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Never Too Late #1
Buried Passion
Ryan is a detective with the Abused Persons unit of the Mass. State Police. He loves his job, and he’s very good at it. He balks when his supervisor assigns him to a case with the Cold Case unit, and not just because that’s out of his area of expertise. Everyone in Cold Case is an alpha, and that’s just not a comfortable place for an unclaimed omega to be. Nick is a detective with the Cold Case unit. He’s a strictly by-the-book detective. He trusts to procedure and precedent to get the job done. He doesn’t mind getting stuck with a highly visible case. He doesn’t even mind getting stuck with the pretty omega from Abused Persons, so long as he sits down, shuts up and doesn’t screw with the process that’s worked well for years. Ryan and Nick butt heads almost immediately, although it doesn’t take long for either detective to figure out that at least part of the reason for their strife is the scorching chemistry between them. When their cold case seems to parallel Ryan’s life a little too closely, and when Ryan’s methods don’t fall exactly in line with Cold Case procedure, will their differences drive them apart? This gay romance book that contains sexually explicit content, mpreg (male pregnancy) and its hardships on male couple! This book is approximately 80,000 words, has a happy ending and does not end in a cliffhanger.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2016
314 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
April 30, 2018
Well the passion was definitely buried... Six feet under accompanied by full funeral rights. And as I found out not even decent writing or a pretty solid mystery plot were going to resurrect it.
Written as a police procedural mystery or alternatively as tv episode of Cold Case this would have been great. As a romance/mystery? Not so much. Sorry! The only emotional connection- the only passion if you like- came from solving the crime. Unfortunately, any kind of emotional connection between characters outside the case was completely lacking.
Setting the 'romantic' element aside for a moment the working relationship between Ryan and the other members of the Cold Case team was weak. For example Ryan proves himself worthy (yes I am rolling my eyes because he didn't need to) and the good ol' alphas say "hey let's take the cool omega detective out for a drink." Great idea says me (mentally rubbing my hands together) character development here we come. Yippee. There is one brief paragraph about said drinkies then... nada. End of drinkies story. We got the barest detail and I found that really frustrating. This is a big deal folks! None of the Cold Case detectives wanted anything to do with Ryan up to that point yet the author doesn't involve us. No showing the night out, thoughts, reactions, bonding. No... none. I think Ryan enjoyed himself he doesn't say and we weren't there, so there you go. Unfortunately, this happened time and time again throughout the book and left me with a pretty huge emotional disconnect with the characters. Except one...
At this point I have to write something about Nick. I can't help myself. I think If you are going to write a character and make him an arsehole you might at some point give him a redeeming quality? Turn him around, make him sympathetic? If I was an author I would. However, name him Nick and put him in this book then he can (and does) remain an arsehole, all the way through. Yep. True story. At 76% he behaves horribly to Ryan, is so bloody contemptuous of everything Ryan is that I just switched off completely. That's love is it? I don't think so matey. As you've probably guessed I hate this fucker more than Jake Riordan. *gasp* That's saying a lot people. A lot! Ask any of my friends on GR, they know how I hated Jake. Nick is plain unpleasant...kick him in the 'nads is what I'd do. At times my imagination ran away with me. I couldn't stop myself fantasising that Ryan might see the error of his ways, ride off into the sunset with someone else and leave Nick alone and suffering for the rest of his natural. Hah! Arseholes shouldn't get a happy ending they don't deserve. So there!
Now back to the sexy times. Or lack thereof. Yes, yes, I'm a perv get over it. I read this genre because I LIKE TO READ ABOUT THE SEX! IN DETAIL! And when I don't get at least one good sex scene I get shouty!! Ahem. Anyway, the sex, connection, romance, blah, blah, blah. Whatever you want to call it, it ain't here people. Shocking? I KNOW! I had a tantrum because there is NO chemistry between the MCs. At. All. None! I shook my Kindle, turned it on and off and upside down, I even skimmed forward (something I never do) in case I missed something. I didn't *sigh* the chemistry is nowhere to be found. Either that or it's buried so deep that a pick and a miners lamp would be required to find it. I had neither so didn't (and now I'm repeating myself from an update.) Ok, enough sarcasm for now. Back to the sex point... If you barley know what the two hotties (?) look like, in or out of clothes (scant descriptions) and all they do is argue right up until they get it on - then how are you (the author) going to convince anyone (me) that these characters have anything resembling sexual attraction to each other? Add to that the fact that Nick is a dick and I don't mean detective, well he is, but you get what I mean, then what you have is an awful lot of nothing. Ryan is a bloody great character really likeable he's had a tough life and deserves someone kinder. Ryan is wasted on Nick (although his continued justification of Nick's bad behaviour got old fast.) Together they have some cracking arguments - Aiden writes those really well btw. As a couple? No way. They don't work. They are in hook-up territory at best. Having them refer to each other as babe, beloved, mine, his etc doesn't mean anything. That's not love, that's words. As for the said references to being in love. Well let's just say that was about as romantic as a brick being chucked at my head. I was dazed, confused and thinking what the hell was that? Because I sure as shit didn't see it coming or believe it for one second... Still don't.
Now the mpreg. This was my first mpreg book and that part could have been quite sweet. Ruined for me because it was thrown in as a 'by the way' - it was a by the way moment Nick says that or something very similar. See! I told you he's a dick. The whole thing was dealt with in such a blasé manner it felt rushed and not very special. A bit of a disappointment for my first time. Nothing new there though. Where was the WTF moment that I think most people would have if they found out they were pregnant after knowing their partner for a month? Done and dusted within a couple of sentences that's where. It all fell a bit flat and I was not convinced this couple could enjoy any sort of HEA. Nor apparently was Nick, but I don't care about him, again, he's a dick! I hoped for Ryan's sake it was a false alarm because I couldn't see them as a couple starting a family.
The cold case, the mystery aspect was great and the historical background to the crime was interesting. l know next to nothing about the racial segregation and busing that was going on at the time of the crime [1976] and I found this portion informative. I truly wanted the bad guys to get caught. Who did it is fairly obvious what isn't is the how or the why and that was great to discover as the investigation progressed. Bluntly put this is a racial crime, it's shocking in its awfulness, truly heartbreakingly sad. I wanted justice for Maureen and James very badly, luckily they got it in the end. What a terrible price they payed for being teenagers in love. I have a teenager myself and that part of the book will stay with me for quite a while. Tragic that people real or in fiction can hate that much. That tolerance is inconceivable to some. See, this author can write some feels. I felt them for Maureen and James and for Ryan.
One last niggle I have with Buried Passion is with the world building. It is pretty scant I'm afraid. I had so many questions; is everyone alpha, beta, omega? Are the any plain humans? Why can male omegas get pregnant? How do they find out their designation? And so on and so on. I don't know if the author goes into detail elsewhere maybe in another book? As this is the first of a series the lack of basic knowledge was a bit irritating and at times I didn't understand why things happened the way they did. An explanatory paragraph at the beginning, or an introduction with a little general background information would have helped immensely and added another layer to the story.
Ok, now comes the tricky bit... my rating... oh dear! It goes something like this in my mind:
Mystery/crime *4 Stars*
World building *1 Star*
Characters: Ryan *4.5 Stars*, Nick *a kick in the nuts 1 Star* be grateful you got that many!
Sex/relationship *1 Star*
Writing *4 Stars*.
Would I read this author again? Possibly, I'm not totally convinced and its unlikely to be this series. Although I did read the intro to book #2...
I think I'll give an overall rating of *3 Stars*.
Now I need to read a book with lots of steamy, sweaty, sexy goodness. Yeah baby! What? I told you I was a perv. #notsorry.
*3 Stars*
Written as a police procedural mystery or alternatively as tv episode of Cold Case this would have been great. As a romance/mystery? Not so much. Sorry! The only emotional connection- the only passion if you like- came from solving the crime. Unfortunately, any kind of emotional connection between characters outside the case was completely lacking.
Setting the 'romantic' element aside for a moment the working relationship between Ryan and the other members of the Cold Case team was weak. For example Ryan proves himself worthy (yes I am rolling my eyes because he didn't need to) and the good ol' alphas say "hey let's take the cool omega detective out for a drink." Great idea says me (mentally rubbing my hands together) character development here we come. Yippee. There is one brief paragraph about said drinkies then... nada. End of drinkies story. We got the barest detail and I found that really frustrating. This is a big deal folks! None of the Cold Case detectives wanted anything to do with Ryan up to that point yet the author doesn't involve us. No showing the night out, thoughts, reactions, bonding. No... none. I think Ryan enjoyed himself he doesn't say and we weren't there, so there you go. Unfortunately, this happened time and time again throughout the book and left me with a pretty huge emotional disconnect with the characters. Except one...
At this point I have to write something about Nick. I can't help myself. I think If you are going to write a character and make him an arsehole you might at some point give him a redeeming quality? Turn him around, make him sympathetic? If I was an author I would. However, name him Nick and put him in this book then he can (and does) remain an arsehole, all the way through. Yep. True story. At 76% he behaves horribly to Ryan, is so bloody contemptuous of everything Ryan is that I just switched off completely. That's love is it? I don't think so matey. As you've probably guessed I hate this fucker more than Jake Riordan. *gasp* That's saying a lot people. A lot! Ask any of my friends on GR, they know how I hated Jake. Nick is plain unpleasant...kick him in the 'nads is what I'd do. At times my imagination ran away with me. I couldn't stop myself fantasising that Ryan might see the error of his ways, ride off into the sunset with someone else and leave Nick alone and suffering for the rest of his natural. Hah! Arseholes shouldn't get a happy ending they don't deserve. So there!
Now back to the sexy times. Or lack thereof. Yes, yes, I'm a perv get over it. I read this genre because I LIKE TO READ ABOUT THE SEX! IN DETAIL! And when I don't get at least one good sex scene I get shouty!! Ahem. Anyway, the sex, connection, romance, blah, blah, blah. Whatever you want to call it, it ain't here people. Shocking? I KNOW! I had a tantrum because there is NO chemistry between the MCs. At. All. None! I shook my Kindle, turned it on and off and upside down, I even skimmed forward (something I never do) in case I missed something. I didn't *sigh* the chemistry is nowhere to be found. Either that or it's buried so deep that a pick and a miners lamp would be required to find it. I had neither so didn't (and now I'm repeating myself from an update.) Ok, enough sarcasm for now. Back to the sex point... If you barley know what the two hotties (?) look like, in or out of clothes (scant descriptions) and all they do is argue right up until they get it on - then how are you (the author) going to convince anyone (me) that these characters have anything resembling sexual attraction to each other? Add to that the fact that Nick is a dick and I don't mean detective, well he is, but you get what I mean, then what you have is an awful lot of nothing. Ryan is a bloody great character really likeable he's had a tough life and deserves someone kinder. Ryan is wasted on Nick (although his continued justification of Nick's bad behaviour got old fast.) Together they have some cracking arguments - Aiden writes those really well btw. As a couple? No way. They don't work. They are in hook-up territory at best. Having them refer to each other as babe, beloved, mine, his etc doesn't mean anything. That's not love, that's words. As for the said references to being in love. Well let's just say that was about as romantic as a brick being chucked at my head. I was dazed, confused and thinking what the hell was that? Because I sure as shit didn't see it coming or believe it for one second... Still don't.
Now the mpreg. This was my first mpreg book and that part could have been quite sweet. Ruined for me because it was thrown in as a 'by the way' - it was a by the way moment Nick says that or something very similar. See! I told you he's a dick. The whole thing was dealt with in such a blasé manner it felt rushed and not very special. A bit of a disappointment for my first time. Nothing new there though. Where was the WTF moment that I think most people would have if they found out they were pregnant after knowing their partner for a month? Done and dusted within a couple of sentences that's where. It all fell a bit flat and I was not convinced this couple could enjoy any sort of HEA. Nor apparently was Nick, but I don't care about him, again, he's a dick! I hoped for Ryan's sake it was a false alarm because I couldn't see them as a couple starting a family.
The cold case, the mystery aspect was great and the historical background to the crime was interesting. l know next to nothing about the racial segregation and busing that was going on at the time of the crime [1976] and I found this portion informative. I truly wanted the bad guys to get caught. Who did it is fairly obvious what isn't is the how or the why and that was great to discover as the investigation progressed. Bluntly put this is a racial crime, it's shocking in its awfulness, truly heartbreakingly sad. I wanted justice for Maureen and James very badly, luckily they got it in the end. What a terrible price they payed for being teenagers in love. I have a teenager myself and that part of the book will stay with me for quite a while. Tragic that people real or in fiction can hate that much. That tolerance is inconceivable to some. See, this author can write some feels. I felt them for Maureen and James and for Ryan.
One last niggle I have with Buried Passion is with the world building. It is pretty scant I'm afraid. I had so many questions; is everyone alpha, beta, omega? Are the any plain humans? Why can male omegas get pregnant? How do they find out their designation? And so on and so on. I don't know if the author goes into detail elsewhere maybe in another book? As this is the first of a series the lack of basic knowledge was a bit irritating and at times I didn't understand why things happened the way they did. An explanatory paragraph at the beginning, or an introduction with a little general background information would have helped immensely and added another layer to the story.
Ok, now comes the tricky bit... my rating... oh dear! It goes something like this in my mind:
Mystery/crime *4 Stars*
World building *1 Star*
Characters: Ryan *4.5 Stars*, Nick *a kick in the nuts 1 Star* be grateful you got that many!
Sex/relationship *1 Star*
Writing *4 Stars*.
Would I read this author again? Possibly, I'm not totally convinced and its unlikely to be this series. Although I did read the intro to book #2...
I think I'll give an overall rating of *3 Stars*.
Now I need to read a book with lots of steamy, sweaty, sexy goodness. Yeah baby! What? I told you I was a perv. #notsorry.
*3 Stars*
June 20, 2019
dnf at 37% because i want to shoot nick in the face
January 24, 2018
**grm**
Sorry, but I really didn't like this book. The fact that I gave 2 stars and not less, is bcs at least there wasn't any rape or cheat.
Ryan deserved someone way better than N(D)ick. That guy was a jerk, he didn't respect Ryan as a person and not even as a detective, something that he made pretty clear everytime he opened his mouth and verbally abused "his" Omega. I knew that this book was based on the "enemies to lovers" trope, but they never got out of the enemies stage, or to better say the fact that they said to each other "I love u" didn't make me believe in their future as a couple and didn't make their feelings real to me. I felt no empathy for these chars and I actually saw reading this book, as a loss of time. Not that Ryan was better than Nick, He talked too much about his dead ex (death that happened 10 years before) with someone he was thinking of making his lover and Alpha. They were both nuts and probably deserved each other. I could understand why Nick didn't like when Ryan tried to comfort (sort of) a killer, how can u feel sorry for that man after all u found out about the case? but at the same time Nick's aggressivity towards the killer wasn't helping him to confess either. The crime in the background was interesting but we could understand who the killer(s) was(were), way before the author actually wanted us to.
One of the scenes that made me shocked and not in a good way like "damn this moment! this was a good surprise and adds something to the book", but more like "are they crazy? how the hell did he even think about this crap" sort of thing. Idk which person still in possess of his mental faculty would suggest to name his son like the dead ex of his lover, and then give the explanation for his thinking, in saying that since they both loved that person they should honour him naming their son like him. 1st: how the hell did u too love that person, if u never met him? you didn't even know who the f*ck he was until u met Ryan and like the jerk u were, u tried to find a weak spot to throw him off the case, bcs u couldn't work with an omega. 2nd: when your son will be older and ask why u named him that way, bcs he will ask at some point out of curiosity, how will u explain that to him? Srr but to me it didn't make any sense and was the last nail on the coffin of my "I'm so done" with this book.
Sorry, but I really didn't like this book. The fact that I gave 2 stars and not less, is bcs at least there wasn't any rape or cheat.
Ryan deserved someone way better than N(D)ick. That guy was a jerk, he didn't respect Ryan as a person and not even as a detective, something that he made pretty clear everytime he opened his mouth and verbally abused "his" Omega. I knew that this book was based on the "enemies to lovers" trope, but they never got out of the enemies stage, or to better say the fact that they said to each other "I love u" didn't make me believe in their future as a couple and didn't make their feelings real to me. I felt no empathy for these chars and I actually saw reading this book, as a loss of time. Not that Ryan was better than Nick, He talked too much about his dead ex (death that happened 10 years before) with someone he was thinking of making his lover and Alpha. They were both nuts and probably deserved each other. I could understand why Nick didn't like when Ryan tried to comfort (sort of) a killer, how can u feel sorry for that man after all u found out about the case? but at the same time Nick's aggressivity towards the killer wasn't helping him to confess either. The crime in the background was interesting but we could understand who the killer(s) was(were), way before the author actually wanted us to.
One of the scenes that made me shocked and not in a good way like "damn this moment! this was a good surprise and adds something to the book", but more like "are they crazy? how the hell did he even think about this crap" sort of thing. Idk which person still in possess of his mental faculty would suggest to name his son like the dead ex of his lover, and then give the explanation for his thinking, in saying that since they both loved that person they should honour him naming their son like him. 1st: how the hell did u too love that person, if u never met him? you didn't even know who the f*ck he was until u met Ryan and like the jerk u were, u tried to find a weak spot to throw him off the case, bcs u couldn't work with an omega. 2nd: when your son will be older and ask why u named him that way, bcs he will ask at some point out of curiosity, how will u explain that to him? Srr but to me it didn't make any sense and was the last nail on the coffin of my "I'm so done" with this book.
Want to read
August 3, 2017Amazon freebie 8/3/17
March 3, 2017
Well everyone is right - Nick is an ass. I really thought maybe he was more anti-hero or bad boy - but as it turns out he is just a jerk. Ryan deserved far better and I spent the whole book hoping he wouldn't take Nick back and he could find someone more of his caliber. Alas - they have a sort of HEA.
May 28, 2019
DNF @ 28%.
First off, this is probably the most poorly edited book I've read from Aiden Bates.
-[...] a tall alpha with white hair hair and a orange emerged from the office immediately. Hair is repeated. Should be "an orange" and turns out it is his face that is orange, not that he is holding a fruit.
-[...] but he doesn't seem to follo any kind of methodology. Apparently Aiden Bates spell checker was broken, or follo is now a word.
-Ryan lives in a complex. Ryan lives in a house. Ryan lives in a condo. Now, I know a condo can be in a complex and a condo can be in a house, but I don't think house and complex are synonymous.
-"You know every little detail of thier lives?" 'i' before 'e', except after 'c', Mr. Bates.
-"I considered using my past it as an excuse to get off that case [...]". "It as an"? What?
Then there is the fact that the actual investigation and mystery is pretty dry.
But, the real issue is that Nick is a huge asshole. He makes it known immediately that he doesn't want Ryan there. He freaks out at him. He questions everything he does. He goes behind Ryan's back and digs into his past, informs his entire department of said past, questions whether Ryan can work on a case similar to what happened to him and questions Ryan's integrity that he didn't take himself off the case. He grabs his arm tight enough to bruise. And then he wants to know what Ryan didn't spend his time off, after being publicly humiliated by Nick, working on the case that Nick doesn't think Ryan is able to work on without being biased. He shows up at his house/condo/complex unannounced (and not for the first time), doesn't really apologize, kisses him (to comfort him), and then decides he needed to protect this grieving omega. You mean the omega who is more than capable of his job and shoved you to the ground earlier? You mean the omega who you treated like shit multiple times? Yikes, nope. Done.
First off, this is probably the most poorly edited book I've read from Aiden Bates.
-[...] a tall alpha with white hair hair and a orange emerged from the office immediately. Hair is repeated. Should be "an orange" and turns out it is his face that is orange, not that he is holding a fruit.
-[...] but he doesn't seem to follo any kind of methodology. Apparently Aiden Bates spell checker was broken, or follo is now a word.
-Ryan lives in a complex. Ryan lives in a house. Ryan lives in a condo. Now, I know a condo can be in a complex and a condo can be in a house, but I don't think house and complex are synonymous.
-"You know every little detail of thier lives?" 'i' before 'e', except after 'c', Mr. Bates.
-"I considered using my past it as an excuse to get off that case [...]". "It as an"? What?
Then there is the fact that the actual investigation and mystery is pretty dry.
But, the real issue is that Nick is a huge asshole. He makes it known immediately that he doesn't want Ryan there. He freaks out at him. He questions everything he does. He goes behind Ryan's back and digs into his past, informs his entire department of said past, questions whether Ryan can work on a case similar to what happened to him and questions Ryan's integrity that he didn't take himself off the case. He grabs his arm tight enough to bruise. And then he wants to know what Ryan didn't spend his time off, after being publicly humiliated by Nick, working on the case that Nick doesn't think Ryan is able to work on without being biased. He shows up at his house/condo/complex unannounced (and not for the first time), doesn't really apologize, kisses him (to comfort him), and then decides he needed to protect this grieving omega. You mean the omega who is more than capable of his job and shoved you to the ground earlier? You mean the omega who you treated like shit multiple times? Yikes, nope. Done.
December 27, 2016
I am a big fan of the m/m genre and have a soft spot for mpreg. When I saw this as a Kindle Unlimited, the premise seemed intriguing. Sadly, this book was a DNF for me. It combines romance with a mystery, where two detectives from different police divisions in Boston are forced to work together to solve a Cold Case. While the mystery plot was interesting, the relationship between the main characters was implausible and uninteresting. Ryan, the omega half of the pairing, came across as strong and creative, while Nick, the alpha half, came across as narrow minded, verbally abusive and generally uninteresting. While normally the "fated mates" trope works for me, in this case it just felt completely at odds with the relationship between the main characters portrayed in the story. The book was long, the plot was clunky and the relationship development both implausible and lacking chemistry. I made it to about 50% before I stopped.
February 22, 2018
3.5 stars, I really like this story line, I just felt that too many parts of the book were glossed over, there was no depth or detail to the personal relationship scenes. The investigation Nick and Ryan were conducting was interesting, I like that side of the book.
February 18, 2021
I loved the characters of Nick and Ryan...well mostly Ryan... but was very frustrated with their individual attitudes toward one another when first meeting. Nick is a strong “alpha” detective who is paired with Ryan, who is an “omega”. Both are police officers but work in entirely different units but have been paired for their individual abilities to solve crimes. They’re trying to find the killer of two people killed 40 years ago. Nick seems to feel that he’s the only one with a brain and to begin with treats Ryan… a top detective in his own right… really bad….even though he feels he loves him but thinks that Ryan should “know his place”. I half way thought that maybe Nick might be right. There is something a little…well a lot…”different” with all of these people that is not explained very well. They … or at least the men…carry an” Alpha” or an “Omega” gene that is somehow a part of them that they are unable to change… and that they are tested for at about 10 years of age. It determines their “place” in life. I liked Aiden Bate’s Vanguard Towers series and I believe that this one will be turn out to be just as good….as soon as I figure out this crazy gene business.
January 9, 2017
I really liked the crime solving aspect, that was awesome but the chemistry between the two MC's themselves, not so much. That was a bit of a roller coaster for me. Very hot and cold initially and then I never could get warm again.
probably-not-but-freebie
November 19, 2018Freebie at the zon.com right now: https://smile.amazon.com/Buried-Passi...
September 26, 2018
2.5 would have been 3 except Nick was a prick Stars
*****Spoilerish***** Rant fest ahead *******
I felt the writing was pretty good and the plot was better some I’ve read lately. That’s about the only plus.
Buried Passion ????? I’m not sure where all the passion was. Don’t get me wrong, there was some but I didn’t feel that it was executed very well. Unfortunately I’m not up to elaborating, you’ll just have to take my word I guess.
The pregnancy announcement to the readers? Pretty much like this:
”why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
“Because I’m not”
“You are”
“We’ve been using protection, I’m not. And I’m not having symptoms”
“You are, I’m an alpha... I know these things”
You guys... that’s pure, golden, beautiful romance right there. Not... sorry maybe I’m the only that thinks a pregnancy announcement should either be more romantic and or dramatic. Not “did you wash the laundry?” Kind of boring...
Nick was an asshole... totally asshole... never redeemed himself kind of asshole. Towards the end there is a huge fight. Huge huge fight. A slap your mama kinda fight. I felt the sting and the emotion, and I thought “finally!! This is redemption time!”. I was so beyond wrong it isn’t even funny. Nick never redeemed himself.... never... omg it hurts just to think about self important Nick was. You know what brings them back together, besides their idiotic thinking????? Tupperware... fucking Tupperware!!!!
The whole book Ryan was made to be a badass omega that people look up to and everyone loves, and he kicks ass and takes name, and the author makes him a pushover.... a “I shouldn’t do this because you don’t respect me, but I just can’t help it” kind of pushover....
Ok and last but not least and one of my biggest book pet peeves. Ryan Tran is Vietnamese... and he looks every bit of it according to the description in the book... So why is the cover of two white guys!!! Seriously, don’t choose that cover if it doesn’t match you book. It makes no sense, but maybe it’s just my peeve.
Thanks for listening in on JoAnn’s pre bedtime rants today. 😉
*****Spoilerish***** Rant fest ahead *******
I felt the writing was pretty good and the plot was better some I’ve read lately. That’s about the only plus.
Buried Passion ????? I’m not sure where all the passion was. Don’t get me wrong, there was some but I didn’t feel that it was executed very well. Unfortunately I’m not up to elaborating, you’ll just have to take my word I guess.
The pregnancy announcement to the readers? Pretty much like this:
”why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
“Because I’m not”
“You are”
“We’ve been using protection, I’m not. And I’m not having symptoms”
“You are, I’m an alpha... I know these things”
You guys... that’s pure, golden, beautiful romance right there. Not... sorry maybe I’m the only that thinks a pregnancy announcement should either be more romantic and or dramatic. Not “did you wash the laundry?” Kind of boring...
Nick was an asshole... totally asshole... never redeemed himself kind of asshole. Towards the end there is a huge fight. Huge huge fight. A slap your mama kinda fight. I felt the sting and the emotion, and I thought “finally!! This is redemption time!”. I was so beyond wrong it isn’t even funny. Nick never redeemed himself.... never... omg it hurts just to think about self important Nick was. You know what brings them back together, besides their idiotic thinking????? Tupperware... fucking Tupperware!!!!
The whole book Ryan was made to be a badass omega that people look up to and everyone loves, and he kicks ass and takes name, and the author makes him a pushover.... a “I shouldn’t do this because you don’t respect me, but I just can’t help it” kind of pushover....
Ok and last but not least and one of my biggest book pet peeves. Ryan Tran is Vietnamese... and he looks every bit of it according to the description in the book... So why is the cover of two white guys!!! Seriously, don’t choose that cover if it doesn’t match you book. It makes no sense, but maybe it’s just my peeve.
Thanks for listening in on JoAnn’s pre bedtime rants today. 😉
February 9, 2017
Hey, Nick?
Ryan?
Nick was a straight up dickhead. I hated him. He wasn't even a lovable asshole. He was on another level of asshole. Ryan was cool because he stood up for himself, but there were times when I questioned his sanity. He was rather dumb, more than once.
I wished there was more world building. Like how was there MPREG? I wish I knew. I love MPREG stories, whether shifter or not, but Nick really ruined this book for me.
The crime was actually nice to see. It didn't solve itself and they actually worked the case. It took a long time to find out whodunit. That part felt real and it was nice to see.
I think I'll give more books in this series a chance, if all the Alphas aren't like Nick.
Ryan?
Nick was a straight up dickhead. I hated him. He wasn't even a lovable asshole. He was on another level of asshole. Ryan was cool because he stood up for himself, but there were times when I questioned his sanity. He was rather dumb, more than once.
I wished there was more world building. Like how was there MPREG? I wish I knew. I love MPREG stories, whether shifter or not, but Nick really ruined this book for me.
The crime was actually nice to see. It didn't solve itself and they actually worked the case. It took a long time to find out whodunit. That part felt real and it was nice to see.
I think I'll give more books in this series a chance, if all the Alphas aren't like Nick.
June 23, 2019
This book wasn't great in fact kind of made me mad. Nick was a jerk, the chemistry between these two was just about non-existent and I did not feel any sort of connection to the story or characters. The first bedroom scene between this couple only took two pages to describe. Almost felt clinical. Nick was such an ass throughout the whole book but especially not being able to appreciate anyting about Ryan made me wonder why the two were even together. Ryan should never have taken him back. Also this didn't feel much like an ABO story at all. Not sure how the alpha omega Dynamics really even fit it didn't make sense and nothing was defined. And the big claiming scene that might have made this all come together happened off page. I definitely don't get this series. Bah!
December 9, 2022
2 stars
I liked the premise of an Omega who sticks up for his rights, never backing down to an Alpha—particularly HIS Alpha.
I liked Ryan. He had a traumatic past, yet fought his way through it. He never forgot his first love, but he knew his college sweetheart would want him to be happy.
Nick, however hot he might be, is a jerk! I have NO idea what Ryan saw in him, and as far as I saw, Nick had no redeeming qualities. He argued with Ryan, belittled Ryan, and embarrassed Ryan in front of fellow detectives. Yea... sounds like a winner.
Nick and this book were a thumbs down. 👎🏼
I liked the premise of an Omega who sticks up for his rights, never backing down to an Alpha—particularly HIS Alpha.
I liked Ryan. He had a traumatic past, yet fought his way through it. He never forgot his first love, but he knew his college sweetheart would want him to be happy.
Nick, however hot he might be, is a jerk! I have NO idea what Ryan saw in him, and as far as I saw, Nick had no redeeming qualities. He argued with Ryan, belittled Ryan, and embarrassed Ryan in front of fellow detectives. Yea... sounds like a winner.
Nick and this book were a thumbs down. 👎🏼
June 12, 2017
Nick is a dick & deserves to be alone for the rest of his life, he didn't have a single redeeming quality.
I didn't care for the writing at all, it needs some heavy editing, unfortunately this will be my first & last by this author.
I didn't care for the writing at all, it needs some heavy editing, unfortunately this will be my first & last by this author.
March 15, 2018
this book is my first encounter with the author.
I'm a little dubious in my opinion about this book.
First thing I need to say is that the main focus is the mystery. the cold case is the focus, the train and the lead of the book. the romance comes in the second measure. so... the cold case was good imo, it kept my attention and I liked it (it isn't overly original, but nice enough).
but this is an omegaverse book, and I expected more focus on the romance, the pregnancy and all. no, we have only a little glance of the baby in the end and this aspect disappointment me a little. I read omegaverse 'cause I love to read alpha and omega mating, pregnancy etc!
and the mcs... well.... not really likeable. at some point Ryan irritated me a lot and Nick was sweet... but then Nick was a real asshole and Ryan not so bad.
I'll read the next books in the series, mainly because I like crime stories and the omegaverse element is nice, but I'm not overly enthusiast.
I'm a little dubious in my opinion about this book.
First thing I need to say is that the main focus is the mystery. the cold case is the focus, the train and the lead of the book. the romance comes in the second measure. so... the cold case was good imo, it kept my attention and I liked it (it isn't overly original, but nice enough).
but this is an omegaverse book, and I expected more focus on the romance, the pregnancy and all. no, we have only a little glance of the baby in the end and this aspect disappointment me a little. I read omegaverse 'cause I love to read alpha and omega mating, pregnancy etc!
and the mcs... well.... not really likeable. at some point Ryan irritated me a lot and Nick was sweet... but then Nick was a real asshole and Ryan not so bad.
I'll read the next books in the series, mainly because I like crime stories and the omegaverse element is nice, but I'm not overly enthusiast.
November 23, 2018
I liked this okay, I'm not much for mpreg, but this wasn't really heavy on that aspect. I liked Ryan a lot, but Nick pretty much did nothing but piss me off. Over and over again, and was like too stupid to understand why people got upset? I don't know. He kinda ruined it for me.
The case wasn't hard to figure out, but I liked watching them work it.
The case wasn't hard to figure out, but I liked watching them work it.
January 26, 2018
Solid 4 Star read for first half of book. But then went downhill and the Alpha H just did not redeem himself after continually putting down Omega’s investigative abilities and just not seeing Omega as an equal partner.
I did like the book, just not a favorite.
I did like the book, just not a favorite.
September 11, 2017
3.75 stars
February 13, 2017
I'm in two minds about this book.
I really enjoyed the crime solving aspect and the writing was solid, so that is a plus and i have rated it based on this alone.
But i have some issues with the story. There is all this talk of alphas, betas, omegas, claiming, and mates but there is no mention of them being shifters or wolves or pack or anything of the sort. If it was a shifter community there would be mention of packs and runs and they definitely would not have an entire team that have to work together being entirely made up of alphas (they would all kill each other for dominance).
Then there is the mention of men being able to get pregnant but not even a paragraph to explain how or why, or how they actually give birth.
So this created a lot of holes for me. The backstory needed fleshing out to make sense and be more cohesive. Maybe a prologue to explain about the omega gene and how this is determined and what it all actually means if they are not actually shifters. If not a prologue, then there should be the occasional paragraph throughout the book giving the background of what they are and what it means. The women in the book were not referred to as alphas betas or omegas so does that mean it's only the men? Is it all men, or are there regular humans too? With all the familiar words being used i kept expecting one of them to sprout fur, but there was never any mention of shifting. And it would be handy to get some explanation as to how m/m relations could result in a pregnancy in a person with no womb. I looked for a prequel in case there was one to explain all this but i could not find one. Why would Ryans family abandon him because of his omega status? This would be clearer if there was some outline of what the status meant in that world. I found it confusing and i couldn't really get a clear understanding of the world this book takes place in.
I really enjoyed the crime solving aspect and the writing was solid, so that is a plus and i have rated it based on this alone.
But i have some issues with the story. There is all this talk of alphas, betas, omegas, claiming, and mates but there is no mention of them being shifters or wolves or pack or anything of the sort. If it was a shifter community there would be mention of packs and runs and they definitely would not have an entire team that have to work together being entirely made up of alphas (they would all kill each other for dominance).
Then there is the mention of men being able to get pregnant but not even a paragraph to explain how or why, or how they actually give birth.
So this created a lot of holes for me. The backstory needed fleshing out to make sense and be more cohesive. Maybe a prologue to explain about the omega gene and how this is determined and what it all actually means if they are not actually shifters. If not a prologue, then there should be the occasional paragraph throughout the book giving the background of what they are and what it means. The women in the book were not referred to as alphas betas or omegas so does that mean it's only the men? Is it all men, or are there regular humans too? With all the familiar words being used i kept expecting one of them to sprout fur, but there was never any mention of shifting. And it would be handy to get some explanation as to how m/m relations could result in a pregnancy in a person with no womb. I looked for a prequel in case there was one to explain all this but i could not find one. Why would Ryans family abandon him because of his omega status? This would be clearer if there was some outline of what the status meant in that world. I found it confusing and i couldn't really get a clear understanding of the world this book takes place in.
January 6, 2017
Cold Case Files
This book was good and confusing at the same time. It read like a normal everyday HUMAN romance that included some paranormal words such as Alpha, Beta and Omega. I am a paranormal junkie so I was completely okay with mates being claimed but other than the fact that the characters had a great sense of smell and the omega had a special gift I felt like I was reading a book about humans. I keep reading looking for some type of an explanation of what they were but got nothing. I even looked to see if there was a book before this one but it was book 1. The back story to the crime and history around that was so detailed and I really enjoyed the case. Kinda felt like I was helping storing details and looking at evidence. Unfortunately the history of the main characters didn't read so clearly to me.
This book was good and confusing at the same time. It read like a normal everyday HUMAN romance that included some paranormal words such as Alpha, Beta and Omega. I am a paranormal junkie so I was completely okay with mates being claimed but other than the fact that the characters had a great sense of smell and the omega had a special gift I felt like I was reading a book about humans. I keep reading looking for some type of an explanation of what they were but got nothing. I even looked to see if there was a book before this one but it was book 1. The back story to the crime and history around that was so detailed and I really enjoyed the case. Kinda felt like I was helping storing details and looking at evidence. Unfortunately the history of the main characters didn't read so clearly to me.
December 18, 2016
Not omega lover
I try but I never understand how can a writer humiliated over and over a one of the protagonist and then make him like have and instant amnesia and forgive the wrong do to him for the "love" of the other. I know this is fictional but wow mental problems resume better. I like the omega but the contradiction between the good cop he supposed to be and the moron he become when he was in love its like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
I try but I never understand how can a writer humiliated over and over a one of the protagonist and then make him like have and instant amnesia and forgive the wrong do to him for the "love" of the other. I know this is fictional but wow mental problems resume better. I like the omega but the contradiction between the good cop he supposed to be and the moron he become when he was in love its like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
December 31, 2016
Alpha vs Omega
Omega wins every time in this story. Ryan has it all, looks, talent, and strength. He comes from a rough background but has made detective even though he's an omega. When he is forced to work with Nick, an alpha detective, he has to fight his attraction and the disrespect of Nick and his team. Ryan does things differently than Nick and that really ticks Nick off. I enjoyed it when Nick was put in his place but felt bad for Ryan.
Omega wins every time in this story. Ryan has it all, looks, talent, and strength. He comes from a rough background but has made detective even though he's an omega. When he is forced to work with Nick, an alpha detective, he has to fight his attraction and the disrespect of Nick and his team. Ryan does things differently than Nick and that really ticks Nick off. I enjoyed it when Nick was put in his place but felt bad for Ryan.
Read
January 28, 2020Didn’t work for me.-
February 10, 2017
Nick was such an ass & I thought Ryan could have done better IMO. I loved the detective work on solving the 40 yr old murder of two young interracial couple. I did figure out who did it at the beginning but that was okay and it didn't take away from the story. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
September 24, 2018
2.5 stars
August 27, 2023
Positively surprised me
January 16, 2023
I really liked Ryan not so much Nick but he did grow on me some
October 9, 2017
Tough Omega
This was such an interesting and entertaining mpreg novel. While I thought the prequel was too short and rushed, this story was lengthy without becoming tedious. I thoroughly enjoyed Buried Passion. Getting to know the men / Alphas of the Massachusetts State Police was a nice contrast to the Alphas at Silver Oak Medical Center in Syracuse (Central) New York. With the main characters in this book working in a statewide agency with a location of the station near Boston and the detectives of the Cold Case Squad working, traveling, & living in various communities / towns nearby.
We meet several single Alphas who have worked together for awhile. They have their "right" way of doing things - procedures ... protocols that have led to the solving of other Cold Cases. The five men are a tight, close knit group of friends, yet personality wise they are quite a few differences between them. Yet they are able to work as a cohesive group that accomplishes the task of investigating and solving Cold Cases.
Under the supervision of another Alpha Lt. Devlin, the Alphas have literally dominated the Cold Case Squad to the exclusion of all others in particular women and Omegas. Pressure from the top and outside force the State troopers to integrate the Squad by temporarily "borrowing" an Omega. A "pretty" intelligent Omega was chosen from the Abused Persons division and the case they'd been assigned was extremely sensitive, full of landmines - that really necessitated the finesse of the experienced Omega Detective Ryan Tran, not the heavy footed Cold Case detectives.
Detective Nick Robles was just as entrenched in Omega stereotypes as the other Alphas in his Squad, but he was the one selected to work with the Asian American Omega. The mystery they were charged with solving was ripe with never resolved racial tensions from Boston's past. What Nick didn't expect was for Ryan Tran to be so smart, extremely clever, proficient in self defense techniques, and equally as stubborn & tenacious as Nick was.
These qualities made their attraction, as well as their working relationship & the one in the bedroom very combustible and made for some hard lessons learned for all members of Cold Case, but especially Nick. Their fractious interactions effect those around them, but slowly they learned to be an effective team, despite ingrained erroneous beliefs and unresolved familial issues. This was a fantastic start to a great series. I loved Ryan Tran's portrayal of a strong intelligent self sufficient Omega. It was so refreshing. Even love didn't make him a subservient being. He was determined to be a factor in his own destiny even after he became pregnant. I began reading the next book, Adrenaline Rush as soon as I completed this one. I am really having a good time with this series.
This was such an interesting and entertaining mpreg novel. While I thought the prequel was too short and rushed, this story was lengthy without becoming tedious. I thoroughly enjoyed Buried Passion. Getting to know the men / Alphas of the Massachusetts State Police was a nice contrast to the Alphas at Silver Oak Medical Center in Syracuse (Central) New York. With the main characters in this book working in a statewide agency with a location of the station near Boston and the detectives of the Cold Case Squad working, traveling, & living in various communities / towns nearby.
We meet several single Alphas who have worked together for awhile. They have their "right" way of doing things - procedures ... protocols that have led to the solving of other Cold Cases. The five men are a tight, close knit group of friends, yet personality wise they are quite a few differences between them. Yet they are able to work as a cohesive group that accomplishes the task of investigating and solving Cold Cases.
Under the supervision of another Alpha Lt. Devlin, the Alphas have literally dominated the Cold Case Squad to the exclusion of all others in particular women and Omegas. Pressure from the top and outside force the State troopers to integrate the Squad by temporarily "borrowing" an Omega. A "pretty" intelligent Omega was chosen from the Abused Persons division and the case they'd been assigned was extremely sensitive, full of landmines - that really necessitated the finesse of the experienced Omega Detective Ryan Tran, not the heavy footed Cold Case detectives.
Detective Nick Robles was just as entrenched in Omega stereotypes as the other Alphas in his Squad, but he was the one selected to work with the Asian American Omega. The mystery they were charged with solving was ripe with never resolved racial tensions from Boston's past. What Nick didn't expect was for Ryan Tran to be so smart, extremely clever, proficient in self defense techniques, and equally as stubborn & tenacious as Nick was.
These qualities made their attraction, as well as their working relationship & the one in the bedroom very combustible and made for some hard lessons learned for all members of Cold Case, but especially Nick. Their fractious interactions effect those around them, but slowly they learned to be an effective team, despite ingrained erroneous beliefs and unresolved familial issues. This was a fantastic start to a great series. I loved Ryan Tran's portrayal of a strong intelligent self sufficient Omega. It was so refreshing. Even love didn't make him a subservient being. He was determined to be a factor in his own destiny even after he became pregnant. I began reading the next book, Adrenaline Rush as soon as I completed this one. I am really having a good time with this series.
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