this book) and the use of big words. I love a well-used big word.
The Cons
- This whole alpha/omega dynamic honestly grosses me out.
- But not as much as the sex scenes do. Actually, those more than gross me out - they sound genuinely excruciating. Like, I straight up do not believe these are possible without sustaining substantial physical damage kind of excruciating. - Life changing physical damage in some cases. - If you are genuinely concerned that you might tear someone apart with what you're doing - don't do it! If you're putting something in your mouth that is genuinely likely to dislocate your jaw, don't do it! - It perturbs me that these guys are all "must protect Ivy at all costs" and then while she's drugged up on hormones, they're like "let's watch her take three of our at-least-soda-can-sized dicks at once".
- I'm kind of disturbed by the author continuously telling us Whiskey is fat, but it's ok because a couple of them are into that kind of thing. We don't really get that much description of the others' bodies, beyond tight/big. It feels both critical and oddly fetishising.
- Thane has basically no personality.
- This big thing is made of Valek being a "psychopath" or whatever, but actually he tells us that the people he killed were the ones who had tortured him. That's not psychopathic IMHO. I wouldn't describe him as any worse than most of the others.
- Plague's dark secret baffled me. Not the It just seemed like a colossal overreaction for someone with otherwise very controlled behaviour.
- The smoothest revolution to ever happen. Like, basically the whole thing happened in the last 25% of book three of three.
- The idiocy of everyone being like OMG Ivy will let us mark her if we all come back alive!! What an incentive to live!! Really? Because if she didn't say that, you were all just going to go off and get yourselves killed?
- The contradictions, e.g. "We dismantle each one with deliberate noise. I want him to hear us coming." Fast forward... "we approach the study. Neither of us bothers to move quietly anymore." or "the heat that's been burning through me for hours has finally been quenched." Fast forward... "the fire in my veins still rages". Or little things, like there being clothes easily available in different colours in a place where everyone wears white and hardly anyone ever leaves (). Not the best business plan. None are major but they made me roll my eyes after a while. Souped up melodrama. It wears thin.
- The phrases "gilded cage" and "hung the moon" used over and over again.
4.25 ⭐️ The ghost's are now fugitives with a bounty on their heads. They have to heal old wounds to make it out of this war alive. I really enjoyed seeing all of these relationships flourish, new and old. I thought it was the ending all of the characters deserved. 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Really liked the first two books in this series but when I say the first 30% of this book is one singular sex scene I am not exaggerating. It was actually comical. And I think some editing was missed because there were several parts that repeated nearly word for word. When I am saying that the smut in a book is too gratuitous that should really speak volumes.
4.3 stars. So I did enjoy this trilogy. Wraith is just a big, scary, softy, and I loved him from the start. And I honestly love an unhinged character, so Valek was another one I loved. But it all just felt, unbalanced, I guess is the right word. We got a lot of emotional development with Wraith. We got a lot of sexual tension and action with Whiskey and Plague. And a lot of tension with Valek. But very little with Thane, and Valek when you look at the trilogy as a whole. And the most balanced relationships out of the bunch were Plague, and Whiskey. Between the two, and their relationships with Ivy. It just felt like the most time and energy was spent on those three, and then Wraith, and the others were kind of just background. And I’ll be honest, even with the trio it felt like Whiskey was kind of less important than Plague with how much time was spent there. I don’t know. It was just not balanced in a way that felt equal to all of the guys.
I still liked the series. But it didn’t hit as hard with me as I really wanted it to.
Psycho Pack is peak feral mayhem: one omega, five ruthless alphas, and enough blood, spice, and drama to level an empire. 🐺🔥⚔️
Ivy’s not just surviving anymore—she’s leading, scheming, and occasionally making you blush hard enough to need a cold drink. 😏🥵 The Ghosts? Still unhinged, still deadly, and still weirdly irresistible. 🚩❤️🔥
A lot happens, it’s wild, it’s bloody, it’s entertaining—but honestly I’m kinda over it 😅 it was good, but I didn’t mind reaching the end of the book 🫣
I read this book (or more like each chapters) on Patreon already. Every time a new chapter was uploaded I put everything I was doing aside to read - even if it was just for a few minutes.
I can’t describe how much I love this series and each character. Do I want to say goodbye to them? NO. But the epilogue helped me in letting them go, even if I don’t want to…
I enjoyed this book veeery much!
The character transformation was on peak. I think out of all of them Valek and Plague made the biggest evolutions (I’m all here for it). Aside from the characters I also liked how the story and the “end” turned out. There were many parts of the story unrolling I didn’t expect and this book held me in a chokehold more than just a few times.
This series was a masterpiece. ❤️
(I’m also seeing forward to the next book/pack! 👀)
This pains me to rate this at 3 stars considering I was so excited for the release. I loved the first two books of the series but this one just kept dragging. I found myself forcing myself to keep reading until finally I decided to take a little break from it. I definitely thought the last half of the book was better and the epilogue was sweet. It just seemed like a lot of build up to a not very climactic ending. The last 15% before the epilogue was really rushed. There was also a lot of set up for the next series.
I loved Wraith and seeing him overcome the trauma of his past. He’s an absolute sweetheart and I’m glad the other guys finally saw more to him than just the brutality. I wish Thane wasn’t sidelined as much. He was such a great character in the first book and I just needed more of him. The found family aspect of the story is the strength of the series and the way their story came to a close was the sweetest. It reminded me of why I fell in love with the characters in the first place.
I kinda took my time reading this book, honestly I was trying to wait for the paperback version but I couldn’t wait anymore. I will definitely buy it when it’s finally out. Told from all POV, the ending to this trilogy is almost bitter sweet. The author left some clues for the next characters, which I can’t wait to read. The war/ending was almost rushed, after all the other times these characters faced adversity. Still spicy and sweet...with a lot of character growth.
I tried so hard. I got to 76% then I had to stop. I may revisit but this feels so off to me. First Ivy feels so different to me, I loved her in the first two books but this one… idk she seems different. I love her connection to wraith but it almost feels like she’s not into the other other pack members??
For the third book I was hoping to see more pack time like in the second book (but I guess it is like the saving the world time?)
And that first spice scene completely knocked me out. If it would’ve ended after plague and whiskey was done it would’ve been perfect but I ended up skimming through ivys and wraiths additions.
I hope to come back and read the whole series together ( I’m hoping I just spent too much time away)
This series had me hooked, buckled and strapped in. What a great wild ride.
Quick summary: This is an omegaverse series, where our main characters are wonderfully feral. Ivy is our FMC here, and she was given to a pack of alphas back in Book 1, Thane, Whiskey, Plague, Valek, and Wraith. This is the last book in their series. We discover some of their real names, along with some of their histories and secrets! Some good, some bad, all shocking. They make their way back from the facility they were being held at, and in a moment of desperation turn to an unknown nation to survive, which starts a whirlwind of changes as they know it. Valek's place in the pack hangs in the balance with Ivy as his judge, jury, and executioner. Tensions rise, they turn to an previous frenemy as they change everything.
Spice level is 4/5, even though there's not a lot of spicey scenes, the ones that are there are intense. The scenes fit into the plot well too, none of them seemed forced just to have a smuttier book.
The ending battle seemed a little less detailed than previous but at this point most of them weren't in the midst of the action anyway so it kind of makes sense. It did seem a tad rushed, getting Nikolais army, then bam. Attack. Seemed to brush over Plagues discovery. I liked the set up for the next series and the foreshadowing throughout the book hinting at it! I'm hopeful we get to see the plot of the attack progress with this next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book started so well. It had me laughing out loud with glee but it quickly got dull once they escaped the facility. Nothing really happened. So much so, I found myself skipping/skimming large sections of the story. There was also a lot of emotional drama that didn't fit in with the characters as they were previously portrayed. It was very disappointing.
Not me giggling like a girl because Wraith is so cute 🥰
Still, I DNFd 36% in. The book introduced a completely new plot line 1/3 into the finale of a trilogy and I’m not having it. Again, if this trilogy was JUST Wraith and Ivy (maybe Thane too, everyone else annoys me) hands down, I’d give it 5⭐️.
Lovedddd books 1&2. I was sooo excited for this last book and was disappointed :/ I really wanted to like it but I just couldn’t.
Everything that happened in this book felt so far fetched, how did this book even generate after books 1/2??? Didn’t flow well, everything felt so impossible to happen, nothing really felt cohesive at all.
Also, I know ivys feral and what not but, her being able to “fight” after being held captive, only bro no trained for a little while? Bonkers bc how does that correlate.
Wraith. I love him. No criticism for him.
Really no criticism for the guys at all, the plot was just so far fetched, unbelievable, and everything ab it was anticlimactic.
So rushed but also so slow. Revealing plague's a prince in the second half of the last book in a trilogy is not the power move it was intended to be. The entire war and regime ends in maybe 20 pages and a shotgun. Incredibly disappointing after the beautifully written previous 2 in the trilogy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a fun conclusion to the trilogy. I thought everyone had good character development throughout the series. Some more than others. I thought Thane’s development was minimal for him being “pack leader”. Plagues story and development was probably my favorite. There is fun world building and pretty interesting spice. Overall a very good trilogy. I’ll probably read the second trilogy that was set up in the last book for a different pack.
"You're not as broken as you think. Just cracked in all the right places to let the light in."
I dropped the book I was in the middle of reading as soon as Psycho Pack released. Like the exact minute because I was so excited for the finale of Ivy and the Ghosts. And I blew through all 600+ pages.
This wasn't a mindblowing conclusion but it was very solid. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the plot, and this unique dystopian world. There were so many memorable moments. However, it lacks in spice and the RH aspect wasn't as strong as I usually like but it was still so enjoyable.
Now let's talk about the men.
Wraith. We all know he's everybody's favorite. Who doesn't love a touch-her-and-I-kill-you golden retriever in a terrifying package? If you like monster romances, Wraith is basically that. He's missing parts of his jaw/face so his lethal teeth are exposed and I'm kind of really into it. I love the way he adored Ivy and he was able to calm down just because of her. I did feel like it was played up a little too much though and if they were able to have some of the other men calm him down the same way, I would have liked it more. It began feeling like Ivy had a clear favorite among the men. Ivy and Wraith were on a different level while her relationships with the other men weren't as developed, which I was hoping would change by the end of the series. It didn't.
Plague. I really grew a connection to him after hearing about why he left home and his struggles with Whiskey. Something about his quiet, thoughtful demeanor called to me. And I think he ended up being my personal favorite. Although, his personality changed so much from the first book that it doesn't feel like character growth but instead more like the author forgot how much of a germaphobe he was supposed to be. I can't explain why exactly I hold such a fondness for him but there's a quality that made it impossible to dislike him. Maybe I liked how vulnerable he could be or his selflessness in putting the others' wellbeing before his own.
Whiskey. I'm glad we finally got to see him as more than a dumb jock. The way he took care of Plague melted my heart but I was getting so irritated hearing about his "padded stomach." It felt degrading for the author to keep pointing out that he was not as fit as the other guys. Maybe it would have been different if Ivy complimented his physique more. It's clear that he's in shape so I don't get the constant need to point out his extra insulation. We could have focused more on his good heart. His character was so fun and I ended up really looking forward to the scenes involving him.
Valek. I won't lie, I have a soft spot for him. Misguided as he was, I think his intentions were pure and he did not deserve to be treated so badly by the Ghosts. It didn't help that he failed to explain his perspective once they were all reunited and out of danger. Yes, he did risk everything they had, but Ivy and the Ghosts made him grovel more than I thought was warranted. Also, was he not meant to reconcile with them because I noticed . I wish we got more of his backstory since I do have some unanswered questions about his life before the Ghosts. He redeemed himself in my eyes when he shot through 's hand. I didn't know I was into this but a man who's a good shot was pretty attractive. It also could have been because he was protecting one of his own.
Thane. I'm not sure what his personality was aside from him being the leader of the Ghosts. His voice was hard to pin down because there wasn't much to him, unfortunately. Each of the other men had their moments with Ivy and it's a shame we didn't get to know him. He played a big role in the first book when he took Ivy home for the first time and later on returned to the refinement facility, but other than that, he seemed more like an afterthought.
We needed more MM moments platonic or otherwise. I love the way Thane took care of Wraith at the end and I was hoping to see more sword crossing between more of the other men. I'd even be okay with Thane x Wraith.
I'm disappointed we didn't see more of The Knight. I get that he has his own spinoff, but he was introduced to us and we got to know him just enough to get a little attached before he was whisked away. It felt like a very calculated move to entice us to read his story, instead of a natural inclination to follow him, Cosima, and Azarel (maybe even Nikolai). That doesn't necessarily mean I won't read it, but I find it a little off-putting.
After reading other Omegaverse RH series, I have a new appreciation for this one. It was so much better than I thought it would be.
2.5* Took me ages to finish. I loved the previous books, but this was just waaay too long and the whole Plague storyline felt like it came out of the blue. Sad. But the ending was very cute.
Having now read all 3 books. I can say that the world building, it does not improve much. The backstories, our shallow, in some of the descriptions get really, really repetitive. Everyone has carefully constructed walls that are continuously fallen down. The temperature is always dropping by few degrees. And everyone is always doing everything against their instincts and better judgment, but overlooking those cons. It is a good story The girl isn't whining and crying. She's growing and brave. The boys are protective in a way that is sane, so I still stand by this being a good story. An enjoyable read, just go into it.Understanding it for what it is.
Did not disappoint. I have been waiting for this book for what seems like forever. I have loved this series so much. And so sad to see Ivy and her ghosts come to an end. It is full of spice with a lot of sweet moments despite their situation and, of course, a lot of knots. Wraith is still my favourite and has been from the beginning. They all deserved their freedom and happiness. Valek even grew on me in this book and couldn't stay mad at him because he did have me laughing. This bookmwas the whole PACKage.
Um, I honestly don't understand how this has such high rating (the entire series for that matter, because my critique points kinda apply to the entire series, especially book 2 and 3). I don't really know where to start..maybe I chose the wrong series for my tastes..? I'm not new to A/B/O series, but I couldn't connect with this book. The 2 stars are for Wraith, he's the only one I liked.
My problems with the book (careful spoilers):
The sex scenes felt a bit forced and over the top. Also, it feels like there were editing mistakes, because some paragraphs during those scenes were almost repeated verbatim throughout them. The scenes start off good, but then the author just adds more and more and more to the point of it being ridiculous. For example the scene in the cave which starts out MM was actually pretty hot (even though I think the timing is strange for it since they are on the run). Then Ivy "joins" by watching them and then they all get each other off. It was pretty good, but then it starts to get absolutely absurd and so over the top (DVP, DP). Also what in the hentai is going on: wdym he can feel the veins of both their dicks through her lower abdomen and her belly is visibly swollen because of all the cum they dumped into her...??????? Huuuuh????? My eyes are bleeding, I'll have nightmares. Afterwards Wraith goes ape shit and what is the solution? - Oh right, blow him. And the others just stand there surrounding them and watch WTF...it's not like Wraith is super self-conscious because of his disfigurement, shy and has almost 0 sexual experience or anything. Super distasteful. To be honest I skimmed the rest of the scene entirely because it was so cringe, so maybe even more happened but I was just done.
Also, every time Ivy starts to get to know the guys better and they open up to each other it ALWAYS ends up in sex (which escalates to such absurdity it's kinda comical). I love smut, but it feels like it diminishes the progress the characters have made on a soul-connecting level if it always ends in mindless fucking. It was disappointing ngl.
Then there are the different POVs, which I usually love. However, in this case it often felt like the same scene was repeatedly told from a different perspective. Even though I read 40 pages, there was 0 plot progression. Plus the inner monologues are super drawn out. I started skipping most of them, because it felt really repetitive. Especially when the POV was one of the alphas (except Wraith). They all seem to think the same thoughts (she is mine, I have to protect her, oh but I'm not good for her etc.), it got so boring.
I skimmed most of the book and I am glad to be done with Ivy's story. I pulled through the story, because I wanted to know how it will end and because I like Wraith. But I definitely won't be reading the other book with the new couples. I have suffered and been scarred enough.
lenore gave us an incredible world and characters with this series and safe to say i'm obsessed with all of them but plague and valek are my favorites.
that being said.... i felt like we barely got time for ivy and valek, a bj doesn't do justice to this man so I was expecting a lot more than i was given :/ (reason for my -0.25)
on the positive side, i loved how everything happened plot-wise - hamsa story, azarel, knight etc. the relationships were also developed pretty well, and i loved the whiskey and plague relationship too (still upset about valek, have i mentioned that?)
this is a long book (600+ pages) but it never made me bored... on the contrary, it made me wanna finish asap so i could see what would happen with everyone
i can't wait to see cosima's story and how she'll put her pack to heel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3.5 ⭐️ a sufficient wrap up to a cool dark dystopian trilogy. The action & Wraith are the highlights.
I really loved book 2 & I was hoping this would beat it but it didn’t.
Here’s what I did love:
I really love all of the characters, the war torn world setting & the discovery of an oasis tucked into it. 💣 The action scenes were great! I loved the ass kicking, the descriptions of the fight scenes, and the final moments with Thane & Wraiths pos father. 🐺 We finally get a full group scene in this, where as all the others were just her and one or two of them. Even though it felt a little rushed it was pretty good.
😢Here’s where this fell short:
Emotional connection with the other characters. I fell HARD for Wraith in book 2. Their connection is UNDENIABLE & felt the most genuine. She had warmed up to everyone by the start of book 3, besides Valek, so I was hoping we would get deeper into it with the others left. However, it didn’t feel that way.
She definitely is fond of whiskey and his joking around but it still felt superficial. I actually felt like he and Plague had a stronger connection esp after the night tour scene.
Plague felt the same way, maybe a little deeper with him bc we got his full history… though all the stuff with the previous lover felt repetitive and also drew more attention to his relationship with Whiskey.
Valek is shunned most of this and there’s a whole “control” scene which just felt… 🤷🏼♀️ but at least they eventually get some ALONE TIME.
‼️Which leads me to THANE. I’m most disappointed about him bc I love him as much as Wraith and really felt like he was left out. I kept waiting for some emotional moments with just her and Thane and we never got that… 😪 he just felt like an extra…
And lastly, I didn’t like the whole scenes with the random Omega they captured. It was kind of confusing, especially when the stuff about her dreams came up. It felt super detached from the plot of this book. Clearly all of it was a setup for the next trilogy and I just feel like it was unnecessary.
2.5 - 3 stars: Real shame when a story starts quite promising and it just falls a bit flat as the series progresses. I thought that more character depth would be given and to an extent, in respect to Thane and Wraith, such thankfully has been provided. However, the rest of the characters felt quite distant, in particular the main heroine, which for me is a tad disappointing. The fact that the story dragged quite a bit did not help the situation.
The romance... where is it, the situation has been the same for me since the last book, Wraith and Ivy's connection is strong, but considering the pack dynamic, I would have expected for all members to be equal participants in this family unit that they are creating. I completely agree with some of the other reviews, more emphasis has been given to some characters whereas others remained on the sidelines.
On a more positive note, few answers are provided as to the Council's masterminds and their vicious games. Wraith has struggled so much, hence why seeing him overcoming his own insecurities, was a beautiful experience to follow. Thane, another character that had a lot to offer. It does take courage and great inner strength to stand your ground when faced with those that used to mean the world to you. I do think the premise was engaging, but the romance, character development and dialogues perhaps could have been more well thought through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.