Genre: Erotica/Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Romance
Theme: Arranged Marriage, Fated Mates, Forced Proximity, Road Trip, Were/Shifters
Content warnings
graphic on-page torture, mentioned sexual assault, on-page attempted sexual assault, child abuse, graphic murder, misogyny, harassment, death of a parent
I’m incredibly tickled by the fact that A/B/O fanfiction has somehow leaked into the mainstream romance world. I suppose we can thank Mate for that, but I’ve been seeing these tropes – mainly played out between two male characters – in fandoms for years. Alas, when it’s all about a het couple, things can get…regressive. This werewolf shifter A/B/O unfortunately does play into some of those dull old tropes, but it’s also a priceless hoot.
Sybbie Palmer’s younger sister, Maeve, has been called to be bound to the leader of the Primrose clan, Layton Warner, as a way of allying their packs so they’ll have leverage in a territory war. Sybbie steps in, sacrificing herself so Maeve won’t be bound to a man twice her age. Sybbie is the adopted daughter of the Luminaire clan’s alpha, Nolan, and the eldest in her family. She’s looked out for her sisters since their parents died defending Nolan. Taking her sister’s place is just one more self-sacrificing gesture from Sybbie – and for Sybbie, who is discovering that she is this universe’s version of demisexual, this binding is definitely a sacrifice.
Jude Briggs, Layton’s bodyguard, has agreed to drive Sybbie to his alpha so the bonding and mating can begin. The road trip from the Luminaire clan’s territory to the Primrose territory takes a truly ludicrous two and a half weeks. Yes, they are in a car. Do not expect logic here.
Briggs is the stoic, silent type while Sybbie cannot shut up. He teaches her how to be more comfortable with her wolf shifter side, and how to defeat their common enemy, the Karvers, who use psychic powers to subdue their werewolf enemies. Sybbie and Briggs realize they might be fated to be with each other – which could spell disaster for their two clans.
It’s A/B/O y’all – you know Sybbie’s gonna go into heat during this trip, and it’s ONLY because of Jude and Jude being her fated mate, and he will do everything to stop himself from sticking his big purple throbbing helmet into her frequently-dripping but magical hoo ha. You know someone will be knotted even though they shouldn’t be knotted. This book was catnip to me in a few ways. I love road trips. I love ideas that don’t take themselves too seriously. I love grumpy and sunshine dynamics. And yes, I love Alpha/omega nonsense.
But Sybbie came off as tragically infantile and helpless, and she stays that way for the majority of the book. I had no idea how she managed to protect her siblings in such a deadly, threat-packed environment without dying immediately. She’s not a fighter, as she whimpers before and after every major attack. Trauma brought on by her parent’s violent deaths, sure, but in her brutal world you have to knot up or shut up, and she’s not doing either.
This is probably because no one has bothered to train her or help her or prepare her for the fact that she’s going into an extremely deadly position as Layton’s bride until Briggs gets involved.
She also calls him “Briggsy.” And says the word ‘jeepers.’ A lot. I don’t want to think of Velma Dinkley – who’s twice as smart as Our Heroine – in these ridiculous situations, nor do I want to think about Scooby Doo in a book with knotting.
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Even worse, whenever Sybbie is alone – even for a second – she’s either approached and groped by a predatory man or targeted by the Karvers. This is convenient for Briggs to prove his mettle as a hero but it gets monomaniacal after it happens for the 20th time. Her constant need for reassurance from him – that she didn’t invite near-rape from a rogue were, that she really CAN do things – is embarrassing to hear coming out of an adult.
A good chunk of the book features Sybbie and “Briggsy” bantering at each other awkwardly (which is just Briggs growling and Sybbie pouting and either belching saccharine at him, simpering, or acting defiantly), them stopping at a dingy roadside bar/restaurant/motel to eat, Sybbie or Briggs to getting assaulted and then for them to white-knuckle it through another bout of the Heaving Moists. Then Briggs tries to train her for a bit but they again have to resist another wave of heat-related everything-but-the-tip sex.
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Rinse, repeat until we get to Primrose territory.
Naturally, she defies him like a teenager on top of it. And for fuck’s sake, is there no way to track heats?
Why on earth didn’t they schedule this trip around the possibility of her going into one, just in case she finally DOES display?
Why did Layton agree to spare his bodyguard in the first place?!
WHY DOES HE WANT SYBBIE WHEN SYBBIE HAS NEVER GONE INTO HEAT?! I know, territorial deal but there has to be something in it for him.
Why am I asking questions about a book like this?
Briggs is strong, silent and stoic. He knows what’s best for everyone. But his resistance is futile. He will deny himself the pleasure of Sybbie’s fluttering walls of shell-pink glory until he cracks and then they go at it raw. He gets injured just so she can mend him, but otherwise he’s pretty invincible –pretty standard hero material for this type of book.
And lord, this deus ex machina ending, which barely involves our heroine and hero but cleans their mess up for them:
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It turns out Layton is fighting with a female alpha for control of the clan: Hannah, Briggs’ married sister.
The eventual conflict between them is incredibly brief and comes at the last quarter of the book, and results in Sybbie being freed up to be with Briggs. Yay.
It’s all too convenient that they were already in a blood feud (and if they were WHY DID LAYTON TRUST BRIGGS WITH THIS IMPORTANT MISSION?!) so Sybbie can have her fated alpha and be bred by him, too. She does little to actually move this situation into motion other than being in the wrong place at the right time.
A few important notes: “Good Girl” is spoken during sex scenes, most of which involve rough sex. Sybbie is conveniently very into this, as it turns out Briggs is the only one who can turn on her heats like a light switch because fated mates > demisexuality and he’s her true love. Convenient!
Sybbie’s sisters call Briggs ‘grumble bum’ and say things like ‘cringe.’
And all of this is both awesome and ridiculous, jaw-dropping and wonderful. As much as I shrieked questions of logic and reason at the pages, I had a great time.
The heroine is a walking facepalm.
The hero is growly and horny.
It’s absurd and compelling.
And that’s why, if you like over the top, UNAwere is worth a read – even if, like Sybbie when she thinks of Layton, it could have used a little bit more lubrication.
This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.
