“Beautiful and devastating, sensual yet poetic, Addison Cain’s Born to be Bound is the perfect example of why she’s a master at the genre.” USA Today Bestselling Author Jane HenryDesperately in love… heel.
Yet never anticipated he’d fall in love.
Or imagine his wonderful mate would grow to despise him to the point she’d risk her life to escape.
That cannot stand. He will find his missing mate, he will drag her home, and he will make her adore him. After all, he holds the key to his resistant mate’s compliance—the lives of her friends.
Publisher’s Note: The second book in Addison Cain’s exciting, raw, and suspense-filled Omegaverse series is a Dark Romance featuring complete power exchange.
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Book two in the Alpha’s Claim series is a dark one.
Claire escaped Shepherd and is on a mission. A mission to make a difference regardless of the cost. She is pair-bonded to the Alpha and she knows she is living on borrowed time, but she is determined to do what it takes to try to get Tholos to rise up against Shepherd and the Followers.
Shepherd is still an anti-hero and I see glimmers of humanity in him but they are brief. He is determined to get his omega back but is he willing to compromise to get her?
Again, this book is dark, very dark. There is cheating, violence, dubcon/noncon, and the lives all these characters lead is bleak, and I will again say I don’t think this is a romance. It is a brutal tale of an alpha and an omega, tied together, and at odds with their beliefs. The only way out of their pair-bond is death and at the rate they are going, death it may be.
Here is the strange thing, I am not sure I like either of the characters. I think they are both so extreme it is hard for me to connect with either of them. But the story is well written and intriguing that I am in it for the long haul now.
I am going to finish this set up because I have to see if the cracks in Shepherd can redeem him…and I wonder if Claire may actually be his downfall. I need to know…. will they survive their bond or will one of them die. Seriously…
Oh boy..what did I think?!?!?! Let me just..catch my breath for a second… phew…
She’s dug herself deep into my innermost secret defiled pores of both mind and soul..to the darkest of places I had no idea I ever had. THAT is how good she is.
Born to be Broken is the 2nd book in the ‘Alpha’s Claim’ series by Addison Cain. If you have not yet read book #1 Born to Be Bound you need to stop, turn around and RUN AWAY as fast as you can until you get your copy of book #1. These books are NOT stand alone! And they do end in a cliffhanger. Nothing will make much sense unless you read them in order. 🙂
The 2nd book continues Clair’s desperate search for hope, to save the dying Omegas. To resist Shepard at all cost – she’s still quite infuriated with him after his heartbreaking betrayal.
The 2nd book invites us deeper into the current disrupted, evil, cold and dying Dome. Clair is pregnant and in so much pain but she has to keep going. It was almost harrowing to read how hard she tries.
The book is very very suspense-filled, sad, you are firmly kept biting your nails really wondering what is going to happen, will she be OK?? Is there hope?? Yes..yes there is. The book also has its small funnies. And Clair is a woman I actually admire. She’s grown. She has a great deal of courage. But she is still very naive, and we do find out more about Shepherd’s endgame plan.
We look more into other characters and their jobs, and we get to see a little bit more of “the bigger picture”.
The sex is as always…yummy. But there is also still darkness. However, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Shepard’s easy and simple reasoning for most thing. And he is as ALPHA as you can get it. *dreamy sigh*
If I could, I would give it a thousand stars – this book can not be put down, it was not put down, it’s the type you start reading and you just…HAVE to finish it.
The book ends in a far lesser cliffhanger than the first one, and I’m happy to say that book #3 is not far away, you can start reading it straight away! 😀 —>Reborn
All Shepard has ever really wanted is something special in his life. He got this with Claire. Even though she keeps running away and fighting him every step of the way he’s really doing the best he knows how. When it comes to their relationship Claire is the precious to him. He doesn’t know how to show that and doesn’t understand what he’s doing wrong. Because of this there are continual conflicts. What he does to Claire isn’t right but what she does to him and herself isn’t either. Regardless of whether someone thinks Shepard is a bad guy or not,he is well respected and his men are loyal to a fault
Born to be broken certainly didn’t disappoint.
I started this book so epically angry at shepherds previous actions: in a word the idiotic gullible fool obviously doesn’t realise when he’s being played.
Just shows how absorbing and expertly written this book is that I could continue reading and still rate it so high as I did when this sort of behaviour is usually a complete no-no for me.
I like my anti-hero’s to be loyal to a fault: even when they’re at there most wicked.
So this book mainly deals with the consequences of shepherds actions and his attempts to woo Claire back to him.
We also see shepherd try to open up and be more transparent even slightly mellowing.
That’s All I’m going to say on this other than do yourself a favour and pick this series up like yesterday.
This series is up there with my all-time favourites and considering how much I read that is a feat all in itself: cannot praise this author enough she just does it for me every single time.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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Born to be Broken is episode 2 in a 3 part series, and the author is building a captivating, multi-dimensional cast of characters.
I find myself finally warming up to the main Alpha, Shepard, his tortured twisted life would drive anyone to become a beast, but his choices and behaviors when it comes to his mate, Claire are reprehensible, even though he claims they are made in an effort to keep her safe from all harm.
Claire on the other hand is a completely different story…I can’t get a handle on her and I’m still not sure I even like her, she vacillates between hot and cold, determination and despair so quickly I’m getting whiplash. The only character I find myself truly drawn to is Jules, Shepard’s second in command.
There’s a storm brewing, such is the way of war, and the author has certainly been able to keep us guessing…exactly who are the good guys here?
For someone new to this author and series, you’ll be delighted to know the series is complete, so if you hate cliffhangers, like I do, there’s no waiting for the conclusion. I’m off to Reborn.
Holy alpha male. This story was deliciously dark and wish I could find more books like this one!
A Brilliant and Brave Emotional Landscape… Book two of Addison Cain’s tale of post apocalyptic survival, “Born to be Broken” continues exploring the emotional landscape on which Shepard and Claire reside. Gloriously including the character development I was so desperate for in book one!
Here we are finally exposed to more of the origin. We are introduced to Shepard’s background in the undercroft, his traumas, and his overall life experiences that shaped him into the sadistically, single-minded tactician now ruling Tholos with a seemingly iron hand. And with each of these revelations comes a deeper understanding of his drive toward his possession of Claire and why his pair-bond with her is so devastating for all involved. All while also watching Claire grow in strength, determination, and refusal to bow down to her circumstances, slam head long into Shepard’s agenda, as well as her own safety and well-being.
Like a literary Machiavellian Cain slams you back and forth between perspectives juxtaposing Shepard’s need with Claire’s hatred, Shepard’s military instincts with Claire’s empathy and goodness, Shepard’s existing agenda with Claire’s growing agenda. All brilliantly set against a subtly powerful background of Sun Tzu’s, “The Art of War” marching you forward with a growing sense of foreboding into the larger scenario playing out beyond the two main characters.
This second installment of Cain’s Alpha’s Claim series, is all about the details and submerges you into the inner workings of each mind and heart. It will twist you maniacally between affection, sadness, and anger. It will leave you hoping yet secretly hating. It will leave you as emotionally torn as the characters themselves. And by the end you will feel like you have run a marathon.
Yes it is still sadistically and sexually violent, more so than the first book, and here again, it is not for the faint of heart or easily offended. However, the story underneath is worth it and is bravely honest. It moves beyond a standard and too oft used “stockholm” trope and portrays another reality, of the mental and emotional turmoil of two people from complete opposite sides of the alpha/omega spectrum, thrown together in unbelievably horrific circumstances, learning from each other about themselves and the society around them. All while learning to appreciate the other in ways most would deem impossible despite being diametrically opposed.
It is beyond dark, but oh, so worth the time!
I couldn’t finish it, it just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on about her thoughts.
They were constantly at odds, just one long ode to how to bicker, it was painful to read. I got through 3/4 of book and just threw in the towel.
Read the reviews on the third book, it is also a cliffhanger with no resolution at all for the couple. I don’t even know what the reason is for the series, I don’t recommend.
This book will rip your heart from your chest , Shepherd forces a mating on Claire & gets her pregnant , which he being the ultimate Alpha thinks she should be very grateful for & cannot understand why she isn’t over the moon . An unhappy Claire’s view of Shepherd is sealed after a visit from Svana , forced to run but knowing there is nowhere to hide . Shepherd is stunned , angry & anxious to get the little Omega back as shes quietly wormed her way into the heart he thought was long dead . This book is seriously addictive & you won’t be able to read it fast enough , from a slow start we are now racing along & the more i find out about Shepherd the more i think he deserves a happy ever after even if at times he’s his own worst enemy . Two perspectives on life in the dome before the war & each polar opposites to the other , although if Claire took off her rose coloured glasses , put aside her heartbreak she might see how her mate has suffered & still is .
This is the second book in the series and they need to be read in order.
In this book we discover that Claire has not yet given up on her will to live and protect her people and once again goes to the person that she believes will protect her and keep her safe the most.
I loved meeting Maryanne Cauley and how the two of them worked together and gained a new respect for one another after drifting apart.
Svana was an interesting character whom I believe is going to be dangerous as I am not sure if she is acting out of jealousy or the need for power and stature. I was surprised about the revelation about her and I think it’s going to be very dangerous for the “good” side.
The end was full of tension and surprises and I am very curious to see what happens next!
Well, that was awesome
Love Maryanne
Svana has to go
Claire and Shepherd’s relationship continues to evolve in this second book of the series. It’s dark and delicious at the same time. This is not a series for the prudish or faint of heart. It will suck you into a world unlike any I’ve encountered before. Addison gets five stars, an A+, 200%, and goes to the top of the class!
I’m leaving my honest opinion of the copy I read.
At least in this part of the series, I am beginning to understand that this a colony that lives under a Dome for protection and it is cracking and there is a threat of a deadly virus to be let out. Will see what happens in the last book and see if all are saved
Claire has shown up at her Beta friend, Corday’s door, badly damaged from the bleeding, torn and bruised, near frozen to death and bearing Shepherd’s claiming mark. Oh, and … she’s pregnant.
It’s been such a while since I read the first book, I had to re-read my review to familiarize myself with my previous thoughts. I’m more familiar with the Omega world now than I was previously and my heart alternately breaks for Claire then becomes impassioned by her feelings of injustice. I still don’t have a definitive answer in my mind regarding Nature vs Nurture where Shepherd is concerned. One thing is for sure, as I gather small pieces of information trying to put a larger puzzle together, I will continue to follow this through to the end. So you know I’m once again anxious to read the next book
This review may contain spoilers:
After reading Born to be Bound, I found myself not really liking Shepard but after reading this book, I find myself really rooting for him and Claire and wishing for the slow and painful death of Svana. I have somewhat fallen in love with all three main male characters as they are all so very different and I personally think they each care for Claire in their own way. Claire, while she feels like a failure and weak, is actually a very strong woman. She is probably the only person that can see past Shepard’s roughness to the heart beneath and I believe she would see this without the pair bond.
I am a huge fan of Addison’s work and cannot wait to continue this series and see what else her amazing mind brings to the Omegaverse
While this one still had one particular thing I really had a hard time accepting, Shepherd’s desire to re-establish the bond with Claire becomes his focus. I loved watching him learn to compromise with her and providing things that bring her happiness. I’m pretty sure he’s probably still going to mess it up at some point but until then I’m enjoying the grovel.
There are a lot of dark, depressing moments here and I hurt for Claire because she carries the weight of her world on her shoulders. I’m curious to see how things turn out for the citizens of Tholos. I like the way things are going between this couple at this point, but I’m still not completely sold on the series. However, I’ve been able to keep the hero’s awful actions pretty much out of my mind and I’m curious enough about what’s going to happen to attempt the next book as well.
POV gets a little wonky at points – mostly heroine but occasionally hero
Love this series
After reading the first book, I questioned whether to carry on, as this type of romance isn’t my normal genre to read. I’m glad I did, though. The dubcon/noncon aspect still gets to me sometimes, but it doesn’t seem like there’s as much violence in this book. Thalos as a world still seems a little flat to me, but the story makes up for it. The characters and their storyline is enthralling, and I’m really glad I carried on and will continue to do so.
Fantastically developed characters where the Alpha and Omega tangle in erotic schemes. Can Shepherd repair the damage created by his betrayal? Claire is broken and the imposed pair-bond is frayed tragically. Cain left me wanting more and quickly jumping into the finally.
This is very interesting and dramatic series. In the first book I really didn’t know what to think. Some of the scenes are steamy, but not in the usual way a sex scene is like. The future world is very dark which adds to the story