Alpha’s Sacrifice by Nora Phoenix

Alpha’s Sacrifice is an unexpectedly fun read. It’s also gay erotica bordering on porn. So in that sense, it’s awesome. It’s the first book in the series Irresistible Omegas which so far has seven installments.

It’s definitely not for everyone though, and that ‘s not even because of the gay raunchiness but for a whole lot of other reasons. First of all, this is a poly-amorous story with four men. Then it’s the fact that the story is set in a somewhat dystopian society where everyone, male and female, are defined and restricted by their inherent position as either Alpha, Beta or Omega. In this world, humans are descendants of wolf shifters but unable to shift. What remains are some animalistic instincts and behaviours, and a very unequal and unfair society where Alphas are kings, Betas constitute the common class and Omegas are repressed and subjugated property. And finally, the Omega males in this world can actually bear children. So. For this read, an open mind is necessary.

The story revolves around Veino, an Omega living with his best friend Palani after being disowned by his parents. Veino and Palani are lovers, but Omegas go into heat every few weeks and are biologically dependant on being fucked by an Alpha to stay healthy. Only, Palani is a Beta and Veino gets sicker with each heat without Alpha-spunk. Through the help of Enar, an Alpha and a physician, Veino and Palani are introduced to Lidon who is the ultimate Alpha-male. Lidon agrees to get it on with Veino during his heat, and after, neither of them can stop thinking about the other.

What surprised me about this read was that it actually had more content and depth than I ever could have imagined. It wasn’t just a simple fuck-fest. The world-building is quite good. I would have wanted to learn more about the society but instead, readers are only allowed small peeks of it, mainly through the retelling from one of the four main characters. Which is a shame really. The societal hierarchy is super interesting, with the Omegas being discriminated left and right. They’re a weird combination of 50’s housewifes, eager puppys and submissive sex-addicts. But apart from the similarities to many past and present societies, there’s also an interesting plot being unravelled that centers around a particular Omega gene variant, the medical industry, dirty cops and decisive anti-Omega legislation. So Alpha’s Sacrifice was pretty much a page-turner.

It’s a very well-written book, the characters are engaging and you crave to learn more about them. It is hard though, I think, to manage to develop four characters instead of the more regular two that are found in most romances. Phoenix does a good job of it though, and she’s a great storyteller.

Unfortunately, this is not a stand-alone. So, not only did I not get to know what will happen with the plot, the book also ended just before the first full-on M/M/M/M orgy. Kind of inconsiderate of Phoenix if you ask me. The sequel is called Alpha’s Submission and I suspect I’ll need to read that one too. For plot-closure of course.