Loved by A.M. Arthur

Kell Iverson Cross never imagined he’d find so much joy in his life, and he doesn’t take a single moment for granted. His tireless work championing omega rights have made him a bit of a celebrity across the territory, so when his brother Braun suggests Kell be the first omega to run for public office, Kell doesn’t say no right away. It’s a huge risk to their family, though, and Kell isn’t sure the political statement is worth it. It may be more change than the traditionalist citizens of Sansbury are ready for—especially the ones who’ve already painted a target on Kell’s back.

Demir Higgs is barely staying afloat with both university exams and the upcoming medical school entrance test. Add in spending time with his younger brothers, cultivating his relationship with his two boyfriends, and winning over a grieving ten-year-old? He’s exhausted in the best way, because Demir is happy, healthy and in love with two amazing men—men he isn’t always sure truly need him in their lives.

Brandt Lars’s greatest wish came true when his missing bondmate Oliver and their son Eriq came back into his life. Eriq is still grieving the death of his beloved uncle, and he’s standoffish with Demir. But their family is trying to come together—as well as come out to more of their friends as an alpha/omega/beta triad. But when Oliver’s traditionalist parents refuse to accept Demir and threaten to take Eriq away, Demir can’t help wondering if it’s time for him to back out of their relationship for good…

Settle in for the final full-length installment of the Breaking Free series, where an accidental secret, a possible surprise pregnancy, a blast from the past, and an unexpected kidnapping combine to shake up the lives of everyone Kell and Demir know and love. But they’ll survive these challenges and changes the same way they always do: as a united and loving family.

NOTE: This is a non-shifter Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, mpreg, and MMM pairings. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens, but they are working toward gaining more civil rights and protections under the law. Series warnings for mentions of past physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. This series is best read in numerical order.

Book 8
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
Wow!

You must read all the books in the series, and in order, or you will be lost; heck, you still might be lost with all the characters. LOL.

I have loved almost every book in this series. I just love the characters and their stories, of course I have my favorites but who wouldn't? This series made me mad, made me laugh, cry, scream, and most of all love. There was so much emotion in these stories. I can't even put into words how good some of the characters were and how much I love them.

This last installment was great. It had your usual angst/drama with everyone pulling together and things ending up as they should. It was a good ending to a great series.

I highly recommend this entire series.


Shannan – ☆☆☆☆☆
Loved is the eighth and final book in the Breaking Free series.

Loved concentrates on the relationship between Oliver, Brandt, and Demir. It's an unusual relationship for most of their friends. A triad isn't something most alphas or omegas think about but for Oliver and Brandt, they need Demir in their lives. When Brandt decided he wanted to finally move on from Oliver's disappearance, he found Demir and fell in love. When Oliver returned, he didn't remember Brandt but knew they were mates. Oliver found comfort in Demir and needed him around to be with Brandt, it calmed him. Loved goes through their relationship and how they all needed each other even though it’s hard and unexpected. The past comes back to haunt them when they least expect it, leaving Demir feeling weak.

Loved brought these characters their happily ever after, but you also get a glimpse into the rest of the relationships from the series. This series was a first for me, but I loved every minute of it. I think it's an alpha/omega must read!


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This book is the culmination of everything that has happened over the previous books. You for sure need to read the previous books in order to understand the relationships and nuances in this final book of the series.

Demir, Brandt, and Oliver are just starting out in their triad. While Brandt and Oliver have a very strong relationship, Demir is still finding his place in it all.

You get to see the other family members and what they are doing too. It's a big reunion of sorts.

In this book, without giving much away, you'll see family pull together when it's needed the most and love blossom. Trust is given and held strong, and family is everything.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but wished we got to see the results of the politics and more of the relationships. I liked the surprise thrown in too, but still wished to see more closure. But overall, this was a great series and I really enjoyed it.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
4 Warm & Fuzzy yet Agonizing Stars

Loved is the eighth installment of the Breaking Free series by A.M. Arthur. I suggest against reading this as a standalone or out of order, since this installment reads more like a continuation from the previous book. As someone who has read all the books, I still suffer with confusion as I try to place whose novel goes with whom, as 20+ characters are name-dropped throughout the pages, each book adding more and more characters. This has been an issue for me since book #5 or so, especially as they all have multiple children to remember. I just roll with it – if I remember who belongs with whom and what their story is, great. If I don't, I try not to get frustrated by it. In a nutshell, don't read out of order.

By the eighth installment, the books follow a familiar pattern. This isn't a bad thing per se. If you want a dose of the warm and fuzzies, the fuzziest of fuzzies, with a ton of manufactured angst and putting the characters though their emotional paces with a traumatizing event, Arthur is the author for you. By now, I know what to expect, and that's the comfort in knowing the books will follow said pattern, as I can decide when to read based on my emotional mindset, and find immense enjoyment in the familiarity.

Loved was read in two sittings for me, annoyed that I got pulled away to do everyday chores, when I wanted to just read until The End. What I enjoyed the most is that this novel explored what was left up in the air from Claimed.

More of a continuation, Demir is a favorite of mine. The beta is struggling to figure out how he fits in with Oliver and Brandt, while trying to overcome the mindset of an alpha and an omega in a mated relationship, with the betas unable to mate and create children adding another layer of angst. Not to mention the age-gap, when his boyfriends are his father's age.

As I said, Demir is my favorite character, loving his family, especially his brothers, willing to do anything to protect, meanwhile feeling insecure in what his place is within everyone's lives. He's just one of many sons of his father and stepfather, and the boyfriend to a mated pair. He tugged the heartstrings something fierce, making me feel things I didn't with the other narrators. He came off as realistic, while Brandt and Oliver were so loving, supportive, and compassionate, they came off too much as preachy or inspirational speakers to feel real to me. Flaws make the characters feel human, and what Demir suffered made that human side reveal itself.

I look forward to more in the series, hoping to see all those kids aged to adult and find love to call their own (whose names I can't remember since there are so many of them, other than Eriq, because he's fresh in my head after two books. Hahahaha...).

Highly recommend this series and the others by A.M. Arthur, especially when the reader is looking for the comfort of formulaic writing.

Also Available in the Breaking Free Series

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A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Connect with A.M.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Loved: An Omegaverse Story (Breaking Free #8) by A.M. Arthur to read and review.

Claimed by A.M. Arthur

University student Demir Higgs is on the fast-track to graduate with honors and dive straight into medical school. His career plan leaves little time for dating, so after he catches his casual boyfriend cheating, Demir attends an anonymous sex party, determined to finally lose his virginity. He chooses an older alpha in a red mask and the man takes Demir apart piece by glorious piece, worshiping his body in ways Demir never imagined. Too bad he’ll never see the man again.

After his bondmate disappeared eleven years ago, Senior Constable Brandt Lars fell into his work and avoided dating, disinterested in relationships. Not until the boy in the blue mask. Introducing the young beta to the wonders of sex was Brandt’s absolute pleasure, and he can’t stop thinking about him—until Brandt comes face to face with Blue in the form of Demir Higgs, the middle son of a work colleague. Demir is equally drawn to Brandt and their chemistry is through the roof. The age difference is an issue, but their attraction is real, and stolen moments turn into a secret relationship they both enjoy…but something is still missing.

Years ago, Oliver Strand lost all his memories in a horrible car wreck that left his face scarred and his sense of smell obliterated. But he built a new life for himself and his son, and now he’s visiting Sansbury Province as a guest speaker at a territory-wide anti-sex-trafficking conference. What he does not expect to find at the conference is an alpha he doesn’t know, but who insists Oliver is his missing mate Ollie Lars, who disappeared the same week as Oliver’s accident.

Brandt is overjoyed to discover his bondmate is alive, despite Oliver having no memory of his old life in Sansbury, and he’s determined to keep both mate and son in his life. But he’s also in love with Demir and doesn’t want to lose him. Demir is ready to be the bigger person and step aside so the Lars family can be together again—until Demir realizes he and Oliver have unique chemistry of their own. And they’ve also both been claimed by the same alpha.

Can a grumpy alpha in love with two men, an omega with no memory of his mate, and a beta determined to chart his own course find a way to navigate the complicated waters of a poly relationship? Or will all three men end up stranded alone with broken hearts?

NOTE: This is a non-shifter, M/M/M Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, and mpreg. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens, but they are working toward gaining more civil rights and protections under the law. Series warnings for mentions of past physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Additional warnings for extremely kinky sex, including dirty talk, light spanking, biting, edging, roughhousing, come-swapping, and threesomes. This series is best read in numerical order.

Book 7
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have read all the previous books in this series and this is by far my favorite one!! After reading the prologue I felt like, "Oh no, I am going to need lots of tissues." Boy, did I. I feel like I cried or teared up at least a dozen times reading this book. First for Brandt and Ollie, then for Brandt and Demir, then for Brandt, Oliver, and Demir. This book was long and I really wanted it to be longer. I needed more. These guys worked so well together and I just loved their story. My only regret was that we didn't get to see Demir and Eriq interact, I think that was a big missing piece and we, the reader, needed that. I hated to see this book end but I hope there is another book and we see these characters again.


Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
Claimed is book seven in the Breaking Free series. It can be read as a standalone but to gain the full impact of the characters, the series should be read in the order the author intended.

Brandt Lars has been living in his own personal hell since his mate disappeared without a trace eleven years ago. Brandt is finally ready to not just exist but to finally live in the time he has left in his life. When he meets Little Blue, a masked stranger at a sex party, something clicks inside of him. When he finds out Little Blue is the son of his boss, he knows he shouldn’t be attracted to him but he can't stop, especially after the night they shared together. Brandt is finally able to find love and passion again.

Demir is Isa Higgs’ middle son. Fast tracking his schooling to get to medical school to be a researcher to find a cure for Donal Syndrome. He's never been attracted to a type of man. Being a beta, he's never had to rely on being scented and the mating bond. After finding out he's been cheated on, he makes a quick decision to attend a sex party to lose his virginity. Big Red is completely unexpected for an alpha, sweet and caring about his comfort level and pain. Demir never expected to know Big Red but when he figures it out, he needs Brandt in his life.

Just when Brandt and Demir are getting to know each other and fall in love, the mate that Brandt thought he'd never see again comes back into town, not remembering his mate or his life before the car accident. Can Brandt walk away from Demir? Is an alpha capable of loving more than his omega? Is Oliver willing to come back to Brandt, a man he doesn't know? Can Demir walk away from the only man he's ever loved, or can he even imagine loving someone else as much as he loved Brandt?

I loved Brandt, Demir, and Oliver. The chemistry is high between the three. Even though Brandt is an alpha, he's willing to do whatever he needs to to make the men in his life happy. I read this one in one sitting. I had to know what was going to happen. There were moments my heart broke for Demir not knowing where his place was in the poly relationship. At one point I was brought to tears.

I can't wait to see what's next, as this is quickly becoming one of my favorite series!


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Demir is working hard to get in to the medical program because he has made it his mission to cure his good friend's disease. Being a beta isn't all that tricky. Being a big brother is the highlight of his life. Finding love is another story completely. Demir finds himself as the other man when he tries to surprise his boyfriend. While he's more angry than heartbroken, Demir finds himself still a virgin. He takes it upon himself to attend a party he heard about where the attendees are masked. He feels that this is the prefect venue to lose his virginity.

Brandt Lars has been existing for the last decade. When his pregnant bondmate went missing, Lars was unable to continue really living. He did his job well, but at the end of the day, he retreated back home and drank himself into oblivion. Lars did this until one day he realized his bondmate, Ollie, would have been angry with him for not getting on with his life. Lars loves his job and is starting to venture out to social engagements again. It's how he finds himself at a masked ball.

Demir and Lars have a hot and heavy hookup and at the end, because they didn't exchange names, thought that the hot encounter would never be repeated. But as luck would have it, Demir recognizes Lars' blue eyes and Lars recognizes Demir too. They start their relationship in secret, mainly because Demir's dad is Lars' boss. With emotions flying high, Demir knows that he's falling in love with Lars. Demir is also aware that there are still feelings that Lars will always carry for his former bondmate.

When Lars' past collides with his present, it's shocking for everyone involved. Lars is so happy to find his bondmate, Ollie, again and to learn that his son was born. But Lars also has feelings for Demir and doesn't want to just abandon that relationship because his bondmate has been found. Ollie is hesitant to start his relationship back up because while things feel familiar, he can't remember his bondmate, Lars. The chemistry between all three of these men is off the charts. None of them can deny that they could have amazing chemistry and a fantastic relationship, but they are also worried about their community's prejudices.

This is a sweet story about finding love after loss, accepting a new reality, and not letting go of love. I have loved each of these stories in this series and hope more will come.


Erica – ☆☆☆
The first 50% was a five-star read for me. However, it went downhill from there for me. Three stars overall.

Claimed is the seventh installment of the Breaking Free series, and I suggest against reading it as a standalone. While the core of the book wouldn't cause any confusion, many threads and characters are connected to past books.

The last installment was a bust for me, so I was apprehensive about reading Claimed. As a believer in polyamory and a fan of reading it, this had me clicking the book open, even though I had others I needed to review first.

Claimed is more focused on Demir and Brandt, which I appreciated and had me tapping the pages at a voracious rate. The relationship building was more slow-burn, which was ignited by a healthy dose of passion and lust. Angst. Angst. And more Angst. Brandt is the subordinate of Demir's father, not to mention the large age-gap.

Brandt lost his mate 11 years ago, while Ollie was on his way to a checkup for his pregnancy. Poof. Oliver disappears and Brandt goes off the rails. A chance meeting between Brandt and a young university student sparks life back into him.

50% of the book was filled with slow-burn relationship building and a whole lot of angsty lust. Fears. Anxiety. Insecurity. Budding love.

Then Oliver is found, and it all goes off the rails again. For me. *see the fact that I said I adore polyamory*

What I don't adore is how Oliver was alone in a strange city, surrounded by strangers, emotionally distraught, terrified, and just learned he is Brandt's lost mate, after losing the mate he had for over a decade. He had amnesia and now knows who he used to be, but he is not Ollie anymore.

Sex doesn't erase trauma. Sex doesn't erase emotional distress. A page earlier, Oliver is terrified, setting up firm boundaries, because even though Brandt knows who he USED to be, Oliver doesn't know Brandt. Oliver doesn't know Demir, either. Demir knows nothing of Oliver. Brandt doesn't know anything of this version of Oliver, only knowing a young Ollie. Life experiences, time, and more than decade of amnesia changed Ollie into a grown Oliver.

Three strangers seated down after breakfast to get to know who they are TODAY. I adored this. It made sense. It made sense in how the characters would behave dictated by human nature. I couldn't wait to read more... with the click of the page, I had to stop reading out of pure rage.

Cue sex.

In the middle of a discussion. Cue sex out of nowhere. Abrupt, for no good reason but to titillate and add shock-value. While we're at it, have Brandt tell Oliver all about how Demir likes sex, in great detail. When he has only ever touched Brandt. Oversharing with a stranger for someone who is one step from a virgin. Automatic poly relationship and sex.

It cheapened the story. It lessened their connection. It made it look as if those in a polyamorous relationship were only in it for sex.

Sex heals all wounds. Immediately.

Oliver was reserved, terrified, and ready to run to whence he came... a page later, sex with TWO strangers he was scared of. A page after the sex, he said he would sleep on the sofa, because... you know, boundaries.

While gone for two weeks, Brandt would call him and he would listen to Brandt and Demir have sex. We (the reader) see no connection, slow rebuilding of their previous relationship, as neither of them are the Brandt and Ollie they used to be. No building of a friendship and relationship between Oliver and Demir.

Just sex.

Sorry if I'm taking it too seriously, but after 50% relationship building between Brandt and Demir, as the reader, I don't know Oliver. Brandt and Demir don't know Oliver. This is an escalated quickly situation after the previous pacing, which erased the possibility for me to buy into their poly relationship outside of gratuitous, meaningless sex, with BDSM tossed in to titillate.

FYI: polyamory and BDSM are my thing – not a prude in any way, but it better make sense.

As I said, I adored Brandt. I adored Demir and his entire family. I adored the story. I even adored the possibility of Oliver. The first 50% of the book was amazing.

One scene ruined it for me, and every time they had sex but didn't forge a bond, I lost faith in the author. Demir, Brandt, and Oliver deserved more, because we readers didn't get to experience Brandt and Ollie's relationship, so they are new to us, and Ollie is NOT the Oliver of today.

This author is a hit or miss for me. Either I am absolutely fanatical about the novel, or it's a major miss. This is the first time I've experienced both in the same novel by this author.

Also Available in the Breaking Free Series

Book 1
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For reviews & more info, check out our Saved post.

Book 2
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For reviews & more info, check out our Seen post.

Book 3
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For reviews & more info, check out our Heard post.

Book 3.5
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For reviews & more info, check out our Stronger post.

Book 4
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Book 5
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Book 6
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For reviews & more info, check out our Feel post.

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Contact her at am_arthur@yahoo.com with your cooking tips (or book comments).

Connect with A.M.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Claimed: An Omegaverse Story (Breaking Free #7) by A.M. Arthur to read and review.

Feel by A.M. Arthur

Single omegin Brogan Dale is jealous of the loving, stable relationships his omega friends have with their alpha mates. For years, he’s longed to find his own bondmate and create a family, but that hasn’t been in the cards. Just when he’s determined to take the first alpha who’ll provide for himself and his young son Peyton, Brogan scents him across a crowded coffee shop. Too bad his bondmate is the unstable alpha who nearly killed Brogan’s best friend last year.

Mikel Tovey is taking it one day at a time, adjusting to life on his own, away from the oppression and abuse of his cruel sire. All he wants is to complete his probation, make sure his omegin and brothers are safe, and find a way to live with all the mistakes he’s made. When he scents his omega bondmate, Mikel is initially terrified of the older omegin and his adorable toddler. But Brogan is handsome, kind, and Mikel is completely enamored of little Peyton.

With his bondmate in his sights, Brogan does everything in his power to prove Mikel can be a good alpha, a good mate, and a fantastic father to Peyton. But when Brogan’s past comes roaring into his present and puts Peyton’s future at risk, Mikel’s resolve is shaken. He wants to love and support his omega during this crisis, but he doesn’t know how. With Brogan surrounded by friends and chosen family who love him, he doesn’t need Mikel’s insecurities weighing him down, too—but Brogan has found his mate, and he isn’t letting Mikel walk away without a fight.

This time, Brogan has too much to lose…

NOTE: This is a non-shifter Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, and mpreg. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens with few civil rights and almost no protections under the law—although times are changing for the better. Trigger warnings for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. This series is best read in numerical order.

Book 6
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
Feel is the sixth installment in the Breaking Free series. This series can be read as standalones but seeing how the characters and storylines intertwine, they are better read in the order that they were written and released.

Brogan is the only single omega left from the fighting ring. He and his son, Peyton, are still living with their foster family. Brogan is eager to find a mate, regardless if it's a bondmate or not. While out with Jaysan and Morris, he scents his bondmate but unfortunately, it's the last person anyone expects.

Mikel is from Jaysan's past. He was hooking up with him for quite a while before Jaysan and Morris found each other. Mikel, while attempting to hurt himself, stabbed Jaysan, which almost killed him. Jaysan has forgiven Mikel but not everyone has. Mikel has sworn off being in a relationship. It's not something he wants, especially right now while he's still seeing a mandated therapist weekly. He knows he can't be the strong alpha that Brogan and Peyton need.

When their bond is too much to fight, Mikel and Brogan come to an understanding that they are strong for each other, something that isn't always the typical alpha/omega dynamic but it works for them.

I did enjoy Brogan and Mikel's story. They both came from broken pasts and were able to find the comfort they needed in each other. And as always, I love getting glimpses of couples past and seeing how the families all interact.

I can't wait for Claimed!!


Angie – ☆☆☆
Honestly, you have to read all the books in the series before you read this so you can understand who is who and all the backstory. Now my mistake was I read book #7 before book #6 on accident. I wasn't confused but I knew some of the things that had happened since reading book #7 first. OOPS. I will say this is probably my least favorite of all the books in the series. It just didn't feel like the book was about Brogan and Mikel. I think they somehow got lost in everything else. I couldn't really feel the connection between them and after a while I read the book to find out more about previous characters than about Brogan and Mikel.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/M Male Pregnancy – non-shifter
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

I have enjoyed several of the book in this series. While I don't think you necessarily have to read them in order, it does help to know how the relationship developed and continue.

This is Brogan's story. He was another victim of the omega ring. He has a son, Peyton, who is adorable in this story. It seems like Peyton can read people's feelings very well. While Brogan is happy for his fellow omegas, he is also giving up on himself ever finding his mate. That changes one day while having coffee with his friend Jaysan.

Mikel is still recovering from a traumatic childhood and early adulthood. His sire is finally in jail, but the scars, both physical and emotional, have taken their toll. Despite being so young, Mikel is worried that he will never make a good alpha because he has his father's blood in him.

This is a story about recovery, loving, and forgiving. Brogan has some hard truths in this book and while surrounded by his family, learns that he also is okay with leaning on his alpha. Mikel learns that sometimes, even with the horrible, he can deserve and be okay with his own happy ending.

This book felt a little scattered – more so than the other books. I'm not sure if it was because we were watching the issues of both characters unfold, but overall, this was not my favorite of the series, thus far. Also, it felt rushed at the end. We didn't really get to see a resolution – we were just told there was one.


Erica – ☆☆
I need to preface this review by stating I've handed out very few two-star ratings in the past decade. I rate books by others in their genre that I've read and rated, not all books I've read across the board. If I five-star a novel in MM romance, it's not the equivalent to a five-star in Fantasy. I don't balance genres against one another. I won't lie, I was tempted to rate this three stars to save hurt feelings, but against other three-star books I've rated in this genre, I didn't feel that was fair. This novel is rated against the others in its own series.

No, I don't believe this could be read as a standalone, simply because a new reader would have to skim 75% of the novel, maybe more, to find the plot beneath, due to the fact that the 10 previous main characters and their numerous offspring and friends/relatives/guardians photo-bombed just about every scene, to max confusion. Having read the series recently, even I was confused as to who belonged with whom once everyone was in the same location.

Feel was all over the place, seeming to want to show more of past characters and what was going on within their happily-ever-afters, than focusing on these two characters when we've yet to experience their journey.

Brogan and Mikel were shortchanged, overshadowed by the love-fest, propagation in the series. Pregnancies, births, and heats, none of which belonged to Brogan and Mikel. There were characters everywhere, at all times, the majority pregnant, to where I was wondering if I (the reader) would get any privacy from their constant invasion.

While I understand how other readers won't perceive this as I have, enjoying the nonstop cameos from books' past, it turned every scene into mass confusion for me.

I need to state, back when I first read book one, I understood the foundation and influence as to why the author created this series, with alpha, beta, and omega, and their status within society. As the series evolved, the omegas were gaining a voice, finding empowerment. Their stories were meant to inspire, as they lifted up an entire gender who was living under oppression.

There was a devolution in Feel. The focus on being happy was making babies. Not having a baby, but having MANY babies. Babies everywhere. Everyone was pregnant, just had a baby, waiting on adoption, or delivered a baby. Not one, but TWO deliveries... neither of which was Brogan.

As for the couple, their relationship revolved around coddling, cuddling, enabling, biting one's tongue, walking on eggshells, being perfectly sympathetic, conscientious, all the while acting as if the PC police would call you a bad guy if you actually spoke your mind. They never fought but once (I'll get there next), so this never-ending, saccharine love-fest was so unrealistically disingenuous, that I couldn't buy the romance, let alone their connection.

They both had heavy baggage they were carrying around, yet both behaved in a martyr, self-sacrificing way that didn't balance. I felt the therapy sessions were promising, until the couple went together. It ended up being beyond inappropriate, romantic declarations and a sexual laundry list, with them making-out on the sofa. I'd forgotten the therapist was sitting there, then the doctor spoke, and I was skeeved out.

Not a prude, but it felt like everyone, everywhere was asking each other if they were going to have sex, right down to whether to wear a condom, which meant the conversations revolved around whether or not they were going to 'seed' their mate. No sliding into it with small talk – I wondered if they had any hobbies, jobs, or lives outside of getting pregnant or raising children, which was the opposite of how empowering the series started out.

Where is Brogan's restaurant? What did Mikel truly want to do as a career? I don't know, but I do know the witness was pregnant.

The fight.

Mates. Partners. A week. It was almost a week before Brogan told Mikel something important, something so important it meant unleashing evil on the city, an evil that had already killed many, including his own parents. Then Brogan didn't even tell Mikel all of it. More like baited Mikel into being upset, then basically stormed off to go complain to all of his friends how Mikel didn't let him finish. At this point, I found Brogan to be the most illogical, irrational, childish person on the planet.

'It' happened. The heat. A day passed. They were intimate. He visited a lawyer. THEN, and only then, did he tell his partner, and he had the audacity to act as if Mikel was in the wrong. They're partners, it should be a consensus. A meeting of the minds until a compromise is found. Neither right nor wrong, but being able to voice a different perspective, to show how head-blind one can become. To help one another. Isn't that the point of having two different individuals in a partnership?

Brogan ran off to his friends, where they ALL enabled him, coddled him, and told him he was right. I flipped back, reread the fight three times (it was only like 3/4 of a page), and still didn't get where Brogan was coming from. He was so irrational, to an unhealthy degree. No one should be agreed with simply to avoid confrontation or to save face (that is how I viewed their entire relationship), Brogan needed a dose of reality. Yet again, he was coddled into kind of seeing Mikel's point-of-view by Morris, but it was still tainted by a 'you're always right, he will always be wrong, even when you're wrong and he's right' mentality. Then Mikel apologized, which felt like the victim being gaslit into thinking they were at fault.

There were too many characters on the page, to the point I couldn't keep track of them when they appeared and disappeared, only to reappear, many times over. It's hard juggling dialogue with more than three characters at a time, but when you add the cutesy toddlers joining the already involved conversations... the connection and romance between the couple was overshadowed, and the plot was buried.

Tarek was the saving's grace for me, and his narration came out of nowhere. I was involved with the mystery and how it tied all six books together, even if the threads didn't quite match up correctly. But then we got to the climax, and it was just quickly added in, a few sentences at the end, all told and never shown, so the payoff was anticlimactic and incomplete.

In the end, I feel the author was setting up a time-jump, where the kids will get books. Which, believe me, I think that refreshes a series. I hope that's what she has planned. The only issue is how this overshadowed THIS book, to where there was nothing but seeding future installments and filler from past narrators. Everything that was important was a few sentences, tucked into a series-worth of happily ever afters, shown in THIS book.

Also Available in the Breaking Free Series

Book 1
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Saved post.

Book 2
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Seen post.

Book 3
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Heard post.

Book 3.5
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Stronger post.

Book 4
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Found post.

Book 5
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Whole post.

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Contact her at am_arthur@yahoo.com with your cooking tips (or book comments).

Connect with A.M.

Facebook  ~  Twitter   ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Feel: An Omegaverse Story (Breaking Free #6) by A.M. Arthur to read and review.

Stronger by A.M. Arthur

Learning to trust can bring a lifetime of joy.

As happily-married beta couple Serge and Dex Freel await the birth of their first child, Serge can’t help but think back to the rocky start of his and Dex’s relationship. After a party introduction from a mutual friend, a tentative friendship blooms into something much stronger. Marred by misunderstandings, personal prejudices, and Serge’s own inability to trust, they nearly go their separate ways more than once—and almost lose their chance at the beautiful life they’ll build together.

But Dex’s alpha-like stubbornness and Serge’s desperate need to care for others brings them back together over and over, until both men realize they’re truly stronger together than apart. But their happily-ever-after is hard-won and other friendships are tested, before Serge finally takes a chance on giving his heart to Dex and trusting the other man not to break it into unfixable pieces—and trust is not something Serge gives easily.

See how two fan-favorite characters from the Breaking Free Omegaverse series meet in this 42k word novella. The story is best enjoyed after reading Heard (BF #3), because the current timeline events occur during Heard’s epilogue, but it can also be easily read after Found (BF #4). Content warnings for previous books in the series apply.

Book 3.5
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆☆
Stronger is the 3.5 installment in the Breaking Free series. Stronger goes back into Dex and Serge's relationship.

I loved that most of this book is written about the past of Dex and Serge. How they met, what kept them from becoming a couple at that first meeting. The baggage they have and how they carried that with them into the relationship. Dex and Serge are the strong ones for their friends, but we got to see them when they weren't, when they were vulnerable and just beginning. I have to say this did bring tears to my eyes, which I loved.

I can't wait to see what's next!

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Contact her at am_arthur@yahoo.com with your cooking tips (or book comments).

Connect with A.M.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads


Brought to you by

Shannan reviewed her personal copy of Stronger (Breaking Free #3.5) by A.M. Arthur for this post.

Whole by A.M. Arthur

Two broken hearts… one perfect fit.

Alpha Morris Danvers likes his quiet life as a paralegal and as the uncle to his beta brother Morgan’s infant son Aeron. Raised by an abusive sire, Morris and Morgan have relied on each other for years, and Morris doesn’t trust himself to do right by an omega mate. When a tragic accident leaves Morris alone to raise a baby, he reaches out to his boss Ronin Cross for help—and gets more help than he ever imagined from Ronin’s mate and their friends. But Morris can’t take bereavement leave forever and Aeron needs a caregiver.

After surviving an abduction and months of torture, all omega Jaysan Rowe wanted was to give away the baby he never asked for and move on. But after months of acting out, Jaysan finally hits rock bottom on the one-year anniversary of his child’s birth. Desperate to get his act together, he meets with an alpha who needs full-time daycare for his infant nephew. But the instant Jaysan sets his sights on little Aeron he knows: Aeron is his biological child. Even Morris’s nose can tell the pair belongs to each other. His nose also tells him something even more shocking: Jaysan is his bondmate.

Both men feel the bond, but neither is ready to mate, period, so they come to a business arrangement. Jaysan wants a relationship with Aeron, and Morris needs a sitter. It should have been perfect, except for that pesky mating bond. A bond that draws them together, over and over, no matter how hard each man fights it. Jaysan swore long ago he’d never mate or let another alpha touch him during heat—except everything about Morris makes him feel safe. Wanted. Whole. But Morris deserves an unsoiled mate, not someone as dirty and used as Jaysan, and Jaysan will do anything to prove it to the stubborn alpha… even if it means giving up his son a second time.

NOTE: This is a non-shifter Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, and mpreg. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens with few civil rights and almost no protections under the law. Trigger warnings for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. This series is best read in numerical order.

Book 5
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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/M Romance, Male Pregnancy
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

I suggest reading the previous books as there are several characters who made repeat appearances.

Morris is an alpha who grew up without a great role model for how an alpha should treat their partner. His childhood consisted of abuse and more abuse. When he and his brother are able to live their own lives, Morris knows deep down that he will not want a mate, but is happy to play uncle to his brother's adopted son. When tragedy strikes, Morris will need to rely on his friends to help him heal and teach him how to raise his nephew.

Jaysan has had a tough road. He was imprisoned and made to fight in a gambling ring, abused, and ultimately made a sacrifice that he might not have been ready to make. He is surrounded by friends and members who were also systematically abused, but he is having difficulty opening up and truly healing. When he needs to feel, he seeks out dangerous situations.

When Morris finds himself needing a nanny, his friends suggest Jaysan. What they didn't know was that they were destined to be together. No matter how hard they fight against their bond, both have to decide if the risk is worth it. They both bring to the relationship their own issues and neither is without reason.

I enjoyed this story a lot, but found that sometimes, Jaysan was a little annoying in his communication style and Morris was almost too accommodating. However, overall, this was a good read with great secondary characters and it showed both main characters' ability to heal and grow from their experiences.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Whole is the fifth installment in the Breaking Free series. While I suggest reading in series order, as there would be confusion if read as a standalone, once you have a feel for the world-building, you can pick up a book in the series at random without any confusion. Curious to read the newest release, I skipped book four without any confusion.

Without going into book report mode, this is mpreg, which features alpha, beta, and omega as genders, with specific gender roles, which obviously showcase stereotypes/gender roles/sexism/bigotry that has plagued specific genders/orientations in our history and in today's political climate. While this is the foundation of the series itself, the romance between the two narrators is the focus.

Jaysan is one of many who had been kidnapped and used in an illegal fighting ring, forced to fight other omegas, with the loser being assaulted by the alpha who purchased the right. Omegas have little rights in this world, even as an adult, Jaysan has to have guardians until he's mated.

Morris is an alpha who is struggling with the loss of his beta brother and brother-in-law while raising his nephew.

Morris and Jaysan are thrown together in a fated fashion, Morris needing someone to care for his new ward and Jaysan needing independence and a pathway in life. This sets up the angst, as neither male wants to be mated.

While I enjoyed the novel, which had all the feels of a hurt-comfort read for both sides, and there was angst abound, there wasn't much going on otherwise. It was heavily focused on the building of the relationship, which I appreciated, but spent loads of time with both narrators ruminating things to redundancy, slowing the pacing down and creating a feel of a much longer read. What little conflict there was felt out of place, slightly forced, as if thrown in there for some added excitement.

All the warm and fuzzies, the heart-clenching emotions were there, but dampened as the book crawled to a foregone conclusion.

I highly recommend this series to mpreg fans, especially new readers to the sub-genre, as the mpreg portion is a given, not explained in a scientific way or explained at all really. I also recommend to those wishing to read a take on gender roles and how they hobble us as a society.

Also Available in the Breaking Free Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Saved post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Seen post.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Heard post.

Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Found post.

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone's throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She's been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn't been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur's work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she's an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Contact her at am_arthur@yahoo.com with your cooking tips (or book comments).

Connect with A.M.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Whole: An Omegaverse Story (Breaking Free #5) by A.M. Arthur to read and review.