This is the first book I listened to from this series so I wasn’t sure what to expect, what caught my attention is that it’s best friends to lovers story who also happens to be an alpha and an omega.
I’m not much of an omegaverse or an mpreg romance reader, but this one really impressed me. The fact that Colin isn’t the typical omega that’s usually portrayed is what endeared him to me. He fights the societal and traditional stereotype for what’s expected of an omega. He proved himself that his genes won’t hold him back from being the best in his field. He’s even unapologetic about owning his strong aversion for having kids.
Then, we have Ed. Ed who despite loving his best friend, was stuck in the 1880s with his mindset. He is probably the most frustrating character in this story. I didn’t like him. With his mess ups, he surely didn’t deserve Colin. ?
And why are the alphas, at least the team, the biggest jerks? They could all model for issues of toxic masculinity.
With all these being said, I was quite invested in the story. I wanted the HEA, it’s romance after all. And I like how Ed’s issues got addressed and the process of working through it. It’s relevant and realistic. I also liked that the various conflict resolution weren’t all tied in a big pretty hurried bow.
I’m going to back track to the previous books now, seems like Mal’s story is pretty interesting too.
Austin Jay’s narration is decent, I finished an 8-hour book, after all. I wish he’d develop more range of character voices, to make each character more distinct, specially if they’re the major characters. ?