Knot Worth Saving

Blood & Honey #1

by J.M. Crosbie

I came to this small town with nothing but scars under my skin and a cage fight history no one dared speak of. Chicago chewed me up and spat me out bloodied, branded, and bone-deep tired. I wasn’t looking for a pack—especially not one like them.

Soren, Vale, Rhian, and Kier aren’t the brutal alphas I was kept by. They’re warm hands and soft words. Laughter at the diner. Gentle touches that ask before they take. For the first time in my life, I don’t have to fight to be wanted. I just am.

But someone doesn’t like that I’m finally breathing free.

Someone’s trying to destroy what I’ve built, to turn me against my pack, to make me doubt the only happiness I’ve ever known.

But I didn’t survive the cages to fold now.
There are those who think I'm Knot Worth Saving.
But I'll be damned if they come for me
I'll be waiting.

This is a multi-POV omegaverse romance intended for mature audiences (18+).
Features one emotionally scarred omega, four possessive and tender alphas, heat scenes, knotting, no MM pairings, no cheating, and a happily ever after worth clawing your way toward.

Genres: Omegaverse, Why Choose

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 8, 2025

Reviews

[Pene|ope • Reading Slump, Send Help · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just listing out the notes I took and adding to them. I'm too lazy to write out A whole review.

‼️ Spoilers probably

This author literally forgot that she added dates to the beginning of her chapters. The characters have been saying they've spent weeks together and I thought it was a typo or something until the FMC said "it's been eight weeks," about a break-in that happened 11 days earlier according to the very clear dates at the start of every chapter. And that break-in was 4 whole days after any of them even met her in person when she went for the job interview. So they've known each other for 15 days total at this point, but are saying and acting like it's been weeks. You could say that the weeks happened off page and ignore the dates at the start of each chapter if it weren't for the fact that most of these things happened on consecutive days, so we're literally following along with the days in real time with the story. And now, at like 15 days of knowing each other they're all deeply in love already, the FMC is already about to make declarations about how well she knows them, and they keep saying they've had weeks together. Bro which timeline are we actually in???

Oh wow, at the end of the story it's been like 2 months, but these guys already know her friends (who live in another state) and their packs well enough to talk as if they've met multiple times and connected deeply and joke around as if they're all close...

This is one of those "and everyone clapped" books. She does things a few times to the villain in public and all the bystanders laugh and cheer her on like this is some fantasy reality where she's the coolest person in the room. *eye roll*

The OW are present to create drama then they both conveniently fade into the background and are never heard from again and apparently don't want the alphas anymore even though one was literally stalking one of the alphas for years. *eye roll*

The villain kidnapped her because of course...then he dropped a pin for the alphas to come find her lmao. The villain was taken out so easily because he apparently forgot there were four members in her pack instead of three when they've been living in this small town together for years. *eye roll*

Lots of lines delivered like they're supposed to be funny but the humor is just not there.

Everything is surface level. They have this deep connection, or so they TELL us, but but we don't see them connecting at all in the literal days they've known each other.

These chapters switch too often. We barely get to see one character's POV for a quick conversation then we switch to another character's POV. Or we start a new chapter in the same character's POV, seconds after the last one ended, but the only thing that's changed is the time stamp under the date in the chapter header. WHYYYYY? Why is this necessary?

Also, we keep switching POVs to see the FMC's interactions with other pack members from a different pack member's eyes, making this read as third person POV while being written in first person POV and I cannot explain the rage that creates inside me. Why go from the pack member or FMC currently having the interaction to having someone she's not interacting with describe it to up us???

This FMC is supposedly traumatized, and so are the pack members, but none of that is addressed beyond a few of them telling their stories. None of them work through anything, the FMC has one instance of not trusting the MMCs in the middle of the book and that's it. The blurb makes it seem like they have a lot to work through, the characters say they do too, but they're all trusting and happily together from the beginning, despite the one time the story tried to make it interesting.

[TheVelvetHammer · Rating 1 out of 5]

FREEZE! Put your hands up and back away from the LY words!

Seriously, holy shit on a biscuit. This author has never met an ly word they didn't instantly want to overuse. Everyone is doing things slowly (104 instances), gently (106), carefully(42), quietly(62), or softly (132). Is there some kind of ly quota she's trying to meet? Mother of gawd, there's barely 279 pages of story.

It's like the only kid in the class who came to Show & Tell empty-handed. This is first day of "Writing 101" kind of stuff... a writing failure of massive proportions, and no amount of skipping paragraphs can save the reader from this Biblical-level ly plague.

Like... consecutive, relentless use of the same goddamn ly words. Trudging through this wreck of a book is akin to shoving bamboo slivers in my eyeballs.

Pg.70

Rhian followed quietly, carefully carrying a tray of delicate chocolate desserts. His dark hair was messy, and he wore comfortable dark jeans and a soft, sky-blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves. His green eyes met mine shyly, a sweet smile curving his mouth. He balanced the tray carefully, nodding warmly as he signed clearly, Hope you like chocolate.

How's that CAREFUL tray carrying going for ya, Rhian?!

Pg. 78

Vale sighed gently, shaking his head in amusement. “He’s going to be impossible now.”
Riven laughed quietly, eyes flicking toward me, softening even more. “And you’ll get to meet Fenn, too.”
My heart quickened gently, and I signed carefully: I’d like that.

Gently, quietly, gently. Does this story take place in a world inside a library?

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Every freaking page is the same plethora of descriptions masquerading as world building, the same ly words telling instead of showing, the same cringey, awkward dialogue.

Ly words not something that bothers you? How about using the same godsforsaken adjectives into extinction?

quiet/quietly: 165
sharp/sharply: 138
soft/softly/softened: 308
warm/warmth/warmly: 142

And chemistry? What chemistry? How does one even get to experience the characters in a way that doesn't feel like psychological warfare. Ah yes, His quiet look of careful warmth upon her gentle face as he smiles softly.

And what's with the date/time garbage? When I first saw it, I was like Hmmm, I do love me some attention to detail. 5 chapters later I realized that it literally serves no purpose. It's just another lazy way of writing instead of actually inserting activity, atmosphere, and creative content. And the POV shifts? Wholly random and ridiculously disruptive.

For example, Chapter 5 starts with Riven, then jumps to Vale, then at the end of Chapter 5, we get "Riven June 22nd 5:36 P.M". Chapter Six hits a few pages later and we get another "Riven June 22nd 7:25 P.M". Answer me this - WHY?????

And because the POV shifts happen repeatedly outside of Chapter progression, if you happen to forget whose POV you're in, sorry, you're just going to have to scroll backwards because you certainly can't tell by the Chapter.

I can't even comment on the story because so far this feels unreadable. I would imagine the story itself is just as bad because *gestures vaguely at everything*.


***Currently Reading Commentary******

This author seems to think they can describe this story into being good. Jesus H, just stfu and stop with the plethora of descriptors, stop cramming similes and metaphors and adjectives into every freaking square inch, stop spending two pages on everything from the ceilings to the dust bunnies, stop repeating the same goddamn descriptions in a different POV. FUCK

I've never wanted to scream-chant Shut Up to someone so badly.

[Crystal Flanagin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dedication from the author at the very beginning almost had me in tears! So heartfelt. You knew you were missing something if you didn’t read the Bound and Broken Series, which I wasn’t aware existed. But the storyline was really good. Unfortunately, about halfway through it kind of fell off. The “drama” had a strong start, but just fell flat, like the author needed a quick resolution and scapegoat. Also there was two instances of OW drama that didn’t quite hit the mark. One was an “obsessed” ex of one of the Pack. The other was a receptionist at the business the Pack owned, but she was just rude, and then she disappeared. Idk it seemed like the author just wanted to throw everything at the book and didn’t put effort into follow through. The Pack were all “I’ll unalive anyone that’s hurt you” then when the perpetrator of the drama was caught red handed they just called the police? Idk that was a lot of bluster for no follow up! I do love the new bestie, can’t wait to see what she gets up to, I suspect with a new alpha that’s coming to town. No release date for that book so I’ll just have to keep my eyes peeled. Another issue there were conflicting passages in the story, for instance in one paragraph she had her sneakers laced tightly then next paragraph her boots were kicking up gravel as she walked… this happened in a few places and I was like what? I’ll still read the Bound and Broken series to get the scoop on her initial besties. Happy Reading Friends!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 38%

I wanted so badly to finish this book. It was a fight to get to 38% - if I have to spend more than 3 days on a book I drop it. The premise of Riven coming from a fighting background sounded cool, and the numerous grammatical errors bordered on charming at times.

Anyone who reads through my review history will know I’ve critiqued many a book for being All Tell, No Show. This book, on the other hand, felt like constant exposition. Every thought and every breath apparently needed a paragraph of introspection.

What was especially challenging for me was the way the first few chapters were written - particularly with the way Odette, Fallon, etc. were written I initially assumed that I had accidentally started reading the middle of a series. I can respect why the author may have chosen that approach, but it felt very jarring to read, and it was awkward to read, feeling like I was supposed to have some sort of emotional regard for these characters who have no attributes aside from their names and having an ambiguous connection to Riven.

Again, grammar was a clear challenge for this author. I can recognize that many of the grammar errors were intended to reflect certain styles of intonation, but that doesn’t necessarily need to be hard-noted in text. It just creates literary speed bumps.

The dialogue and inner monologues were grating in a manner I haven’t experienced since Blood of Hercules. Talking about something traumatic: “I found something mildly interesting and fairly amusing about myself” - who the fuck talks like this? This reads like it was written by someone who has a lot of internalized conversations but doesn’t actually engage with other humans on a regular basis.

Sad to step away from this story, but hopefully a technically stronger author will be inspired by the premise.

[Alonna Irizarry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Omegaverse/ knotting/ why choose/ small town/ MFM/ MFMM/ MMFMM/ hurt/comfort/ OM/OW drama/ fated mates/ HEA

Trigger warning: past abuse/ abduction/ captivity/ forced cage fighting/ PTSD/ trauma/ violence/ attempted SA/ drugging

This felt rushed and the relationships between the MCs didn’t come across as organic as it could have been.

While the death of Fenn was sad, the threatening note using the wrong form of “they’re” really bothered me and it took me out of the story. I was hoping the author would address the grammatical error as some sort of insight into the perpetrator but it ended up just being a typo.

The bad guy was obvious and the OW drama involving 2 different women was unnecessary. If the helper/texter was the receptionist it would have made more sense. It was clear that she had a thing for Soren and the guys not noticing/acknowledging it didn’t fit with their characters. They seemed too observant to miss that.

We’re also expect to believe that no one in the entire town found out Calla’s relationship to Rodney until after he was arrested? Also also this Rodney guy seemed like a town menace and no one ever did anything about it? A group of people literally watched him try to use his alpha bark on Riven to give up her car and she had to stand up for herself. I know she was a badass but that didn’t sit right with me.

Vale’s ex using the fake texts to try to discredit the guys also felt like a stretch. If she wanted to target any of the guys to make Riven leave, she should have singled out Vale instead of Soren. It didn’t make sense for her to set up Soren when she really only wanted Vale all along. Then after the confrontation, she just disappears and we don’t hear from her again.

Overall, this book was a let down.

[Alysha · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️
I take a lot of issues with this book. Firstly, it SEVERELY needs editing. A threatening message is left in one of the chapters that reads THEIR NEXT. My dude, next doesn’t belong to anyone. Also, every chapter has a date and time attached to it. Which would be fine, if you didn’t put incorrect dates, or times. It doesn’t work. At all. One instance is in July at 6:25pm its pitch black. But another day in July at 7:something I don’t freaking remember, the sun is setting. Another one is the incorrect date entirely. Or the chapter stops in the middle of a scene but all of a sudden it’s like 2 or 3 hours in the future but they are doing what they were just a second before. It literally makes no sense and infuriates me if you couldn’t tell. I also take issue with the fact one of the MMCs has been mute since he was a child and as soon as the FMC is rescued from danger he’s all of a sudden speaking in full sentences like it’s nothing, like he hasn’t been mute his entire life. Nah, make it make sense. But the biggest thing I take issue with is that she has one of her alphas go on a scavenger hunt to places that are meaningful to her and where she “healed herself” but literally NONE of these places are mentioned before or any of the instances that are referenced are mentioned. It was super frustrating. Like give us more. The book has potential but it just falls short in so many ways.

[The Bookish Bryants · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. For such a gritty topic, it was surprisingly sweet. The relationships were lovely and I truly liked that the FMC was tough. It's a fun read for lovers of Reverse Harem Romance and is a lovely way to spend a few hours.

Now, my issue. I read books for the story. I usually don't care about grammar and errors. This is the age of independent publishing and writers and editors are human. Unless the grammar drags me out of the story, I just don't care. That happened once with this book, though. There was a scene toward the end of the book where the main character received a message in a terrible way, and the message was threatening her men. I don't remember the actual wording, but the word "THEIR" was in the message and it was clearly supposed to be "THERE." I can almost overlook this in independent novels. Like I said, it's easy to miss the mistake in a sea of words. But, this sentence was in a larger font and bolder than the rest of the words on the page. There was no reason at all it should have been missed. Weeks after reading the book, I'm still frustrated by that "Their."

All that being said, I enjoyed the story. This is a solid 4 stars for me because I enjoyed the story so much.

[Toy NYC · Rating 3 out of 5]

No major character development (only brief glimpses of some of their past and personalities, but nothing that stands out) It’s like author had an idea of who they were but failed to present it to the reader.

What the heck is up with these weak men, how are they Alphas? Their secretary is rude and jealous, an ex is allowed to be a stalker unchecked until she targets “their woman” and even then it’s the FL who mildly handles her.

The lack of competent police. and Alphas who aren’t much better.

I can list a ton of things that just did not work here. This could have been a big one: Crazy/violent best friends, a tragic abused past, the now strong woman, a move to a small town to start anew from her tragic past, a beautiful new home, a pack of alphas (one with a disability, who feels unworthy), a jealous Alpha who wants the girl who denied and insulted him, the stalker jealous ex and alpha employee. I mean there is sooooooooo much for a detailed and action packed novel or series. Hopefully the author will read some of the constructive criticisms and re-write this. I would def buy it again.

[Brandy Seip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entire series has potential, but the edits need work, the storyline needs more effort and details, and the date/timestamp has zero effects on the storyline. These could easily be removed by simply saying 'A few days later..."
The other super annoying piece is that there is very little depth to the characters. This is all surface level get to know you vibes. Take Rhian for example - he's selectively mute, but its never explored except to say that he just stopped talking one day. This could have been explained better or an event to happen to cause this, it would have given the readers a chance to connect more to the story. The last 3 were all good (but with the same types of errors) and I was hoping by book 4 that some of this would have been resolved.

If the author ever takes advise, get a stronger Alpha and Beta team and a professional editor.

[roseandflamereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Riven is an omega who was captured and forced to fight…. In the past. Now she’s randomly moved away from all her friends to somewhere in the middle of no where (really don't understand why), and finds her scent matches (classic omegaverse).

However - the new terrorization that happens to Riven while she's trying to get her know her alphas is from a very weird place for very weird reasons. Also feels very escalated immediately. This author filled this story with a ton of of crazy “trauma” and because of these constant traumas - the characters have really intense behaviors. Nothing really feels like it makes sense in the past stories, in the present story, etc. I found this to be a pretty bad.

[SilentSpectra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had/Has potential

This story could be so much more but for me it fell flat. The pacing was off and Riven's character felt inconsistent. She started off as a tough, kick a** chick who's been through some s*** but then she morphs into a shaking, crying, frightened little girl. Yes, the situations had anyone been subjected to them would find them frightening, unnerving, or at the very least irritating. I'm not saying she shouldn't have been afraid. What I'm saying is that her curling up into a shaking, weeping mess felt off for her character. Threw me for a loop and changed how much I liked her.

[Pepperypotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was exactly what I needed to give my brain a reset, it was quick, sweet with a touch of drama, and had a little spice in there. There are some parts of this story that touches on abuse, not from the MMC’s in the pack and it could trigger some people but if you’re okay with that particular trigger then give this a go. My one gripe is that one particular character didn’t get her absolute comeuppance and I so wanted to have her eat dirt but that’s a me thing not an author thing.

[Calikekeluv♥️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riven

Loved Rivens story and love her alpha pack, I love how all the other packs were still mentioned, I feel like Riven was such a tough girl but once she actually got close to her pack she let her guard down and started to let her soft side show. Looking forward to future books from this author.

[Swalsk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disjointed because of the time lapses. I
wasn't paying close enough attention to the dates or time at the beginning of each chapter. We missed the character development that happened during the time lapses, and It was alluded to later.

[03lyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

She has a dark history but never is a huge amount of detail. The guys are sweet and help her love and embrace a nicer/ softer side of herself. I would try to start the series before this. It’s not required but she does have friends that pop up in this standalone

[Boo · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed

Well, I enjoyed this read. Nice pace, awesome pack. Totally made me cry because why. Why must that happened to Fenn. But I liked the characters and it was a really good read. Totally did not see the villain being who it was. I thought it was someone else.

[Myra · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a true OV

This book barely counts as an OV which was a disappointment. The book was actually pretty boring the smexy scenes were even dull. Won’t be reading any More from this author sadly but I do hope she does more research on OV.

[Janet Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowza!!!!

This was the perfect, cozy quick read I’ve been looking for. I loveeeeeeee Riven and her pack. Honestly want more but we don’t always get what we want right ;)

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book

This book was emotional with everything everyone went through then the stupid person who kept screwing with her life but we did get out happily ever after.

[Glynne Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one

This is a great continuation of J.M. Previous series, I highly recommend reading those ones first to get the the best feel for the whole thing

[Amber Kelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

quick pace that keeps you on your toes.

I enjoyed this book. Riv was so brave and the pack is awesome. I laughed out loud in parts and an unexpected event even caused some tears.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting omega

I liked this book and the fact that she is a total baddie, but not by choice. She did however take ownership of her life and well hello hot alpha pack lol

[Stephanie Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rage Bunny!

I enjoyed this book way more than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised when I thought I guessed someone would hurt bossy, but it didn't happen. I love when I guess wrong. These characters were funny and sweet.