A bullied omega who rose from the ashes of his pain comes face to face with the Alpha who helped make his youth a living hell.
Ellis, an imposing man with long, firey hair and a strong temperament to match, never fit in with other omegas no matter how hard he tried. An easy target in his formative years due to his inability to blend in with the others, Ellis did everything in his power to get through high school in one piece only to suffer immeasurably at the hands of bullies. One horrific event hardened his heart forever, and as soon as he was able to, he threw himself into Alpha-level work and sank every bit of his soul into his father's company. The distraction saved his life, but giving his all to a company leaves no time for romance, which the burdened omega has convinced himself he doesn't need--or want.
The world Ellis has sheltered himself within is turned upside-down when he receives news that Roman Enterprises plans to absorb the company that, for all intents and purposes, has become Ellis’s one love. As fate would have it, the initial meeting brings Reece Roman, an enemy from the past, back into Ellis’s life. Ellis has every reason to hate him, but Reece is desperate to prove himself a changed man, and the omega can't shake the feeling that there's always been an undeniable bond between them...
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Reece is the eldest son of Lionel Roman, the CEO of Roman Enterprises. He may be an Alpha, but he hasn't had an easy life. The death of his mother influenced many of his decisions, including the decision to marry a woman he hadn't imprinted on. He loved her with all he had, but his heart still belonged in part to a man in his past--Ellis, the beautiful, headstrong omega Reece had imprinted on as a teenager. The same omega Reece took part in bullying in high school and failed to protect when the bullying escalated to levels he was blind to.
In order to alleviate himself of the guilt he had over not being able to give his whole heart to Janie, Reece managed to convince himself that he hadn't imprinted on Ellis at all, and when she died in childbirth, Reece withdrew into himself even more, pouring all his energy into being the sole parent of their daughter Anika. All of those long-buried feelings return to the surface when he encounters Ellis again, and the circumstances of their meeting are far from rosy. All Reece wants is to show Ellis that he's not the Alpha he used to be, but Ellis' defenses are an iron fortress and Reece is sure he has no hope of breaking down the walls he helped fortify.
Can Reece right his wrongs and save Ellis’s heart, even if it means sacrificing his desires to be the omega’s mate and being there for him as his protector and friend instead? Or will the bond they've shared for more than half their lives prove unbreakable in the end?
Author's Note: See inside cover for warnings. This is a 56k MM romance packed with hot and steamy scenes between a fiery omega and an Alpha tycoon, and is suitable for adults only.
This was the best book in the series, with well-thought-out characters, smooth as butter progression of the plot, sweet as cheesecake romance, and soft as pillows supportive cast.
I had gotten the feeling that I would enjoy this book to the fullest when L. C. Davis had shared a teaser with his fans on Facebook, and I am proud to say that I wasn’t wrong. Whatever issues I had in the previous books were nowhere to be found in this one.
I had heaps of fun reading about how Reece grew up from being a selfish alpha into one so attuned to the needs of his omega that he finally convinced the said omega to give him a second chance. Another thing I liked was that it was no easy road, there was no brushing over Ellis’s pain or no gifting of Ellis’s forgiveness on a silver platter. They both fought their demons and consciously made efforts to think about the changes in the other character and only then did they end up being together.
Loved it! And now I need to give a look to An Omega for Christmas to remind myself of who John was. Can’t wait for the next book by the author. ❤️
I had really been looking forward to Reece's story, he's the last Roman family member to need a mate, and also had the most tragic story having lost his wife. In this story, we get to learn about his past and meet his fated mate - Ellis (who I adored!)
I loved that Ellis wasn't your typical omega - he wanted a career, he knew how to take care of himself, and refused to give into the omega stereotype. I also felt awful for him - for what happened to him when he was younger, and the events that caused Reece and Ellis to be enemies for so many years. This was great for enemies to lovers and a second chance type of story.
Definitely my favorite book in the series, I'm so glad that Reece got a happy ending and with Ellis. I love that Reece let Ellis go do his own thing and they came back together and could sort of start fresh. Very sweet, sexy, and a great read. Can't wait to see what will be next for this author duo!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Angsty AF! Reece does not deserve a second chance and a happy ending with Ellis. I honestly don’t understand this alpha-omega thing when they’re not shifters but Reece imprinted on Ellis in high school and he was such a dick that he and his friends bullied Ellis like full on mental and physical torture. One of Reece’s best friends raped Ellis when he was a teen!
Reece says he didn’t know but he still participated in the other bullying and he fell in love with another woman and married her and had a baby! He had a very happy life while Ellis was alone for a long time and heavily traumatised by what happened to him and could not trust another man.
Ellis should have just dated another guy. Seriously no amount of grovelling can redeem what Reece did!!
A step up from the usual mpreg stories with the bonus being a dominant omega. This is Alpha/Omega pairing of the non-shifter variety.There is no supernatural element other than the mpreg element thrown.
Reece and Ellis’ story is probably my favourite of the series. Lionel’s story disappointed me so I’m so glad that not only Reece and Ellis’ story redeemed it, it completely lifted the entire series.
I love how this had a more serious conflict between both Reece and Ellis and how they overcame it. Although I’m a little alarmed at Reece’s action to avenge Ellis. But otherwise, it was a lovely story with real depth.
Ellis is a smaller, nerdy Omega that goes from being not noticed in high school to being severly bullied. He's from an average family with his dad trying to make his inventions and his company succeed. Ellis is also raped and in the present time he's 32 years old and a CEO in his late father's company. He's determined, well built, agressive, all the things an Omega usually isn't. Oh, and he's gay and single.
This was my Ellis. Long red hair, all man, thin but compact, beautiful.
The person who's the main culprit Ellis was bullied is Reece, a 32 year old Alpha from a wealthy family. Reece was a jock in high school, the popular, rich fuckboy that imprinted on Ellis, but decided to ignore it and left Ellis alone and exposed to violence. He's been married with his late wife leaving him a daughter behind.
This was my Reece. I know he's rich and dressed in suits, but this face is exactly how I imagine an Alpha in his prime, tall, dark, handsome, fierce.
Ellis and Reece meet when Reece's family company decides to buy Ellis' family company and even though he doesn't want to sell, he's overruled and his life's work goes to the hands of his former bully , which he has to meet and talk to.
Reece has been denying the bond for over 10 years, but seeing Ellis after all this time has brought to light the one thing he's been running from - Ellis is his fated mate. Reece keeps feeling the bond going stronger and stronger. He tries to talk to Ellis and at least be friends, but Ellis won't budge.
At about 50% of the book Ellis starts going through his heat with Reece being there with him. I loved everything about these two up until this point. They have sex and even though it wasn't as detailed as I'd like, I hoped it would get better and better, since this was the beginning of their actual love story.
Well, it didn't get better. Actually, I think a few chapters were missing from the time they first had sex to the time where Ellis came back from his trip. I wanted to read about them really taking all of this in, the intimacy, the shift in the dynamic of their relationship, I wanted to know how they felt about everything and each other and the story absolutely needed more of their time together.
When Ellis came back from Africa, he kind of just moved in with Reece. There was absolutely something missing there, I wanted, again, more of their dialogues, the feeling of this big shift happening, a little more angst and maybe Reece grovelling more. He did redeem himself with what he did, but I somehow just couldn't feel the magic of these two coming together anymore. It was lost in this second part of the book.
The ending was abrupt, no epilogue, and the final mating wasn't long enough or emotional enough.
I really like the way this book was written. It captivated me since the very start and I liked all the characters, especially the MC's. I was so sorry for it to go downhill a little bit, but I am going to read the rest of the series.
I really enjoyed this series & read them all in 2 days. This book in particular I looked forward to for Reece's story but it was Ellis who stole my heart, maybe even broke it a little.. I felt his strength, resilience, his pain & his loyalty. It was great seeing Reece's brother's and his father with their mates, seeing them grow & thrive together. This book was by far my favourite in the series.
Well this was a massive improvement on the last few books and the best in the series for me. Good premise, each character's perspective was given enough time to delve deep into their concerns and flaws and a fought for conclusion.
So not for me. The story was messy with multiple name switches and dreadful editing (and I'm not even normally picky but this is egregious). The romance was flat and the leads lacked emotional chemistry; the romance was of the insta-mate variety and boring to boot. This is first I've read in the series and it'll be my last. Still, I finished it so gonna go with two stars.
I have really enjoyed this series but this book blew me away. It was so well done that I got completely wrapped up in the story and stayed up until after midnight to finish it. I simply could not put it down.
Ellis and Reece both had tragedy in their lives yet they found a happy ending. It was one that was fought for and earned. If you are looking for a simple book about love at first sight and a happy fairytale courtship, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that shows sometimes the hardest journeys lead to the happiest endings, then you must read this book. The story and the characters are complex and have a depth that makes it feel so real.
I can’t say enough good things about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it in a way that I rarely get to experience with omegaverse / mpreg books. (Please note that omegaverse / mpreg is my favorite trope, so I do truly love the storytelling aspect of this sub genre. This book simply stands above many others in the category.) The level of complexity and uncertainty about how the story would resolve really had me on the edge of my seat the entire book. I was tense and nervous but it made every sweet moment so much more meaningful. I am not sure if that was how it was written or if that was just my experience but it really made my heart happy to read how the relationship between Ellis and Reece evolved.
I am sad that this is the last book in the series but that is mostly because it was such a wonderful book and such a great series. I am hopeful that we will get even more out of this world in the future since there is one more coming in February.
Please know that this book dives into difficult topics. I know that there is the note about warnings and be sure to look at those. It adds to the complexity of these characters and the beauty of the ending of the story, even if parts are more difficult to read. I would hate for someone to not read the story out of fear of those topics but I feel that I would not be doing a good job as a reviewer if I did not at least mention this. I sometimes get more complacent in my mpreg/omegaverse reading and don’t even think about any trigger issues arising. So I thought it was important to note.
Hands off the best instalment of this series, the launching novel of which was truly horrible on all counts, before the later entries progressively raised the bar. Three of my favorite tropes have been combined to make a strong slow burn romance : a confused alpha who undergoes change in a believable manner ; a headstrong, physically intimidating, omega who resists the mating with all he has ; and a mating pull that gets strongly in the back burner, allowing just enough heat at the right time when the story had to pick up steam. The writing is excellent, both the crisp, effortlessly managed narrative and the dialogue (Ellis comes on top, a very strong conversationalist with a suitably sleek idiolect; Reece speaks in a much more bare manner that does not shirk depth in the emotionally charged moments); all the characters shine, with the lone exception of Reece's young daughter, whom the book barely shows. The writers even achieved the feat of keeping my interest during the description of Ellis' period and the evocation of his knotting - easily the two tropes I am the least patient with, given their sheer difficulty to write in minimally cringeworthy fashion ; here their treatment is exemplary for its tact and brisk simplicity. The lone star I detracted stems from the off-page resolution of the Drew problem (I would have preferred the omega and his alpha to confront the creep) and the clichéd resolution of the conflict : Ellis folds too easily under pressure due to the combination of alcohol and his heat-suppressing medicine, sleeps with Reece, takes time to ponder things and gets pregnant.
Omega Ellis has had a crush on Alpha Reece for years, but Reece's friends bully Ellis. Something changes and Reece and his friends begin bullying Ellis with a vengeance. Then things come to a head and Ellis' life is destroyed. Fourteen years later Reece's father's company wants to buy out Ellis's family's company and Ellis is the sole holdout. Ellis is determined not to give an inch in any matter where Reece is concerned despite what his heart tells him.
Ellis has had so much tragedy in his life. It's hard not to want to love him and hold him. While Reece's behavior in the past was unforgivable he is truly now a changed man and I couldn't help but root for him in winning Ellis's heart again.
The book is written in both Ellis and Reece's POV. The storyline was good though very sad. The angst level is medium. Their are triggers in this book so be forewarned.
I feel like there is a rule to writing a good story, where the dialogue balances the exposition. So maybe 60% exposition and 40% dialogue is a good balance. But there are chapters upon chapters in this book where there are very little to no dialogue and just paragraph after paragraph of exposition. And after awhile it gets annoying and you kinda lose interest. And while the story itself was short and had a good plot, because there was so much exposition it was very hard to want to continue reading. And somewhere along the line I just started skipping the exposition all together and go straight to the dialogue. Which in the end didn't do very much to make me believe these characters had a connection, because they did very little talking to each other. Anyway.... I was just glad when it was over.
Sizzlin hot passion, building trust,and so much romance. i have been waiting for Reece's story since book one of this series and this so exceeded my expectations! I absolutely love Ellis and Reece together and watching them heal their painful past was balm for my soul.
Reece and Ellis are not the typical alpha and omega pairing. i love that Reece and Ellis work out some non traditional roles within their relationship and both their friendship and their mating is beautiful.
Highly recommend this whole series, and even though this could be read as a stand alone, it is so awesome if you have read each of the series. A terrific second chance love story!
I found this book to be back up to the standard of excellence that the first book in the series set. Ellis had every reason to hate and mistrust Reece. Even though they were undoubtedly fated mates, Reece's actions, especially as implied by Drew, were reprehensible and it showed Ellis' true strength that he survived and thrived despite them.
I liked that Ellis didn't fall for Reece immediately, and even the forgiveness that did come, only arrived after Ellis had a chance to fully heal and Reece had a chance to show that he wouldn't abandon Ellis again.
Reece's story is the one that I have been waiting on to see how exactly it would work. Well, this story completely blew me out of the water and then some. Ellis is not the typical omega and finds himself facing massive changes. All of this and he is now facing the one person he holds responsible for the bullying that occurred throughout his high school years. Now, I am not giving anything away but man the twists and turns that this couple have to go through and face are incredible.
I started this series with this book, book 4. It appealed to me because the omega was strong, determined and fierce. The struggle between alpha and omega pulled me in because the omega didn't just roll over and give in. Trust had to be earned and the rest followed. Really enjoyed reading this book and now to finish the rest.
This book pulled at my heartstrings and all of my emotions. It dealt with some pretty heavy issues and situations, but it was done as delicately as possible without losing the author's desired effect and feel that he wanted to convey. I truly felt not only for Ellis, but also for Reece. This was an amazing book.
Enjoyed this installment of the Undercover series. It was good to read Reece's story and how he got his happy ending. I really enjoyed Ellis, in as much he wasn't your typical omega. Thoroughly enjoyed this series of books.
This completely contradicts what we saw and were told about him and his wife in book one.... when she died. It contradicts his all of his anguish at losing his omega mate in the previous books. SMH...
Here is our last venture in our Undercover Alpha world. Ellis was a great character and he had to some growing to let Reece back into his life. And again, we find that love is love is love is love.