Welcome to DNF Friday, where I’m going to showcase the book I most recently, well, DNF’d (did not finish). I figure if I’m sharing all the great books that really caught my attention, it’s only fair to call out the ones that didn’t; and maybe they’ll be right up your alley instead.
This week’s DNF is Heat Clinic by Alexis B. Osborne. At first, this book seemed like exactly my thing, and the first third-to-half was great. I loved it. But then they left the heat clinic, and my interest waned pretty significantly. I think a lot of it was the change in dynamic and also point of view; after leaving the clinic to join her new pack, Emily feels more like a tagalong than the main character. There’s a ton of emphasis on the 3 men, and while I’m not opposed to some sword-crossing (or even full mm sometimes), I’ll admit: I read dirty romance books primarily to read about terrible, wonderful things happening to the lady characters. The switch in focus from Emily to the pack as a whole was a little jarring, and I couldn’t get past it. I made it to about 75%.
I’ll also say, one of the main characters was getting on my nerves. Tom – the pack’s original beta – was meant to be a brat, but it got taken a little too far for my taste; he started feeling significantly more like a manchild than a sub. It was grating after a while.
All this to say, while I’m not opposed to omegaverse books, I don’t exactly seek them out; I’ve definitely read good ones, but it’s not my genre of choice (that, as you all know, is monster fucking). The dynamic that came up where the alpha is the dom and everyone else is a sub, but the omega is like an ultra sub even to the subby beta’s was not for me. I think technically the betas were switches, but it still ended up with a hierarchy that I couldn’t get into.
I’m giving it two stars, despite it’s DNF status, because the first half of the book was really hot and interesting. I loved the concept and execution of the heat clinic itself, and I have much love for Sam, but once they all joined up it got messy in a way I didn’t enjoy. I’ll definitely pick up another book by the author, though, and post a review when I do.
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