Knot in Doubt

Finding Home #1

by Ember L. Nicole

* A Small Town Omegaverse Romance *

Hiding was safe, being claimed was salvation...

Maisie spends her days wiping spills from diner tables, her head bent low to avoid the penetrating gazes of the alphas who drift through the door. Her bruises have almost faded, and life is looking brighter.

Across the street, construction is nearing its end, and with it, the routine visits from the workers who have made a habit of stopping by for a slice of her homemade pie. Maisie isn't sure if that's a good thing or not. She thinks she’ll miss them, but she knows better than to put her trust in any man. Not again.

Wyatt, Elias, Knox, and Hunter have been quietly watching over the skittish omega for longer than she knows, ready to act if the man responsible for her fading bruises ever shows up. They want her. They've always wanted her, and will do bad things to anyone who dares lay a hand on her.

When her past unexpectedly resurfaces in the form of her abusive ex-husband, four rugged alphas protect her. They claim her, publicly and unequivocally, as their omega. Then they take her to their rural farmhouse to escape her stubborn ex.

Four men. One promise. She will never be afraid again.


- Why choose
- Wounded bird
- Hurt/comfort
- MFMMM (no MM, all about her)
- Protective heroes
- Sweet & steamy stalker romance

Genres: Omegaverse, Romance, Why Choose, Contemporary, Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Forced Proximity

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2026

About the author

See also: Omegaverse romance author Ember Nicole

Reviews

[Therese]

Like 1,5 stars. This book had amnesia half of the time forgetting it was an omegaverse story. Or like the author doesn’t really know what the omegaverse is and just half winged it. It really felt like it was just thrown in here and there cause the genre is popular.

They go from polite and distant for a month to I’ve lived with you for a day and now I love you, even if you’re not a scent match. It’s a really strange instalove thing, almost like the authors first and second language isn’t English and something got lost in translation.

Then we have the fact that one of the alphas gets so upset at his video games that he screams and sometimes throws his controller. I don’t care how much the author tried to push it under the rug with the omega trying out the game and instantly screams for the zombies to ”die, die, DIE”. That behavior of loosing your shit over a video game and throwing things is toxic and a huge red flag. Like we even get something from the omega where she remembers her ex starting out just angry, then goes to punch walls near her and saying he would never hit or hurt her, to taking that step and finally hitting her. But we shouldn’t be concerned about this behavior cause he’s supposed to be a good guy? Couldn’t get over this stupid shit.

Back to the omegaverse stuff. They don’t have nests, like a room for the pack nest. And it’s like mentioned at the end that they put down mattresses so that’s the new nest. But what? They don’t have a packbed either? So what she just hops around each night with the guy she wants for the night? It really felt off the whole thing, if it wasnt an omegaverse story it would probably have been a tiny bit better and more understandable.

I wished I DNFd it, but I’m too much of a ”let’s see if the author can make it work anyway” kind of girl.

[Molly McDonagh]

what do you mean they are in love with only 2 real interactions with eachother

[Cat H]

3.4 stars.
This was emotional and fun sometimes, when they weren’t trying to help her heal from the past chasing her.
I just didn’t love all the summarizing that happened during important moments. And the first time they knotted, it threw me completely off because the omegaverse side of things was so in the background of everything.

[Oleksandra]

Так, ну що сказати, що сказати…

Цікавий задум із колишнім-сталкером-аб’юзером, присутністю чотирьох альф-захисників, які за Мейзі полізуть і у вогонь, і у воду, алееее… на жаль, омегаверс тут ото аби був.

Мейзі тікає від колишнього і ненадовго осідає в маленькому містечку, де влаштовується офіціанткою в кафе. Щодня на обід туди приходять чотири суперпупер красиві альфи, які всі чудово пахнуть і про яких вона не може перестати думати. Вони потайки спостерігають за нею, бо через синці розуміють, що її хтось б’є.

По-трошку вони ближче знайомляться, і через певні обставини Мейзі починає жити з хлопцями. Поруч із ними вона поступово вчиться довіряти, відчувати себе в безпеці та чути саму себе.

Але протягом читання в мене постійно виникало питання «а де ж той омегаверс?»😅 Бо на початку єдине, що згадувалось з цього всесвіту - це запахи, вона омега, вони альфи і всееее. Потім - тічка і зʼявилась хоч якась причина навіщо авторка обрала саме омегаверсний всесвіт))

Ще одним мінусом для мене стала відсутність нормального опису персонажів. У перших розділах було описано, хто як виглядає і які в кого особливості, але камооон, хто ж усе це запам’ятає на самому початку? Тому я сподівалася, що в процесі історії поступово зрозумію, хто як виглядає, але який же облом був…

Єдине, що я зараз більш-менш знаю:

-Гантер - блондин, колишній серфінгіст, має довге волосся.
-Ваєтт - темненький, із медово-карими очима (його я чомусь уявляла латиноамериканцем).
-Нокс - ????
-Еліас - ????
-Мейзі - блондинка, полуничний блонд і ніби світло-блакитні очі.
-Другорядні персонажі - знаю тільки імена, пупупууу

Можливо, це я читала криво і тому нікого нормально не запам’ятала. Не буду заперечувати, що таке теж цілком може бути. Але коли після всієї книги ти все ще не можеш нормально уявити половину головних героїв - це все ж таки трохи проблема 😅

[chelle (serial downvoter)]

Girl comes to small town hiding from abusive ex, guy saves girl from house fire, girl suddenly trusts this man enough to come home with him.

…

Self preservation has gone out the window apparently. I know this is fictional but (more times than not) men will do nice things in order to take advantage of women.

Maisie would not have gone home with this man she’s known for a month.

I love omegaverse but this one was slow paced and insta love at the same time. We spend so much time on Maisie and how she’s been on the run that when the relationship with the love interests happened, it’s completely unearned because it happened so quickly.

Like not even 24 hours in the alpha’s house and Maisie is telling these men her life story.

DNF

[Taylor Jefferson]

Booooooo! *throws tomatoe🍅*

DNF at 37%

[Lenore]

Light fluffy read

The story is about escaping abuse and finding love, acceptance and home. It is very surface level. Nothing is unexpected.

[Cayla]

DNF.
This was somehow slow and insta love at the same time while forgetting what subgenre it was in? Like omegaverse was mentioned in chapter 1 and then we forgot about it and then randomly a nest was brought up and I was like oh yeah this is an OV.

[Mendy]

So meh that I put it down and didn’t pick it back up. Moving on. And why can’t I find anything on the author? Makes me think it’s AI written. I’m definitely out of that’s the case.

[Wendy Marie (myrisingphoenixera.reads)]

4⭐️
4🌶️

I loved this small town omegaverse. A warty and skittish omega gets the attention of four alphas in town. They see her bruises and decide she will never be hurt again. There is some light stalking, but really they just make sure she gets from home to work safely and go to the diner where she works. Things move quickly after her apartment catches fire and nd the alphas move her in with them. She struggles to believe this is anything more than temporary but the men prove to her she’s safe and they want her. This is cute, sweet, and very spicy. If you love a good insta love omegaverse this is for you.

[sonne]

Типовий, лайтовий омегаверс. Все досить передбачувано. Дуже навіть гаряче було. Один мінус - всі чоловіки мені наче це один і той самий, я на стільки їх не могла запам'ятати і відрізнити. Імена наче різні, але поведінка практично однакова.

[Denay Peters]

I could not get into this.

[Chelsie Lucas]

I was bored.

[Nicole (literary_nics)]

Four alphas. One farmhouse. Zero chill. My blood pressure did not stand a chance.

Maisie is an omega hiding in plain sight, pouring coffee at a small-town diner and flinching at every door chime, because she's on the run from an abusive ex-husband she really does not want to see again. What she doesn't know is that four alphas (Wyatt, Elias, Knox and Hunter) have been quietly keeping an eye on her from the corner booth for a while now. Then her apartment catches fire. There's no more quiet watching after that. They claim her in public, bundle her off to their farmhouse in the country, and decide as a group that she will never be scared again. Very reasonable, very normal, I respect it completely.

What had me reading way too late was how SOFT this pack is. These men are golden retrievers with muscles and a shared mission, and they each bring something different to the house without anyone blurring into a background alpha. The found family feeling carries this book. Maisie's healing isn't treated as a problem the knot solves. She flinches, she tests boundaries, she waits for someone to go back on a promise, and the pack gets through it with patience instead of turning it into a grand speech. The protective moments hit exactly the right note of feral (Knox in particular, I won't say why, but you'll know when it happens and you'll want to cheer). And having four men look at a woman who's been told she's too much and decide she's actually not enough of their problem to fix? A comfort read with very sharp teeth.

Now, the dramatic caveat. The "I love you"s showed up way too early. I believe these men would take a bullet for her, but most of that emotional build happens off the page, so when the big declarations arrive they feel like a verdict the book reached without showing us how it got there. The omegaverse side is also underused. Scent, nesting, pack dynamics: the book has a whole toolbox and barely opens it, which is a shame when the found-family heart would have gone so well with more of the biology. A few threads also get left hanging, but given this is Book 1 of Finding Home, I'm choosing to call that a trailer for what's next.

✨ Trope Chaos Check ✨
✨ Why choose, but make it four (the farmhouse needs a bigger bed and a bigger fridge)
✨ Omegaverse with small-town diner energy
✨ Protective alphas who clearly held a group meeting about it
✨ Hurt/comfort done with real patience
✨ Found family on a farm
✨ Instalove running at full speed with no brakes
✨ Golden retriever alphas who'd happily commit crimes for her

★★★★ A pack of devoted alphas and a heroine learning she's allowed to take up space. I'm moving into the farmhouse and nobody can stop me.

[The Cozy Reading Nook]

I had started approximately 47 books before Knot in Doubt because apparently I was in one of those moods where every book was fine, but none of them had ✨the magic✨.

Then Wyatt walked into a diner, ate some blueberry pie, clocked Macy’s trauma response in about three seconds, and my brain went:

Oh. Him. We’re staying.

Macy is on the run from an abusive ex, which normally has me preparing for 300 pages of angst and suffering. Except NO. Very quickly, this becomes less woman running from terrible man and more woman accidentally acquires four ridiculously hot, protective alphas who are trying very, very hard to be respectful.

The trying is important.

The succeeding is… temporary.

These men are basically golden retrievers with muscles, pheromones, and extremely questionable levels of self-control. They’re sweet. They’re patient. They’re obsessed with her. They’re constantly trying to be Good Boys™ while their entire biology is screaming otherwise.

I ate it up.

And yes, this book is SMUTTY smutty. We are in Omegaverse territory. There is a heat. Nobody is closing any doors. But somehow it still felt like a romance with lots of spice rather than 390 pages of activities interrupted occasionally by dialogue.

I was also genuinely laughing. The trapping-block situation? I was cackling after midnight like a woman who had completely abandoned tomorrow’s responsibilities.

My only side-eye goes to the ex. He’s terrifying at the beginning, barely exists for most of the book, then near the end it’s basically:

Oh right. Derek. We should probably dispose of that plotline.

A little convenient? Yes.

Did I want him dealt with quickly so I could get back to my four alphas?

Also yes.

One note: I would NOT make this your Omegaverse starter pack. This book is not stopping to explain what an omega is, why everyone is sniffing everyone, or what exactly is about to happen when somebody goes into heat. You are expected to arrive with prior knowledge and possibly snacks.

Anyway.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. because I could not stop reading it…

…and now I want to reread the entire thing immediately because apparently once was not enough.

Finally. The book slump has been defeated.

[Angela Sanchez]

Knot in Doubt

I really loved this omegaverse romance. The FMC went through so much pain and tragedy that it is very heartbreaking. These Alphas were instantly drawn to her but knew they had to take things slow because of her past that she would never talk about. Once she learned to trust them she finally opened up. I'm really glad that she faced her fears and overcame things on her own time but also with the help of her Alphas. This story has an amazing and funny ending so do not miss out on this amazing romance. Happy Reading Everyone!

[Megan]

This one lost me at like 35%. All the sudden she just loved them out of honestly nowhere? Like what have they actually done other than decent men? A lot of telling rather than showing. Also I felt the omegaverse price was almost secondhand. Like not much actual omegaverse going on. No real nest. Just a reminder they aren’t sent matches. She went from scared of her ex and wouldn’t tell anyone anything to the next chapter telling them Absolutly everything about him and her life and being willing to tell the sheriff. What changed? Was not for me

[DA]

Cute

Enjoyable story with fun characters. It's heavy on the romance and mild on the spice. A feel good romance with just a hint of darkness regarding Maisie's past, it was well written and had a great flow to the storyline. Some of it dragged for me, but I liked it well enough to give it 4 stars.

[Miranda Tapal]

Small Town Omegaverse

Knot in Doubt was definitely a Cute small town omegaverse! I found it scrolling through Amazon at books I wanted to read. I completely devoured this book in a day. I love Masie so much, her character was written so well. The pack was definitely perfect for her and I fell in love with this book reading about them falling in love with her. I think overall it’s a great read and I will gladly read it again. I’m glad the Ex husband has been taken care of and out of the picture. I do wish we could have read about Masie seeing her sister again and meeting the packs families and their beach trip.

- Small Town
- Why Choose
- Hot Alphas
- Survivor
- Spice 🌶️

[Bailey Lampton]

What was this? Pretty sure this is AI written and not a real author. Awful. Horrible.

[whatinthehea]

cute!

I love small town omegaverse because you know what you are going to get. An omega. A pack. And a fun plot to get you to the happily ever after

[Whitney Cooksey]

I doubt this book knows it’s supposed to be an omegaverse.

[Natasha]

Nope, just nope. Got bored about half way through and had to put the book away.

[Maritalia]

it was all cute and all but then it got boring I dropped it at 45%

[izzie kate]

there was such a buildup towards the main conflict but then actuality of it all just felt so flat. this was an omegaverse? the author maybe mentioned that 4 times and the only omegaverse thing that happened was a heat right at the end of the book. it didn’t need to be omegaverse imo. it felt so rushed. we had a build up to her reuniting with her sister but then never actually got to see the reunion

[AMG]

Omegaverse/RH MMMM Alphas/Domestic Abuse (ex husband)/Instalove/Multi PoV

SYNOPSIS: The FC, Maisie, is on the run from her abusive ex husband who was her high school sweetheart and is a washed out football player. She ends up in a small town in Iowa working as a waitress in a diner where she meets 4 hot Alphas. The attraction is instant (although no fated mates or scent matches) and the MCs quickly realise she is running from someone who hurt her and become protective. The story revolves around the ex husband tracking the FC down and the FC falling for the MCs who just want to keep her safe.

HEAT LEVEL: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/🍆🍆🍆 The heat level is high and the spicy scenes descriptive and fairly lengthy. The spice does not hit until just before midway through but once it does then it quickly ramps up with mainly 1 on 1 scenes and group only during the FC’s heat. Whilst relatively vanilla it’s still spicy although I found the descriptions a bit crude and basic rather than hot and sexy. All in all pretty standard fare for Omegaverse.

In summary, this is not a unique story line but was an easy, low level, low angst read that dragged a bit 😴 and lacked any real depth or build up.

Maisie, the FC is likeable enough but I found her to be quite vanilla and rather wishy washy 🥱. There’s a decent amount of backstory but little to explain why the MCs fall so quickly or hard for her especially as she is not a scent match or fated mate. She does’t seem to have a kick ass personality or be anything special and the author doesn’t bother to explain or develop the connection between the FC and the MCs it’s just presented as a fact and that the MCs have all immediately fallen for her with a fast forward to sex without any real build up between the individual characters. The MCs themselves (specifically Hunter and Wyatt) get a small amount of backstory but nothing significant. They are repeatedly described as hot and protective with little actual character development. There are a couple of decent secondary characters that provide some diversity but they are limited in their interactions with the FC and given minimal depth.

The narrative itself is basic with a nasty, abusive ex husband giving the FC and MCs an excuse to connect but there is no real action apart from a bit of initial drama and a brief climax when everything is nicely resolved. So, if you are looking for world or story building or a good story to support the romance you won’t find anything of substance 🤷‍♀️.

So, if you are looking for an easy read and a story that is more about the spice than the narrative then this will while away a few hours.

[Tasha D]

Dnf 64%

This book is so repetitive that I had to stop. I felt like the book would start to get more interesting, but then would take 2 steps back and repeat info already given. I feel like the story could have been great if the repetitive/filler info was removed.
Also did Nico have more than one daughter or did the names change?!

[Jane]

0.00/5.00 overall rating
#.##/5.00 spice rating

Tropes: omegaverse, FMC on the run, mfmmm

Trigger Warnings: abusive ex-husband, birth control tampering (not between MCs)

Kinks: n/a

Thoughts:

I got 45% through and decided I couldn’t force myself anymore. The story was beyond slow, yet the instalove was super fast somehow. It felt anticlimactic.

[Adara]

Dnf at 28%. The instalove gave me the ick

[Maya]

It was meh. Too fast at times, way too slow at others.
Ending seemed anticlimactic. Nothing new here for this genre, been done before.