Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > Lonely Alpha

(Please Note: This story is connected to Olivia Lewin’s other PoisonVerse novel, Pack of Lies, via that book’s character Marlowe. This book is about Marlowe’s older alpha sister, Leighton and the pack Marlowe left behind.)

First of all, y’all should know I’m a huge fan of all the PoisonVerse novels. I’ve read them all. They’re all on my wishlist to own as paperbacks. So I was happy to come across a post where Olivia Lewin had some copies of her ARCs up for grabs. I know I already have ARCs to review, but it turned out to be great timing, because I wasn’t feeling so good yesterday and when I’m not feeling good all I want to read is spicy books anyway. So I took the time to read this a couple of days ahead of schedule and finished it up just this morning. I have to say that I liked it better than I did Pack of Lies, and that’s all due to a little someone called Kiara.

Kiara is the desperate, almost-feral omega at the center of the conflict in Lonely Alpha. Kiara isn’t gold pack like most of the omegas at the center of the conflicts in the other PoisonVerse novels. No, Kiara is actually just about omega royalty: well-bred and raised in luxury to be the best omega she can be for whatever pack her father decides to marry her off to. Too bad she was raised by nannies, her father was cruel, and her beta brother was even worse. One night, on the advice of [spoiler] she gets away from her cruel brother by grabbing a jeweled dagger and attacking him and fleeing to the home of professional corporate fixer, Leighton Winston, and begging Leighton to dark bond her.

This is the first of the PoisonVerse novels I’ve ever read to employ a dark bond. Honestly, I was wondering if they (the collective authors who have written books in this universe) were ever going to deploy it as an actual bond device or if they were going to let it always simmer around the edges as a constant, looming threat to all omegas instead of trying to turn it on its head and try to show it being something an omega could actually want, need, or desire. I’m glad Olivia Lewin (who does tend to delve into the darker side of omegaverse) decided to be the one to finally approach the dark bond, because she did a wonderful job of showing not only why an omega might want or need one, but also how an omega could ultimately feel better protected and more comfortable in their skin having a dark bond after living a certain kind of traumatic life. It also showed how it takes a very certain type of alpha to both accept an omega’s desire to willingly be dark bonded, to tend to and nurture both the omega and the bond, and to treat both with the utmost respect, because ultimately what the dark bond equates to is a 24/7 M/s power dynamic in our world that’s then been turned into a paranormal link in their world. Just as in our world there are bad Masters, in their world there are bad Alphas. But not every Alpha needs to be bad. Ergo, not every dark bond needs to be bad. But, just as in real life, communication and instinct are key in such a relationship. In an omegaverse book, the bond takes up some of the slack of communication and instinct, but not all. That’s a shortcut.

I do truly love Kiara. I love how her dagger is her first friend and her “emotional support dagger”. I love myself a stabbity omega. I love how she’s a spitfire and will choose violence if she can. I actually love the whole pack. I even love some of the supporting cast like Liberty and Soren (I just can’t with him).

A problem I do have is how it seems that the men of the Loranger pack (Dash, Ambrose, Mercury) can’t seem to pull themselves together until Leighton and Kiara start making bridges for them. They’re all falling apart until two shiny female toys are placed in front of them and then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh! We can all of a sudden start to heal all of our broken pieces now!” I’m not fond of men who can’t communicate with other men they’re supposed to be as close as brothers with (or lovers with). Women aren’t magical, fix-all cures. Women don’t put band-aids on men’s boo-boos. Men need to be emotionally intelligent all on their own. It’s a tired trope.

Otherwise, it’s a really great read, and I highly recommend it. The spice is right, it’s very propulsive, it’s a page-turner, and I got very invested in the characters. And, like I said: I love a stabbity omega.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Book Universe/Contemporary Romance/Kink Friendly/LGBTQ Romance/Omegaverse/Paranormal Romance/Polyamorous Romance/Sapphic Romance/Spice Level 3/Suspense Romance/Urban Fantasy/Why Choose Romance