Monday, May 12, 2014

Manic Monday Review - Konnor and His Omega Mate (Love Slaves of the Alphas #3) by Shannon West


Konnor and His Omega Mate (Love Slaves of the Alphas #3)
by Shannon West

4 Stars

Hey everyone, and welcome to Manic Mondays on my blog! I don’t know the author, but I really enjoy her work. I’ve read all the books in this series and loved them. I’ll be talking about them over time on here. 
This is going to be a day dedicated to authors. I may post book reviews on some Mondays, it might be author interviews on others. It could be new releases, or just my thoughts in general. I'm hoping it'll be lots of fun, whatever or whoever shows up for Monday lol.

Now, a quick note on the book reviews. If I post it on here, then just know I liked the book. I will not be posting a review that's not at least a 3 rating. I'm not going to bash what are basically others who are in my peer group. No nasty reviews happening here. :) And the reviews I'm posting are already on my GR shelf too.

So, let's get this Manic Monday started lol!
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Bio:
Shannon West is a bestselling author of M/M romance. She currently lives in the South with her husband and large family. A lover of M/M romances, she began writing them with a male partner to add authenticity to the love scenes, but graduated to watching videos online and reading everything she could get her hands on. She loves men and everything about them, and believes that love is love, no matter the gender. A huge proponent of gay rights, she is a member of PFLAG and supports equal rights for everyone. Though there are never enough hours in the day, she tries to work every day, giving in to the demanding men in her head and writing their stories. She’s easy like that. She loves traveling, reading, watching scary movies and is totally hooked on that zombie show on TV.
Her website is www.shannonwestbooks.com

Blurb:
Ethan is having a really bad day. First he’s required by Lycan law to appear before a judging panel consisting of big, important alphas who intimidate him and make him so nervous he’s afraid he won’t be able to perform at all. He’s desperate to prove himself a worthy gamma, so he can get an apprenticeship, and start his new life. When he walks into the room he finds Konnor Balenscu, a handsome, important Lycan alpha, who also happens to be his mate. Ethan is incredibly drawn to him and is amazed to learn that Konnor returns his interest. There’s only one hitch—Konnor finds him to be a lowly omega, deemed mentally defective by the proud Lycans, and doomed to live his life as a love slave, sold to the highest bidder. He only has one option left. He has to run.


The Manic Monday REVIEW:
Welcome back to the Balenescu family! In this story, things are a little different. Both the main characters are Lycan and know exactly how a Lycan relationship works.
Konner is the alpha. As I’ve mentioned, the alphas are all very dominant, almost to the point they tend to be a little arrogant.  But, to me, that’s what makes it so special when the alpha finds his mate. They fall, and they fall hard, lol. Konner and his brother Larssen have been selected to preside over the Selection, the annual judging of a young pup’s status in the pack. Their duty is to select the new leaders and to provide a smooth transition from childhood to adulthood.
They also decide each pup’s rank in the Lycan hierarchy. Konner isn’t thrilled to have this duty thrust on him. He’s even less thrilled when he sees Ethan, and the Balenescu family curse hits, lol. Konner had been hoping the curse wouldn’t find him quite yet. So much for that, lol. But that isn’t the only problem Konner has with his new mate.
Ethan is also Lycan, but thank to a rough childhood spent growing up in an orphanage, he’s… shall we say, he’s really out of touch with the real world. He comes across as naïve. For this race, that seems a little unbelievable. Ahhh, but there’s a reason Ethan acts all shy, unsure, and… submissive.
Turns out he’s an omega, and being an omega is not a good thing in this world. Omegas are trained to be submissive, then sold to other Lycans as love slaves. Omegas are considered mentally defective dependents. Ethan, of course, isn’t happy to learn this. Understatement, lol. Nor does he know he’s Konner’s mate. Ethan is so unhappy with being an omega, he runs from Konner. And lands up sold to a brothel! Now Konner is in a desperate race to find Ethan before something really bad happens.
There are D/s scenes, which is expected in this series, but not too extreme. The thing to keep in mind is the Lycan alphas tend to be overbearing know-it-alls who make mistakes. They aren’t perfect. Then their mate comes along, and boy, are these alphas brought down a peg or two lol. I like the series, what can I say, lol. It’s an easy read. I don’t need a character reference sheet to keep up with who’s who. And who’s doing what to whom, lol.
I rated the book 4 stars back on May 27, 2013 on GR. There were some niggles, but I rated the book for how it was written, not how I wanted it to be written, based on what I read. (You’re going to see that in every review I do.) Again, I do wish it were longer. That would’ve allowed for some expansion on certain things. There were some editing issues too. I’m not a Grammar Nazi, so I didn’t have a problem with it, but I’m noticing it. The main problem was the fact that Ethan was this sweet and shy omega who not only ran from his master, but managed to get away in the first place. But don’t misunderstand, I really liked the book. Enough that I’ve read it a couple of times lol.

~Michelle