Susi is one of my favorite MM omegaverse authors. She writes shifter and non-shifter books, her Hollydale books are fucking hilarious, especially anything with Tom, and under Susan Hawke, writes some great contemporary MM fiction. Today, we have The Reluctant Alpha, which is the first book in a new shifter omegaverse series, and I really can’t wait for the rest of the series.
So, we get straight down to business here. Matthias and his friends are in a bar when Matt gets a phone call. It’s his old friend Jared, and Jared has a proposition for him. He tells Matt that he needs to come back to his family pack, take over, and oh yeah, save an omega from sure and certain death. Jared is an alpha wolf, and his besties are 4 other alpha wolves, who have all left their home pack for one reason or another. In this world, no one thinks that a pack can have more than an alpha and an heir, but these guys have proved that’s not true. The 5 of them have created a motorcycle club called West Coast Wolves, and among other things, they try to help out those in need. Which means that when Jared calls and says that his family pack is now leaderless and that the old alpha’s pregnant omega mate is now dying, Matt has to do something. So, off he goes to the town he left behind 10 years ago, to try to pull his pack together.
Elisha is an omega who was stolen away from his old pack by an alpha named Horace. He forced a bond on Elisha, and was basically a complete asshole. Then, after 6 months of trying to negotiate with Horace, Elisha’s father came and challenged him. Horace is now dead, and Elisha’s father left him for dead, because Elisha no longer fits into his father’s plans, so who cares if he is going to spend 3 months dying in pain. Matthias walks into Elisha’s room and discovers that not only is Elisha about to become his mate, but that they are true mates, which works out really well.
Susi says that this one is a little darker than some of her others, but I don’t think it is all that dark. I mean, I don’t think it is all that dark by anyone’s standards, let alone my “I read pitch black” standards. There are a couple of moments that are intense, and more intense than you might see in most of Susi’s books, but overall, it is very Susi. Which is a good thing. You get strong characters, both alphas and omegas, a lot of love, and some humor. And those things are very much alive in this book.
Elisha is really just a sweet and loving guy. He’s also ruthlessly practical, I think. He has no problem with seeing what needs to be done and doing it. He has his fingers on what’s going on in the pack, and he loves the pack. He does everything he can to make the pack better. I think that Matt will really depend on Elisha and his good ideas.
Matt is a good guy. He has some ideas that are contrary to the way current society runs, but they make his path to work better. Like, he won’t keep Elisha or other omegas as second class citisens, but tells everyone that Elisha is his partner and equal. Not only tells them, but actually treats him accordingly.
Jared was a nice little addition, as were the other 4 alphas, who we’ll be seeing more of in upcoming books.
No spoilers today. It’s a quick, easy read, and one that I really enjoyed. So, go check it out! If you’ve wanted to try out MM shifter omegaverse, I’d definitely sugget this, and if you want to try MM omegaverse, check out Susi’s Men of Hollydale books. Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 