A desperate young alpha. An older alpha with a hero complex. A forbidden love that can’t be denied.Young Xan Heelies knows he can never have what he truly wants: a passionate romance and happy-ever-after with another alpha. It’s not only forbidden by the prevailing faith of the land, but such acts are illegal.Urho Chase is a middle-aged alpha with a heartbreaking past. Careful, controlled, and … Careful, controlled, and steadfast, his friends dub him old-fashioned and staid. When Urho discovers a dangerous side to Xan’s life that he never imagined, his world is rocked and he’s consumed by desire. The carefully sewn seams that held him together after the loss of his omega and son come apart—and so does he.
But to love each other and make a life together, Xan and Urho risk utter ruin. With the acceptance and support of Caleb, Xan’s asexual and aromantic omega and dear friend, they must find the strength to embrace danger and build the family they deserve.
This gay romance novel by Leta Blake is the second in the Slow Heat universe. It’s 130,000 words, with a strong happy ending and a well-crafted, non-shifter Omegaverse. It features alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, heat, and knotting. No cheating. Content warning for brief sexual violence.
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I’ve not read Mpreg much but I LOVED the Alpha Heat series! I can’t wait for the third to come out! Leta Blake does a ton of world building that is fascinating in and of itself but add parallels to our own society and wonderful 3-Dimensional characters. I highly recommend this book and this author! Hugs, Z.
OMG!!! So good!
This was amazing. Even as good as Slow Heat was, this was way better. Surpassing the very high expectations I had. I knew Xan’s story would be powerful and challenging. Then you add Caleb in and it’s magnified. Urho is the balance and glue that makes them perfect. Watching all these grow into the strong, brave, beautiful men they become was what made this a truly wonderful read. Though all the emotions I went through, the happy tears at the end were my favorite.
I’m so thrilled to be back in Leta Blake’s omegaverse with Alpha Heat, Heat of Love series Book 2. Giving readers a plausible reason for the existence of an all-male world consisting of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, my mind raced with the kinds of interpersonal dynamics and conflicts that can occur within such a society. In ‘Slow Heat, Book 1’, we learn of a forbidden relationship that existed between alphas Jason Sabel and Xan Heelies. But when Jason finds his destined mate Vale Aman, Xan is left with no one to understand his special desire to be dominated by an alpha–something that is forbidden and illegal. Xan puts his safety, his very life at risk to find what he wants and manages to find another alpha, Urho Chase, whose desires are a perfect complement to Xan’s needs. What could result in utter ruin for both alphas ends with a wonderful life for all as Xan’s asexual and aromantic omega friend Caleb make it possible for all three to build a beautiful family together. The world-building in the series is outstanding as the writer creates a rationale for an all-male world and the restriction such a society will place on sexual expression and reproductive liberties of the citizens in this world. She is careful in selecting the language that communicates hope and longing with her characters, as well as the capacity for faithfulness and love. The writer has just wrecked me with this series–just wrecked me. But no complaints here, I assure you! I love that the writer made me feel so much. Michael Ferraiuolo’s splendid narration of the series is truly icing on a very rich cake. Holy cow!!!
Love, even forbidden love conquers all.
What a wonderful second book in the Heat of Love series. I could not put it down! The world Leta has created is full & vibrant. The recurring characters are well rounded and make you care about them. I felt like I was returning to old friends. They are all here Jason, Vale, Xan, Urho, Yosef, and Rosen. I loved this book! It has just enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes.
This is Urho and Xan’s story. Xan is a young omega trapped in an alpha’s body. He is contracted to Caleb, and is best friends with Jason. Urho is an older alpha, a doctor, and former lover to Jason’s Érosģape, Vale. He lost his Érosģape a long time ago. When the attraction between Urho & Xan becomes to strong to ignore, they will risk it all to pursue their forbidden love.
There is family angst, loyal friends, an epidemic, pregnancies, an unexpected heat, and babies. Yes, there is steamy sex. Yes, there is HEA. There is also humor, passion, compassion, and love. You are going to love this story!
This book contains adult themes and language, mm sex, and is intended for mature readers only.
I loved Xan so much in the first book in this series, and I was THRILLED to see him get his own book. Even more thrilled at the forbidden love angle! Xan and Urho were so hot together, and I rooted so hard for them to find their unconventional happy ending. This series is wonderful.
This review is for the audiobook.
Overall 5
Performance 5
Story 5
I wish I could give this 10 stars.
I fell in love with Leta Blake’s writing and Michael Ferraiuolo’s voice when I listened to Slow Heat, the first book in the Heat of Love series. I loved that audiobook so much that I wouldn’t read Alpha Heat when it came out even though I had a copy of it. I just had to hold out and see if Leta would have Michael do the audiobook. I am so glad that she was able to and that Michael was once again the one to read it for us.
I really don’t have to words to express how much I loved this book. I didn’t think I could love it any more than Slow Heat but it is at least equal to and maybe just a smidge better. I really think to get the full effect of Alpha Heat you need to read Slow Heat first. Trust me, it won’t be any hardship at all to do so.
The blurb for the book is really good and accurate so I won’t rehash it here. Just like Slow Heat, Alpha Heat had me captivated from the very start. It’s 15:33 hours long and I listened to it in one day. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get around to listening to it (I’ve had it since October 23rd) but I really was waiting for the perfect time to start it – a day when I didn’t expect any interruptions – and that didn’t happen until today.
This story was so intense in places that I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I don’t feel like I can give any details without using spoilers – something I try very hard not to do in reviews. I’ll just say that there is a lot more to the story than just Xan, Caleb and Urho, although they are the principle characters.
I want to shout READ/LISTEN TO THIS BOOK!! I know some people don’t like MPREG stories but if you ever were tempted to try one this series would be a great place to start. Right along with Slow Heat, Alpha Heat is one of the best books I’ve listened to this year. I hope there are more stories coming in this series and that they will also get Michael Ferraiuolo’s superb treatment if they make it to audio.
A copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
A great follow up book for Leta’s first book of this series, Slow Heat, which I also highly recommend. If you love mpreg, you’ll love these emotional books with great world-building.
REDEMPTION
This is Book #2 in the HEAT OF LOVE SERIES. This is kind of a nail biter. Xan is an Alpha and heir to his family. His life is not what he expects. He has dark secrets, dark desires and dark yearnings. Caleb is his Omega and keeper of his secrets. His Father wants nothing to do with him. He threatens to take his inheritance and disown him. Orho is an Alpha physician. He vows to help Xan and Caleb. By the end of this book, I believe Xan has redeemed himself. This book has a lot of twists and turns. Characters from Book #1 SLOW HEAT are also here. I find this series interesting, it’s really not like other books in this vein. I’m all in and looking forward to Book #3. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS HEAT OF LOVE SERIES!!!!!!
This is Omegaverse, if you don’t know what it is, please take the time to look it up before you judge this book. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s DEFINITELY Mine.
*Grins*
I Give this Book a 5/5 Star Rating.
This is such a great m/m Omegaverse.
I Love This Book So Much & I Honest Hope they Get a Short Story or Stories.
No Spoilers.
But this is such a unique MMM Ménage, I was skeptical at how this was going to pan out, and kept putting this book on the sidelines but I’m pissed at myself cause I waited so Long! Heck it was so well thought out, it worked out even better than I was anticipating!
I won’t deny I teared up a few times while reading.
Lol
Heat: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Drama: 5/5
HEA(?): It’s a True & Happily Satisfying HEA.
Nesting(?): No
Knotting(?): Yes
MPREG(?): Yes, it is in here 🙂
Pacing: Well Paced
Relationship Type: MMM
Dark(?): No.
One of the best books I’ve read. I’ve re-read it and re-listened to the audio several times. I ended up loving it more than the first book which is an amazing book. Loved the characters. I just love Xan, Urho, and Caleb. Riveting and utterly romantic — esp. read by Michael F.
Before I read Leta Blake’s mpreg books, I steered clear of mpreg books because I thought they just weren’t for me. I thought, “this could easily become a thing that’s heteronormative and stressful” and I wasn’t comfortable with reading about pregnancy because I’d been through a pregnancy only a couple years ago, and didn’t really feel like repeating that experience. But Blake’s amazing world-building and political commentary sucked me straight in from the beginning with the first book (Slow Heat) and I couldn’t put the series down. And this is unlike anything I thought mpreg would be and completely changed my mind about the genre as a whole. It’s so *smart* and the characters are so fleshed out and feel so lived-in, and their problems mirror the problems many minorities face in the real world. This book really touched me. And did I mention it has asexual AND aromantic representation and does it in a way that highlights the issues ace/aro people face? I was really impressed with that, and with the bond that Caleb and Xan have. The world isn’t perfect, but it’s the connection and the families we make for ourselves that will help us get through it all.
That’s not to say this book wasn’t stressful for me to read. It’s got a few scenes that made my heart race, and not in the good way lol. But the book couldn’t have done without those scenes, and I ended up enjoying the adrenaline rush, so all was good.
Basically, this book is as excellent as every other Leta Blake book I’ve read, and I urge you to go read it and its prequel Slow Heat right nowwww.