Review: First Omega (River Wolf Pack, #1) by Rebecca James

Nothing can prepare Josiah Kimbrel for what he finds when he enters the compound of the River Wolf Pack. As an ambassador of the human-werewolf congress, Josiah is keen to build bridges between the two species. Josiah is surprised to see how ‘normal’ things look in the compound; the wolves, all of whom are gay, live in family units, complete with children, in houses built from local materials.

Then there’s River, the pack alpha. Josiah can't deny his attraction to the handsome, dominant wolf man. Josiah’s world is further turned upside down when he unexpectedly goes into heat. He doesn’t understand -- how can he be half-werewolf and an omega? River wants Josiah for his mate, but is Josiah prepared to leave everything he knows in the city and become first omega of a werewolf pack?

I have a thing for omegas (or maybe it's just sluts?). Not to insult my lovely omegas, but when I read about that desperate horniness and all that rough fucking…. *shivers*, it does good things to me. Josiah is one desperate omega. It was hot. Like insanely hot!

The story was very intriguing. Josiah goes into the River Wolf Pack werewolf compound as a human ambassador. However, while he's there something strange happens, and he finds himself going into heat and being mated by River, the pack alpha. Josiah had no idea he was half-human half-werewolf so he has a lot to come to terms with, not just his identity but his newly found position as the pack alpha’s omega or ‘First Omega’.

This is all told from Josiah’s POV, and I really liked him and River. River is a fairly stereotypical alpha, all strong and stoic with a possessive and protective nature, but I liked it. I liked Josiah’s hesitations towards River after he found himself essentially mated without his consent (as he was dazed with his first heat). However not long after there seemed to be a switch that was flipped, and suddenly he was fully devoted to River and the pack. That development was a bit rushed, but not enough to deter from my enjoyment of the story.

The world created was quite interesting, definitely different to anything I’ve read in other shifter novels. The werewolves are a purely male homosexual society, and have a ongoing fear/hatred of humans due to the ongoing killings of so many of their species. Humans and werewolves know very little of each other as they tend to like to keep to themselves. However this just means the individuals they do come across are usually there to kill members of the opposing species.

I only have a couple of complaints about the story. Things tied up way too quickly and neatly with Josiah’s acceptance of the pack and a side story of an attempted murder. Also, there were just sooo many characters. Like SO many, which did get a bit overwhelming at times, especially when remembering who was mating with who. Unfortunately, I think this problem will only get worse as the series continues.

So the story was a little bit silly, but mostly a lot hot and a lot sweet and pretty damn entertaining.

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