After four years with Ragon's pack, I'd fooled myself into believing I belonged. That my unbonded status was temporary, not terminal. That someday would come.
Ragon promised that if he didn’t find his scent match in five years, he’d bond me into his pack and dissolve all possibility of finding one. I'd be their omega. Their one. Their only.
With just thirty days left on that clock, she walked in and shattered everything.
Marie carries the certainty I've never known—claimed, wanted, theirs. Now I haunt the corners of what used to be my home, folding myself smaller each day, watching them orbit around her while I try not to break apart completely.
I know how this story ends. I've lived it before.
But now my instincts are waking up for the first time in weeks, and they're not crying out for the pack that's breaking me piece by piece.
They're crying out for the neighbors. For Alex's commanding presence. For Malcolm's fierce protection. For Finn's gentle certainty.
For the men who've been hiding in plain sight.
And when I finally discover why they've been watching me so carefully—why they moved in next door, why they've stayed on blockers, why they seem to know exactly when I need them...
The truth won't set me free.
It will break me all over again.
A dark omegaverse romance about trauma, trust, and the devastating difference between being kept and being chosen.
This book is dark and emotional. Vee's journey is long and hard and continues in book two. Please check content warning at the back of the book for more information but beware of spoilers.
Shew! This pack is terrible and I truly hope in book 2 that they get what they deserve. I don’t care about scent match instincts, they’ve been with Vee for 5 years and supposedly loved her? Then where did basic human decency and respect go? Ragon can hit by the karma bus and Marie…omega scent match or not better pay for all she’s done. Real convenient that her heat showed up when the truth was brought to light. Seriously, these alphas suck. And what’s with Jasper? Was he part of the heat? She said they all went but he’s not mentioned at all. He’s doing all this documenting while Vee suffers? Eli is a wimp and Drake is a straight traitor. Ragon is the absolute worst. All alphas but the rest have spines made of jello. Can’t wait for Book 2 to see this pack and the new trio pay for their betrayals. 👏🏻
Ok so first of all, I took two days off of work for this book.
This book is 500 some-odd pages, and I started it yesterday morning (before I was supposed to start work, which yeah didn't happen) and smashed it by noon. Today, same thing wanted to start a little re-read before work. And here we are.
So. While I could do an in depth comparison to Pack Darling: Part One, and extract all the similarities to justify this book being good because of its closeness to pack darling, I won't because I really don't want this to be that. Because this book is just objectively good. Almost every book in the omegaverse genre for me is just living in the insurmountable, goliathan shadow of Pack darling, but this book isn't. This book, while sharing elements and obvious inspiration, stands on it's own merit, and I want to respect that.
Warning though: This book is a lot though. It's very intense very trauma heavy, you will feel emotionally battered, but its so, so good, if that's something you can handle. There's a lot of OW drama (in a way that's inherently different as I'll discuss later, but yeah, it's still there) and what I would consider cheating since . In general I would double check the trigger warnings to see if this book is for you, and there is a bigole bigole cliffie at the end of this book (that I am suffering from miserably at the moment).
So what was so good about it:
The "bad guys" weren't really bad guys. There was no obvious Disney supervillain (some of you can argue with me on that, but honestly from what I saw it was just a lot of scared people lashing out.) There was definitely abuse, but there were no monsters here, just humans.
Basically all of the abuse spiraled from the pack lead Ragon trying to gain control over a bad situation and make it work. He wanted his cake and to eat it too, and ended up making the wrong move every turn. He's inherently misogynistic (as omegaverse worlds tend to be), kinda dumb, kinda caveman, and can't get out of his own way. He was written in a way that was actually really easy to, maybe not empathize with, but to understand. He basically treated the relationship like he was introducing two territorial cats to one another, and used the same heavy handed punishments some person (not great one mind you) might use against animals. It really was just like a Greek tragedy. His solution to problems was to dominate. His inability to see Vee as a human, not property or a ward in his care meant that, while he was trying to "manage the situation" to avoid a specific outcome, and ended up causing something that was 10x worse. He dug himself into a hole, and couldn't stop digging because he refused to change.It was all with the best intentions at heart, and driven out of fear, but it was abuse none the less. And I want to be clear that understanding his nature, doesn't justify his actions.
The romance genre in general, and Omegaverse in particular, tends to flirt with misogyny in a very interesting way that I really don't want to get into too much here, because I feel like that's an entire thesis in itself. But this is all to say that Omegaverse tends to really leans into the "I'll protect you" and "Omega's don't really have any autonomy, but if the guy is good enough, they kinda like it?", and tends to kinda take the stance: Misogyny, but what if it's only the best parts? What if it's only the comfort, the treasuring, the adoration? What if it was a system that omegas actually benefited from (sometimes)?. This is by no means a critique on the genre, I feel like it's sort of a reclaiming of a usually inherently negative societal structure. It's polished down and made "safe" somehow. But you really feel this book playing strongly with these themes. It highlights all of those underlying ideals that are central to the genre, but in keeping the humanity in all of the characters, even the ones who are constantly making mistakes, really makes it hit different. This book challenges you a little bit in a way that feels kinda Meta. It kinda feels like "well Ragon is obviously doing this the wrong way" but that almost presumes there is a "right way" to go about things in a world where Omegas don't have autonomy. I also think its because the abuse was done in a way that was softer, more insidious, less obvious. No-one was beaten, and we didn't see any explicit sexual assault, but Ragon stripped Vee of her autonomy none the less, and his behavior was still abuse. Idk if this is coherent, it feels like a massive topic I still need time to digest.
That's all to say this book made me think about these ideas a lot, so screw the elitists who say romance is "just porn" or a brainrot genre. Come fight me.
Back to the review: There is a lot of "other woman drama" if you're not into that, but it was done really really differently than I've really ever seen in the past. This is probably the first time in the history of me reading romance that I didn't hate the "other female love interest." Sure, she was really catty and two faced, and spoiled but it was behavior that constantly arose out of fear and insecurity. She was put in just as bad a situation as the FMC was, and honestly, (I've never said this before, holy shit who is writing this review right now??) I kinda want to see a book of this whole thing going down from her POV. Normally I'm like get this woman off the page. But this story has two victims, and it's basically the story of two territorial animals trying to carve out a place where they feel safe in a home they shouldn't both be living in. Everyone knew it was a bad idea, but the alpha's will is law, and they pushed along with it anyways, putting their own desires above both of the Omegas (hello again misogyny) giving no credence to their boundaries, and ignoring all of the red flags along the way.
In my eyes, Marie is just as much of a victim as Vee. In the beginning she really tried to get it right, to make herself smaller to make Vee comfortable, but she shouldn't have to live like that either. As soon as she started carving out ground for herself, she started to feel safer, and her nastier traits started to come out in preservation of the territory she had gained. At least that's how I see it. Ragon promised Marie things too, and didn't live up to them. Ragon did some pretty abusive things to Marie too, and the house isn't a safe environment for her either. She has to be constantly aware that the rest of the pack have history with Vee, and worried that if they pick her over Marie, that Marie would be out on the streets. They essentially said as much at one point in the book. Ragon put the pack in an untenable situation, where everyone was forced to play the bad guy at some point, and everyone would inevitably end up hurt. It was just a question of which omega, which day and why. So, yes, Marie has done some awful (and frankly criminal) shit, but I could easily see her being the main character of another book where Vee is the villain. Which is just a testament to the incredible writing here .
Another thing this book did amazingly is, I have not a single freaking clue who the heroine will end up with in the end! The way Mary Magdalyn writes characters makes them all feel real and human. Because there's no obvious villains (although some characters have clearly behaved worse than others, everyone has lied, hid things, betrayed Vee's trust, and been deceptive ).
Vee could very well try to make things work with her pack! It certainly feels like the alphas are putting in a lot of time and energy into keeping some semblance of stability. From what we see at the beginning of the book, it truly seems like they did love and care about her. But at this point, is the trying just performative? Are they just unable to fight the biological pull? Is it just trying to avoid the reality of being wrong? Of failure? Is it just being territorial? Is it sunk cost fallacy? Or are they fighting for love? I honestly think its a little bit of all of it, but even if they're trying, they're still clearly missing the mark. Will she settle? I have no clue!
I'll end with my predictions on how things will go. I'm excited to see how much I get right, after reading the second book.
I guess that's all for now! The fact that I have so many theories but I'm not confident in any of them is saying something MASSIVE for me. Omegaverse is a pretty predictable genre at this point, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm usually pretty spot on with my predictions in books/movies in general. But again the fact that I have only a handful of guesses (and it wouldn't surprise me if they were ALL wrong!), but no real clue is something special. I seriously CANNOT WAIT for the next installment. I haven't felt this feral for a book in a long time, and I will be checking my email with an irresponsible regularity to see when the next book is coming out.
ETA: Please check out the comments to read the author's response to some of my concerns. I will be updating my review as soon as I can!
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Yall I am so torn. This honestly one of the best, most gut wrenching omegaverses I've read in a long time, possibly ever. I literally crushed this 500+ page beast in a day, staying up past 1AM reading, something I haven't had the desire to do in months. But upon finishing, I tried to do some digging on the author(s), mainly so I could gush to them in their DMs and beg for updates about book 2. No socials to be found, zero info on their GR author page, a vague bio on the Zon, and discovering they've published 3 stories since Nov. Now I'm sitting here with raised eyebrows, questions, and fears that this incredible story may not be of the human-made variety.. I pray I'm wrong. Please, someone prove me wrong! All I want is to shout my praise for this one but between the lack of a social media presence and some oftentimes odd sentence structuring throughout, I can't do that in good faith. Leaving this one unrated until I learn for sure if humans are responsible for Vee's story.
I finished this at 4am 😅 I needed a distraction from a bad pain night and oof, this sucked me in. Maybe not the best for trying to keep my body relaxed and calm since it was HELLA emotionally devastating. It took me about 40% through to actually understand the character dynamics because of the new characters introduced, but once I felt free to absolutely LOATHE you-know-which-MMC, I was fully immersed. I don’t think I’ll be able to reread much of this for when the second one comes out due to how much of an angst-fest it is, and I’m kicking myself for starting a series I KNEW was unfinished 😂
Without a doubt a favorite book of the year. I was DISTRAUGHT reading this and it's my favorite omegaverse ever. The heroine is with a pack who finds their scent match, and they want to keep both of them and have two omegas with their four alphas. The heroine is utterly broken down throughout this book, and I cried so many tries. Like, basically on the verge of tears the entire time if I wasn't crying. Please know this has an HEA at the end of book two, but these characters GO THROUGH IT. The heroine is broken down and goes through abuse from her alphas, and you watch her lose herself and her spark along the way. There is hope, though, which kept me reading and I immediately picked up book two.
If you want a book that will break you and give you the BIGGEST book hanger of your life, you have to read this one!
I cannot say for certain this book was written with major AI assistance-some people do, in fact, just write like that-but I can say that if it's not, then it's really poorly written. It has a lot of stilted, unnatural writing, it flows very poorly, trying way to hard to be "punchy" at seemingly random times, and is full of just absolutely nonsensical dialogue-all of which is a shame, because the book actually had some interesting ideas, beneath all that, the prose was just borderline unreadable.
Holy shit, this is the angstiest book I have ever read. It's a banquet of angst but you're the only one eating. Thank fuck the books I was reading before were funny fantasy novels or I might have had a major meltdown after reading this one.
I was legitimately depressed when I finished it. Mind, some of that is because there is no relief at the end of book one. It's an unfinished duet where the first book is the FMC's relationship to her loving pack disintegrating in slow-motion in the most catastrophic ways possible. At the very end of it, literally the last few pages, she discovers her scent matches (who have been hiding their scent from her while they became friends), but at no point is there any real let-up on the anguish (aside from some short scenes with new friends). You get half a chapter of her being happy and then a slow destruction of her relationship and mental well-being. Given that there's no physical or sexual abuse, I'm especially impressed by just how gut-wrenching it all was.
The original pack members find their scent match and decide they want to keep both omegas, integrating the new one into their home and life. The FMC, having experienced rejection from her first pack after they found their scent match, is especially upset about this. She's not given a choice. She also doesn't want to leave for the longest time because that would mean going back to the Registry, a government-controlled organization that looks out for the welfare of omegas and also pairs them with compatible packs. The Registry isn't bad, she just can't handle the prospect of being paired for a third time and getting rejected again.
The OG MMCs had good, if selfish, intentions, which makes what follows that much more awful. They do genuinely love her, but the pack lead lets his instincts hold the reins and drags the other OG MMCs along for the ride. And those other guys don't try nearly hard enough to stop it. It results in pushing her down to make room for the new omega and trying to control the FMC's emotional responses to everything happening, including giving her several "punishments." (Personally, after the first "punishment," I'd have stabbed Ragon in the face and burned the fucking house down.) And it eventually devolves into an especially horrific emotional punishment that makes her shut down with an almost disassociation-like response. As someone that has that exact response to alienation and interpersonal trauma, it fucking hit.
I suspect that this will still be a 10/10 for angst even once the second half drops (the author says she's aiming for end of March/beginning of April), but this book isn't gonna be for everyone. You do have to read through the OG MMCs building a romantic and sexual relationship with the other omega. It's not cheating... But it fucking feels like it. Or maybe it is cheating? Polyamory is usually with the consent of everyone involved and the FMC never consented, she just got dragged through it.
The second half of this duet is now my #1 most anticipated future release. Because I need to see some emotional relief from the FMC's trainwreck of a life.
Wow. I have never read a 500+ page book faster in my life! I could not put it down! This was just full of heartbreak and tears. I’m spiralling. This is my new favourite angsty omegaverse. I can’t wait for the next book!
Everything about this book was so well done! The characters were really well developed. Characters I didn’t want to like, I could at least empathize with or see where they were coming from. And our main girl Vee was just perfect. I loved her fire and wit in the beginning and it broke me watching that light dim.
I honestly don’t have the energy for a full review after this but SaintShy’s Review said it perfectly. Thank you so much for the rec I feel like I need to give you my first born or something! Please keep them coming if you ever have any more!
Anyone who is looking for an angsty omegaverse that will wreck you, please check this one out!!
I want her pack to suffer - I don’t want them to get their HEA with an omega who lied and willingly abused Vee. That’s the only acceptable outcome here
Probably the angstiest omegaverse I've read thus far. Other woman drama is the main conflict — I'm not sure if you would call it cheating, considering the scent match angle, but what Vee is put through it still absolutely horrific (especially after the zoo incident). I can only hope that her original pack is kicked to the curb and absolutely miserable in the sequel. Ragon deserves to be set on fire, but Drake and even Eli aren't much better, they're all complicit. Though I'm seriously side-eyeing her new (?) pack, as well.
Side note: Something about the writing style felt quite awkward and reminded me quite a bit of AI with the repetitive, particular sentence structure as well as the non-stop therapy speak every single character used. This is just an observation, I'm not making any accusations, but it stood out to me.
If you read my previous review, I owe you an apology (I'm really sorry!) because I misinterpreted what the reviews I read said about book two and thought that she took her asshole first pack back. I was just made aware that she DOESN'T! Blesssssssss.
Yes, this embarrassing, but mostly I'm just sorry if I turned you away from this duet because of that huge mistake on my part! I edited my review to remove this misunderstanding.
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Edited review:
3.5 stars. This author pulled every damn emotion out of me there was to pull. I ate this angst up and the way things in her life changed degree by degree over time was written so damn well. We were with her through it all, watching every single one of those thousand cuts and I stayed up hours past when I should have gone to bed consuming it. I LOVE this kind of angst...but only when it's followed up by adequate grovel (not just internal guilt) and consistent proof that the people have actually changed.
Since, as spoiled above, she isn't taking them back, I'm just happy that we get to see her move on with other people because there is NO way for her former pack to come back from what they did to her. I've read some books that were pretty heavy on the seemingly unredeemable aspects that still were able to come back, but there is no chance for these guys. They're abusive (even veering into physical abuse), neglectful, punitive, and cheaters. What's worse is that I actually feel like they cheated (sure, very dubiously) on both the FMC and their scent match (the OW) at different times.
Plus the nest violation scene? 👊👊👊 I'd like those fuckass alphas to come run into by fists for that one.
They move their scent match into their home with the FMC and fuck her all the time while tossing a forced smile at the FMC every once in a while to prove they haven't forgotten her. And if the FMC reacts AT ALL she's punished in worse and worse ways, all the while telling her how well they're treating her because at least they're not sending her back like her last pack did when they found their scent match. Hhhhhhhhh
Characterizations on point for the gradual slow boil into alienation of affection, neglect, and abuse.
I could actually write an entire novel about all the ways they did her wrong, but then when they had just watched proof that the scent match/OW had jumped into the gorilla habitat at the zoo to fake that the FMC pushed her (what led to the punishment that medically broke the FMC for months), the scent match conveniently goes into heat and their horror and regret at their previous actions turns into neglecting the FMC for another week while all four of them fuck the evil scent match some more. And of course they command her to stay in the house where she has to listen to and scent it all.
You cannot bring love interests back from this and still have an FMC with any type of self respect. You especially cannot bring them back from this when it's an FMC who has been abused and manipulated so much to the point that she's brainwashed.
...and I'm so relieved to know that the author doesn't try. I've added the next book back to my tbr and will pick it up to see how things go after this. HER scent matches (yay for a new pack) have some groveling to do also. 👀
Probably one of the best OV books I have read this year.
It is a tear-jerker, but I was in the mood for a cry. I really hope the next book comes out soon, as I need to see the conclusion, even if it's not a HEA.
I like that it was a different take on the whole two omegas story. We always see the books talk about other two omegas that can make it work, but those books have the exception to the rule where they do make it work. This one embraced all those tropes that we see about two omegas not working. (i.e., their territorial, don’t like to share, easily jealous, etc.)
--- My hopes for the next book....
May include some spoiler from Book 1
*edit spelling, grammar and, clarify. Plus, I added a spoiler block for my hopes for Book 2.
I saw someone say that Tormented Omega was the angstiest omegaverse book they have ever read and I was immediately desperate to pick it up. I feel like the most standout books within the genre are the ones that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and never lets up.
I was instantly gripped by this book. By the end of the first chapter, the writing was on the wall and I couldn't wait to see it unfold. So much happens, emotionally and physically, so quick and I didn't want to put it down, but I had to take breaks to process what was going on.
Ragon can kick rocks, and I hope he gets what's coming to him in the sequel. Drake is a traitor, and I hope that haunts him. Eli is the only reasonable one of the original pack members, but even he was complacent when it came to Vee's punishments. Jasper is interesting because he can clearly see that what is being done to Vee is abuse, and verbalises as such, but he doesn't really make an effort to stop it until the end of the book.
We got introduced to other MMCs who will play a bigger role in the sequel, but even they could tell that the dynamics within Vee's pack upon the arrival of Marie was not only healthy, but destructive.
I'm annoyed I have to wait for the second book, especially after that cliffhanger, but I will be waiting patiently!
Would you like to be depressed about something other than current events? If so, this book is for you!
Luckily I was in the mood to cry, because this book is constant emotional punches beginning to end.
I've never personally been abused, but I've imagined this is what it's like - loving the people who are now doing you great harm and trying to reconcile the two states. Nobody's an evil two-dimensional villain here, and I hate them all the more for it.
The angst!! This book has the type of angst that you feel from your chest to your soul. My heart was pounding, my chest was achey, and I was in physical discomfort while reading this book 🤣 but I loved it and it was so delicious. It is rare that I stay up late to read a book but I didn’t go to bed until 1 am because I couldn’t put it down. The mental and physical trauma and basically torture that our h endures, and her break down were so well written. From all angles. I loved how not black and white things were. The author did such a great job with the development of the situation this pack is in.
I really feel for all of them and their situation but can’t wait to see how things develop with the new guys for the h. I hope Chase and Arden are in her harem too! I’d like to see things continue to develop with Jasper but idk if that’s too messy with the other pack stuff. I hope he’s been there just biding his time for when he can get the h out but then there are other times when I feel like maybe he really does want to be a part of Ragons pack.
I’m super hopeful that the next book is going to be as good as this one. I usually struggle with the second book in OV duets but fingers crossed. I loved the single pov here and am bummed to see book two is dual pov. Fingers crossed for no redemption for the OW and her former “pack” but that everyone can just find peace and move on. I don’t want all these people to stay friendly. Her new pack better not let her keep these toxic people in her life. I don’t blame them for what went down, these were impossible situations, but it’s time for the h to be cared for and protected. The alphas are not going to feel very protective and possessive alpha if they continue to let her be around them. They better step up! Can’t wait to see Vee become healthy and strong and happy!
EVERYSINGLE PERSON (except Vee obviously) CAN BURN IN FUCKING HELL!!!!! - Ragon and Marie can burn in the darkest pit of hell - Eli and Drake are both fucking cowards and should also burn -Jasper and the "neighbors" saw what Vee was going through and did absolutely nothing so they can also join everyone in hell
Do NOT go into this book thinking you're gonna get romance. Yes, it's advertise as dark romance but we only got dark and no romance. It's a VERY detailed journey about domestic abuse. And yes there is a list of trigger warnings but it did not prepare for how extreme it got. Reading it hurt soooooo much. It felt like I was emotionally hurting along side Vee. And there was not a single moment of reprieve where I thought things were gonna get better.
but no seriously I'm fine with the individual triggers but this book taught me that I cannot with all of them combine. The amount of times I almost dnf. and let's not talk about how much I had to skim towards the end bc OMG that was a hard read. I almost threw my kindle across the room so many time.
Im not even rooting for a romance story anymore. I just want my Vee girl to be left alone and heal
Because again this wasn't dark romance. this was a domestic abuse story
It’s been a long time since an omegaverse had me this emotionally invested, and ‘Tormented Omega’ absolutely wrecked me in the best way.
What really pulled me in was the emotional tension within the pack. The dynamics are messy, painful, and complicated in a way that makes the story feel raw and immersive. Watching the trust slowly unravel — while the FMC just tries to survive — kept me completely hooked.
And the angst… my goodness. If you love emotional tension and the kind of storytelling that makes your chest tight while you’re reading, this is the book for you! There were moments that genuinely made my heart ACHE for Vee and what she’s endured. But those moments are also what make the story so powerful.
This is the kind of book where you tell yourself “just one more chapter” and suddenly it’s 2 AM and the book is done! 😅
If you love angsty omegaverse with strong emotional stakes and pack dynamics that will put your heart through the wringer, this one absolutely delivers.
I couldn’t put it down.
10/10 emotional damage… would absolutely read again!
Loved every angst ridden word and ate it up with a spoon. NGL, I teared up a few times at what Vee went through - the betrayal, neglect, abuse and cruelty from the people who were supposed to care for her the most was off the charts and it hurt to read at times.
I'm not a fan of cliffhangers so waited till the sequel was out before starting this and after reading early reviews I'm leery to start it.
Read this if you want to cry for 90% of the book, and have your chest feel tight the entire time, causing you to question why you love reading so much. 6 ⭐️ Omegaverse book
5⭐️ fuck me sideways, throw me in to a ditch, throw me to the sun and leave me there Jesus Christ.
It was a LOOOOOOONG time ago I felt this way reading an omegaverse I am almost speechless. Me being awake from 12 am to 7am reading this should say a lot about how heartbreakingly perfect this book is. I’m sure I was sniffling a lot.
I am so happy that this book wasn’t rushed or dragged because that’s what’s happening with a lot of other books at the moment and it leaves you deafeted.
I will confess and I am embarrassed to say I did get annoyed at vee in the beginning because why are you staying there and then I corrected myself real fast cuz before marie showed up she had been with them for 5 years highs and lows, heats and arguments.
What the book did very well was making the transition really well paced as in like how Ragon slowly but surly got worse and worse and I think that represents abusive relationships very well.
I do believe they loved her in the beginning especially Eli but Love can only go so far until it becomes destructive and really damaging. They did live with her and tend to her for 5 years. You can say love, like, you aren’t a secondhand, you aren’t disposable. But it doesn’t mean shit if you don’t back it up with actions.
Drake can go fuck a rock in my eyes he did participate in the destruction of vees nest, I found it extremely disgusting when vee was in the kitchen while Maries was in heat and drake strolled in a tried to kiss her on the temple like sir she just found out that the omega that’s basically taken her place climed over a fence to make herself a victim. And that she was punished for something that she never had a part in and even if she did it doesn’t justify the punishment.
Anyways I’m rambling now. Can’t wait for the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is just Wow. I haven’t seen anything like this before, and it is so intense that I couldn’t stop reading.
Okay, this is an omega universe, where a pack of alphas find their omega, who they usually adore. This omega, Vee, is not the scent match for her pack, but she’s been with them for almost five years. Two months ago, they met their scent match, and they’ve been trying to introduce the new girl into their pack. They don’t tell Vee about it, they just basically spring it on her.
Well new girl starts to change everything around the house. She thinks she’s the queen or something because of the scent match. She’s trying to edge out Vee, and it turns out that the scent match causes a bias against Vee. So new girl is just horrible.
Several things happened and there’s always a punishment from the head alpha of their pack. This is one of the traits in an omega verse, where the pack of alphas is usually small. This has three guys. The lead guy is just awful. I thought he’d be a good guy, but he absolutely isn’t.
Book 1 and it’s to be continued. Hope the next one arrives soon because this was intense, and I need book 2.
KU read, highly recommended, and I need to maybe buy this one. It’s got a couple of editing issues but I can look past them because this was really well done.
(Oops edited can’t to can. I definitely can look past the errors because this book is very, very good.)
This reads distinctly like a webnovel, and I mean that as respectfully as possible (disclaimer: I enjoy webnovels sometimes).
The thing with webnovels is that they tend to have a bunch of short, choppy sentences with minimal descriptions, which is also the case with this story. I don't hate it, but I think the story could benefit from the inclusion of more descriptions here and there, as well as more thorough character/personality development. As it stands, most of the characters sound similar in tone/cadence.
I also want to acknowledge that it has some very... stylistic quirks, to say the least. There are recurrences of super-specific yet oddly abstract metaphors, for example, "Instrumentals fill the car—some ambient nonsense that sounds like a spa and a spaceship had a baby." Then the classic, "this isn't about X… it's about Y," which appears quite frequently. I don't want to point fingers or anything, but it reads a bit AI-adjacent at times.
Having said this, I enjoyed the story. I'm all for the angst and the drama. With some refinement, this could be something really standout. I'm curious to see how things pan out in the next book!
I haven’t experienced a truly angsty and gut wrenching Omegaverse in a long time, but this one takes the cake. This was a “stay up all night and read” kind of book.
I didn’t read any spoilers, or the description, so I was in the dark about what this book was about, which made it a wild ride. The author does a great job of simultaneously making you hate the men (and Maria) in this book, but then humanizing them.
The rest of this review is a synopsis to catch you up before the next book. Don’t keep reading unless you want spoilers!! . . . .
Vee has lived with her alphas going on five years. They’ve promised that if they don’t meet their scent match by the end of the five years, they’ll bond Vee. I hated them already! Of course they find their scent match and want to try to integrate Vee and Marie into one big happy pack.
Eli: Nice guy doctor. The nicest and most attentive to Vee throughout, but ultimately fails to stand up for her when it counts. Drake: Funny, golden retriever type. Nice, but immediately starts neglecting Vee in favor of Marie. Ragon: The leader of the pack. Convinced that all this pack needs is structure and discipline to work. Jasper: A random guy they decided to invite into their pack to balance it out, since he’s not a scent match to anyone. His presence is weird, since he’s always acting like he’s auditing the pack. He doesn’t really connect emotionally with anyone. Marie: The scent matched Omega. Marie isn’t so bad at first, and you sort of feel sorry for her. But don’t worry, she turns out to be straight up insane.
Other characters: Arden: A psychologist who treats Omegas Chase: Gym bro and OPA investigator Finn, Alex, and Malcolm: the neighbors
Vee struggles with being second best when Marie arrives, and Ragon starts disciplining her. Gradually, as they find ways to navigate the relationship, Marie starts escalating her negative behaviors and eventually frames Vee for pushing her into a gorilla enclosure. Ragon has sex with Marie in Vee’s nest while forcing the others to hold her and make her watch. He also orders them to deny her comfort. This breaks Vee’s Omega, and Dr Arden is brought in to try to help.
Chase eventually comes by and shows the pack the footage that clears Vee’s name, but Marie immediately goes into heat and the pack trucks off to help her, abandoning Vee. Chase also leaves Vee behind in this situation, which seemed odd, since he was concerned about her safety.
Vee can't leave because society isn’t set up that way. Vee’s basically under a guardianship where Ragon is her legal guardian, and the alternative is a government facility where they’ll immediately try to place her with another pack. She’s legally and emotionally trapped.
Vee ends up going into heat while the pack ignores her for a couple of days, only to - cliffhanger - find out the neighbors are her scent matches, but have been hiding their scents and hiding that they knew she was theirs.
Duh duh duh.
What will happen to Vee? Will she learn to trust again? Find her place with a new pack? Go into Omega foster care?