Scent to the Feral Rock Stars: A Standalone Why Choose Romance

by Ivy Lou

Tessa Fortune’s made peace with her pain. Almost.

She’s survived two winters on the street, kept her cat fed, and forgotten how it felt to be touched like she mattered.
Once, she was the perfect Omega—groomed, adored, destined for a life of luxury.

Then came the plane crash.
The screaming headlines.
The concert she never should have attended.

Backstage that night, Tessa met the lead singer of Oblivion Haze.

Ryder Hendrix was all cocky smiles and chaos, and he kissed her like he already knew her soul. She desperately wanted to meet the other Alphas at the center of her teenage dreams— Dixon St. James. Mac Masters. Tray Rivers. But then that world-shattering phone call came, and Tessa ran away from the man, the music, and the matches that could have been.

The next morning, her world burned.

Now, desperate and alone, Tessa sells her scent to a shady research lab for a night of hot food and clean sheets. She signs a contract that she barely reads.
She just wants a break. A breath. A chance to rest.
She doesn’t know this choice will irrevocably tie her to a pack of nearly feral, dangerously famous Alphas.

Ryder hasn’t stopped spiraling since that mystery Omega at the Seattle show. His rock star pack thinks he’s out of his mind, but no high, no heat, no groupie has ever replaced what he lost to that one wild kiss. He knows, to his bones, she’s exactly what he, Dixon, Mac, and Tray need. If only, she’d met them that night. If only, he could have found her.

He never even knew her name.

But now she’s back.
It’s her photo in the match report. It's her intoxicating Omega scent saturating the package sent by Eros.
The others smell her too, and they finally understand.
Tessa Fortune is their Omega.
And she’s under contract.

But she’s not the same girl from the crowd—carefree and passionate. She’s not going to accept her fate easily.
Because Tessa didn’t survive hell just to belong to anyone.
Not even to the Alphas who unknowingly broke her heart before they ever claimed it.#

• Over 185k words with a HEA, Standalone in The Eros Institute Omegaverse (world building elements are weaved into different installments)
• Slow burn (in the form of a mystery kiss which leads to years of separate suffering)
• High spice with consent (MMFMM, #swordcrossing)
• Both brooding and bubblegum Alphas
• NO SHIFTING
• Content cursing, drinking, mentions of recreational drug use, loss of loved ones, homelessness, Omegas tricked into contractual marriages, brief mention of an off-the-page character overdosing.

Genres: Omegaverse, Why Choose, Fantasy, Romance

586 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2025

Reviews

[˚•—S—•˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like it more than I did. Mostly it was just so drawn out. The motion for the pack and tessa to meet wasnt even started until 40% into the book, and then they didn’t meet until 60% into the book. Sofor taking solong to set up the plot it was pretty disappointing how much time jumps there were through them getting to actually know each other and finding their rythm as a pack, and then a very abrupt end when they first start being a pack. We had spent so much time being told about how each alpha had and dealt with ferailty, and then get nothing about how they are doing later on? Just felt cheated, but also glad it was finally over cause it had been so drawn out in the first part..

[kakreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main plot was good and I really enjoyed the characters, however the random skipping around and switching from past to present then back to the past for 3-5 chapters then back to the present then back to another time in the past really disrupted the flow of the book and made the book extremely hard to follow. It would have been much better if the author had written the book chronologically.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one more than I did.
The fact that the pack didn’t meet the fmc until 60% in was pushing this book into dnf territory for me. Also the fact that half the book was a disorienting timeline that bounced all over the place didn’t do it any favors. I really would have liked it to just be in a chronological timeline, I kept getting so confused on what the heck was going on. The only thing that saved this book for me was that the mmc’s were the best with the fmc and her trauma. Consent was king. The book was still an incredibly slow burn (90% until 🌶️) even though the mmc’s were a bit insta-in love with the fmc.

⭐️2.5 (rounded up)
🌶️3
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.
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🛑Mild SPOILERS🛑

This omegaverse was much different than your typical ones, when the fmc went into an actual heat it wasn’t a f*ck fest as usual and there really wasn’t any nesting. The bonding also wasn’t typical or at least how it was described in the book wasn’t. Apparently the bites fade overtime according to the fmc. The fmc literally was up and about going to the concert while in heat and the alphas were playing the concert while in rut.

[Leigh Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had so much potential

This book has so much potential to be a great omegaverse word not just novel. This will contain spoilers.

This book fell extremely flat for me. This was not even a slow burn. The pack didn’t meet the FMC (except for a description of one kiss that the FMC and one of the MMCs shared that is described in a few different chapters). This book switches from the current timeline to the past and from POV so often it is hard to get into the story. If the author would have written it chronologically maybe it would have been better or written a prequel novella maybe I’m not sure. There was the beginnings of a whole lot of different facets in this omegaverse like the ferality which they touched on quite a bit but never actually went anywhere so like I said it fell flat. Then there was this whole Eros institute which is virtually omega trafficking by having down on their luck omegas come in to get scent tested for a free meal and a small stipend and then having them sign binding contracts without proper legal council or even giving them time to read the fine print. Putting the omega through all of the testing treating them like a thing and then making what is implied millions and dehumanizing them and traumatizing them but once they are matched with a pack the omega is no longer bothered by this and doesn’t say anything and doesn’t want to stop this from happening or at least say anything to the pack that virtually “bought” her? Once again fell flat. The other thing was the very rich influential family that died and then the government seized all of the assets and put the only living member out on the streets while they investigated for tax evasion and the law firm just erased her from existence to “save” her from the media scrutiny so she had to live on the streets for 2 years storyline sure that’s fine but all of a sudden at the very end she gets the money back along with the properties and just lets them sit there after living on the streets physically fighting others for a box to sleep in some nights but leaves the mansion empty while she decides what to do with it? That fell extremely flat. Leave it out seriously. This really had so much potential but while waiting for it to get better just turned into a waste of time.

[izzie kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

thank god it’s over

[Raychael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

I loved the idea, but it wasn't a slow burn it was an artic crawl. The back and forth, past, and present took way too long.
3/4 of the book was over before they met, and then it was Zoom

But I liked the characters and how well they were described.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - the first half is all backstory. Which was not needed in that much detail.

[M Janee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don’t know how to rate this...

It's a 170k standalone. The story itself was actually sweet and interesting, but it’s hidden under 100k words of just unnecessary stuff. I almost DNF'd so many times because I was just...bored with the amount of unnecessary details, and found myself skipping paragraphs left right and centre.

I don’t need an entire chapter on the two beta delivery drivers building a cat tree and bickering because one is sexist towards his coworker. They had nothing to do with the story. Or 4 paragraphs on how breakfast looked on the plate. Or 21 pages of baking a souffle.

The timeline made things rather...boring and confusing. We went from present day, to one year ago, to 2 days ago, to 1 year ago, to 1 week ago, to 2 days ago, to 1 year ago, x months ago. We don't get back to present day until halfway through the book and even then, the characters don't meet until 350 pages in. If it had at least been in chronological order it would have made sense but there was no rhyme or reason as to why it jumped around, it added nothing to the story.

This is an OV book, yet when she's in heat their PR manager (who's previously described as motherly, caring blah blah) suddenly does a 180 and insists the guys perform at a concert. When they tell her she's in heat she says so she's lived on the street she'll be fine. Then they all (Tessa included) go to the concert. She's in heat for like 2 weeks and completely coherent the entire time, no nesting, no sexual impulses blah blah again nothing OV related.

Also, for an OV this is pretty PG. Two of the guys have a semi-sexual relationship - I say it like that because it was described as a hole to f*ck. Other than one scene where the guys are jack off together and two of the guys have sex in a mastabatory way (why add it in if there's no substance? this could have been removed and it would have changed nothing which just is wrong), the only intimacy in this between the omega and the alphas are kisses to the cheek. It's 90% in before there's any actual physical relationship which for OV is nothing. Also, claiming bites in this are temporary, they're described as will fade soon and need to be redone. Okay...if that's the case, bonding isn't permanent so why isn't that used as part of the ferality treatment? Rather than people reach the point of no return there could be a service where omegas bite them, the mark only temporary (there's no bond like typically described so nothing would change. Bite and go)

They meet the fmc at 60% in. An entire chapter describing how she gets out of the car yet there's absolutely nothing in their relationship building. It's just 3 days later, 7 days later, a month later, months later, months later, months later. One of the guys buying a succulent (again an entire chapter needed for that) and stuff like that.

Then there's the Eros Institute which preys on desperate omegas. Exchanging a 'scent sample' for food and $100. In reality they trick them into signing a contract that allows them to 'legally' traffic the omegas. They aren't a match making service. They're a human trafficking ring. They even admit to her that most of their buyers purchase 'products' (the omegas) to break. And even briefly when it's mentioned in the epilogue that they couldn't do anything because they signed NDAs but they now have to adjust the way they source their omegas because they went after the wrong omega. That's not stopping the human trafficking, it's just a new way to collect them...

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say it was refreshing that for once, all the alphas were on board to find an omega and even with the one m/m relationship, they seemed to place the omega (once finally meeting her) above their own relationships. It was the first in a long while a good balance within a pack dynamic was initially there from the start. What my problem is, is way into 50% of the book, the omega had not met the alpha's but one, Ryder at the oblivion haze concert. You as a reader, are more so introduced to her life on the streets, which makes no sense as we know omegas are always considered valuable. How is it, the fortune's family estate is immediately confiscated by the government and the lawyers have no legal papers or will to see about any inheritance outside of business and pack assets. How could she at 18, not have known what to do, where to go and why would you hide your identity, so as not to receive any help. Why, would you have just trusted the legal firm. This claim is, only from her alphas pov as trying to figure out her prior unfortunate situation, it must be due to a few papers whisperings conspiracies against her as to why she was hidden. No, make it make sense please. Then, we come to the most selfish omega in 2025. You meet your alphas who you know immediately are your scent matches. Your realize, they are all in stages of ferality. You yourself, are in such a way that you are having dry heats but instead of being thankful to have a new found family, you are so terrified in losing them that you would rather let them suffer physically and mentally. I say, alphas, you would be better to dodge the bullet and find a kind compatible omega and bound with her. Why can't we ever have a story that has a HEA but for the right people. Yes, the omega went through a lot but why then punish the others that would do anything for you. This Tessa, even when she is in heat, basically begins it surrounded by these men who are practically begging her saying, we are here for anything you need and she has them looking for mini marshmallows. Eventually, she sees the light because of an almost attack, and forgive herself for 3 years of survivors guilt and finally allowing herself to be happy. (true spoiler alert) the alphas never looked into why she became homeless but the lawyer says, hey you're wealthy again. What I did find interesting, was the later sexual dynamic during game time for Dixon and Tessa. I enjoyed the fact he wanted the beginning of the moment to happen with Tessa alone and not with Tray as well. Finally the omega takes precedence. Overall, it's not horrible but just unremarkable. I found myself more interested in the Beta Loves and the technology Eros had created than these alphas and Tessa. I know by the end, she comes full circle by creating a new legacy for her family through charity work. I had hoped she would have found her friend, the other omega and that might be a segway to another book but I still found her to be a selfish character that lacked depth. I also wish we had learned more about Tray and Ryder's back stories.

[witchygirl97 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, I really did. The premise sounded great, enough that I preordered, something I generally don’t do unless it’s a sequel or the author is an autobuy for me. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. We spend over 300 pages before our FMC meets the pack which results in a rushed relationship dynamic and many conversations that I would have liked to see on page happening off page or explored further. We spend so much time being shown the pack deteriorating into ferality and teased by this scary facility for feral alphas, yet none of the pack succumb to level 4. The author does a great job showing ferality, but the relationships are undeveloped in comparison, we jump weeks ahead in the courtship between chapters, this scared omega suddenly being confident with the pack, but we aren’t really shown this growth. There’s no slow build exploration of intimacy, just some kissing that becomes more intense and one heavy petting session that occurs off page but we aren’t told about. For an almost 600 page omegaverse, this is almost a clean romance, with only the one heat scene where a train is basically run on her for her first time. There’s no group intimacy, no true exploration of the dynamics. There is mm for those who enjoy that, and that is shown more frequently than with the FMC, but in very loose/vague terms through a different characters POV. The author also teased early on some fishiness with the FMCs family estate and her family’s fortune being seized but it is suddenly tied up in a couple of paragraphs and there’s no climax to it, just lawyers being like whelp the government sucks but here ya go, sorry we couldn’t do more. There was so much potential with the institute and this surface level suspicion of them basically trafficking down in their luck omegas but there’s no exploration of it. We just get teased about all of these potentially interesting suspenseful plot points but they just get brushed over. I’d rate this lower, but the slow exploration of the FMCs struggles in the beginning with homelessness and the in depth exploration of the MMCs traumas and ferality bump this to a three star for me.

[Shelina Flarisee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I REALLY had high hopes for this book since I kept getting it as an ad all over my pages. BUT... I STRUGGLED!!! I'm pretty sure I jumped over 25% of the book simply bc it was SOOO REPETITIVE. and to WHY too long for them to finally meet, and once they did the time jumps were stupid crazy.

I truly had a hard time trying to figure out what genre it was trying to be. it's written as a very loose version of and OMGV, meaning if it's a genre you enjoy you might have a hard time following some of this. It has a lot of aspects of darkness (but didn't follow thru), drama( it was sad but again repetitive), the funny parts were about the only solid thing in it but that was mostly from one MC.

As for the spice 🌶️ &🥱 . it was marketed as a MMF and there was 1 maybe 2 times that the mm actually interacted. I will admit it does get lots of points for it not being one of those "your ours now, so what if you're a virgin, we're going to do EVERYTHING on day 1" type thing and they did allow her to be completely ready but OMG when it finally happened shower about 70% of the book it was written as BORING oh plus she did all of them on the first night (which is fine but please, make it fun). It was also questionable about how much of a virgin she was if she's used dildos during her heats in the past just not a human.

If ever there was a book I wished could be rewritten, cleaned up, and then got to show it's true potential, it would be this book.

[Missa K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story filled with heartache, self-discovery, found family, and healing.

I’ve read quite a few Omegaverse books at this point, and many of them fall into what I’d consider “light” reading—there’s some substance to the storyline, well balanced with plenty of spice. Others, however, such as Luna & Sol Omegaverse by Emilia Emerson and Bond Dissolution Omegaverse by Eliana Lee, stand out to me as top-tier writing. These books successfully combine a well-balanced plot, meaningful conflict and resolution, a spicy reverse harem dynamic, strong character development, and a happily-ever-after that doesn’t lean too heavily into cliché.

That being said, I really enjoyed this standalone. I appreciated how Ivy Lou revealed the past events that led Tessa and her mates to their current predicaments, and I found it gripping to watch each of them spiral emotionally. It made me eager to see how their healing process would unfold once they ultimately came together. This book strongly emphasized the individuality of each main character, which is something I haven’t seen much of in this subgenre.

The only reason I didn’t give it a full five stars is that, as an Omegaverse story, I expected more spice. Because the slow burn was drawn out, the eventual coming together 😜 felt a bit anticlimactic. However, that’s not to say the character development or storyline weren’t great—because they absolutely were.

[jax bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to love this book as much as I do. I agree with the others that it took them all forever to come together, but it didn’t bother me because obviously they would. Plus, knowing the emotional journeys that each of the characters endured before finding each other… just makes the pack coming to together so much more meaningful.

The guys are all very supportive and protective AND RESPECTFUL of her and that’s amazing.

And then
**SPOILERS**




They all fall wildly in love with each other, complementing each other in the best ways. There’s some MM action which the FMC is very supportive of, which I love.

And then she opens a shelter so she can make sure that others get the care that she didn’t? I think that part broke me in the best way.

I’ve always embraced the ideas that if I have, I share. If I can help, I will. And I feel like this book embraces those ideals too.

And, the best part, for me, is that everyone was safe. The major conflict was inner turmoil and fear of the unknown. No one was in any major danger. There were no crazy fights amongst them all that might end everything in heartache. No cheating.

This book took me on a journey, but I knew that there was no heartbreak involved.

It’s almost cozy? But with a rockstar, omegaverse vibe?

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really excellent Omegaverse book. It had such a unique storyline, qnd the focus was clearly on the characters and their struggles. Grief and healing were both huge parts of this book, so be sure to check the trigger warnings.

This book was extremely well-written, and the characters were very well done. The range of emotions that Tessa went through in this book was beautifully done, from her hopelessness in the beginning, to her fear and then acceptance of her place within the pack.

The alphas in this pack were also very well written. This was a pack of men that were truly devoted to a Tessa no matter what, even if it was slowly killing them.

This book was excellent and I can’t wait to read future books in this series.

[Charene L · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written, medium spice

This story is well written. There are a few grammatical errors like using know, instead of no or through instead of throw. They aren’t enough to affect the flow of the story. If you’re looking for spice I would rate this a 3/5. It’s definitely a slow burn. There is some really good foreplay but the actual sex scenes are lacking follow through. The summary promised sword crossing that happens once and then is only hinted at the rest of the book. If you’re looking for a romance story and a story about over coming, this read is for you. If you’re looking for spice, you may want to pass. The long lyric passages may also be a turn off for some.

[No · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @20%. Skimmed the next several chapters. The setup takes waaaay too long. Stopped and gave up completely at 35%. They hadn't even properly met yet! This would be okay if it was a series about the same characters, but it's a standalone within a shared universe. I choose this genre for the romance and one third of the book has no romance in it.
I'm all for getting backstory, exposition and learning about the characters, but this is ridiculous. Also, the FMC is a virgin, which is not my jam.

[books2loversss · Rating 1 out of 5]

It takes 31 chapters and 330 pages for Tessa to meet the pack. I only know that because I started jumping ahead after page 50 in search of where the timeline picked up from the present. I had to wade through endless “4 months ago,” “1 year ago,” “2 days ago,” etc. chapters in no real order to find the present timeline literally 100+ pages ahead. This book is in serious, desperate need of a content chop.

I don’t usually rate books if I haven’t finished them, but this was painful.

[Laura L · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

I really tried to finish this book. There was too much detail in more than half the book. They do not even meet for. Ore than half the book. If you are looking for spice, this is not the book for you. This is more a late teen if that. I stopped reading when she made her choice of men for her first time. There isn’t any urge to read the next chapter. Easy to put down.

[Janine McCartney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Long winded and boring

Honestly I was 1/4 way through and I gave up. It was so boring, long winded and just not much of a story at, felt it could have moved a long a lot better I didn't like the time jump chapters going from present to past, disjointed story line from what I could manage to read
Would not recommend at all, needed to be a bit more fluid and faster paced

[Hafeiza Maharaj · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF — IT’S BORING!

Omg,the story is so boring! I tried to continue but I just couldn’t! The timeline kept going back and forth which made it difficult to follow—from two days ago, two months ago, one year ago, etc. NOPE! The story must have been from a pay per chapter and then transitioned to KU bc there were so many unnecessary details that did nothing for the story.

[Lucy Mason · Rating 1 out of 5]

My god this book was boring. Slow burn where? More like melting ice in a freezer, it was so so slow.

Besides the mystical kiss that they whine on and on and on about they don’t actually meet until way over half the book, you get lots and lots of pointless backstory.

There’s so much whining and woe be me-ing, it’s so so boring.

Did I mention it was boring? LOL

[Erin Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 43%. First instinct: the time and POV shifts in the first section are really clumsy. Definitely could’ve been streamlined.

By 43%, they haven’t even met each other yet…so far it seems less like a love story and more like a world-building exercise. Looking at other reviews, they don’t even meet until 60% of the way through?? Absolutely not

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very different story. I enjoyed it, but at the end was left pondering things that didn’t quite make sense to me. Like, ok her family was gone, but she didn’t have any friends to turn to? She didn’t try and get a job? She just gave up entirely on everything.

I wish it hadn’t taken so much of the book for the pack and the FMC to reunite. I also found the moving back and forth between past and present timelines very confusing. I would have preferred just a straight timeline as it would have been easier to follow.

EROS was just completely frustrating. I wanted to see them be completely taken apart. That didn’t end up happening in this book, and I understand the reasoning for that, but I’m hoping that it happens in future books.

[Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Why amazon insist on 20 words for a review I'll never understand. Especially when I just want to say I enjoyed this book.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNFed. I loved the premise. However, the time skipping was jarring, and took away from the story. I couldn't stay submersed with time and character changing every chapter. really disappointing.

[Ginny Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long

It takes too long for them all to meet. At 50% none of them had met yet. I started to skim and I didn't miss much. It took way too long to get to the point.

[Whitney Walston · Rating 3 out of 5]

slowest build up ever

They all don’t meet until 56% of the way in. Better bring your patience. Then it’s some turbulence for a bit, and then a montage of happy events.

[WhiteGrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️2.5

i really wanted to like this book but it taking 60% of the whole book to finally get to them meeting plus the present and past being mixed made it kind of annoying to read