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The Omega Auction Chronicles #8

An Inconvenient Obsession

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Sebastian
After rescuing us from a kidnapping ring, Clint, the Alpha of the Coruscation werewolves and his Omega, Trevor, had gone out of their way to make us comfortable. They'd hosted social events for us and arranged job training. They'd even allowed me to travel thousands of miles to Terena de Dragoni – a small kingdom in Canada – to stay with Spence and his new Alpha, Harry. And there, in the ancient royal castle of Terena de Dragoni, is where my story really began…..

Terena de Dragoni
"Wouldn't you rather find a mate?"
I almost laughed. As an Omega, of course, I wanted a mate but, truthfully, who would want to get heirs on an orphaned Omega with no clue what his bloodline was? With the prospects of a mate dim, I would have been thrilled to be a super-hero, like the Blood Valley Omega, Colby, or an empath, like Trevor from the Coruscation werewolves, but not every Omega could be something special. Some of us had to be good old fashioned breeding stock. Unfortunately, I wasn't even good for that. Ultimately, I was hoping just to find my place in the world, regardless of where it was.
"Thanks, sweetie," I pressed a kiss to his cheek, "but I think we all know that isn't in the cards for me."

Alrick
For all intents and purposes, there are three ways that an Alpha can claim leadership of a pack. Bloodline, murder, or theft.
For me, the pup of a pack that had deemed me damaged and abandoned me to the council, the first option wasn't an option at all. The second and third? Well, let’s just stop at morally repugnant and move on to where I did end up which wasn't leading a pack.
Like so many young Alphas, I was determined to prove that I could make my place in the world strictly by my own merit. Of course, what I was to learn – and quickly – was that at the ripe old age of eighteen, I had no merit. Instead, I clawed my way forward, every advance bought with blood, sweat, and tears, until, eight grueling years later, I commanded the North American team of the most elite special forces in shifter society; the Böxenwolf Brigade.
That service was how I came to find myself in my current predicament; standing in the Terena de Dragoni royal castle, pretending that I couldn't hear every word between the two whispering Omegas at the other end of the room.

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2017

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Kian Rhodes

55 books258 followers

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5 stars
235 (33%)
4 stars
257 (36%)
3 stars
184 (25%)
2 stars
32 (4%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
Profile Image for Meags.
2,529 reviews711 followers
November 24, 2017
3.5 Stars

I’d been looking forward to Sebastian and Alrick’s story since they shared that secret kiss during the blackout in A Solstice Eve to Remember, and for the most part I enjoyed their coming together and the trials they had to overcome to get their HEA.

I’m usually always a fan of stories involving a bodyguard (or a person in a protective role) falling in love with their charge. Here, Alrick, the Alpha were and the leader of his branch of the Böxenwolf Brigade, can’t help being captivated by Sebastian, the young Omega wolf shifter in his care. He knows such feelings are generally forbidden for those in his position, but denying his feelings for Sebastian becomes an act of futility after they get kidnapped together and Sebastian gets hurt during their escape.

After Sebastian is healed, the two are able to start their trek from their mysterious place of captivity all the way home to Blackwell Castle. The journey proves dangerous at times, but Sebastian and Alrick also grow closer along the way, until Alrick’s intense feelings send him spiralling into rut, requiring Sebastian to make a choice that will change their relationship forever.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Alrick and Seb, with Alrick initially coming across as grumpy and stoic, leading to Seb’s long held belief that his protector truly hated him. This led to some interesting moments and provided the story with somewhat of a slow-burn romance, which was much appreciated in a book of this genre.

Unfortunately, I found the repetitive miscommunication in this one tiring. Seb and Alrick had so much damn potential, and although some of that potential was met and satisfied, their constant misinterpretation and assumptions of what the other was thinking and wanting became a bit too much, taking some of my enjoyment away. I was eventually placated by the fact that everything turned out okay in the end and that these guys got their HEA in spectacular style, but I just wish the self-inflicted dramas they faced along the way weren’t so ridiculous.

Overall, another romantic win from the series; I just wish this one had featured less communication dramas.
Profile Image for Shin Mon Thway.
663 reviews1,716 followers
October 7, 2017
I love this book soooo much. This one was quite unique and different from the previous installations in the series.

It’s really funny to see how Alrick was obsessed with Seb and how his affection was misinterpreted as dislike and hatred. Even his lusty looks were translated as intimidating glares. It was very cute and fun. I also loved the stammering Seb who was thinking that Alrick hated him and had no interest in him at all. The change of dynamics in their relationship was neatly written. I love how they got kidnapped and how Alrick took care of Seb when he got shot. And hell, the sex? That was freaking hot! Truly trulyyyy sexy. I also loved how the story unfolded and how Alrick had to court Seb with lots of efforts to regain his trust and love. And a nice HEA. Mmm .. can’t ask for more.

4.5 stars overall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Profile Image for Trio.
3,694 reviews217 followers
February 27, 2018
That was absolutely lovely... I'm telling you I actually cried for Sebastian - it tore my poor heart to pieces and kudos to this author for doing that to me. *shakes fists at Alrick*
Profile Image for Cadiva.
4,107 reviews464 followers
June 18, 2017
More sweet and spicy shifter romance

I really like this series, there's never anything super out of the ordinary about them but they're all unfailingly enjoyable with a decent storyline and good MCs.

This one has a little but more frustration to it because of a lacking communication but it actually totally fits the two characters so never feels like a plot point.
Profile Image for Tammy.
1,254 reviews35 followers
June 12, 2017
It was good, but there just needed to be better communication and connection between Alrick and Sebastian.
Profile Image for Vfields Don't touch my happy! .
3,568 reviews
Read
May 19, 2019
1) This has one of the stupidest blurbs I’ve ever read and if you were trying to sell your book this definitely is counterproductive hey but that’s just my opinion.
2) Regardless to the title and the subtitle and the series it’s all one damn long series so start it went number one and go all the way through.
3) These our two very interesting protagonist. And definitely well worth investigating if you’re into this kind of story.
4) All of the old players are here. It continues on with the very cohesive community building with everyone, Kumbaya. The evil against good concepts just keep flowing through this series.
5) Yes I honestly enjoyed this one.
Profile Image for Elena.
1,119 reviews81 followers
August 15, 2020
3 stars...

The plot was a bit weird, with an unresolved kidnapping and some strange behaviours by the MCs, but I liked the last part of the book very much. The way Alrick was trying to win Sebastian back was sweet and believable ;)

The editing errors were even worse than before.... Twice, I believe, Alrick was f*cking Spencer, not Sebastian! I don't think Harry would be OK with that ;)
Profile Image for NeRdyWYRM .
263 reviews40 followers
September 6, 2017
Hmph. 2.5 grudging stars. It gets the extra half star because I am more disappointed with myself for reading these than I am with the author for anything therein. Please allow me to attempt to explain.

What to say? What to say? Okay. I confess to eagerly reading this entire series. I get a little tingle every time a new one pops up. I am STILL trying to figure out why. I liken these stories to a can of a certain addictive potato chip. They're cheap, somewhat flavorful, and purportedly addictive because once you pop ....

And I am S-T-I-I-I-I-L-L trying to figure out why! No, really, it bears repeating.

The pros:

1. Shifters galore
2. Interesting storylines
3. Interesting world
4. Intriguing characters (Clint, Colby, Rafe, Alrick, Drey, Trevor, Seb)

The cons:

1. Few of the pros are adequately capitalized upon because ...
2. Middle school-ish writing
3. Wham-bam-uh-uh-I'm cooooming! It's the typical, and always worthy of eyerolling: splooge-splooge-knot-snuggle-sigh-giggle-rumble formulaic sex. UGH!
4. RI-DONC-U-LOUS dialogue. It's worse than rainbows and unicorns. It is at times shallow and beyond OTT, but somehow exceedingly articulate? It goes beyond purple prose. Not a good combo. Quirky = gooood. Fake and frenzied cheeriness = baaaad.
5. Poor and hurried character development.
6. Little, if any, relationship relatability in most pairings. Disclaimer: I do not object to the shifter insta-love trope if it's well done. This is not. HOW do you fuck that up in a shifter romance?!
7. MCs with communication issues ... again. Repeatedly. Ev-e-ry single time. Ohmyfuckinggods. Enough said.

Soooo ... any shrinks out there? If so, please, please, pleeeeaase explain to me why I continue reading and enjoying this terribly trite, ill-written tripe! Oh hell, I've degenerated into alliteration. Done.
Profile Image for Shelley Chastagner.
2,776 reviews39 followers
June 23, 2021
I've been waiting for this one and it didn't disappoint. I loved seeing Alrick come to life. He's always been this stoic figure lurking in the background. Sweet Sebastian overcomes not only his discomfort around Alphas but grows a bit of a backbone. I love Alrick's pursuit of Seb as he tries to make himself worthy of Seb's forgiveness and of being his mate. Past heroes make an appearance, I enjoy seeing each of them and where they are in their lives.
Adult read
Profile Image for Katherine.
2,872 reviews13 followers
May 20, 2017
Relationship fundamental; actually talking to each other

Another good one, but this time really focusing on one thing about relationships- talk to each other dammit!

Sebastian, one of the rescued omegas, is positive he is not good enough to mate with. An orphan without the 'super powers' of some of his fellow omegas, he sees himself as barely passable breeding stock. The dislike of his bodyguard alpha Alrick just cements that belief.

Alrick has been interested in Sebastian since he met him. First thinking the halting omega was hiding something, he soon realized the sweet man was simply shy and grew to admire him. However his interest has only seemed to scare the omega, and as a rogue alpha he has little to offer and knows he will lose the man.

One of those cases where each party is certain that their past and standing means they are not good enough for each other. Luckily (or unluckily) the two end up forced together in a tense situation and become comfortable in a physical relationship. But again, without talking it doesn't go further!

My favourite part was when Alrick set out to woo Seb. He was very sweet and conscientious of his partner and showed that they could really make a life together. It was cute to watch. However, even then it all circled back to communication. So talk to your partner!

The only thing that made me a bit sad was Henry and Spencer. With everything being settled at Terra de Dragoni all the wolves have left. While Spencer loves his mate, he did express some loneliness at not having any wolves around to run with or just be pack with. That made me a little sad for him and I'm curious if we'll see more from the dragons to see how the two do up there!
Profile Image for Jordan.
379 reviews44 followers
December 8, 2017
2.5/5 stars for An Inconvenient Obsession. I was so looking forward to Seb's book. All of the hinting around at him and Alrick hooking up had me really hyped up for this book. It wasn't quite as good as I hoped it was going to be, but it was still good.

Seb is very much the traditional omega, whereas the other books in this series feature omegas that are a little mouthy and different from the norm. Seb, however, is very very much the typical omega, and I think that made it hard for me to like him. Up until he had to help Alrick out with a problem (no spoilers, promise), he was very subdued and subservient. I didn't like him one bit.

Alrick, on the other hand.... oh boy. I really liked his character. BUT I expected more. After the hot kiss they shared at the solstice party (because, come on, everyone knows it was Alrick) I really hoped that he'd be more demanding. Instead he kinda stood back and made Seb come to him. Alrick was very insecure, and even when he finally had Seb to himself, he made up excuses in his head about why he wasn't good enough and did something that he totally regretted (major plot point here).

This wasn't the sexy, steamy romance between a demanding shifter and his mate that I wanted, and I'm a little disappointed.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
567 reviews
June 14, 2017
This book is really hard to rate because the story was good but the editing and proofing interupted the flow.
I'm giving it 4 stars for the actual story.
Sebastian was always nervous around Alrick and convinced be didn't lke him. Alrick knows how Sebastian feels but he doesn't hate Sebastion. As the story progresses their thoughts and feelings change but neither tells the other. If they had actually talked to each other this story would have been very different. But then we wouldn't have seen what happens when a soldier breaks the rules.

If I was rating the editing it would get 2 stars.
I like stories that jump from different POVs. But I like to know what the time line is. On many occasions I couldn't tell how far back the story jumped or when it returned to current events.

If I was rating based on being proof read it would only get 1 star.
There were lots of places where sentences just didn't make sense but the most annoying was when Alrick took Spencer in the woods. It was supposed to be Sebastian.

I love this series and the characters. It's just that little bit different. Hopefully there will be more stories.
124 reviews
September 19, 2019
A jumbled mess

The passing is off, it feels like it tries hard to create a story background and evolution but it fails miserably. The first 4-5 chapters are actually the worst because it feels like you missed 10 prior chapters, and it tries to push the story so they can get to the "juicy" scenes. The only good part starts at 60% so the only way to finish it is powering through and not reading most of it. Which says an awful lot on how bad this book is. I wouldn't recommend it.
Profile Image for llv.
2,341 reviews14 followers
June 8, 2017
Rating: 3 stars

I thought this book was okay. I think I would have enjoyed it more except the misunderstandings that happened between Sebastian & Alrick became annoying after while. The whole story was one misunderstanding after another with kidnapping thrown in.

If the whole big misunderstanding trope doesn't bother you, then you may enjoy this book. To me I just find it very annoying when the MCs seem to find the time to do everything but talk to each other.
Profile Image for ....
2,204 reviews20 followers
November 11, 2022
Ugh, this started out one of my favorites of the series, finally - at least on its way to a 4☆ - and then by the end, it made me want to throw my Kindle and quit altogether. To say Alrick's choices let the story down, twice, is an understatement. The miscommunication trope is literally never any fun to read, EVER, and to suffer through it twice in one book completely sucked all the joy out of a story I'd actually been enjoying up until then.
187 reviews
May 10, 2017
Fun Read

This series is fun. Yes there are afew editing errors but well worth the read. I enjoy her quirky Omegas and their Alphas. These are quick reads. The author seems to do an avalanche approach to the stories very detailed slow build then a sudden swift end. I love the characters and keep coming back to see what the pull next!
Profile Image for Mike.
1,194 reviews30 followers
December 16, 2017
Weakest of the series so far

I really liked Seb, the Omega protagonist, but I found the background danger, the relationship miscommunication, and the relatively tame heat to be rather underwhelming. Overall, just not as sappily sweet and entertainingly diverting as the other works in the series.
Profile Image for Viz.
179 reviews
January 8, 2018
I'm a 'kindle unlimited' reader so happened see this book! Finally after a long time read a good book.
It's not too long story & good story line. I have not read any of Kian's books let along any book from this series. Yet I could understand the story & the characters. Will certainly read rest of Kian's books.
Profile Image for XI.
313 reviews
March 23, 2018
Still liking the series

I’m still enjoying the series I’m annoyed though I miss other voices like in the earlier books when other characters popped up with their perspective. I like that there’s continuity which I keep saying. And I like seeing past characters interacting, if the author had done the whole standalone thing I woulda ditched the series so quick
Profile Image for CB.
3,212 reviews6 followers
October 4, 2021
This was an epic journey with 17 books in the Omega Auction Chronicles (plus 4 shorts) and they are intertwined with the Omega Rescue and Blood Valley Investigations). They are definitely best read in order and worth it - very sexy, entertaining and fun.

I still have the Omega Destiny, International series to get through and looking forward to it.
Profile Image for Shan.
1,136 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2024
💜💜💜💜💜

This is a paranormal queer romance, part of a series that’s best read in order… This was great to read after “music to my ears”it continues the story of another rescued Omega from the previous books in the same location as the aforementioned book. It’s a fantastic series!
💜💜💜💜💜
77 reviews1 follower
May 7, 2017
An Inconvenient Obsession

Great third book. Really enjoyed seeing some old characters. Love the premise of this story and some interesting twists. Hope to see more in this series.
115 reviews4 followers
May 13, 2017
meh.. Alrick really has an issue getting his head out of his ass. No one accused him of forcing anyone, there wasn't any sign and yet he thought so... Okayy...
Also, the editing needed a little work. Sebastian one moment Spencer the other.
Profile Image for Nic.
949 reviews9 followers
May 14, 2017
Another one

This was another great story in this series. Both alpha and omega were likeable. Although as we see throughout the story insecurities can play a big role in the level of communication. Looking forward to all other books .
881 reviews13 followers
May 16, 2017
No Declaration

They never use the L word. Alrick never confesses how he feels about Sebastian. He never explains his odd behavior. He never admits he was the one who kissed Sebastian during the power outage. I was really looking forward to that.
1,159 reviews7 followers
April 18, 2020
Brilliant

I really liked this book, there was parts that made me laugh and parts that made me sad. I was not sure if they would finally get their happy ending but they did. It was defentially worth the rollercoaster ride
Profile Image for Reading Addict.
915 reviews52 followers
December 27, 2022
AHHHH the strong silent type and cute clueless type! And forced proximity! I also loved how they spent so much time being survivalists and living in wolf form, with there was more of that in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Avril.
308 reviews
May 6, 2017
Great addition

I have loved all these stories and this was no exception! Hoping for many more in this series! After all, I'm hoping Quinn gets his HEA
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews