Late Bloomer

by Morgan Hawes

After a rough start, Malcolm Roy III has cleaned up his act, gotten (mostly) sober, and now stands to inherit his family's wealth and his father’s business. But Malcolm has a secret: he's spent the last ten years on dangerous suppressants. After collapsing at work, and on his doctor's orders, Malcolm has cut them out completely. Now he has to return to the office, presenting as himself for the first time ever.

As an omega.

Vincent Hoffman has a good life. He's got a home, he's got his cats. He likes his job, even though his boss is the annoying, smarmy son of the CEO. Vincent couldn't ask for anything more. He might've done, once upon a time (or eighteen months ago--but who's counting?), but his ex-fiancee put an end to those dreams when she walked out of his life. For now, Vincent is content.

But after a disaster at the office, his comfortable life is threatened when Malcolm discovers his secret. Despite how he's presented himself all these years, Vincent isn't a harmless beta.

He's an alpha.

Now Malcolm's biological clock is ticking down towards his first heat. He's rich, he's connected, and he's gorgeous--an ambitious alpha could take a lot from man like Malcolm and there'd be nothing he could do about it. He needs to make a choice, and fast: he needs to find an alpha he can trust.

Someone like...

Late Bloomer is a non-shifter, extremely slow burn m/m a/b/o standalone romance novel that features explicit consent in every sex scene, lots of chemistry, mild BDSM themes, no mpreg, and a HEA.

Genres: Omegaverse, M M Romance, Romance, Slow Burn, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy

444 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2019

Reviews

[Rynn Yumako]

DNF at 50%.

Amazing writing, great characters and I was sure of my 5 star rating up until 35%, when the angst and no-communication began and it destroyed my enjoyment of the book.

I didn't understand why Malcolm and Vincent couldn't be together, didn't get why horrible Laurent was introduced to the story. I don't mind angst, I really don't, but this felt just so damn forced and unnecessary, and Laurent was such a despicable man, who the hell would believe even for a second that Malcolm would end up with him? Gah, I don't know. There was no real obstacle for the guys, no real reason why they couldn't or shouldn't be together. I know there wouldn't be a story if everything went just swimmingly after the first time they kissed, but unnecessary drama was definitely not something I imagined for these two. Bickering and doubts and hurt feelings, sure, but Malcolm jumping into a relationship with Laurent (who made him feel all kinds of icky) and Vincent hung up on his ex for 250 pages? No.

No rating from me, because I'm certain others would find this book amazing (and I desperately wanted to be one of them!) but the no-communication thing is just a big turn-off for me.

[Bizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 5/5 for the first 40% or so, and a 2/5 for the rest. The beginning was magical: characters navigating changes to a complex working relationship they’ve had for years, the difficulty of Malcolm having to finally make public that he’s an omega, and the confusion and angst caused by spending a heat together when you’re not even sure you like each other most of the time.

And then all that gets thrown in the trashcan so the characters can be kept apart by… life circumstances, I guess? Nominally their separation is because of a mutual belief that “he couldn’t possibly want me,” but neither character even seems to know for sure if he wants more than sex from the other for most of the book. (This book is also really bad about equating sexual attraction and compatibility with romantic attraction and compatibility, and assuming many pages of hot sex have done all the work necessary to establish that the characters belong together.) They stop spending time together at work, which was what made their relationship interesting in the first place, and spend the rest of the book dating other people.

As far as I’m concerned, this book isn’t a slow burn, it’s a no burn. If one character gives the other a speech about how “you’ll find your true love one day!” to the other MC at 85% and genuinely means it because he still thinks he wants to be with his ex, no burning is happening. “But Bizzy!” you say, “Not long after that he thinks about how he’s wanted Malcolm for years!” Yeah, sure – sexually. He had sexual fantasies about him before and sometimes reminisces fondly on the times they slept together, but when does he think about wanting to be in a relationship or having romantic feelings? Never, that’s when.

If your book has no plot other than waiting for your two MCs to get together, then they need to at least be having feelings while they’re apart. Being kept apart by circumstances isn’t compelling if the characters aren’t both wishing they could change those circumstances. And their relationship needs to develop in some way that makes me think, “these two would be great together.” Having good sex does not count for that because if all they have going for them is sex, they can just be friends with benefits. You need to convince me they’re the right partners for each other. And let me tell you, that absolutely doesn’t happen here. These characters cannot even be vulnerable enough with each other after a week of non-stop sex to admit they’re attracted to each other, and even at the end of the book the closest they can get to admitting any feelings at all is “I like you” from one and “you have a standing invitation to sleep over” from the other. They’re not friends, they don’t spend time with each other in the months this book takes place except when one is doing the other a favor, and when they argue they immediately start saying the most hurtful, cruel things they can think of to each other. Wow, you’re really selling me on this relationship! I guess I’m supposed to think they’re a great pair because they were so unhappy while they were apart, but instead I just feel like they need to work on themselves for a while.

This book is also so fucking long. I don’t believe Amazon’s page count of 444 and think it must be closer to the 700-ish pages Kindle apparently used to show because this is the slowest 400 pages I've ever read in my life. Every single thing in this book is described. All the steps of making pasta? Yes. Every article of clothing any character ever puts on? You know it. A million tedious pages of dialogue to establish that Vincent and his ex know a lot of little things about each other? Of course! What color the fucking auxiliary cable for Vincent’s iPod is? Crucial. This book could have, and should have, been at least 100 pages shorter (and if the 700 page count is right, then make that 300 pages shorter).

The author’s note at the end gives the author’s AO3 username, and that came as absolutely no surprise because by about 50% I could tell this had previously been published serially. It has that problem all too common to AO3 works where every event gets the same amount of page space, no matter how important it is or whether it could have been made shorter. That’s how you wind up with an engagement party for a side character that takes what feels like 100 pages. (Every single conversation does not need to be written out! It’s okay to summarize sometimes!) This pacing is fine when your readers go days, weeks, or months between chapters and want as much content as you’ll give them at a time, but for a book it’s just frustrating. After the 45% mark or so, I would ask myself every 10% how it was possible I was still so far from the end.

Also, the AO3 thing gets me to my biggest complaint about this book. This is one of those fanfic/original fic stories designed to keep the characters apart as long as possible. The point of the story is to allow the reader to wallow in unrequited love right up to the point they’re about to get bored with it, then quickly come to an end. It’s the written equivalent of TV shows that don’t know what to do with their characters after they get together so they just make them do will-they-won’t-they for 10 seasons. “Look how unhappy they are while they’re apart” is the only feeling you get for approximately 60% of this book (which, remember, is hundreds of pages); 39% is “look what great sex they have” and 1% is actually having a romantic relationship.

I know some people absolutely love this type of story and can’t get enough of it. And that’s fine – it’s not that I think these stories are objectively bad. But I really don’t enjoy them; I need more payoff and catharsis at the end, not just a hasty conclusion where the characters spend most of the time having great sex (again) and then a few paragraphs maybe sort of kind of getting comfortable with the idea of a relationship and contemplating one day saying “I love you.” When I’m coming to this story as an outsider who doesn’t even know what fandom it was originally written for, I have no preexisting desire for the characters to be together. The author needs to create that for me, but a lot of these republished fics don’t do that very well.

I’m honestly not sure this type of story is a genre romance. Again, that’s totally fine, not every love story has to be a genre romance. But I’m getting frustrated with reading rewritten fanfic/original fic and not knowing that’s what I’m getting. As far as I’m concerned, these types of stories require far different reader expectations than other romances, so I keep going into these books with the wrong expectations and feeling annoyed. For one thing, I would rather read this type of story in its original serial format because that solves a lot of the pacing issues for me. I’d also rather know that the characters exist in a canon somewhere and that’s part of why I’m supposed to care about them getting together.

I understand why authors don’t always feel like they can or should disclose this in the blurb. But I wish they’d find a way – or at least that readers who’ve read the book and know where it came from would say something. Because I would really like to know going into it that I’m going to get 99,000 words of being apart and 1,000 words of being together.

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to be a bit a mess of a review, but: I LOVED it. The best omegaverse romance I've read so far.

Don't expect smut, and don't expect a clear and lovely path to happiness for Vincent and Malcolm.

I've never read a omegaverse romance where both Alpha (Vincent) and Omega (Malcolm) try so hard to CHOOSE their way forward, despite hormons and social pressure. They hurt one another because of their choices, they hurt themselves. It takes them a long time to see clearly what's in front of them, what matters most.

The writing is clever, brilliant.
I can't wait to reread this, taking my time, not hurrying to see where the author will take me.

Vincent and Malcolm aren't perfect, they make selfish decisions. And be aware that for a very big part of the story they are with other people.

But. The longing. The suffering.
It hurt so good.
Although I hated to read that long part in the middle of the book, I know that both Vincent and Malcolm needed the time to decide their way forward, each on their own. Vincent to get over his ex, and Malcolm to free himself from his bullying boyfriend (whom I hated so, so much!).

I love that Lacy, Vincent's ex, wasn't as we see so often in mm romances portayed negatively.

There's not much sex but I didn't mind at all (and the intimate scenes we got were awesome).
Plus I loved that the ending wasn't rushed!

Tldr: not your standard omegaverse romance, but so much more!

Ps shout-out to @ancientreader, thanks for the rec!

[ancientreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

ETAx2: Yep, it holds up on a third read. What on earth.

ETA: Reread and loved it even more the second time. God, this book. It's everything I want in a love story (including the likelihood that the omega is infertile, which PHEW).

The Laurent storyline, man. He is so plausible, so charming, he shows up just when Malcolm is feeling especially low, and then he proceeds to slowly, subtly undermine Malcolm's confidence and autonomy, playing not only on his insecurities but also on stereotypes about omegas that, to one extent or another, almost everyone around them believes. It is such a skillful portrait of an abuser at work, and it was kind of awe-inspiring to watch it play out in the knowledge, this time, of what L. was up to. A different experience from my first reading, when, like Malcolm, I didn't catch on right away. *shudder*

----------

Holy cats, an omegaverse novel I unreservedly loved.

The setup: Vincent and Malcolm, VP and VP's boss, have a personally ... spiky ... relationship, with Malcolm constantly baiting Vincent, while Vincent fumes and snaps back. At the book's opening, Malcolm is about to return to work as a known omega, having spent the past decade on suppressants that masked his endotype but whose side effects have nearly killed him.

Here's where things get interesting. Although Malcolm is rich, powerful, and personally assertive, the minute he's revealed as an omega people -- alphas -- start treating him differently. So much solicitousness! So many boxes of chocolates! So many tiny unwanted touches leaving possessive alpha scent on him! So much cornering him whenever there's a corner conveniently located! In short, it's all polite-treating-him-as-weak shading into outright sexual harassment.

But then there's Vincent, who's just as snappish as ever, and who, in the aftermath of a potentially fatal elevator malfunction during which he and Malcolm saved each other's lives, turns out to be an alpha on the downlow. (He disguises his scent by showering with Doctor Smythe's Honey Lavender Endotype Cleanse. That brand name -- are you reminded of Dr. Bronner's? -- is among many nice touches.) Vincent is hiding his endotype for essentially the same reasons as Malcolm was: he doesn't want to participate in the expectations for alpha behavior, and he works hard to behave respectfully toward other people and to govern his temper.

In a world of belligerent, pushy knotheads, Malcolm needs to find someone to spend his first adult heat with. Theoretically he could get by alone, or just with someone to keep an eye on him and make sure he stays hydrated, but (naturally) heats are much easier on you if you've got someone to bang. One guess who the sole trustworthy alpha in Malcolm's acquaintanceship turns out to be.

In the runup to Malcolm's heat, he and Vincent start getting to know each other on a more honest basis. Hawes gives the two men a lot of scope for relationship development, which I really appreciated, so that by the time M's heat actually starts, the sex is so to speak between the two of them rather than between "an alpha" and "an omega." But of course, this is a romance novel, so we must have obstacles -- the immediate one being that Vincent is still hung up on his ex-girlfriend, Lacy. Also, although Malcolm has been pulling Vincent's pigtails forever, he spent his twenties drugging and shagging his way through the world and doesn't really believe he's worth loving.

Consequently, once M's heat has passed, he and Vincent begin orbiting each other at various more or less painful distances. For a huge chunk of the book they pine for each other while Vincent pines for Lacy and Malcolm dates one Laurent, who proves to be an emotionally abusive asshole with a veneer of sophistication and beautiful manners.

I um can't help but notice that many reviewers found this whole middle section frustrating and unnecessary, but for me it was the key to Late Bloomer's brilliance: the a/b/o elements -- the scenting, the possessiveness, the sexytimes, those were fun, but the emotional progress is all about two people who belong together but not yet. Not yet, because their histories need resolution first. Vincent needs to learn that he isn't really in love with Lacy anymore -- his genuine and appropriate grief is to do with the loss of their long friendship and of the feeling of being in love; Malcolm needs to kick Laurent to the curb and assert himself against even the well-meaning alphas in his life (his PA, for example). Meanwhile, M and V keep connecting (though they have sex on just one occasion during this stretch) almost in spite of themselves."

Late Bloomer is full of bite and of little bombs of insight:

"Vincent didn't know how to be afraid without also being angry. He knew that about himself and didn't like it much."

(The story is set in the near future:) "Sabrina, a staid and steady woman who'd decided to spend her retirement in what was left of Florida."

"Hundreds of rich people had gathered to applaud politely at speeches and feign concern about Parkinson's disease."

"He's got a tan, of course. Do you think his favourite band is Nickelback or do you think he's more into Chad Kroeger's solo stuff?"

"The exhaustion came up to Vincent with all the suddenness of a mugger in a darkened alley, rummaging through his pockets for spare energy."

(Malcolm says, of his teenage self:) "I was skinny and awkward." (Vincent replies:) "Bullshit. That's just what the attractive people say to the rest of us when they want to appear modest."

Malcolm, trying to convince himself that Laurent is a catch: "Every time Laurent ignored the [restaurant] servers, Malcolm made the choice not to let it bother him. [Malcolm's friend Ruby, a bartender who's also an omega, has trained him to always acknowledge and thank serving staff.] Every time Laurent talked over him, Malcolm decided not to mind. Every time it felt as if Laurent wasn't listening to him, as if he were making non-committal comments while his mind worked on something else, Malcolm chose to like Laurent in spite of it. Maybe Laurent had better things to think about. Maybe his job was stressing him out. Maybe Malcolm just wasn't that interesting."

Okay, that passage. That passage. What a perfect evocation of how social expectations of subordination can dovetail with a sense of personal unworthiness so the abused partner constantly explains away an abuser's behavior until the abused one is left with only this explanation: I myself am the problem, because I'm just not good enough.

After I read Late Bloomer I poked around some other a/b/o romances, but so far I haven't found another example of what made this book so special to me. The other books have been about alphas and omegas (and maybe betas); this one's about people struggling against pressures imposed by the social view of their alpha/omega biology -- so the a/b/o is almost a McGuffin -- but also with problems that have nothing to do with being an alpha or an omega: resolving your feelings about an old lover, or stepping away from the self-abnegation that you believe your history should impose on you.

And yes, I wept buckets, and the sex is extremely hot.

[lam]

i am going to add a numeric rating after i calm down a bit. multiple spoilers ahead.

okay, now: FUCK! FUCKKKKKKKK. i was legitimately gritting my teeth and pulling my hair for the 3 hours it took me to finish the last 200 pages of this book. jesus CHRIST. i am so frustrated and disappointed because this started and continued so good up until that god damned dinner party. then it was like, hey, let's make this the most unnecessarily convoluted and emotionally frustrating story on earth. by the 95% point, i hated vince, hated malcolm, hated myself. i am doubly frustrated because this had so much potential - the writing is excellent, insightful, and sweet - up until the fucking dinner party, where it just descends into 200 pages of shitting on malcolm's rights lol. i liked malcolm in the beginning, he was so charming and snarky and fun. what. a. waste.

the laurent plotpoint (which, btw, lost all payoff at 90% considering 50% of the book is about him) completely ruined the intimacy and comfort malcolm and vince had started to build. the guy was emotionally abusing malcolm to the point of making executive decisions for him on his company. it was also incredibly concerning that none of M's friends, his bartender who knows him more than most, and his assistant, who's also close with him - none of them saw laurent as abusive. not even his therapist! in fact, i'd say people were concerned about vince more than laurent. we don't get any payoff on this either btw - no confrontations with his fake friends, his distant father, or even his sister (aka Plot Device 79 of 200). at the end of the novel, fluff aside, V and M are alone and M has no supports except for V and his mom, maybe. and some of laurent's shit really wasn't consistent. i get the importance of depicting a character who's outwardly friendly and abusive behind closed doors, but this was not done well in this book. i found myself feeling sick at how long M continued with L, to the point that their breakup didn't even fit the story's energy. and what a breakup it was! laurent, who is abusive, manipulative, and inexplicably uses his pheromones to control M, just wags his finger and says 'this ain't over yet!'. which, it is, because we never hear from him again despite how deviant and evil and powerful he is????

same with lacey - god, i mean, at 85% if vince is STILL in love with her, it's hard to digest that he has an epiphany about malcolm. at one point near the end, i was deadass like DAMN okay morgan hawes - maybe vince and lacey really ARE soulmates. can they be together now so i can move on with my life? genuinely, we'd be better off reading a YA 'one day' style novel about vince and lacey's enduring love than this. i mean fuck! what a god damn waste of malcolm and vince's chemistry and connection! how can i possibly be happy with the last 2 chapters when the first, oh idk, 400 pages were all about V's undying, once in a lifetime connection to that blonde chick?

in total, V and M maybe spent, idk, 5 lucid days together in the span of the entire book. so, yeah, i mean i'd be surprised if they knew each other's middle names. but i could tell you all about lacey and laurent though.

also, it was completely out of character for vince to meet laurent at that gala. made no sense. AND! why the FUCK, after 444 PAGES, do we not get an 'i love you'?

okay. i am breathing deeply. last thoughts: this is an omegaverse story (!!!!!!!!!!!!) that bit off more than it could chew. i started this because the blurb made me think it would be fun. it did not need to be almost 450 pages - a tight 300 max would have significantly improved the story and cut out a lot of the aforementioned dumbassery.

[~Nicole~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing, the premise, the “enemies to lovers” theme, the slow burn ..everything was perfect . And then at 50% in the book things went south. They barely had 2 scenes together , one MC hung up on his ex for hundreds of pages, praising her and the light in her hair , and the dimples on her face ughhh- actually at some point I expected him to get back with his ex . The book was more about him and her than about the two MCs . And the other MC in an icky relationship with another dude for most of the book. He was a spineless tool . By the end I was hating both MCs with passion. Also , there wasn’t even an I love you between them . Too bad , really . I’m so disappointed because I loved the first half of the book a lot.

[~✿ Tala✿~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a wild ride of emotions.

I loved it and simultaneously hated it?? Like the ABO aspects were well done and Malcolm + Vincent were written well but so much stuff had me wanting to rip my hair out.

First, this book is LONG like 400+pages. I definitely need to start checking how many pages are in a book when I start because I was surprised when what I thought was half way was like 30% in haha

Loves:
- the whole omegaverse premise had me hooked
- Alphas can smell omega's emotions (made the sad scenes more painful and the cute ones even sweeter)
- Malcolm and Vincent's emotions felt so real
- IT MADE ME CRY like crushed me and then revived me
- The story does a good job of making you root for Malcolm and Vincent

Hate (strongly dislikes)
- TOO MUCH LACEY AND TOO MUCH LAURENT. Exes and replacement bfs should NOT still be around at 90% I wanted to flick them and say be gone pests!!
- Not a hate for me but not my favourite; the MCs have sex with other people... a lot 🤧
- I never understood why Malcolm's friend Ruby + assistant Aleandra never liked Vincent and told Malcolm to "be careful"?? Vincent is described as this nice guy so I did not understand that at all
- The book is long but it probably didn't need to be, a lot could've been cut out (ex: there was pages and pages of them doing cooking a meal and getting to read each different step to the recipe)
- The ending was lovely but it left me unsatisfied WHERE IS THE EPILOGUE???? I was so excited that after everything, they finally got together and then to only to get a glimpse of their happiness was SO disappointing. I need more, they deserve a perfect HEA 😭

While there was things that I was unhappy with or weren't my cup of tea, I need to give this book credit for making me non-stop read it and keep my attention. I would 100% read more about this couple and even checked the author's socials to see if a sequel was a possibility. They had a post from 2019 about it being in the works but nothing since.. So here's to hoping that it's still happening!

[erraticdemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a book just really, really works for me even if it doesn't seem like it should. This one is long, it spends several pages describing the contents of various homes in detail (not a trinket left undescribed), the two main characters spend a huge part of the book with other people, so much could be solved with a little bit of communication, and it's the slowest of emotional burns. But Late Bloomer hit the domestic slow burn vibes exactly right.

I can't even say I'd recommend this book to anyone. It requires some commitment to vibe along for 700+ pages! If you like books by Kit Oliver or Tal Bauer this one has a similar feel while being completely different. I mean, it is omegaverse. But somewhere between a detailed summary of the contents of one of the main character's home office and the emotional pining for 95% of the book it hooked me.

So, read it! 5 stars! Or don't because it's super long and I don't want to hear any complaints about the length and slow burn. Live your truth.


Read this review and more on my blog: https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omegaverse romance set in a kind of alternate 2010s (aux cables!) a billionaire boss and self contained hidden alpha vice president. I just loved this book till about 50-60% of the way in. Slow burn emotionally, all the little clues of how much Malcolm (the boss and omega) is obsessed with Vincent (the alpha underling), their relationship developing, even the texture up till the fake date at the engagement party for the ex Vincent is still kind of obsessed with.

But then the book just drags on, on its way a dreaded third act conflict which IMO honestly is unnecessary. Kind of spoilers but I will not tag it because it can be important for some readers, other man shows up and becomes an oh-so-wrong controlling asshole fiancé for a big show down and drama. And that seemed so badly setup to how proud and independent Malcolm had been till then to become such a doormat (also the assistant needed to be fired...) while Vincent waffles and waffles around thinking himself so in love with his ex to the point I am not sure anymore what Malcolm (or I) ever saw in him. Big show down is dramatic but also unsatisfying, the dangerous fiancée flounces off with threats for the future which are not shot down (and there is no reassuring far in the future epilogue either...) satisfactorily for me.

Another detail which bugged me was the world building - this is very then-contemporary feel in a nameless city and country, but with some invented details like self driving cars and intelligent home assistants and digital ebook libraries projecting into walls (but streaming is a luxury, aux cables necessary and all). But it all feels very early 2010s and hence very dated (also very USA, despite the coyness about naming the city or state or whatever). But really really dated, all the pop culture references to music, movies, tv, celebrities. And it got me nostalgic, reading blogs and a much healthier type of social media. Now it is always an author's privilege to worldbuild whichever way they want to, but the reader is not always capable of suspension of disbelief, even when they want to try, and this universe kept baffling me with the mix of so much time-and-place (early 2010s USA) and science fiction tech (self driving cars, but aux cables still needed and radio for car trips...).

This seems to be the author's only published book under this penname which is a pity, the yearnign and feels are so right for most of it, I would love to check more of their future work. Unusually the author is clear on the afterword of what is their A03 penname which I might check, but worth pointing that the things which seemed like flaws to me, are the sort of things AO3 rewards -the serial feel, dragging up length and (unnecessary) drama, the pop culture references and shaky worldbuilding.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pining; smoking hot sex.
Whether you like a/b/o
or not, read this book.

Added a star on the re-read--this was even richer, deeper, sexier the second time around. And seriously, read this genius book.

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it's just June but this is the BEST book I've read so far this year. The angst! The pining! The never-aligning timing!

This had me at the edge of my seat. It was like a telenovela in print. The dramaaaaaaaa. The bad decisions. The romance! The PINING!

I am cramming this down the throat of everyone I know. This feels like when I read Captive Prince for the first time and knew I'd go back to it again, and again, and again.

I'm in love. My heart is broken and my heart is fixed. This was EXCEPTIONALLY well written. I'm not joking. I had my phone open and was scrolling while my boss was sitted opposite me in a meeting. I had my laptop open in the way but still. It was honestly THAT GOOD.

Okay. Done gushing. The review...

“You want to know why I’ve picked you? Because you’re boring, Vincent.” Yes. A wonderful start to asking someone to knot you. Very good.

(He’d researched how to take care of Malcolm. How was Malcolm supposed to handle that?) I knowwwwwwwwww😩

Let me tell you, I fell in love with Vincent right alongside Malcolm. That man was romantic in a logical sense. He'd do and say the most swoonworthy things. On like a Tuesday at 8.15am. Like????? Malcolm had no chance. None whatsoever.

But here's the thing.... Vincent thought he was in love with someone else for almost the entirety of this book. And wait for it.....so did Malcolm. My poor baby! I know! And I get why they both thought that. Hell, even EYE thought it at first. And the pages kept going and he wasn't snapping out of it. And I wanted to tear my hair out but also smack them.

Because in retrospect, Vincent was into Malcolm for a really, really long while before it hit him. It just wasn't the way it happened with his first love so he didn't see it. It happened with a lot of snark and tentative heat arrangements and killer elevators and childhood bedrooms.

'Vince makes me feel like I’m nineteen again in all the best and worst ways.'

This man was too rational all the time but he absolutely went apeshit when things had to do with Malcolm and HE STILL COULDN'T SEE IT.

And poor baby Malcolm had to go do the sweetest most self-sacrificial gesture on planet earth because they're both dumb idiots and my heart broke. More than his, I'll wager because have you ever seen two people SO ABSOLUTELY FUCKING IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER THAT THEY GLOW WITH IT, but you're the only one who can see it?

I love these two, but smart, they were not. Not about this.

And when they finally, FINALLY got together, it was everything I'd been waiting for. I'd read a thousand epilogues for these two. What a hard won HEA. Yeeish. A LOT of collateral damage to get there. But honestly fuck eternally confused Lacy, fuck Laurent, fuck all the VPs at work AND their bloody gift baskets.

I'll be frank, I never thought I'd enjoy a romance where the primary MCs were with other people during a significant portion of the book, but I'll tell you now that this was my lack of faith and exposure talking. A good author can make you like (no, LOVE) anything.

100 stars. Could not recommend more highly.

[Finnegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ticked a lot of my favourite boxes: ABO universe, slow burn, sweet love story with lots of feels... I just think it could have been 200 pages shorter. I don't know why Laurent was in the story, except to add unnecessary angst. And Vincent should have been over Lacey ages ago. Malcolm and Vincent was perfect for each other from the start, they were beautiful together.

This is another new-to-me author that is now on my radar, and I will definitely read more of her books.

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly great - like stay awake very late to read all 400+ pages great! The characters were excellent and the alpha omega stuff was minimal enough to be bearable lol (altho I will say given that premise it was very funny to see the characters referencing like Taylor Swift, forcing me to wonder how Taylor Swift would be changed in this near-future fantasy version of the our world - what lyrics would be subtly different etc. This is a cursed train of thought obviously).

I think the reason this book worked so well is the specificity of the characters and how plausible both their chemistry AND the possibility of the non-happy ending was.

Ironically given the genre this book is in, I actually think it’s one of the stronger contemporary romances I’ve read. The characters felt like real, normal people, not archetypes, and the plot conflicts were (mostly) very realistic - is this person into me or still hung up on their ex? Should I tell this person about the suckiness of the guy they’ve started seeing or stay out of it because it’s their life and their choice? Should I settle? Should I try?

Imo could have ended at the end of Chapter 29 (94%), and the rest could have been an epilogue/freebie, but ymmv - I don’t really need an explicit HEA (pun intended I guess haha) but I know some people love that kind of thing.

….also can’t help myself from saying, the author absolutely could have dropped the alpha and omega stuff, I know the whole omega heat thing (🤮) is a key plot point early on but the author could have rewritten this as literally ANY other light fantasy premise and I would have preferred it.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great on the reread too :')

A really gorgeous book with some of the best banter and chemistry I have read in a long time. Vincent and Malcolm's inability to communicate is so well written that I vibed with them for 444 pages and didn't want to tear my hair out. And actually, this was my first omegaverse read and I really liked it too! I had to take a star off for the pacing of the last 10% or so but it was really preference-based and didn't sour the rest of the book for me.

Also, gorgeous cover. GORGEOUS!

[Shima11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exceptional, character-driven romance packs the suspense--taut, twisting, absorbing--more typical of action or mystery genres. The emotional drama feels... never phoned-in, but "original," i.e., deeply, freshly, and surprisingly envisioned. Omegaverse tropes honored but transcended. Social mores and (parallel world) sense of place convincingly rendered. Bravo!

[Marzipop · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 absolutely fantastic writing. The lack of communication was annoying at times but. WOW the writing!!!

[AngelFire]

DNF @ 32%. No rating.

This book came very highly recommended to me by u/ancientreader and reading their review makes me wish I could appreciate the book the way they do, but the story contains too many things that don't work for me so even if I were to continue, I know this won't be a winner for me.

The following are things I didn't enjoy about the story but they're not in any particular order.

Omegaverse Worldbuilding

If an author is using a certain trope or worldbuilding that's commonly used, it's fine if generic things aren't explained. However, if you're going to include things that aren't common, you need to explain things and the author didn't do that here.

I've been exposed to omegaverse fics since omegaverse first became a thing (originating around 2010 in the SPN fandom through J2 RPF fics and then spreading to other fandoms before crossing over to for-profit works a few years ago) but I've never encountered any female alphas. In fact, I've never heard of alpha/beta/omega labels being applied to women because it makes no sense. The whole point of an alpha is that they're able to impregnate people and the knotting function (ie having a penis) is very important. Omegas are defined by their ability to become pregnant but this ability isn't something all members of that gender have and that's why omegas are seen as 'less than'. This is why omegaverse has always been seen as a great way to examine gender roles and stereotypes (ie make it possible for some men to become pregnant while other men embody toxic masculinity), but that's why it makes no sense to add women into the mix.

When you try to apply these male-defined terms to women without making any changes, it's nonsense. Women can't be alphas because they don't have a penis and all women should theoretically be omegas since they all have the bits required for pregnancy. I did some research and apparently, F/F shippers have tackled this problem over the years by making alpha females capable of temporarily growing a penis or their lady bits will fuse at puberty and form a penis (which also prevents them from ever becoming pregnant - hence, they're separate from omegas). Perfect! But here's the problem: I'm betting most people who have a general familiarity with omegaverse have no idea that this is the established norm of how alpha females function and the author never bothered explaining what 'alpha female' means in her book's universe in the first 32% I read. It wasn't necessary for the author to explain the how's and why's of male alphas and male omegas because that's common knowledge to omegaverse fans. But when you're writing to a crowd that's likely mostly familiar with MM omegaverse, you need to explain the how's and why's of female alphas since their existence makes no sense on the surface.

Sidenote: I don't mean to be rude, but the idea of Malcolm's female assistant being able to prevent horny, aggressive male alphas from getting into Malcolm's office just by standing in front of the door was ridiculous. She isn't a trained security guard and we're not told she has any special ability to intimidate these alphas. We're supposed to just accept that these macho, aggressive male alphas were intimidated by her because she's a Strong Woman. Things like that make me roll my eyes and it's also kind of offensive. You know what would have been much better? If Malcolm's assistant wasn't a ridiculous 'alpha' female, but just a random woman who knew she was no physical match for these alphas so she used her intelligence and connections as a PA to keep Malcolm safe.

Lack Of Birth Control

As far as I know, there tend to be two approaches to omegaverse. Either the possibility of mpreg is there or it's not a thing (usually that means knotting also isn't a thing since knotting has no purpose if pregnancy isn't an option). In this case, Vincent makes a very clear reference to Malcom's ability to get pregnant when he's in heat, yet they don't use any form of birth control. They don't even discuss it. They do share STI results with each other before Malcolm's heat starts, which is good. But my eyes nearly fell out of my head when Vincent casually ejaculates in Malcolm the first time...and then he goes on to do it a dozen more times during Malcolm's heat and there was no discussion about this before they fell into bed! Hilariously, I get the feeling the author might be so accustomed to writing normal MM romance that they forget about the pregnancy issue, but it needs to be properly dealt with if the universe allows for the omegas to get pregnant.

Lack Of Chemistry

What made me most excited about the story was that Malcolm is Vincent's boss, but he's the omega in the scenario. I loved the idea of flipping their power balance around during Malcolm's heat, but that's not what happens. Malcolm is only the boss because his daddy made him be the boss. Malcolm does seem to take his job seriously and he's not dumb, but it's very clear to me that Vincent doesn't think Malcolm deserves his position and Vincent has zero respect for him. Sure, Vincent finds Malcolm hot but that's it. This is purely a me-problem because based on u/ancientreader's review, Malcolm does go through a character development arc and I'm assuming that arc is what makes Vincent want to be with him. But I need to be vibing with the MCs chemistry right from the start and there was zero chemistry between them. Malcolm was an immature child and Vincent acted like his long suffering dad who also happened to work for him. Their dynamic was off putting and I can't picture Vincent ever wanting Malcolm as a romantic partner, which is why I decide to bail. Maybe this does change, but that approach rarely works for me. I need to be rooting from the couple from the start, even if the MCs themselves aren't. But Vincent's attitude towards Malcolm was also impacted by my least favorite aspect of the story:

Lacy

Oh, boy. The author definitely took a risk making an MM romance where one of the MCs is in love with a woman for the first 80%. It seemed to work for many readers but for people who disliked the book, this seemed to be their main reason. I'm not fond of romances where one character is pining for a previous romantic partner for large chunks of the book (this is why dead-partner romances rarely make it on my TBR). But I'm especially not interested in a romance where a female character takes up a significant part of an MC's focus for much of the book. I read MM romance because I want to focus on male characters. There are genres where women can and should take centerstage, but MM romance isn't that genre. I still wouldn't have liked the plotline if Vincent had spent 80% of the book mooning over an ex-boyfriend but having the ex be a woman increased my annoyance tenfold.

I'm also pissed off because it appears the author deliberately worded Vincent's relationship status with Lacy in a way that wouldn't clue readers in that Lacy would take up such a huge part of the story. In the blurb it says:

Vincent Hoffman has a good life. He's got a home, he's got his cats. He likes his job, even though his boss is the annoying, smarmy son of the CEO. Vincent couldn't ask for anything more. He might've done, once upon a time (or eighteen months ago--but who's counting?), but his ex-fiancee put an end to those dreams when she walked out of his life. For now, Vincent is content.

The 18 months remark makes it seem like Vincent might harbor some anger towards the ex, but that's it. There's zero indication that he's still in love with her and will spend 80% of the book mooning over her. It really pissed me off that the author hides this aspect of the story, which would be a major turn off for many romance readers.

Lacy's presence didn't only annoy me but it impacted my ability to enjoy the romance. Malcolm's first heat was supposed to be a big deal and the boys were really cute towards each other throughout it, but there was always this distance between them. This made sense, since Vincent has no respect or intimate feelings towards Malcolm and he's still mooning over Lacy. Every time I remembered that, my heart broke for poor Malcolm and my enjoyment of the scene crashed and burned. I hated that the author wasted the romantic potential in Malcolm's first heat by having Vincent do it purely as a favor while he's in love with somebody else. I get why others loved this plotline and it's an interesting approach, but it wasn't what I wanted.

Not-Great Pacing

The author's approach to this entire book wasn't my cup of tea. The pacing wasn't terrible but it was definitely slower than it needed to be. Nearly every scene had irrelevant details and internal rambling included that could and should have been trimmed. There were often repetitive scenes where the author could have just used telling instead of showing to skip over that chunk of time. I stopped reading towards the end of Malcolm's first heat because reviews indicate that the readers who didn't enjoy the story only felt it started to drag AFTER Malcolm's first heat and that the story moves at a glacial pace until 80%. Since I was already bored before that point, I knew I wouldn't be able to slog through the rest of it. But even if I enjoyed the plotlines that the author had included, I believe this story could have easily had a quarter or more trimmed from it. Not in large chunks but just removing the repetition and irrelevant details from every scene would have cut this 400+ page story down to a more reasonable size.

Conclusion

I can see why others loved this but there are too many things happening that I'm not vibing with, so I'm gonna move on.

[Magnafeana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le sigh.

I’m fine.

This book wasn’t.

But I’m fine.

Let’s start at the top and work our way down.

SUMMARY

In a non-shifter-but-mpreg-possible contemporary modern world similar to ours, we meet MALCOLM a spoiled nepobaby in his 30s who abused drugs in both regular hard drugs to cope with his smothering, plastique lifestyle and endoytype drugs to force his inner omega to take a backseat. Consciously fake in all that he does, he can’t fake it anymore when he’s forced off suppressants and must figure out how to navigate being an omega, especially now that his bachelorhood has an expiration date and his estrus has a countdown. And the perfect way to do that is through his VP, VINCENT.

Unless…?

VINCENT is a man who wrestles with his past because his present is painful. An Alpha who uses soaps to be an “accountant in spirit” beta, he’s known to be average, curmudgeonly, but still a damn good VP who is the grump to Malcom’s fake sunshine routine. And yet, for as much as he and Malcom grow close through their verbal sparring, Vincent still closely remembers his beta ex-fiancée Lacey and the toxic love they shared. But perhaps, in all of his waffling, he can find a semblance of peace.

Unless…?

________________________________________________

Essentially, this book is a bit too long for its britches.

Let’s do it like the zombies do and break (it) down. 🧟‍♂️

(Huehuehue ZOMBIES 2 really is a great movie)

MALCOLM

I inherently enjoy a good joyboy who is actually a sad and lonely boy, especially a spoiled brat, but Malcom’s carpets didn’t match the drapes. I understood why Vincent was always irritated with Malcom, but not in a good way. I found myself annoyed how Malcom rarely had moments of honesty. Those moments were very hidden. And not as in a *le gasp, he said the veritas!* sort of look back, but as in, the writing was very much two truths and a lie. You never really felt any of his honest moments. They existed…and then that’s it. There was seldom an emotional impact when he had a scrap of honesty.

I also, as another reviewer said, had a hard time understanding his relationship with Aleandra and Ruby. It feels like the author just wanted to include them and that’s it. We don’t really feel the emotional depth of Malcom and Ruby’s connection outside of Ruby being his favorite bar tender. It would have been nice to be less secretive on Ruby, so I could understand their relationship.

I understood what the author was trying to convey in Malcom’s emotional bandwidth. Why he pulled away from Vincent and why he stayed with Laurent. But his attitude was just…not something I’m the audience for. The author painted him a few times as damsel in distress without much cause or reason. He was the victim, and the narrative agreed with him. He couldn’t do anything wrong because he was frightened. What have you.

But the thing is, he could.

It’s strange to say this, but Malcom was not a perfect victim. He was a victim, but I disagreed with how the narrative described his woes. He was ostentatiously fake. Why was this hardly addressed? What, did the word vomit he give somehow compensate for him being fake?

I found his relationship with Laurent realistic in its toxic manner, but I found his and Vincent’s relationship unconvincing in romance towards the end. Malcom never grew as an individual. And I’ll get to how I felt about the omegaverse aspect of this later.

VINCENT

Vincent is that one horse picture where the horse starts out beautifully and then turns into a three year old’s masterpiece.

He has OW drama with his ex-fiancée Lacey, which doesn’t help as his alleged family and friends waft the flames expectantly through Lacey’s engagement party being at Vincent’s mother’s house. This entire plot of Vincent and Lacey having lingering codependency was a choice and not a well-thought out one. Not to mention, Vincent’s mother and his pack of asshole friends who forced all this. Not sorry to say I didn’t care for Vincent’s mother, who cared more for connections over her son’s wellbeing. That’s not a “mom”, that’s a biological mother. I didn’t like Vincent’s friends, who, to their own admission, didn’t try at all to stay friends with Vincent and went with the easy way out.

Of course I didn’t like Lacey. She was a horrible person to continuously string Vincent along all those years and then has the audacity to do it again.

But I detested Vincent for being her white knight at a moment’s notice because it made him pathetic—which was the intention.

Why didn’t he grovel more, however, for the hurt he made Malcolm go through?

ROMANCE

I was honestly over Vincent and Malcolm’s romance the moment Vincent went to Lacey one last time. Minnie (Malcolm’s sister) gets a F from me for agreeing to help the man who was wishwashy over her brother or his ex. I don’t care that Vincent had a “come to Jesus” moment. I think what should have happened was a non-HEA or at least an HFN.

I was fine with Malcolm hearing Vincent out, but I wanted Malcolm to realize that he’s had too many unhealthy relationships and he doesn’t deserve another one. He needs to have a healthy relationship with himself first. And Vincent knows he’s messed up, but he knows he also needs to regain a healthy relationship with himself. So they part.

Maybe have a few scenes of Malcolm gaining some good friends, setting boundaries, and being in a DnD campaign. Maybe show Vincent setting boundaries with his mother for doing him a disservice in allowing the engagement party and guilt tripping him to come, and have Vincent reengage with his friends. Have his friends confess their own guilt to him. Have them rebuild friendships.

Time passes. Malcolm is excited for the DnD campaign and is notified of a new player, who happens to be Vincent, who is doing a barbarian class to Malcolm’s paladin elf class. And they slowly rebuild their romance from there, now both happier independently and independently together.

HEA FTW 🥰

But Malcolm doesn’t have self-esteem, Vincent doesn’t have a scrap of shame, and the author wanted their HEA no matter what, so that didn’t happen, of course.

🫠

OMEGAVERSE

I have to wonder: why was this even an OV book?

When it comes to OV books—or any books that take place in modern day but add a paranormal/fantasy element—I always judge that, if the element can be removed and the story is largely the same, why put it in?

The only thing this would really change is…nothing, honestly. I could easily replace this with Malcolm being gay going public and, considering his history of being a user combined with his nepotism and wealth, he’d be approached with even more offers.

Malcolm and Vincent sharing a one night stand could easily replace the heat plot line.

Nothing about this really sold me that this book had to be an OV book. But in knowing the author is a fellow AO3 writer… Yeah, I see why this is an OV book.

And, to be clear, I do write fanfiction myself. But a lot of fanfiction is “because I said so” and not “because I wrote it, thought about it, accepted feedback through a content editor, and made tweaks to make the book and its elements make sense”.

OVERALL

I wasn’t terribly impressed.

Again, horse meme. Start good, ended poorly. A book too long for what it wanted to do.

🤷🏾‍♀️

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

I’m very angry with this book. There isn’t a sequel except they never even say the, I thought required in a standalone novel , “I love you”s. No epilogue even. Certainly no baby. (If they didn’t use protection and he’s in heat, wouldn’t they be worried about conception?)

The book starts out with an interesting and unusual premise. I’m not a huge fan of MPreg/omegaverse so I haven’t read a lot, but it did appear to follow some clear cut guidelines of the sub-genre with an interesting twist. I was confused, though, because there was no epilogue and it needed one.

I liked the characters, or rather, I liked the MCs and I like the divergent personalities of the other characters. Malcolm’s assistant needed to stop threatening to call HR the moment someone said or did something even slightly out of line. I mean, it was not a “work-adjacent” party just because a lot of company people were there. HR would have no legal standing. Laurent was apppalling but believable.

I love that there are omegas who married beta or alpha females. That there are alpha females attracted to male and female omegas in heat. That there are lesbians in this world. I’m not sure what sex would be like for female alphas. Do they have some kind of corresponding male appendage so they can inseminate like the omegas have female organs?

But this is why I hated this book: I don’t like how Vincent was still hung up on his ex for almost all of the book. It felt like he was more in love with her and suited to her than he would ever be Malcolm which gave this book barely an HFN. Malcolm is way way way more in love with Vincent than the other way around.

I didn’t like how subservient Malcolm became. He was the CEO of a large company. Just because he was now presenting as an omega didn’t mean he was suddenly someone meek and over-accommodating. There were other Omaha’s much less subservient and they’d never been CEOs. Yes he stopped his suppressants but they didn’t take away his personality. Laurent didn’t even work there and he was allowed to order everyone around?

Btw, it doesn’t matter how serious you are with someone, if you’re together and you sleep with someone else, it’s cheating. Especially if you think about him and it makes you pause. Even if the guy’s an asshole. And even a kiss is cheating. If it is intimate behavior and would hurt your partner if they found out, it’s cheating.

I would read the blurb for a sequel just to find out if they ever get past the telling each other “I like you” phase. I’m really angry there isn’t a sequel and most likely never will be since this was written five years ago and it’s the only thing the author has ever written. I’m not sure I ever would read it if they did.

P.S. Will people stop ragging on Nickelback while they secretly buy their stuff? Do you know how many albums they sell? I like Nickelback even though most of the music I listen to is punk and alternative rock. They’re a solid band. And people should stop taking their song “rockstar” seriously? It’s a tongue-in-cheek riff on celebrity musicians and bands. I think it’s funny.

Ok I’m done. And I’m done with this book.

[Benji · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve heard lots of good things about this book but I wasn’t impressed while reading it and the more I think about it, the less I like it. It started off promising but by the halfway point it was falling apart and it wound up dragging itself to a thoroughly unsatisfying ending.

My main gripes are A) I’m not convinced Vincent has any romantic feelings towards Malcolm, he just feels lust. B) I don’t want to read a romance where one of the MCs spends the entire book pining for their ex. C) Not one but two love triangles, ugh. D) Cheating always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. E) There was no non-romance plot to keep me interested when the chemistry between the MCs had totally fizzled out.

My insomnia kept me up last night complaining about this book but now I’m too tired to write a more thorough review 🙃

CWs: cheating, gaslighting, pregnancy of a minor character

[Al · Rating 1 out of 5]

FUCK THIS BOOK. I truly was eating the book up until around the end. I was overlooking my normal book icks (cheating, the main characters having sex with other people) because I was that enamored with the writing and the story. I thought this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year. And then the third act came around.

You’re going to get my ass to 81% and have the main character hook up with his fucking ex after pining over the other main character the whole book??? He’s pining but he’s not over his ex??? He literally almost loses his job but he’s not over his ex????????? I’ve never been more disappointed in a book. Jesus Christ. Save yourself the same heartache and skip this.

[Mir]

DNF 50% but skimmed hard from 35% to 50%.

Starts of strong and gets REAL BAD. Even the sex scenes didn’t pay off. Read the other critical reviews if you’re interested in this cuz it’s not good. Wouldn’t even call it a romance.

[Doujia2]

I’m having another “me looking at all the five star reviews and contemplating the greatest mystery of the century: are we reading the same book?” moment.

[Light · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars
Gaaaaa so purrfect in the first 50% for the book. Angst. Banter. Chemistry.
After that is went down hill so fast. I started hating both MCs. Almost half a book is about MC being with other people cheating. Coming back together then going back to other people. Wth. It was such a turn off. Within the same evening they ate expressing feeling / attraction for two different people. I hate hate even the hint of cheating. I am so irritated and angry with this book. I lost interest in the MC getting together. Both of them were spineless liars. And the while alpha omega thing in the plot was very unsatisfying.

[Shelba · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was actually looking for another book when I stumbled upon this one by the same name. The cover sucked me in and I dove in without even reading the blurb.

The writing really worked for me. While this was on the longer side, especially for an omegaverse story, the pacing was spot on and made it a pleasure to read.

While this teetered between a 4 & 5 star read for me, the ending sealed the deal. I love how and when it ended. No epilogue on top of that? That’s a five star for me.

I’ll be keeping my eye on this author.

[Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was far far FAR better than I could have predicted for a ‘Recommended on your previous reading’ from Kindle Unlimited.

There’s a story behind how I came to read a 600 page ao3-turned-novel in 24 hours.

You see, yesterday I watched the last episode of Heated Rivalry twice, back to back, and I got this intense feeling of emotional overwhelm. When I feel that way, my id needs a distraction quickly, or I might spiral. And my id likes angsty books about people fighting their instincts so omegaverse (sans mpreg) can work really well for me. Hence, Late Bloomer.

Which, it turns out, is also a brilliant book - fantastic messy characters; tons of pining and yearning; slow burn but sexy; great texture and side characters… I’m in mourning that this is Morgan Hawes only book.

(YMMV if you don’t like it when MCs spend sections of the book with other people, or if cheating (or the threat of cheating) isn’t something you can forgive.)

[空 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Fuck me.

I liked:
▲ Malcolm and Vincent. They’re adorable. They were adorable when they were pretending, and they were adorable when they were finally for reals.
▲ The writing. There’s something appealing about Hawes writes, and I’m willing to take a chance on another book of theirs to see if next time
▲ The cover. I really like it.

Listen, it started out fine. I was engrossed. In fact I was invested in their relationship, which is why I had to finish this book even though it was 22.30 and I had to get up at like 5.30 next morning. But see …

I hated:
▼ That long, drawn-out bit, with Malcolm and Laurent and Laurent’s truly fucking blatant attempts to control him. To be honest, what kind of dick springs an engagement proposal on somebody without clearing it with them first. That’s pressure right there — doing it in front of a crowd. In that long, long sequence of Laurent constantly pressing and taking for granted, I lost Malcolm. I couldn’t find what made him a good boss, a good worker — what happened? I thought he was like, a seasoned businessman or whatever. And yet he just lets this a-hole do these things? Or it’s the beginning of the abuse and he’s beginning to fall under its spell?
▼ Malcolm and Vincent’s complete inability to tell each other any of their feelings, which is part of what contributes to the book’s volume. Like, I know it’s a classic trope, but it’s also classically annoying. Add that on top of Laurent’s idiotic alphsplaining antics, and my eyes were rolling out of my head.
▼ The cheating with Malcolm and Vincent. Not a fan. Come on, bro, Mr Rational Alpha, the fuck.

If the part about Laurent being such a pushy asshole and Malcolm being an uncharacteristic doormat had been shorter, or if Vincent’d found his balls and told Malcolm earlier about Laurent’s shitty behavior, the first part was really A+. I liked the setup. Just, at the end there, getting them together was so hard and annoying. And I don’t even understand why Deacon was there. He contributed nothing but a couple of cheap shots about Vincent. Thanks for your input buddy, why don’t you run along to your buzzwords meeting or make your next kale smoothie or something.

▼ (Lastly) Malcolm’s EA being shitty in the end. Is there no one in his life who looks out for him, other than his sister? What.

I’m just SAYING, if we had wrapped up the thing faster and got them together faster, maybe there would have been more time for an epilogue or more pages to show me how good they are together?

I really wanted to like this and I had such high hopes, but at 22.00 I was in bed gritting my teeth and wanting to punch the wall in sheer frustration.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one hit me in the nostalgia. It gave me vibes I only ever got while reading fanfic back in the day: long stories of a slow burn "enemies" to lovers while the characters figure out their feelings, trying to live life while still figuring stuff out or feeling like they can't have it, and then finally getting together. This was definitely a 5/5 for me. I wish the author had more stuff I could binge read but sadly this is all they have out.

I can see why some reviewers didn't like it. Vince is hung up on his ex, and they both date others. This didn't bother me since it just meant more time for them to work through their feelings and figure out what they wanted. Not everyone will just go confess their feelings if the other person is in a relationship, ya know? We all have our insecurities and they might also prevent us from speaking up. I enjoyed seeing them work through all of this before finally getting together.

The only negative thing is that I wish it had a epilogue.

[Sekiyen · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you're gonna read this just be aware that you're going to read about vincent being hung up on his ex for 400 pages. Also there's infidelity everywhere, literally every relevant character commits some sort of infidelity. big yikes
i liked the writing but overall, big disappointment

[Cee · Rating 4 out of 5]

These men are so frustrating. This book starts out adorable and I loved it, until after the heat and then I was confused. So much mutual pining, so much angst, so much unresolved emotional pasts, and honestly if one of them had just been open about their feelings half the book could have been skipped. The ending really needed an epilogue just so we could see them make it and happy in the future.
Also not sure why it seemed like everyone in Malcom's life disliked Vincent who seemed to be the only decent Alpha around.

Alright some things just in case people want to know before jumping in:
ow/om drama: yes. Malcolm is in another relationship for most the book. Vincent is still in love with his ex-fiancée.
mental/emotional abuse -- not done by the heroes, but it does happen.