Bax is desperate.Recently widowed, he takes his pups and flees his pack to avoid a new mate who wants him—but not his babies. At Mercy Hills, he finds the help he’d hoped for, but also a man who both attracts and unnerves him. He doesn’t want another alpha mate, or even any mate, though he knows that an omega has to have one. But Abel is unlike any other alpha he’s ever met, and the hope that had … hope that had been crushed out of him begins to grow again in the warmth of Abel’s kindness and strength.
Bax is a dream come true for Abel—smart, loyal, strong, and loving. Everything Abel’s ever looked for in a mate. Except the independent omega has no reason to trust an alpha and Abel’s going to have to work his way through layers of hurt if he wants to convince Bax he’s safe opening his heart.
But to keep him, he’ll have to fight for him.
Approximately 130,000 words in length, with a happy ending, some questions answered, and some hints about what’s coming in the next couple of books.
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Great Shifter series that I’m obsessed with!
I had to have a copy of this book when I saw Nick Russo was continuing with the narration as I truly fell in love with these Shifter’s in book 1. This is Abel’s book, his turn at finding his true mate. I would urge you to either read/listen to book 1 before this one because events in that book directly play into this story.
Sold off to an older, abusive alpha when he was barely a teenager, Bax doesn’t have time to consider the freedom he could have when his mate dies. His pack wants to turn right around and do the same thing to the sweet, beautiful omega. Once again giving him no choice in his own life. So he takes his pups and runs, right into the arms of an Alpha built to respect him.
Abel almost mated Jason simply to protect the omega from the same pack Bax was born into and he quickly welcomes Bax into his pack. The spark and attraction is there from the start, but Abel recognizes the fear and apprehension that exudes from Bax in waves, so he takes his time, hoping that once he shows the skittish omega that he’s safe in Mercy Hills that they can take their budding relationship to the next level.
I was pulled into this story from the start, could literally feel Bax’s pain and desperation within the first chapter. When he found his way to Mercy Hills and a pack that respected him and gave him a choice when it came to how he and his pups would live their life, it took a long time for Bax to come to believe it, he’d been mistreated and abused for so long, it’s all he knew. I loved how Abel took his time, breaking away a little more of the wall Bax hid behind and courted him, protected and respected him. Russo did an amazing job of ensuring that each character had their own voice, their own tone in the story. He poured emotions into the story as he told it, truly bringing not on the characters, but things like Bax’s fear and Abel’s determination to life in my mind.
This is definitely a shifter series I would recommend. I cannot wait for the next book and am hoping and praying Russo continues to tell the stories.
Baxter has had a hard life but his strength has gotten him through so much. He has the courage to see a way out. He arrives at Mercy Hill and of course the pack doesn’t out his initial deception. Abel is still overwhelmed by all that is going on. But as he and Baxter continue to spend time together it is clear that each one is interested. They also are a perfect match and they bring out the best in each other. I love the give in take between these two men. There is also the ongoing angst between the other packs and the humans.
So, this read was a bit of a strange one.
In a sense this is a regular mpreg, alpha-omega universe story. There’s omega oppression, abusive alphas, general prejudice towards shifters, shifter enclave conflict, custody battles and of course the alpha-omega love story. But even though there’s lots of stuff happening, the entire thing felt oddly uneventful. Or rather, everything that happened, every conflict and all the build up never amounted to anything. Either the resolution was entirely anti-climactic or it simply fizzled out without any sense of closure.
I kept reading, and waiting for… something. But the story just went on and on and… when I was 93% through the book (gotta love how precise Kindle is), I just didn’t have the energy to finish.
Abel’s Omega is a very long story. The author could have easily divided it into two or even three installments. I’m thinking that might actually have been better. Then maybe each of the show-downs and each dramatic turn of events would have gotten the attention it deserved. Instead, the story is just a very long sequence of events that objectively should be dramatic and engaging but in actuality just ends up de-sensitizing the reader. In other words, instead of getting immersed in the story and feeling all the feels, the never-ending flow of events made me rather numb and uncaring about the characters.
I liked the world-building in this story a whole lot. It was frankly awesome. And the book was also very well-written. That’s why it’s extra disappointing that Byrde’s storytelling was lacking. Because the story itself and the characters had such potential.
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/
Before you read this book, make sure you read Mating the Omega, Book 1 of the Mercy Hills Pack series. This book could possibly read as a standalone, but to really enjoy it, you need to read the first book.
Shifters are a minority class that are discriminated against and feared by humans. Forced to live inside pack enclosures that are spread across the United States, the packs are kept isolated from each other. Inside the pack enclosures, shifters live by the accepted Pack Laws as well as the customs and traditions that sprung up in the 100 years the shifters have been forced behind the walls. In this world, Omegas are chattel – they have no voice and they have no autonomy. They are expected to mate an Alpha and be the perfect homemaker. An Omega’s opinion on his own life is not something other shifters consider, after all, Omegas need protection and guidance from Alphas in order to flourish. Bax is an Omega who’s learned the hard way how hollow and false that viewpoint is. Stuck in a loveless, emotionally abusive mating, Bax does the best he can to raise his pups and survive a life he was forced into. When his Alpha dies without leaving any backup plan for Bax and the pups wellbeing, Bax is once again forced into a life he didn’t choose. Omegas don’t get to choose their lives, but Bax refuses to allow any future where his pups are not safe, happy, and in his care. When another mating is decided for him, one that would have his pups forcefully adopted by other families, Bax realizes that Omega or not, he has to take control of his life for the protection of his pups. Using all his wiles and wit, Bax creates an escape plan that allows him to run to Mercy Hills to find sanctuary for his pups and himself.
I love how well Ann-Katrin Byrde develops their characters and have them grow throughout the story. Bax makes an amazing transformation from an abused victim to a confident shifter, but I liked that Bax’s strength and determination is apparent throughout that development. He may have been a victim to circumstance, a victim to a bad mating he couldn’t escape, but he was never broken. Abel is one of my favorite characters. He’s an Alpha, but he’s more than just the protector and pack leader – he has a vision for the pack’s future, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make that vision come true. Their dynamic relationship was beautiful, from the way they fell in love, to the family interactions, I loved every moment of it. The pups were fun, adorable, and felt real. They misbehaved, they had meltdowns, and they asked complicated questions – they felt like real children and not just props for the plot.
This book provides further world building for the series. It becomes more apparent how much the packs struggle to survive in a human world that’s stacked against them. But it also shows that there is hope for change, and not only do shifters need to fight against old pack traditions that make Omegas into chattel, but they also must fight against the injustices the human world has imposed on them. I love all the details of this world building, and find the political, social, and cultural interaction between shifters and humans fascinating. These details in the world building are what makes this not just a series, but a true saga.
I’ve read this book multiple times as well as listened to Nick J. Russo’s narration. Both the kindle book and the audiobook are fantastic. I love how expressive Nick’s voice is during the narration, and how well he does the different voices. The love scenes feel tender, the sex scenes are hot, and the action scenes are exciting.
Okay, firstly, this book is LONG. I had to put it aside several times because I kept thinking, “It has to be almost done!” only to find out that I still had a lot to go! I felt like it could have been 2 or 3 books by itself. But that said, every time I came back to the story, I was dragged right back in.
I love Bax. I love this strength and his wisdom and his devotion to his children. I hated his situation and found myself reading with tears in my eyes several times throughout the book. I love Abel as well, and his determination to show Bax that he loves him as a person and as an equal after knowing Bax was abused for so long. I hated how they had to work within their own restraints. Bugged the crap outta me that Abel couldn’t go punch the lights out of Bax’s uncle and his former alpha for being so careless and heartless and treating omegas as property! But they’re working to change it.
On top of that, the world building in this series is awesome. Not only are the main characters fighting for equal rights for omegas within the wolf shifter culture, but wolf shifters in general are discriminated against within human society. Very interesting. I’m enjoying this series very much.