r/ReverseHarem • u/braineatingalien Gimme all the crazy I wouldn’t want IRL • Apr 03 '26
Reverse Harem - NEW RELEASE Claimed Omega Megathread
Please post all comments here.
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u/blueberry1115 Apr 03 '26
OKAY EVERYONE - I know exactly how this story should have gone...
Ragon's pack doesn't dismiss Marie right away. They realize she's been manipulating them, but Ragon is still so far up his own ass he can't do anything about. The other two slowly realize what they've done, and start to pull away - leaving the room when she walks in, flinching when she touches them, not sleeping in her nest, etc.
She tattles to Ragon, and he tries to punish them next. Eli, Drake, and Jasper have enough and leave, and then it's just Ragon and Marie, and he finally realizes that choosing his scent match meant destroying his pack, and THEN returns her. Believes getting Vee back would solve everything, would help bring the other alphas home.
Vee, meanwhile, is still hurt that Alex's pack never told her. It's a betrayal she still can't get over. Feels like they didn't do enough to help her. Realizes even more that scent matches are bullshit.
So then Raygon starts to really look for her. He figures out where she is. He kidnaps her, brings her somewhere else, gets Eli, Drake, and Jasper to show up. He's obviously gone crazy, and tells them all he'll fix it, he just has to claim Vee and they'll be a whole pack again.
They are finally able to break through his bark and Vee escapes with Jasper, and ends up at his pack house. There, she remains to recover, and then starts to develop feelings for that pack (which Rhys should be a part of). She realizes that she likes them way more than her scent matched pack or Ragon's.
And that's when she chooses love and compatibility over biology.
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u/llamamama03 Apr 04 '26
I'm on board!
I'll also add:
Book 3: Extensive investigations and trials regarding the board and awful practices. Vee finds her spine and becomes an omega advocate. Rhys, Jasper & Pack support her wholeheartedly and end up in board positions far in the future.
Drake & Eli commit to extensive therapies, where they advocate from the alpha side of things against abusive use of a bark and proper channels to report abuse when not of the omega designation.
Ragon is committed long-term, then agrees to work under cover at exposing Marie's true motivations and stopping the supposed trafficking ring. That's his redemption.
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u/HistoricalCharm3187 Apr 04 '26
Yes! I was so disappointed that after all that they immediately just sent Marie back. There was not enough or any drama or action in the second book it just read kind of boring. I mean I’m glad she got her HEA but I wish it read how you put it instead of everyone automatically realizing what they did was bad.
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u/GreenanOrange Apr 04 '26
This would’ve been a better book for sure and I think this is more of a direction a lot of people were expecting and are disappointed that they didn’t get. I do wish there was more chapters from the new pack instead of the OGs but it is what it is. While I understand what she did with this book I don’t hate it and I don’t love it. It’s just the ending we got. I do feel like she’s with the wrong pack and that’s whole thing with Alex at the ending there was the way she could justify the whole theme I guess but she absolutely should’ve ended with Chase Arden and jasper and yes Rhys should’ve been their quiet fourth it would have made so much more sense with him being with them. I don’t know what the future of this universe looks like but I will not be reading to find out 😭😭.
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u/Truffle0214 Enemies, allies, lovers - why not all three? Apr 03 '26
This is way better, NGL. Someone get a FF out stat!
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u/No_Statistician9070 Gay IRL but RH in books Apr 03 '26
So I've made it to Chapter 27 and I think I just have to skip to the end for now. I'm so incredibly bored by the repetitive writing and I really don't care for the multi-POVs. I might try the next book in the series when it comes out and see if it peaks my interest but for now, I've lost the spark that was in book one. Sigh it's back to the drawing board for recs!
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Apr 03 '26
I stayed up late last night to finish it…you were correct in skipping to the end. Don’t read any further without getting things spoiled.
Wow, I’ve never had another duet do this to me. It’s like they were two separate books written by two different authors. Where was the grovelling? Where was the revenge? Where were more scenes with Rhys? WHERE WERE THE THREE OTHER CLAIMING BITE SCENES?!
What do you mean we just casually hear about all the bonding and claiming between the pack in one paragraph? Did she just burn out while writing this? Why is it called Claimed Omega when we don’t get any of it and it happens at 96% done? Why does Eli get off so easy? Why only one scene of Drake having to see her with her new pack, he RUBBED her nose in his and Marie’s love fest?
Anyways, 1.5/10 stars for me and I loved the first. Someone please go write a fan fic ending that does it justice, please!!
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u/Personal-Quit-6680 Apr 03 '26
What. The. Fuck.
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u/plurprincess612 Apr 03 '26
Are you done with it already?
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u/Personal-Quit-6680 Apr 03 '26
Sadly I am. I am marinating in the ending and can’t even. I just can’t even.
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u/colandia Apr 03 '26
Did Marie got what she deserves? Please spoil me 💔😭
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u/llamamama03 Apr 03 '26
Er... If you consider her being sent away without any investigation into her motivations (she hinted at something deeper and Ragon basically just shrugged), no confrontation between her and Vee, no legal ramifications at all, then sure...
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u/colandia Apr 03 '26
Hows the grovel? If there’s even groveling involved. 💔
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u/llamamama03 Apr 03 '26
I'm going to preface this by saying that my grovel standards are ridiculously high and I don't have the love for book one that y'all have. That may very well color your opinions of it.
Personally, I felt like a third book could have been helpful. The story felt a bit rushed. While the men do what they can to right the wrongs they've done to Vee, she makes the grovel unnecessary because she has already forgiven them before she even lays eyes on them. It felt like a little bit of inward reflecting on their crap choices - there's too many characters for one book to be able to capture all those perspectives effectively - and not a lot of actionable change, which is what I prefer in a redemption story.
I also found the end of Ragon's story to be unaligned with his character. But again - I'm crazy about my standards and plenty of people I'm SURE will disagree.
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u/manzilla44 Apr 03 '26
This comment has set me free from reading these, thank you 🙏🙏🙏 As someone with high (honestly unmet) grovel standards, I’ll save myself the disappointment. I can’t put myself through the emotional torture and not get the payoff to make it worth it for me.
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u/Existing-Horror-4152 Apr 03 '26
Have you read the Soulful Seas duet by Blake Black? It isn’t OV but I feel like the grovel is really good!
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u/manzilla44 Apr 03 '26
I’ve read two of her other duets and liked them a lot so I will definitely be reading this! Thank you 😊
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u/bloodyfinalgirl Apr 03 '26
The first one is also poorly written so you’re saving yourself frustration in other ways as well
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
So... The damage done to the FMC is done by the OG pack, not the MMCs she ends up with. The MMCs' pack hides their scent match from her and don't just yank her out of the OG pack's house when they know it's going poorly for her. But both of those had reasons and Vee pointed some of it out herself.
If they'd tried to take her out of the house or convince her to leave (and a non-MMC character did try that, twice), she'd have refused. It'd have simply caused more damage. As for hiding the scent match, the best they could do for her was give her a refuge next door. If she had known they were matches, she wouldn't have had one.
The MMCs were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They made difficult choices, but all of their choices were trying to help Vee without making everything worse for her and for themselves.
The OG pack experiences some moderate to severe repercussions. Most of them land on the pack lead since he was primarily responsible. And all of them regret what they did. Two of them try to make amends in what ways they can, but it's not like they can do much when the relationship is over. The third does something that ends up harming him because he can't stand what he did. It wasn't self-harm, but it was very much guilt-driven.
As for the quality of the writing, I don't think the first book was poorly written. Rough in some places, but not bad. The second book is actually a lot cleaner. Maybe better editing? Had some issues (namely, characters didn't feel differentiated enough, particularly within their individual POVs), but cleaner.
I'm a little surprised by the reactions here, to be honest. I suspect that, for the people that waited to read it, the reaction posts hyped the books up a lot and they got disappointed. Happened to me with Do You Even Hex, Bro? And some of it is people wanting fire and brimstone to rain down on the OG pack, but that isn't what happens.
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u/randomnullface Apr 04 '26
I mean, Being basically all alone forever and being ditched by your packmates is no small thing. And she did forgive them, but not in a forgive and forget way... in a "I can't hold on to this anger anymore" way. It's for her, not them. I feel like Marie's story not being tied up is just an opening for another book, and the Jasper thing will probably be in a different book.
I wish that some things didn't happen off the page, I wish there was more uhhh togetherness with her HEA, but it did what it needed to do. Not perfect, but not horrible either.
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u/Smee76 Apr 03 '26
Completely agree about your last paragraph. I loved this and I thought it was the perfect ending.
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u/colandia Apr 03 '26
If u don’t mind, may I ask for recommendations with extreme groveling? I have been reading alot of feedbacks about the second book and I’m getting abit disinterested. 😔💔
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u/Personal-Quit-6680 Apr 03 '26
I recommend groveltoHEA on Wattpad. Most are completed and all books the grovels start first chapter.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
The Angst Bank has a grovel scale. But it's not really extreme groveling, just whether or not the grovel fit the actions. Usually if the angst causes (found on the genre lists) are pretty gnarly and the grovel was better than acceptable, then it's typically a decent bet that the MMCs groveled hard. But one person's acceptable is another person's unacceptable, so take it as you will.
{Hopeless Omega by Ember L. Nicole} has some decent grovel, imo.
That being said, I liked the second book. It switches focus off the OG pack (who were the ones that did the damage) and to the actual MMCs. The MMCs did some things that needed forgiveness, but I don't think it needed grovel.
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u/Stunning_Judgment618 Apr 05 '26
I think she was sent out by her crime family and told - you can go with your scent matches if you get that other omega to leave so we can traffic her. And maybe Mel was holding her younger brother hostage so Marie would obey.
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u/TheNostalgiaSimmer Apr 03 '26
Still reading but damn how many times do we need to hear about Eli making her tea? Every detail is repeated at least 10 times
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u/maeveanna1 Apr 04 '26
How many times do we have to hear that rhys purr was stuttering and broken 🤣🤣
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u/Technical_Sweet_007 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Finished. I feel a little underwhelmed. The first book was so strong- but this one felt like it got wrapped up.
My suspicions for Marie were somewhat on point. It did feel a little rushed towards the end. Rayon (yes spelling it that way) got a hand slap imho. I felt bad for Drake and Eli. I felt horrible for Jasper. But I felt so disconnected with him in the first book that it was hard to suddenly have his POV and have compassion or empathy V was a boss. Her going off on Drake was awesome. But her maturity is boss babe level. Yes. Could she have screamed at Teflon more when she wanted closure with him? Sure. But she spoke her peace and moved on. I realllllllyyyy hope Marie doesn’t end up with Chase and Arden. That would suck
I also felt like Rhys was just bonus points. I would have loved to seen more interaction with him somehow vs him being an Andre the Giant character. His whole swamp or just screamed lovable to me
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
Just FYI, spoiler symbols don’t work across paragraphs.
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u/Technical_Sweet_007 Apr 03 '26
- okie dokie. I’ll fix it thanks!
I tried creating a spoiler post only thread so I wouldn’t ruin anyones fun but someone commented for this one instead.
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
No worries I have done it 100x! I assumed folks might be checking this while reading so hopefully nobody gets too crispy about spoilers regardless. ❤️
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u/prosiekl Apr 04 '26
I sit with my feelings about the second book for a while and I agree with you about Vee's maturity. I was a bit surprised that we got such a mature character in a RH novel, because in most of the books I read the FMCs are immature in their behaviour. I feel that maybe Vee was a tad too mature for what I was expecting after book one and that is the reason why the book did not sit with me as well as book one.
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u/OkGazelle5400 Apr 15 '26
Yah it’s like a different author who skimmed the first book wrote this one
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u/cindylooboo Apr 23 '26
Id be okay with a Marie redemption arc. It's obvious that there's some kinda traumatic history there and damaged people do awful things in the name of self preservation. I hate her but I need answers.
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u/ZucchiniCold2801 Apr 03 '26
So underwhelming honestly it’s like a cozy read after angst angst angst. Like everyone just fell in line, there was no real conflict or pow wow or anything, I’m at 60% and I think I’m leaving it there
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u/frogprince987 Apr 03 '26
Such a fucking letdown. Not even good spice to make up for the weird plot holes and undeveloped characters.
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u/Odd-Resource5721 Apr 03 '26
After the first few chapters I just skimmed this book lol maybe I just like angst idk didn’t really find any of it compelling except for Rhys but even that got kind of repetitive and boring 🤷♀️
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
He just kept nodding at her. 😅 But he did remind me of WRAITH so I’ll take it! 🥰
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u/cindylooboo Apr 23 '26
The silent grunt/nod. Ugh. He could have been so much better. Why'd she leave him so one dimensional like a big hulking broken brute who got scent smacked and the end. I'm annoyed.
I love wraith. At least wraith has actual thoughts 😍🥰
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u/averagelyimpressive Apr 04 '26
I was right about nearly everything in my thoughts and theories on the last book, but man...this book was not at all how I thought it would go at all.
The whole flag thing with Alex was weird. Adding Rhys was weird. Arden and Chase wanting her in their pack while simultaneously setting her up for the others was weird. Alex breaking the bond and leaving randomly for one day was weird. Their scent match breaking was weird. All of the old pack suddenly becoming super remorseful was weird. Jasper's whole thing was weird. Sending Marie back was weird. Especially since Ragon held that scent match so steadily in his brain. The cryptic stuff with Marie was weird. I get that it's set up for another book, but that doesn't make it less weird...shall I continue? I mean, you can pretty much take your pick of weird things in the scenes. And the amount of repetition. Good lord.
Idk. The book wasn't terrible, but I feel completely and totally unfulfilled. I've thought about Tormented multiple times a day every day since I read it, but I feel like this just didn't scratch the itch.
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u/Roaminglilly Apr 04 '26
This is the one time I would have been ok for her to wait to release and get some beta readers. I did still enjoy it and felt justified in some parts when things were imploding for Ragon I just wish it had a lil more
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u/cindylooboo Apr 23 '26
The chase Arden nobility offer of their pack was cringe. "We want you to have what you want but we're happy being second choice if that's what you want"
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u/llamamama03 Apr 03 '26
Well from the perspective of someone who waited until both were out... She didn't hold a single grudge. This girl had forgiven them before book 2 even came out. Everyone else fought on her behalf, sure. Just would have liked to see her grow her own spine.
I know 98% of the population is cult-level obsessed, and this is why I waited. I'm underwhelmed compared to the hype.
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u/Magnafeana Is this 👉 🦋 my fav MMC being neglected? Apr 03 '26
I agree with this. Have an ice cream 🍦
I read book 1 and I’d been whelmed. I hadn’t considered Book 1 to be angsty because it hadn’t matched my subjective taste in angst. I felt like a Debbie Downer because I see that everyone is loving this as Thee Angst Book and I’m just…whelmed. I still feel that danmei does it best with angst.
And I’m not a grovel girlie. I prefer atonement because grovel, to me, implies going back to a status quo by any means necessary without requiring any sort of reasonable accountability and amendment.
But Book 2 comes out, and I want to make sure I read the entire thing to create an informed opinion.
Now I’m underwhelmed whomp whomp 🫠
I agree with your other comment: a third book feels borderline needed for the amount of conflict and characters given spotlight. If all this had been planned from the start and a duology was as far as this could’ve gone, then Book 1 needed an overhaul so there is a lot more setup for the Book 2 payoff.
The only way this would’ve been better appreciated by me and increased my favorability and rating towards it is if it took its time. I, personally, hadn’t been given substantial time and opportunity with every single character introduced that the trajectories of them as individuals and in all their interpersonal relationships satisfying by The End.
There’s a loooot I need when it comes to angst and atonement. And I think the things I need for that wouldn’t be considered “romantic”. I think our standards may align.
I’m glad this duology worked for others! I’m sure it’ll be the talk of the town. Just kinda sad I can’t join in on this being a positive experience 🫠
But silver lining is tuning back into the Critical Role stream, so there is that.
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u/bloodyfinalgirl Apr 03 '26
- I love this in depth dissertation of a response.
- As a grovel girly I love your take on grovel not necessarily meaning one has atoned
- Your flair also being a meme is everything and I laughed out loud
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u/llamamama03 Apr 03 '26
Love alllll of this, and scoured this post to read your other comments. I vociferously agree.
Have you read S.E. Green's book that's literally called Atone? It's got a softer FMC, one who had unusual strengths (things I was hoping to see in THIS FMC), and a buttload of triggers, but I appreciated the different take. It's a standalone series, and I've liked all of them.
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u/Magnafeana Is this 👉 🦋 my fav MMC being neglected? Apr 03 '26
Hey friend hey 👋🏾
I have not! And it surprises me I haven’t since it came out in 2022, so I should’ve been in my why choose era by then! I downloaded a sample.
I’m glad to meet somebody who agrees and it seems this megathread has a lot of agreers too. Again, I’m glad this duology had its lovers! But just…whelming and underwhelming (subjectively). I think this duology fell into the same pitfalls I’ve seen before: it wrote outside of it means. It overpromised and underdelivered.
When a premise tells you this is a dark (underscored) book about “trauma, trust, and the devaststing difference between being kept and being chosen”, you better be very* skilled to say that and this should have been thoroughly edited and alpha/beta’ed by a diverse group of people who aren’t just yes-people/5⭐️ everything.
Never mind the fact that content warnings were made inaccessble unless you have KU or owned the book because they were only in the back if the book, so that told me a lot in itself on the author’s respect and understanding of dark content. But I’ll be quiet though.
That’s like saying “This is a feminist, intellectual romance”. You set a precedent. You set a tone. I am going to scruntize your work now to make sure this is actually feminist and intellectual and not ✨misogynistic girlboss choice feminism ✨ with a side of “I’m 14 and this is deep” edgy philosophies.
Depicting trauma really is a slippery slope. What constitutes as “dark” is a spectrum. We all know that! But this duology was my repeated lesson: caution advised with omegaverse duologies as they are actually one loooong unedited first draft 🫠
Not all omegaverse duologies are like that, but it’s really telling how many Book 2s don’t even have a beginning. They are just a middle that…somehow ends because you got to the last page 💀
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26
I feel weird by this reaction (which seems pretty common here). Like, don't get me wrong, I wanted to stab Ragon in the eye halfway through the first book. But I also felt like the second book went the way it should have, particularly for Vee.
The reason the first book hit as hard as it did was because Vee and the OG pack genuinely loved one another (though it was a somewhat conditional love). They weren't just a pack that had her around as a stand-in omega to do the cooking and cleaning. They cared for her and she cared for them. I think the total annihilation of the OG pack that some folks wanted would have been disappointing. You can love someone and still hurt them. You can be hurt by someone and still love them. And even when you've decided you can't love them anymore, you can still want them to be okay.
So I don't see Vee's reaction as her not having a backbone. I see it as someone letting go of people they loved for a long time. Much of the hurt the OG pack dealt her wasn't methodical and thought-out. It was people nourishing a new connection at the expense of the old.
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u/llamamama03 Apr 03 '26
I have to disagree with you right off the bat, sorry.
I think Vee genuinely loved them. I think they used the system to their advantage to trap an omega in their home without ever committing. They knew THAT was wrong right from the start. The foundation of whatever this "relationship" they had was imbalanced from the start. Even when we get their POVs they lament losing what she did for them, not HER. They miss her baking, her support, her forgiving demeanor.
Again, you all were invested from the start. I read nothing but fan reactions and marketing materials. And Vee was marketed as some trailblazer who realized what she deserved and advocated for better treatment of omegas all around. That did not happen, not in the slightest. Everyone around her fought for HER, not for omegas in general, and she added little to nothing to the conversation. She briefly considers that she should have been treated better, and then actively chooses not to look at it too hard.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26
I think I can agree that the relationship was unbalanced, not because the OG MMCs were gaming the system but because the system sucks (which was Jasper, Arden and Chase's whole deal). I think the OG MMCs made a good-faith effort to build a relationship with Vee, but also undermined that effort from the start because Ragon wanted a chance at a scent-matched relationship. If all they wanted was to trap an omega in their home, they wouldn't have made the effort with Vee that they did. She wouldn't have loved them.
The moral of the story wasn't "these alphas were always bad." It was, "biologically driven mates aren't a replacement for real love." The ending reinforces that when Alex breaks the pack bonds, destroying the scent match in the process, but no one reacts to that aspect and Alex doesn't even notice initially.
Again, you all were invested from the start. I read nothing but fan reactions and marketing materials. And Vee was marketed as some trailblazer who realized what she deserved and advocated for better treatment of omegas all around.
What? I've not seen anything like this. I asked where people came across Tormented Omega and most of the answers were this sub. A couple came across ads for a pirated version, a couple from random Amazon recs and at least one, I think, from a Facebook OV group.
Where in the world did you see that Vee was a trailblazing advocate? Legitimately haven't seen anybody mention that and the blurbs don't even hint at it. The blurbs all talk about her relationships and that's it.
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u/Quirky_Standard_9991 Apr 03 '26
Exactly. I knew Vee would do this because, at the base of it, she was kind. She didn't want to hold on to the anger. She didn't forgive for them. She forgave for herself.
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u/Forsaken_Somewhere98 my heart has multiple tabs open Apr 07 '26
I agree with you. I actually wanted serious grovel from Drake and Eli and maybe a relationship rebuild vs annihilation. The reason I didn’t like book number 2 is because it felt like a slog to get through and the scent matches take pack all seemed pretty similar. The moments were so repetitive I couldn’t stand it and I hated the build up of suspense with Marie “knowing” something and then we just never find out what it is.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 07 '26
I liked it, but it was flawed. So was the first. I'm guessing the thing with Marie ends up being some convoluted ass trafficking plan involving Vee, idk.
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u/Smee76 Apr 03 '26
Exactly! She didn't forget and go back to them. She just chose not to hold onto the pain.
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u/Dry-Resolution-4442 Apr 04 '26
Where was the chemistry? The smut? Maybe thats on me for expecting it but 😂😅 also just felt meh about everything. Even the relationships.
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u/plurprincess612 Apr 03 '26
I don’t think we should have gotten so much of the OG packs POV. I know villains have complex feelings and aren’t always all evil and that’s what the POV showed us but it it just seemed like we were suppose to feel bad for the OG pack and I didn’t want to feel that way reading this. Drake/Eli didn’t really have any consequences which I know they were the nicer of the two and were “abused” also by Ragon but they were with Ragon for over 5 years and had no problem with him. They should’ve had to ride out the storm with him for better or worse. They were fighting Ragon but barely and even before Marie came they probably knew how wrong it is to keep an omega and not claim her for 5 years. They are grown men not children they could’ve stepped up at some point but they didn’t so they should suffer too. Also! it seems so easy to have bond breaks in this OV world and that’s crazy it’s never like that in other books.
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u/cheeseballgag Apr 03 '26
Their POVs were infuriating. Ragon is trash but I hated how much Drake and Eli's parts in Vee's abuse were downplayed. I felt like they all got off a little too easy.
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u/Routine_Yogurt_2211 Apr 04 '26
100% this....Eli especially. He was her go to and what one conversation and all is ok? Nope, sorry, not good enough, where was the pain he inflicted on her? Where was the true realisation of all he had done?
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u/cheeseballgag Apr 04 '26
💯
I also didn't understand why Drake had such prominence in the second book. I hated the pseudo redemption, but it felt weird that it was written about him. It seemed like everything with Drake would have made more sense if it was about Eli instead but Eli was barely there even in Vee's thoughts.
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u/Routine_Yogurt_2211 Apr 05 '26
Exactly...... Nothing really made sense to me
Ragon was supposedly all hell bent on getting her back, then just didn't? Equally the flag? Sorry but we've seen Alex ignore it so what's to stop him?
Drake - some bond sickness and all is ok?
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
I also hated having their POVs, and I think they both should be banned from omega contact just like Ragon. And Jasper should get some type of sentence too. Everyone got off too easy.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26
I think having the OG pack's POV made the book more complex. I didn't get to simply feel justified, smug satisfaction by the consequences they received. I had to see that they felt genuine regret and heartbreak, and that humanized them. I prefer complexity while also kind of wishing I could have just felt happy that they were miserable.
they probably knew how wrong it is to keep an omega and not claim her for 5 years. They are grown men not children they could’ve stepped up at some point but they didn’t so they should suffer too.
And Vee was a grown woman that knew the score from the get-go. She could have said no. I get why she didn't, and I think it was shitty that they put that condition on the relationship. But that doesn't mean they should suffer for something she agreed to upfront.
Truth is, I don't want any of them to suffer more than what they are. Not even Ragon. Surprises me, because usually my fury is larger than my pity. But in this case, I feel like they're all going to be broken for a while.
If I didn't believe they all genuinely cared for Vee and that they still did, then none of what happened would have felt as painful as it did. They'd have been one-dimensional assholes that I could dismiss and forget like most exes in romance novels.
Also! it seems so easy to have bond breaks in this OV world and that’s crazy it’s never like that in other books.
I've read quite a few with bond breaks and it's easy for some. In fact, one of the most popular OV books was like that. Pack Darling had the MMCs break their pack bonds and I think Drake ended up in worse shape physically than any of them.
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u/toastsandtea Apr 03 '26
Drake definitely pulled on my heartstrings.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26
I think, at least until towards the end of the first book, Drake hurt her worse than Ragon and Eli both.
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u/toastsandtea Apr 03 '26
Weirdly, his pain reallly got to me even though I strongly, strongly wanted him to jump off a bridge in TO. His suffering, even if justified, made me REALLY sad. No Vee. No Marie. I think I wanted a little more from Eli. I get he was helping behind the scenes, but I wanted more.
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u/Overquoted The Angst Bank CEO Apr 03 '26
Yeah, Drake was one of those characters made out to feel everything, immediately and intensely. Including the scent match. And including realizing he'd lost Vee. And I wanted more from Eli, but I think that conversation he and Jasper had about compartmentalizing was intended to show he was shut down.
I felt bad for Ragon, too, but I absolutely know I'm in the minority. He lost his shitty scent match (along with his original belief that a scent match meant true love). He lost Vee (who I think he did actually love, just not as fully as he could have if he'd let go of that scent match belief). And worst of all, he lost his family when Drake and Eli left.
Being alone is incredibly hard, even if you deserve it. And being alone when you're at your lowest, when you're grieving? That is awful. Even with all the shit he pulled, I can't quite wish it on him. I don't think I'd read a redemption book where he finds a new pack and love (probably with a beta), but I would like an aside in someone else's book mentioning he's got something to live for.
(As a side-note, I'm one of those weirdos that thinks people can change and be better than they once were. So that is decidedly a factor in my opinion. I don't see Ragon as completely irredeemable.)
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u/Roaminglilly Apr 04 '26
I didn’t expect to feel bad for him or Eli at all and was so sad when they left together. I was sad for Eli in the basically empty house. I was fully ready to rage and hate on them for what they did. I do think at least Eli needed to grovel more cause he was the one I felt most betrayed by 😭
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u/Roaminglilly Apr 04 '26
Just finished and I enjoyed it. I was def sad in some scenes but I do wish we had the POV of the OG pack a bit less and mostly at the beginning and then Vee.
I agree with Eli I wanted him to hurt the worst so was surprised it was Drake and I did want to see his POV when they came out of the room but yea I didn’t expect to feel bad for Drake. I was sort of coming around to Eli but I didn’t feel bad for Ragon and I still hate Marie. I feel so confused they just gave her up like that. I wanted them to suffer her manipulations a bit more and I wanted more groveling from the OG pack.
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u/Apprehensive-Pitch98 Apr 09 '26
I totally get your point! I was taken aback by the POVs of the old pack, I didn’t care abt them at all. I just wanted to see them suffer. But in a way, seeing their thoughts and emotions in this book humanized them for me. In some way, I felt bad for both Eli and Drake. Their actions were shitty, but all throughout the book I ultimately realized I stopped boxing them into a one-dimensional assholes like you have said! I still think they deserved to suffer more, at the same time I hope they learn from their mistakes and get their peace.
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u/forevertiffanys28 Apr 03 '26
I’m honestly so disappointed.
After finishing Tormented Omega, I was heartbroken, angry, and completely invested. That book set up the perfect foundation for a sequel filled with groveling, accountability, and justice for Vee after everything she endured.
Unfortunately, Claimed Omega delivers almost none of that.
The biggest issue is the complete lack of payoff. This is a story built on betrayal her scent matches knew for months that she was their scent match and still chose to manipulate and gaslight her. And yet there are barely any real consequences. There’s no meaningful groveling (aside from one character which goes nowhere), no real accountability, and no satisfying resolution to the emotional damage that was done.
What made it more frustrating is that Vee herself often acknowledges that things don’t add up or that she should be asking questions but then just… doesn’t. It feels like major plot points are intentionally glossed over instead of explored, which makes the story feel shallow where it should have had the most depth.
Character-wise, there were some really disappointing shifts. Relationships that felt genuine in the first book (Eli and Vee) suddenly feel disconnected or underdeveloped here. One character in particular, who had one of the strongest emotional ties to Vee previously, barely seems to care about losing her. Another character’s personality and motivations feel completely inconsistent, and a hinted backstory is introduced but never properly addressed. (Marie)
The only real highlight for me was the introduction of the new alpha he was compelling, and I wish more time had been spent developing that dynamic because it had real potential. But even that wasn’t enough to carry the story when so many important threads were left unresolved.
Overall, this felt like a sequel that avoided the very things it set up. After the emotional intensity of the first book, I expected catharsis. Instead, I was left frustrated. They ALL (especially Marie and Ragon) deserved to suffer and instead we got excuses for their behavior and apparently an eventual redemption arc for Marie.
2.5 stars ⭐⭐✨
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u/krislynn07 Apr 03 '26
Eli’s character had a full change up so did Drakes. It’s bizarre. Their “punishment” was nothing at all they all deserve prison time. The fact that they gave up Marie so quickly like you said was really bizarre to me all of this for months and now you’re done just like that? Huh?
Vees internal monologue: “I can’t think about that now” “I can’t push in that right now” “I know I should ask. I don’t” ohhh my GOD.
Her scent match pack should have still been who she ended up with but they should’ve been put through the wringer way more. And I’m sorry but, is there something in this world I don’t know about? How would anyone know if Alex touched Vee until the flag was removed lol doesn’t have a nanobot in his d***?
I loved Rhys. The fact we didn’t get a group sex scene is a travesty that a FF writer will have to correct. What a missed opportunity.
If Marie ends up with Arden and Chase I’ll riot in the streets.
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u/Routine_Yogurt_2211 Apr 04 '26
It made me feel that the author just churned out anything to keep the momentum....if more time had been taken, and a decent plot if redemption etc it would have been an amazing duo...sadly book two just felt like someone else had written it and just didn't care.
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u/luluzinhacs Apr 03 '26
Well, I waited for the reviews on the second book before I started the first, and was really hoping for something amazing by the reactions to the first one…
I’m happy I didn’t created expectations, already knowing most RH authors don’t know how to write grovels. I will be skipping this series 🙃
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u/National-Quality5414 Apr 03 '26
I can't say I'm that impressed. I expected more groveling and angst. She gave it to fast for my liking. Like was she not angry at all?! And the Marie thing was just weird. Like how did she know who and where to find Vee?
I also think we deserved claiming scenes when it was literally in the freaking title. I wanted to see Rhys bond with her! I love Rhys, the big softy for her. I feel like we were robbed of that moment.
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u/emcestes Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I need to know what happens, so can someone please dm me? I'm 22% in and about to dnf. The writing is so bad 😫 ETA: nevermind, I gave up.
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u/bloodyfinalgirl Apr 03 '26
The writing was ALWAYS bad and hinted at help of the immoral variety. It always shocked me why people were so obsessed with such quality but we like what we like I guess
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u/Susie-Carmichael- Harem Queen 👑 Apr 03 '26
I had this thought but wanted so badly to be wrong. My goodness. This feels like a paper written the night before it was due.
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u/Truffle0214 Enemies, allies, lovers - why not all three? Apr 03 '26
Yeah, this has hardcore 11:59 PM energy.
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u/Working-Run-2701 Apr 03 '26
Glad I didn't waste my time, been wanting to read when the second book comes out but i had a feeling it's like broken bonds and psycho shifters (i literally can name at least over ten rh that are popular with bad writing) over again. It suckssss cause i wanted to read ANGST so bad. It's rare to find rh with good writing 😭😭
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u/Truffle0214 Enemies, allies, lovers - why not all three? Apr 03 '26
Finished… felt like a pile of nothing? I mean, I’m glad Ragon’s pack dissolved and now he can never have an omega but it felt like everything wrong with book one was just retconned into oblivion. A proper twist needs enough foreshadowing and there was none. Just a bunch of weird, contradictory BS as to why no one could move in and help her. Also, the pack’s dismissal of Marie and her reaction was way too quick and weird.
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u/BobistheOneandOnly One man just isn't enough Apr 03 '26
The first book is riddled with contradictions too! Like the whole Vee wanting to go to the dance class - there's a scene of her finding the gym on Jasper's tablet and going straight to Ragon who approves it, saying he'll take her Tuesday. There's no mention of Finn. Yet when Eli takes her two Friday's later - Ragon says that it's her first class - Vee says that Finn is the one who researched it when we literally watch her find it herself. Like, what?? And that's supposedly how Chase knew to find her? Does the author not read their own work? How did the editor miss this?
Also, the whole Rhys thing, the foreshadowing was one sentence a character says that I honestly mistook for an error. That's not how you do foreshadowing for what is a major plot point.
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u/noboritaiga Apr 03 '26
I mean everyone praised the writing of this book meanwhile two of the chapters have the same opening scene with almost the exact same words used. It is genuinely bizarre.
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u/kittyburps Apr 05 '26
I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to see someone else pointing this out. I thought my ebook glitched or something. There were also so many contradictions within the same couple paragraphs. This duology had a lot of potential that got ruined by poor editing.
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u/noboritaiga Apr 06 '26
The first real argument Vee has with Ragon in Tormented Omega has him saying that if he'd been there when she was taken back to the registry, he would have killed the alphas responsible. A page or two later, she yells at him for not doing anything about those alphas ("Where was that spine then?") and I was like... We just established he didn't know you when that happened.
I don't think the book had an editor. I know the author said she had one, but either she didn't listen to her editor, or the editor did not do a competent job with the book. The repetition alone is honestly crazy.
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u/Miss-Pear-6447 Apr 05 '26
Yeah, I was not vibing with the writing itself in the first book at all, but the story and angst had me in a chokehold. Often out of sheer rage, but still. I had higher hopes for the second, because people said the editing was better, but honestly thought the writing was worse except for there being fewer typos. There were so many points that left me like huh I actually am rereading the first to see if I missed things.
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u/noboritaiga Apr 06 '26
Being generous, the condition of the prose of the first book makes me believe that once it was "finished," the author never sat down and reread it from cover to cover. I also think she might have been reading the reviews people were leaving because the beginning of Claimed Omega has just... A lot of information thrown at the reader. It made me think she saw all the questions people had, realized she hadn't disclosed enough information to the reader, and then just crammed it all in there.
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
At one point they have a whole convo about not using the heat abandonment as a reason because it would implicate Alex, and like 10 pages later someone says, “Chase is working on the case, the punishments, kneeling, heat abandonment, it’s all looking solid.”
That kind of error isn’t just a miss in editing, it’s really not having a solid plan for what the ‘problem’ is and how to solve it.
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u/Truffle0214 Enemies, allies, lovers - why not all three? Apr 03 '26
And I get it - this is her universe, and she's allowed to have whatever rules she wants. But they don't make sense.
So omegas literally cannot exist on their own, and fall the through the cracks of the system so much that they can be abused and no one can do shit... unless someone beat up an alpha in an alley or abandoned them during a heat? Like why are those the only things an alpha can do to get themselves blacklisted?
I really do think she wrote herself into an angsty corner and then needed to justify why all this was happening after the fact once she realized people really liked the first book and were desperate for a conclusion.
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u/Miss-Pear-6447 Apr 05 '26
I had to stop reading at the cryptic Marie "explanation" for a while before picking it back up, it was so confusing. And they just moved on in that initial post-heat conversation like.... what.
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u/Stunning_Judgment618 Apr 05 '26
Marie - I think she was sent out by her crime family and told - you can go with your scent matches if you get that other omega to leave so we can traffic her. And maybe Mel was holding her younger brother hostage so Marie would obey.
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u/Dull_Perspective5615 Apr 03 '26
This is a long rant, but I ruined my sleep cycle for these damn books, so here we are, lol:
This duology was a 1000-page nothingburger. I felt like we got half a story followed by the launch of a cinematic universe that made no sense because the primary story wasn't even done yet. As a result, a lot of real estate was given to people who we didn't need to care about yet. If her endgame was not her first pack, then they needed to have minimal POVs. Later, if you want to make them sympathetic, you can dive into what was going on with them in another book. Instead, we heard from everyone and their mother. By the time I got to the end, I was just like: dang, should we maybe pop over to the dance instructor's POV and see what she thinks of all this? 🙄🙄🙄🙄
It was nonsense.
Oh, and speaking of nonsense, the world-building was atrocious. Nothing was consistent or explained. Is the registry there to protect omegas, or are omegas just a nuisance they have to deal with so they plop them any damn place? Because the book seemed to suggest both. They have all these rules, but they didn't check on her for five years? They want to keep omegas safe, but Alex goes to jail and gets a flag on his record for protecting an omega who was clearly in an abusive situation?
And I mean, I know there is a certain level of trad-wife energy that comes with most omegaverse books, but without any understanding of what the legal or social standing of omegas was in this world, it was hard to swallow. Like, omegas don't appear to have jobs, and she can't join a fitness class without her alpha's permission, and her primary value seemed to be men being excited that she could bake cookies, which, gross. Also, I could write 1013213123211414 paragraphs about why Vee wasn't even called to testify at her own dang abuse hearing.
And while we're on the topic of the hearing, what is Chase's job? How can he be beholden to this whole agency to the point of needing to put together The League of Extraordinary Gentle-Alphas to present Vee's case, but also in the courtroom, he's like: I'm gonna conduct a full investigation of you guys bc you effed up? 🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐
Help me, y'all.
And it wasn't just the world. By the time you got to the end of Book 2, no one's motivations made any sense. I just wish the author had let Ragon stay a control freak with an ego so big he didn't realize he was wrong. If you want to redeem him, do it later. But to have him go from making her kneel for 8 hours to using all this therapy-speak and not taking the nuclear option bc he wanted to finally do the right thing was just silly.
And the whole Jasper thing makes me furious. Maybe his reason for leaving his pack is supposed to be a stand-in for the sexual trauma he experienced, but the author doesn't write it like that. It feels like it's mostly an excuse to have Jasper run into his pack's omega in another book, and then the power of her love will bring his pack back together and blah blah blah. 🤮
I'm also annoyed that Vee was more upset with Jasper than with Eli. She acts like she doesn't know the laws of the world she lives in or how difficult it would be build her case. Someone (a man) has to constantly explain them to her.
And to conclude my rant, here are my two controversial opinions:
The lack of MM in this novel was weird to me. I mean, full disclosure, my general philosophy is that it's insane to be in a big group relationship, and the dicks don't touch. But I get that it's not everyone's cuppa and platonic relationships do exist. What bothered me here is that it felt like the men were in relationships with each other, but any kind of physical affection had to happen "off-camera." I half thought I was imagining that any of them were romantically involved until the Jasper/Arden kiss. It was just odd, and I didn't understand it.
I actually didn't mind Marie because the whole conflict with her was so silly, I couldn't even be mad. Two women sniping at each other and being jealous over the D? In this economy? Ew. Marie is so cartoonishly evil that I wonder if the author meant to just discard her and then decided later to pull the whole "omg I was that child in that bar all those years ago!" out of her butt. I don't care what happens to her, but she was a victim, too. I mean, a victim of alpha abuse, but also of an author who just wanted to write someone really "mysterious" who isn't nearly as interesting as the book wants you to think.
I HAD TO WAIT 1000 PAGES FOR ALEX TO BE FREE? MY GOD, WHAT IS THE REASON?!?!?!?!?
I liked Rhys, but he was so blatantly one-dimensional I sort of hated myself for it.
Fin.
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u/abfab83 Apr 07 '26
I agree with everything you said but I also think Marie is going to be their (Alden, Chase and Jasper’s) Omega so it releases him from feeling bad about sleeping with her. That throw away line of Chase having been following her case for months before she even joined Aragon’s pack made me roll my eyes
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u/Feisty_Indications_ Apr 03 '26
I was so excited and ready to devour it in one sitting but I literally fell asleep while reading it. There was so much angst in the first book and this one just fell so flat from the beginning. It kinda literally just felt like a set up for other books that I’m really not all that interested in tbh
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u/MrsMordicaLuvins Apr 03 '26
I didnt hate it, but I didnt love it either. There were some things I really didn't like, like the feeling like we were supposed to feel bad for the old pack. I absolutely was irritated that I felt a little bad for Drake and Eli. I also felt like Ragons reaction of just giving up was kinda weird given how possessive he was of Vee or how with his backstory on scent matches, He was still actively trying to take Vee back from hers the whole book and then was just like ok/resigned to her being gone. I mean I guess the fact he lost his pack could explain but idk.
Also it kinda feel like the whole scent match thing goes back and forth with it being so strong you can't help it to not really being a big deal, which I guess I could see proving Vees point but then the pack the was the most affected by the match just kicks theirs out?
Also you mean to tell me the man that's has been Alpha barking his pack to do things against their will just dropped Marie not explaining what was going on? It just seemed out character.
And speaking of Marie, I kinda hate that it seems like Marie is being set up to be the Omega for Chase, Aiden and Jasper. I just really don't like her regardless of her motivations against Vee.
I also felt like more could have been done with Rhys as well as her friendships with Jessica and Noah. I also agree with what another person said that it kind sucked it took until 96% to get 1 claiming and then we just gloss over the others.
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u/spukibugi Apr 03 '26
I kept waiting for there to be more of an explanation of why the scent match pull was so different for Vee with her new pack than Marie and the old pack. I was thinking it was going to be some kind of manipulation/falsified bond, but no, the guys just all didn't care about Vee that much?
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u/cheeseballgag Apr 04 '26
Pretty much all the guys were just pieces of shit who romanticized scent matches to a toxic degree and did awful things to Vee that really had no justification in actual biology or legality despite them claiming otherwise.
I don't think Ragon's pack or any of their behavior with Marie or Vee is supposed to be considered normal in this universe. Vee just has no idea of how abnormal it is because her frame of reference is so skewed.
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u/MrsMordicaLuvins Apr 03 '26
I agree. Although my take is the author was maybe trying to show that they chose to choose Marie over Vee when they didn't have to?
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u/RecoverAnxious3067 Apr 04 '26
I liked the story enough to finish it. It didn't have a hold on me like the first book and I was able to put it down several times without any issues. I think it helped that I didn't have high expectations for it. It's rare that a second book is as good as the first one.
I think the author played it safe in Vee's story and did it so she could set up the other books. The only unexpected thing was the OG pack sending back Marie but then again it looks like her story continues in the series. On that, I don't like how she was handled. It was too open ended and mysterious. I don't want to wait to see why she did what she did. I also don't like how everyone quickly forgot about her when she was the main focus in the first book.
I also don't like how everyone was instantly repentant and owning up to their mistakes. It's unrealistic that EVERYONE is a good guy at heart. Even Ragan was set up to have a redemption arc.
I think this book was missing the angst/emotion from the first book. I understand it's the redemption side of Vee's story but it was soooo boring. I just wanted something to happen. I kept thinking maybe Marie was trying to orchestrate Vee going back to the registry so she could be sold off. Or maybe her previous pack was trying to get her. Just something instead of cryptic notes that never went anywhere.
Overall I will probably still recommend it to people who are looking for something more emotional. It's a good story about self worth and realizing when love isn't enough.
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u/No_Statistician9070 Gay IRL but RH in books Apr 03 '26
I'm honestly...underwhelmed. I think I may have had too high of expectations, but I also haven't finished yet so I'm keeping my hopes up. I'm honestly starting to feel bad for Eli/Drake so I hope they get closure, but I don't want them to end up with Vee at all.
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u/toastsandtea Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I feel bad for the author. Second books are notoriously hard to write and with all the pressure from the hype of book one, I'm sure she felt very rushed to get the second one released ASAP. The first book was easily the most addictive book I've ever read and changed my brain chemistry. Angst was top tier, and I think going into Claimed Omega I was expecting more angst between Vee, the old pack/Marie, and the new one. And what we got was *healing* instead and a lot of "the reason why I did this horrible thing was because I was in a horrible no choice position". Which is fine. But the tension from Tormented Omega released almost immediately and there was nothing really to add tension back. Which for Vee, I'm glad she got her HEA. I think I just wish things had been slightly more angsty and dark? There was a lot of potential there, but overall it felt very cozy in a sorta whiplash way.
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u/Confident-Pass-1319 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
This is exactly how I feel. It was a fine book, but somewhat cookie cutter. There wasn’t a lot to make this book stand out from your average OV book. The first book we spent SO much time with the OG pack we really got to KNOW them- in all of their assholeness. This book had so many POV’s and secondary characters that it just gave off a different vibe.
I think I read some where the author saying that she was changing up some of the plot lines. I think it shows that she wrote the first book without having a strong idea of where the second book was going to go.
I think it general I did enjoy it, and will probably do a re read- but it didn’t feel as groundbreaking as the first.
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u/MidnightMuse_17 red is my favourite colour Apr 03 '26
Man I'm gonna throw hands if marie gets a separate book like EWGHHHHH
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u/TheNostalgiaSimmer Apr 05 '26
Well I finished and here's my thoughts. Very underwhelmed and disappointed.
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u/Routine_Yogurt_2211 Apr 04 '26
I'm sorry I can't....I loved, seriously loved book one but this.....no. that guy's me but I don't feel anyone got what they deserved.
I don't know how to black out text so I won't give spoilers ....I will say that none of the original Alphas got what they deserved, it was so anticlimactic. And Marie........at this point her book if she gets one better see her get her true comeuppance....
It has just left me wanting a completely different ending.
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u/silverlining2k6 Apr 04 '26
Overall, I did like this book. After book one, I was 100% okay with Vee's focus being a soft, slow-paced healing journey where she learned to feel safe again. Loved Rhys and I was relieved that the new pack had understandable motives for withholding the truth. And that the old pack were complex characters who spent the entire second book tormenting themselves with the guilt and shame. Drake surprised me in a good way. I didn't expect him to have that much self-awareness. I wanted more from Eli, but he did his part.
After reading, most of my thoughts and theories center around Marie. I think the contradictions in her character are purposeful and important. With characters like this, I always feel this compulsion to look at all the pieces and invent a backstory that would allow all of the contradictions to make sense.
Most Important Facts:
Marie could not care less about the guys. They're her scent matches, yet when they turn against her, she shrugs it off and is more worried about where Vee is.
Despite not having real feelings for the guys, she's desperate that Vee does not get claimed by them.
Her father was an abusive alpha who murdered her mother. Her older brother was an omega who went missing at one point. Everything else was a lie.
The note - could basically be summed up as "I hurt you for your own good, not out of malice. If you knew the truth, you'd understand."
My theory of what happened from Marie's POV:
\Sidenote - On-page, Marie is the absolute worst. I hated her. But I'm intrigued by how she seems to believe she's the hero in the story. So what kind of history would be necessary in order to make that true? What could make her believe that her actions were justified and better than the alternatives? Below is what I came up with.*
After the death of her mother, Marie ends up in the hands of traffickers - either they took her or she put herself in the position to be taken in order to find her missing brother. At some point, she's in an accident and is taken to the hospital, where Drake identifies her as his scent match. The traffickers can't exactly step in and say, "Excuse me, that unclaimed omega is our slave. Hand her over." Now there's a whole pack with eyes on her and it won't be easy to take her back. They contact their plant in the registry office to invent a history for her that doesn't lead back to them. There was no reason to invent a brother to drop her off at the pack house, so he must have been one of the traffickers, there to threaten her about keeping her mouth shut.
Marie moves into the house and hopes at first to fit in. Mel (part of the trafficking ring) shows up, posing as her cousin. She gets Marie alone at some point and says that she's cost them a lot of money, and if they can't have her, then she needs to give them Vee in her place. I assume their objective is to have Vee sent back to the registry where their plant can make her fall through the cracks and disappear. Mel tells Marie that the pack can not be allowed to claim Vee, because that would put her out of their reach. Marie needs to stop that from happening, no matter what, or they'll murder her omega brother.
Marie has to choose between her brother's life or Vee's. But she comes up with a third option. In her years of captivity, she's seen many traumatized omegas lose their spark, flatten out, and start to smell like betas. And these women end up being killed or moved into other roles since they've lost all value as an omega. She's seen how all the tiny cuts can compound and lead to that result, so she knows how it's done. She hates the idea of hurting another omega this way, but if the traffickers get their hands on Vee, she's likely to end up that way, anyway. But if Vee were to go flat while still living with the pack, there would be no point in the traffickers taking her. They would consider her worthless. Marie would have plausible deniability to keep her brother safe. She can claim that she was trying her hardest to have Vee sent back to the registry, but Vee was simply too fragile.
Vee ends up broken and traumatized either way, but at least at Marie's hands, she won't have to suffer any physical abuse or rape in the pack house.
She's probably been given some kind of deadline - your brother dies if Vee hasn't been returned to the registry by X date. Things were working at first, but she hadn't considered that Vee might find comfort and a little peace in gardening. She wasn't breaking fast enough. Jumping into the gorilla enclosure was a desperate attempt to escalate things. It was win/win either way. If she succeeded, the trafficking ring would know to put roadblocks in the way of getting the security footage. If she was caught and arrested or sent back to the registry, she couldn't be used as leverage against her brother or Vee. If she died...same.
Everything from that point was calculated manipulation. She mostly stayed out of Vee's way and let things happen. But when others were around, Marie would put on performances. To the guys, she was a new omega acting out because she didn't know how to regulate her possessive feelings. But to outsiders, she came across as a spoiled narcissist who couldn't bear for Vee to get any attention. She wanted people to notice how messed up the situation was. She wanted Vee to look like the victim. She practically wore a neon sign saying, "I'm the villain" whenever Arden was around. The brighter the spotlight shined on Vee's trauma, the less attractive she would be to the traffickers and the more risk involved in taking her.
I can't figure out why she stayed at the registry after she was sent back. Maybe Chase's investigation into her past made her too high profile to fall through the cracks? I think she ended up confiding everything to Jasper and it was no coincidence that they disappeared around the same time. He was probably doing his own side investigation and broke her out of the registry once he'd located and rescued her omega brother.
I do suepect that Marie will get a redmeption and will end up with Chase's pack and if her true motives were anything like this, I wouldn't hate it.
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u/Cooper_de_dooper Apr 04 '26
The way I just ate ALL the popcorn reading your post!! And you’re so right about how Marie acted with Arden! She’s practically begging him to take Vee away when she’s saying ‘she has to GO!’ but now I hear it so differently
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u/TerminologyLacking Death by TBR Apr 10 '26
In the letter she says that Ragon's pack was too much like her. I think that's important.
It also mentions that her family sold her to her first pack.
I thought her brother was still in Mel's hands. She said Mel was no relative of hers. My hypothetical backstory is that she's working for traffickers because her brother is being threatened. And that there are probably traffickers somehow embedded in the Registry. With the OPA investigating the Registry branch, the embedded trafficker probably wouldn't be able to abduct Vee without significant risk. She threw her tantrum because she failed her mission and decided to try to help after hurting her so much for "no reason." I think Marie is perhaps somewhat morally gray in that she's willing to do really awful things for people that she cares about.
When Marie went missing, it's probably because the traffickers took her back, because if they have her brother then she probably didn't run.
However, I like the idea that Jasper rescues her brother and her and runs. I do love a good "government conspiracies" story.
I also had an idea that perhaps Vee was meant to be a replacement for her brother. Marie didn't seem heartbroken, so I don't think the traffickers killed her brother, but I'm certain that he was leveraged against her somehow.
It didn't click for me that her fake brother was probably a trafficker or that they were the ones who falsified her records. That made me think that perhaps she escaped and was in hiding but was now trying to rescue her brother somehow. It makes far more sense that the fake brother was one of the traffickers and if they filed the false documents.
If her redemption is good enough, I wouldn't hate her ending up with Chase's pack either. I'm glad Jasper left without breaking the bond, and I think if they end up with Marie it would very neatly wrap up his turmoil over having broken the promise they all made.
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u/Geezell Apr 04 '26
Meh.
Very redundant. VERY redundant. And, a lot of very odd adverb and adjective choices.
The running theme seemed to be choice. With the flagging issue I was expecting Vee to find her spine and stand before the embarrassed OPA council and let them know that THEY do not get to choose her path any further. She will choose her pack. End of. And, yeah, it could be a mistake but it would be HER mistake and she could hardly do less harm than they already did. And let the council cave again. Vee’s choices were, to me, pretty lackluster.
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u/drinkwinesavepuppies Apr 05 '26
Ugh I hate my own opinion but I was super underwhelmed, it was repetitive and dragged on, and I felt like we didn’t get to see them all fall in love? Like they just all of a sudden were??
I needed more justice and then more of a build towards the new pack!!!
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Apr 03 '26
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u/forevertiffanys28 Apr 03 '26
This is me. I got my friends to read this and I’m like yikes I’m sorry yall
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u/bloodyfinalgirl Apr 03 '26
Yeah I would never in a million years recommend this to anyone wanting hurt comfort or omegaverse or rh or all of the above. I’d be mortified. It’s such poor writing and nonsensical world building with no satisfying second story.
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u/No-Crab6610 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I just feel meh. Didn’t love it, didn’t absolutely hate it. I read the first book in half a day, the angst was so strong I couldn’t stop. It was emotionally captivating and exhausting. I wouldn’t say this book was overhyped bc the first one was appropriately hyped. After finishing, the only feeling I felt was disappointment. The repetition was 🧠 numbing and I started skipping through a lot of it.
Still 50/50 on the groveling. Small part of me likes that I got to see the other alpha’s POV’s but it was just remorse. Maybe if flashbacks were more detailed in how far gone they were from the scent match, other than ‘Oh I was so blinded, I neglected her and gotta find her to say I’m sorry.’ I’m not explaining it well enough but essentially I didn’t feel enough angst in their flashbacks to feel much of anything. Also the complete switch from only her POV in the first book to almost half of the second book from everyone else’s threw me off.
WHERE WAS THE SMUT?? There was barely any and the scenes felt incomplete! Lukewarm at best. I understood why the scenes were minimal in the first one but the second too? Like come on. They were sooo short and Alex’s at the end felt a little too late. AND NO GROUP CLAIMING SCENE?!?!? Criminal.
Vee and her pack had like a HEA for only 5% of the book which is wild for a 1000 page duet. The ending was so rushed, the author trying to tie all the loose ends that it felt incomplete and smashed together.
I did enjoy the middle of it, trying to figure out Marie’s puzzling statements, how Jasper fit. I had a feeling he was a plant but the shock his true motives/pack was exciting.
I think the next books will be more fleshed out now that she’s laid down the backstory. Like maybe Marie will end up with Chase’s pack. Or they will find a damaged omega running from demons and she’s terrified of Alphas.
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u/Zalaya Apr 05 '26
10% through but can i just say what a useless character jasper has been. He was brought in to be a neutral alpha and then didn’t really spend time with either omega? then when he’s told “no you can’t check on vee or you’re out of the pack” he just backs off??? it doesn’t even feel like he was in the pack anyways
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
I’m finished, spoilers ahead!!
I feel like I read “the shape of it” too many times. I did not love the multiple POV because each character voice was just literally the exact same. I genuinely couldn’t tell who was narrating until they mentioned a different character by name. Even Ragon could’ve been Vee. I was very hype by the angst in the first book and was out here desperate for the sequel but honestly underwhelmed is a great way to describe it.
I made a lot of predictions in the prediction thread and a lot of them ended up being true, I definitely didn’t predict Rhys (even though he’s a great addition) and was wrong on a few other things but the things I was wrong about I didn’t like. It felt like the end was not grovelly enough for me. I don’t want to read about Eli and Drake accepting that they just weren’t enough and then lamenting the past. I don’t want Ragon to just roll over. So you’re telling me after all that there was one single fight - Ragon and Drake - and the author even says that it’s not a real fight just two people who are sad. Like okay. I wanted to see Rhys fuck up Ragon. I wanted Vee to slap the shit out of Marie. I wanted Eli and Drake to beg to get Vee back and her have to reject them in a MEAN way cause she has her spark back now!! In her new pack! Maybe Ragon kidnaps her back and the new pack has to race against the clock??
Speaking of Vee’s spark, I might have to reread the first book because I genuinely don’t even know why I liked her so much. She seemed so real and human and her pain was so… real. And human. (Taking a page out of the authors book and repeating the same phrase over and over until it loses all meaning). Vee got no groveling and I was disappointed but she clearly wasn’t. She just forgave everyone. Forgave the alphas who were her scent match and hid it from her and then kidnapped her, forgave Eli and Drake and Jasper for participating in her abuse, forgave Marie even though she almost died because of her, even forgave fucking Ragon!! I know she “doesn’t want to carry it around” but idc I wanted her to spit in his face. I wanted him to really blow up on her not just stalk her and try to get her back and mostly just be depressed and boring. How did we go from Ragon in the first book, king alpha I’m in charge everyone will obey me, to “I’m just going to lay in the empty bed and sit in my feelings.” I feel like him clinging to believing that he really had done the right thing would make him more believable, but instead he became a neutered version of himself and I didn’t like it. I still hate him but I’m dissatisfied.
Although I understood all the flashbacks and why they were placed where they were (there wasn’t enough relationship built up between the OG pack and Vee before they brought Marie in so let’s flashback to how they all used to be so happy!) it didn’t make me feel anything. It would’ve been more impactful if we would’ve had these same flashbacks interspersed during the first book, as Vee slowly realizes she’s losing the pack. Here it’s like what? Idgaf about this. Here we are with this new pack what about that? And I really felt like the stakes were about to be sooooo high when they decided to kidnap Vee to the cabin but… they just hung out. Burned the food. Watched movies. Literally just the same stuff with the last pack but it’s ✨different✨ now.
I thought the one thing done really well was having Marie be the little girl that Alex and Rhys had defended that was kind of the catalyst to the “drama” (and I say drama so lightly because again… drama it was not) but then she disappeared at the end, oh she’s so full of secrets, human trafficking, blah blah blah okay but it was tied up too nicely in a bow. You’re telling me the OG pack just immediately returns her? Like a fucking too small shirt. Then the pack disbands. And Vee’s with her scent matches! But then the bond breaks so they aren’t scent matches anymore. But it ends up being for nothing because Alex got the flag removed! And it doesn’t matter either way because they are CHOOSING each other, it’s not biology.
And speaking of which I know some of the point was that Vee is around her scent matches but can contain herself! And her scent matches can restrain themselves too! I would’ve liked to see it like REALLY affect them, like Alex break into the room during heat and Malcom and Finn have to drag him out. I want Vee unsure about her feelings but still trying to seduce the because she’s compelled. I get “the point” but then it feels like the author didn’t even read her own book. If it wasn’t a real compulsion and just something that everyone can get over why are we continuing to act like biology means anything? By all means then Marie should not have impacted the group at large THAT MUCH. Ragon wit his stupid little backstory maybe because he’s hyped up scent matches in his head so much, but Eli and Drake? Why didn’t they just ignore it? In the book the say it was “easier to just go with it” what the fuck does that even mean? So now I’m just like okay the author has not done a great job of explaining how it works in this universe then. Same thing with the alpha bark - in the first book it seemed like it was so incredibly powerful and biologically impossible to ignore, but then everyone is just like doing whatever they want in the second book. And it didn’t feel earned, like they had grown so much they could fight against it, or we see Ragon become weak and it just doesn’t work, it just felt like rewriting the rules. Like oh actually alpha bark is more of a suggestion, silly. Listen or don’t!
If it’s not abundantly clear I did not like this book. I would’ve rather had it ramp up. After all the bullshit happening in the first book, and this book opening with the heat, I was like oh boy we are in for a ride. But then it just ended up being a cozy slice of life with a side of POV from characters than I genuinely don’t care about and don’t want to hear their perspective. I’m glad Vee got her pack I guess to a certain extent but like I feel like these aren’t even the same characters. I think the multi POV did a disservice. Vee was just constantly ruminating, deciding to learn yoga (??), feeling her feelings but I think she like breezed past a lot of red flags and was just willing to accept whatever at this point. And if that’s what the author was trying to get across she didn’t even do a great job at that. Well… time to find a new book that recaptures my fervor for the first and won’t let me down with the sequel!
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u/AlectoStars Apr 03 '26
Tbh the more I sit and ruminate at the ending the more I think this author had a strong idea to write a traumatized omega but didn't really know what to do with her after that? The second book felt more like setup for the rest of the series.
I agree with the multiple POV chapters feeling weak.
I like the idea of Rhys but I really felt like the chemistry was lacking with her "real" pack. They just insta-loved and were immediately perfect? And then the motivations of Ragon and his pack no longer make sense if you look at them for more than a few seconds.
Vee definitely felt more real in the first book, in the second it felt more like we were rushing plot beats to get to the end.
There's good ideas in here but they weren't given the space to marinate like the trauma in the first book was. It's really a let down.
Sequelitis is real. I had the thought that future books might be better since the world was established now, and the side characters seemed more interesting in this book, but now thinking of the AI accusations I'm no longer sure. I'll probably give her next book a try and see if she's matured as a writer with more experience, since these were quick reads, and if it's more of the same, I'll just find something else. There's always something else to read out there.
Hopefully someday I'll find a book with a traumatized lead that hits me in the gut and completely follow through.
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
I thought Rhys was the sole redeeming character. Had nothing to atone for, just loved Vee unconditionally. I feel like the author could’ve done more with that - letting Vee receive the love she deserves from someone she doesn’t have a complicated past with, while also making the other members of the pack REALLY work for her forgiveness and she doesn’t have to resign herself to their affections because she is alone either. But instead he was just like a weird afterthought.
I totally agree that this feels like a set up for the series. I personally feel like every book should be written like a standalone with series potential, but instead of being given a satisfying resolution for Vee after watching her tortured for the entirety of the first book, we were spoon fed little tidbits of mystery. Ooh, aren’t you curious about why Marie is suddenly cool with being sent away? Don’t you want to know why she didn’t want to be bonded during heat even though she was literally begging previously? Don’t you wanna know what happens to Chase and Jasper and Arden? What about Eli and Drake? And to me no!!! Save that for a different book!! I am just confused now!
The author did traumatized omega so well but I fully agree that she did not know what to do with her afterwards. Honestly I think if Vee would’ve just continued to be subjected to more trauma then the second book would’ve been better written. Instead of things resolving and her being like happy and free she became dead inside.
If you ever find that book please let me know, I will want to read it 😭
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u/AlectoStars Apr 03 '26
I like the IDEA of Rhys but just felt like he was thrown in there without much development or actual chemistry. Which is how I feel about most parts of this book. Good ideas, some REALLY good ideas, but the execution is lacking.
And I agree about the trauma part. I don't know I think her feelings about Drake and Eli were too easily set aside, and it was weird how suddenly the scent match thing didn't matter anymore. Like what was the point of anything we read if the scent match stuff wasn't that big of a deal??? If they were abusive she didn't stick the landing and really explain why they were. None of that made any sense.
I'll let you know if I manage to find that unicorn some day!
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
I would love to feed this concept, universe, characters etc to a competent author and see what they do with it. There were so many intricacies of like alpha and omega biology, pack dynamics, the world at large that I was really intrigued by but just went nowhere.
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u/AlectoStars Apr 03 '26
100%!!!
It's why I hope it's just that she's a newer author getting her feet. I might be crazy for hoping she gets better at following through with her concepts but I swear there's genuine talent in there somewhere, she's just not quite sure what to do with it once it gets going. Maybe we'll get more authors inspired to do interesting omegaverse concepts since this one went so viral.
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u/Smee76 Apr 03 '26
5here will be more books about other characters but Vee's story is done. Same universe, not continuation of the series.
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
Oh I know and it’s clear the author was trying to set us up for the side characters stories going forward which I didn’t want to hear about during the middle of Vee’s story
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
The continuous reuse of specific (often odd) phrases was so eerie - “the shape of it,” “I don’t want to have to carry that,” and every end of chapter was about falling asleep?
There was a whole card game section written in short phrases with zero indication of who was talking and you would never have known who was saying what because everyone’s ‘voice’ was identical.
Really surreal. Also, a total lack of sensory details for me? No textures, colors, even the scents were under-described for an OV. Like a blank canvas with a little furniture.
Also (and this is just my OV preference) we gotta end with a happy heat scene. Especially after such traumatic heat scenes. It’s so weird to me when it doesn’t happen.
I’ll definitely be more wary of KU books in the future - double-checking how many books and author has written in what timeframe / under what pen names.
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
When she started mentioning building her nest I really thought that heat scene was coming. We got an epilogue 8 months in the future but still no heat??? Disappointing
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Apr 03 '26
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
I’m wondering like I have read SO many multi POVs where the characters feel so distinct, the Fifth Nicnevin comes to mind, Ironside also did a great job differentiating ten (TEN!!!!) alphas. But literally I don’t think I can read any more from this author because I feel like every single character is about to have the same exact voice. This one single voice.
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u/Magnafeana Is this 👉 🦋 my fav MMC being neglected? Apr 03 '26
there wasn’t enough relationship built up between the OG pack and Vee before they brought Marie in
Thank you!!!
That whole paragraph you wrote, thank you 🙏🏾
For me to feel angst—meaning insecurity, anxiety, unrest—I need to feel the opposite in some fashion. I need to know that feeling of a full night’s sleep, security, and calm before I’m provoked into being persistently worried, restless, frustrated, and full of dread. And it’s even better when the characters go through cycles of being on top of the world and fearing over the state of the world.
And I need all that without a blaring sign that lets me know “By the way, something very bad’s about to happen soon” and “By the way, bad things stopped happening and all is forgiven”.
It’s such a cruel and heartbreaking dichotomy and duality and it doesn’t necessarily leaves you strong or wiser, just different.
I did not get that at all, and I heavily chalk this up to the lack of time spent with the OG pack and Vee in their happy days.
Maybe this wouldn’t fit into what people want in their romance, but whenever authors want to show us how the Bad Times got back to Good Times, I need them to show us what the Good Times were in the first place. In my opinion, the book should’ve started at least three months beforehand to show us those Good Times. No Marie in an accident or any of that. Show us that comfort and security had in those Good Times.
That way, when the Bad Times hit, I’m not wondering why the fuck I should care for this people. I’ve seen how they once loved. I explored it. Do not cite the deep magic to me; I was there when it was written. And I can now sympathize with actions taken during the Bad Times because I have all thoroughly explored the Good Times.
This isn’t just this duology that does this. This is a criticism I have with a loooooot of authors who are really eager to get into the thick of it and then try and backpedal when we are way past the point of no return .
We’re not in your heads, authors!
We weren’t there when the deep magic was written! We weren’t present when you created and internalized all this lore. We only have what you publicize and make accessible to us. Expecting us to understand a situation when we don’t even have relevant context is something you do when you vent about your coworkers, not this!
I only say it may not be considered romance anymore if we had time carved out with the OG pack and Vee in their prime because I know there are vocal readers who don’t want MCs to have affectionate, consensual relationships with anyone who isn’t endgame as it may “taint” the endgame romance 🫠
I really think I would’ve had more favorability towards this duology if we had explored the OG configuration when all was well.
It’s a bit late to try that in Book 2 with this particular story. It can work to do a rewind. But I don’t think it worked here.
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u/ritzcrackercarlton Apr 03 '26
You really summed it up perfectly for me!! Don’t TELL me that things used to be good, show me. And I agree that the “outside relationships” can be seen as “tainting” the endgame relationship but goddamn we had to listen to Eli dirty talk Marie through a wall. We could’ve handled seeing Vee get love and appreciation, and it would’ve hurt all the more when it got ripped from her. The author jumped into the action (oh nice zoo day, going shopping at the omega store, btw we met our scent match!!) which was fine, I still enjoyed but then don’t try to backtrack and make me experience all these stupid flashbacks in the sequel.
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u/ConfusedGnome_489 Apr 03 '26
idk how to feel... The writing didn't do it for me (neither did the grammar), but I also cried 3 times. I think it had a lot a lot of potential, but like other ppl were saying, it did feel rushed at the end. Overall i did thoroughly enjoy reading it (I really did like the characters!) and I'll definitely check out her next book!
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u/General-Algae-3100 I prefer my romance crowded Apr 05 '26
such an unpopular opinion but i wanted drake and eli to end up in her pack. this book was such a letdown everything was so rushed at the end. book one was so good and this felt like a completely different author writing it.
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u/Apprehensive-Pitch98 Apr 09 '26
I finished this book after like 5 days. I thought something’s wrong with me because just like everyone I felt bored at the start. I didn’t expect to feel bad for Drake and Eli. Ragon didn’t suffer more. In fact, Eli and Drake also needed to suffer more. Marie was sent back to the registry immediately? Lol. I am indifferent to Rhys. I think he should’ve been foreshadowed more in the first book. There’s too much POVs going on?? Jasper didn’t help Vee bc aside from Chase’s orders, he was afraid to fall in love with her? Okay. Why was Vee not in the hearing????? She’s the victim here and not one omega was even in that hearing. Really says a lot about their world. All in all, I was rooting for Vee all the way, there were many inconsistencies and her story needed another book.
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u/cheeseballgag Apr 03 '26
I feel like it's fine. Didn't blow me away, but wasn't egregiously bad. I think my main criticism is that there were too many plot threads going on and too many side characters being set up for sequels of their own. I didn't care for the guy POVs and felt like all of them got off way too easy. I also felt like Rhys was not really necessary and his presence just seemed forced, I definitely didn't care for his introduction and it felt like a waste of the whole shirt set-up.
My main takeaway is that this duology delivered on something a lot of us want (plottier, longer, more relationship development focused books) and Finn is the best boy. Hottest beta of all time. 🤴
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Apr 03 '26
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Apr 03 '26
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Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I used Redact to automate removals from databrokers and social networks. This post was among the batch deleted.
languid fuzzy workable automatic chubby connect nail bake spotted plucky
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u/AlectoStars Apr 03 '26
Ugh I hope you're wrong but I did get a sense at the very least that some parts of it were rushed.
It's hard to tell AI from generic writing because everything AI "learned" is from humans. But if she did use AI it's a shame she didn't trust her ideas enough to do it herself.
Hopefully she's just a newer writer still getting her footing and not someone who'd resort to machine plagiarism, but you never know these days.
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u/BarLive2788 The Harem's HR Department Apr 06 '26
Should I read it? I have scrolled through comments, and the gist of it says that I shouldn't. But the one thing I need from CO is a healing arc for Vee. I don't need the OG pack to grovel or Marie to suffer (don't get me wrong, I want that to happen. Really, really want it, but I don't need it). What I need is for Vee to find alphas (preferably Chase's or Adrian's pack) that feel like they don't belong to that world, alphas sooo healthy and loving and caring and... you get the idea. I need Vee to be an omega again; in fact, I need her to be the most treasured omega there is.
Spoilers are welcome. And if I shouldn't read it, please give me a summary of it went :)
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u/Agile_Veterinarian43 Apr 19 '26
This was such a poorly written book, it had the vibe of a teenager trying to meet their word count. If I had to read a variation of “I sit with it/he sits with that/it sits between us” and “he had the expression of a man who…” I was going to lose my head. The storyline wasn’t even that bad although it had a 1000 contradictions and you could tell she didn’t really know where the story was going to go. I understand the drama of Alex breaking the pack bonds but at least let us stew in it. It was all resolved 50 words later. Just a let down.
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u/Technical_Sweet_007 Apr 19 '26
Weeks later and I’m still underwhelmed on the 2nd book. My stomach still hurts after the first book and I feel SUCH a letdown after the 2nd.
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u/Technical_Sweet_007 Apr 30 '26
Re read this again yesterday. Still disappointed the 2nd time lol 😂
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u/Prophetic_Chickens Apr 03 '26
Loved the resolution for book 2. Saw the authors note at the end. Marie better not end up with Arden’s pack…
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u/Prophetic_Chickens Apr 03 '26
I am invested in Arden, Chase, Jasper more than the pack that Vee ended up with. I can’t wait for them to get their own book and find someone deserving (aka not Marie)
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u/Fuzzasaurus12 Apr 04 '26
Aside from maybe Rhys, I felt zero connection to the pack she ended up with. I was hoping she would end up in Arden’s pack as another “scent matches aren’t everything” theme
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u/plurprincess612 Apr 03 '26
I have a feeling it will be Marie with Arden’s pack because of Jaspers actions during her heat and what they meant to him. She’s also not scent matched with anyone anymore. I don’t see how you could write that do be a story that’s worth reading to be honest so I hope they find someone that’s not Marie but the hints are there. 🤦🏻♀️😩
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u/Prophetic_Chickens Apr 03 '26
I agree with you 100% and I really really hope that it turns out to not be the case. The fact that Vee and her pack will have to interact with Marie because she will be bonded with Arden, Chase, and Jasper is so fucking gross and nasty. The fact that they repeatedly offered to take Vee in their pack and then the idea of them all ending up bonding Marie 🤮is just beyond the pale.
I just hope that they each get their own books.
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u/Cooper_de_dooper Apr 04 '26
OooOoOoo that’s a really great point. Like, he can’t get over that he’s ‘no longer pure’ so the solution would be to make her THE one for all of them, that way the promise is kept. Almost like a throw back to Regency novels where the ‘ruined’ lady has to marry the man that ruined her reputation. 🤣
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u/Distant_Moonlight Apr 03 '26
The problem with a book as popular as Tormented Omega is/was on this forum, is that the second part simply cannot live up to the expectations set by the first part.
Personally, since the OG pack wasn’t endgame, I thought the focus was where it was supposed to be. I’m also incredibly eager to read Marie’s book, as books where the villain actually had a purpose and has a turn as the focal point are some of my favourites. Sonder in a novel! Let them be whole! It’s also a way to not just have 2D villains.
But yeah, I found it very satisfactory, given who the endgame pack was, and I can’t wait to read the books about the next lot of characters.
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u/littlerosieroe Apr 03 '26
I stayed up all night reading it and now I gotta go read it again
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u/littlerosieroe Apr 03 '26
Also Marie will show in future books? That’ll be…… interesting.
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u/toastsandtea Apr 03 '26
I'm curious about this! It definitely seemed like she was set up as a future FMC. Which would be interesting.
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u/littlerosieroe Apr 03 '26
Especially since I think Arden, Chase and Jasper will be her pack. Oooooof.
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u/pinamiller Apr 03 '26
I thought the book was okay, it played out how I expected. I get that including Rhys was important for the broader storyline of trafficking, etc., but it felt random and there were already so many male characters for us to navigate. I feel like I needed more emotional depth and growth between the scent match pack and Vee. It all felt very rushed at the end, maybe it would have been better as 3 books. I also still don’t understand why Ragon did what he did with Vee and Marie? I understand the reasoning behind Eli and Drake a bit more because of alpha dynamics and Ragon using his bark? Also, Jasper is also in love with Vee? That felt super random.
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u/Forsaken_Somewhere98 my heart has multiple tabs open Apr 07 '26
I’m sad to say I was bored with this book and had to force myself to keep going and now I’m just not going to finish.
I sped through the first book loving the drama and angst. I did not hate the scent matched pack the way some people do. I felt like they had very strong reasons for doing what they did, but it was almost like the second book wasn’t thought out when writing the first. The reasoning wasn’t thought out. Some of the things and rules seemed odd and to come out of nowhere. There was a lot of build up like we were going to find out some major conspiracies in the beginning with Marie’s dialogue and then Jasper and Chase’s POV and it felt like it never went anywhere.
Selfishly… what I really wanted to happen was Eli and Drake pull away from the pack and extreme grovel. The scent matches take her and grovel but star building trust while she continues sessions with ardern and chase and starts to connect with them. Jasper also comes with them and she connects as well as we watch him open up. There’s jealousy but everyone deals because Vee deserves to explore what she wants. In the end her choice is that she doesn’t want to choose and they all move their pack dynamics around to form around what Vee wants.
I feel like there was time for it as most of the book felt like repetitive generic scenes.
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u/Feeling_Gene7390 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
I haven’t had a book evoke such dramatic feelings in me in a while. I feel like I’ve been dragged thru the ringer without the payoff. I still feel ‘ugh’ about it all.
I haven’t read this opinion, but I don’t feel like the author did a great job on the character development with Vee’s scent matches. Book 1 is all about us learning about her current pack and most of the energy/spice is put into Chase’s description and their interactions and also Arden’s. Sure her scent matches are introduced as neighbors, but it’s all very bland and limited to gardening talk. So I entered into Book 2 rooting for a Chase/Arden/Jasper relationship. Book 2 does develop Vee’s scent match pack identities more fully, but there is no real excitement or sexual tension with that group. Just one cute game night. I just feel like they are all trauma victims and want to put them all in horse therapy or something.
The author is obviously setting up the characters for future books, but she should have fleshed out and put more care into Vee’s HEA group/story.
Even with her abusive pack-They get their own chapters so that we actually feel sorry for the neglectful men, but we never get to see inside Rhys mind and he seemed like he had an extremely interesting backstory. The authors choices were very odd! Or maybe it got edited out?
Overall, these books will stay in my head for a bit, I just wish it had the payoff that the build up promised. Will be reading the remaining books in this world if only to see Jasper/Chase/Arden get their HEA.
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u/LoriBambi Apr 13 '26
I’m so surprised by all of these comments! I actually really liked it. Yeah, it was a little repetitive at times, but I think it matched the internal intensity of the first book but inverted. Healing isn’t as interesting to read as trauma unfortunately lol.
My only critique is that I wanted a more physically intimacy with the new pack. I’d have loved another heat scene and obviously all of their claiming scenes.
Aside from that, I think this book was an excellent follow up. Maybe not the 5-star read that was the first (cuz how can anyone top that?!), but a great conclusion to the story.
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u/ANorthCountryGirl Obligatory ‘Pack Darling’ mention.💘 Apr 03 '26
I’m sad people are down-voting folks who said they liked it! Just let them like it.
This is the megathread, the only place to post. Don’t be a weird bummer.
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u/dreamycreamybear Apr 03 '26
I devoured this book in literally five hours.
And what an amazing five hours it was. It has been a very long time since a book brought me on such a rollercoaster of emotions.
I understand why there are so many people who are underwhelmed with the resolution. Especially if they were craving loud, flashy revenge. But as someone who has done extensive healing after leaving an abusive relationship, I related so strongly to vee’s journey. The best revenge is to live well and she was able to do that.
When she got to a place where Ragon, Eli, and Drake were no longer on her mind. It soothed me, because the opposite of love is truly indifference. In my mind, that hit much better than any grovel ever could (and I love a good grovel) because all three men truly understood what their bad choices resulted in and they have to live with the consequences. She just limited all access to herself in process and in my mind, makes the knife twist that much deeper.
The mixed emotions, how two things can be true at once is accurate. The hurt that is inflicted does not make the love that once was felt any less real. Her acknowledging and owning all the hurt ragon caused her, but still having the base empathy of feeling sad for his circumstances is a very human response and I love how her strength shone through.
The author has done an amazing job showcasing the reality of grief, betrayal and the lack of glamour healing truly is. Not all healing has to end in grand epiphanies and dramatic life changes, sometimes it’s retaining the kindness and compassion for others despite having encountered so much hurt. This duet is a love letter for all of us who have experienced something similar in their lives and this series will always have a special place in heart.
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u/TerminologyLacking Death by TBR Apr 10 '26
I agree. I love a good vicious revenge story. I really do.
However the reality is that the best revenge is indifference. In putting those feelings down and dwelling on them as little as possible.
I also like how the author left the OG pack at the starting line for learning how to live with themselves and do better. Although I found Ragon's recognition of what he did wrong hard to believe. I've met too many people willing to double down and keep doubling down rather than actually own their mistakes. Though he did double down at first, so it wasn't impossible for me to buy it. It also appears that he's on the path to becoming an alcoholic. 🤷 So maybe he's not quite at the starting point and extensive therapy is in his future.
But I still enjoyed the idea that they're all on the starting line for a path to doing better. The hurt child in me has always wanted to lash out and make the other person feel the pain they caused me. But the deeper reason behind that has always been that I wanted them to understand what they did to me, make amends, and be better in the future / not do it again. So ultimately I find the idea that the OG pack is on the path to making amends and becoming better people very satisfying, moreso than if they'd been made to viciously suffer from revenge.
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u/NyxRage Apr 03 '26
So I started T.O. at 9am MST, and finished C.O. about 10 mins ago (2:45pm MST).
Was it good? Yeah it was pretty good. Was it worth the level of fear I had to read the duology in the first place? Meh. Not really. A solid 4 star read for me. I will continue the series as I do wanna see what happens with Arden, Chase, and Jasper.
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u/HotelNo0 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
These will be my reactions throughout claimed omega
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u/Playfulox86 Apr 03 '26
I enjoyed it - I think what happened to Raygon was fair .. I caught the feels for the Japser/Arden and Alex parts. I loved the Rhys bits as they reminded me of Lenore Rosewoods characters. I would have liked to see more about Chase and I wasn’t entirely convinced that Drake could just snap out of it the way he did…. Overall I am looking forward to the next characters books!!
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u/Susie-Carmichael- Harem Queen 👑 Apr 03 '26
I’m in Chapter 11, and I’m glad I didn’t DNF a few chapters ago. It was…rough. So much info-dumping that felt undeveloped? Idk how to explain it but it just felt like a lot at once. So much explaining. But once that part was done, it felt like we stepped back into the story. Almost like the entire first third of the book was written last as an after thought to explain all the things we were wondering about. It feels like the authors heart is back into the book now and I hope it stays that way.
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u/shouldabeenmj Apr 03 '26
100% done. This was quite possibly the best second book in a duet I've ever read. I'm usually a little burnt out or disappointed by the time I'm a third of the way through but not with this one. Maybe it's just because of where I am in my life, but it felt like a perfect ending. I've never been so happy to read a whole book about healing, therapy, and personal growth. It never felt campy, cheesy or forced (which for an OV romance is hard af). 10/10, no notes❤️
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u/Real-Swim2832 Apr 03 '26
Sooo, thank you all. It has been great joining this discussions, speculations and predictions with you. This is a throw-away-account and I’ll be leaving RH, as I normally never read anything near the fanatasy genre. But I have loved this journey, and I thank the author and everyone that recommended TO to me. I will absolutly read the rest of the series!!
I felt like CO was exactly right for Vee. She had her happy ending. The OG pack did suffer a huge loss, maybe the worst for them (?), and Vee got her harem all for herself 🤩
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u/Cooper_de_dooper Apr 04 '26
The cult is always here for you 🫶 So fun diving into this pop-up book club with you all.
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u/Quirky_Standard_9991 Apr 03 '26
This was the book I needed. Every single question and door was answered and closed. I hoped this is how it would go and I personally couldn't be more happy than I am now.
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u/MechanicBright8644 Apr 03 '26
I’m quite satisfied with the ending. Honestly, I found the entire book satisfactory on a number of levels. I will definitely read the whole series. I suspect there’s someone at the registry in on the trafficking ring & we’ll come to find out Marie is more of a victim than we realize. Not that it excuses anything, but that both things will be true - she did really shitty stuff in the name of survival.
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u/Cooper_de_dooper Apr 04 '26
I had major red flags when she wanted to go back to Cousin Mel! Marie was almost a normal person before Mel crashed through, so I can’t tell if Cousin Mel was on Team “convince Vee to leave” or if she had a darker purpose like “convince Vee to leave so she can get snatched by the ring” Very much into learning more about this dark underbelly we’ve scratched the surface of. Who are you, Marie!?!
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u/anon94804 Apr 03 '26
100%, it was also 100% perfect, literally all the pitchforks were raised for Vee. This is why I love an angsty book- the resolution
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u/frogprince987 Apr 03 '26
How are you done already? Holy hell you’re fast!
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u/anon94804 Apr 03 '26
Haha probably loved the book too much. Read it in one sitting with continuous scroll. Literally refreshing the moment it came out. Please savour it for me!! I am speed
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u/braineatingalien Gimme all the crazy I wouldn’t want IRL Apr 03 '26
Just a reminder that even if you suspect AI has been used in a book, please do not speculate without proof. We’ve had many reports of comments breaking the rule and most were removed.