[ARC Review] Not His Omega to Love by G.S. Holmes

Release date: 8/17/21
Format: eARC
eARC provided by: the author via Gay Romance Reviews

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In Not His Omega to Love, nineteen year old Cody, months away from graduating, seemingly has it all. He has a hot, football player boyfriend, he’s going to be valedictorian of his class, and he’s going to his first choice for college next year. But then he ends up pregnant, and Reggie, the baby’s father, doesn’t want anything to do with it. But Reggie’s sexy, alpha father Ethan won’t let Cody go at it alone. When Cody’s own family turns him away, it’s Ethan who takes him in, gets him to his prenatal appointments, and makes sure he’s taking care of himself. It’s also Ethan who Cody finds himself falling for. And when Ethan steps in for a marriage of convenience to save Cody’s future, Cody finds out that he’s not the only one developing feelings between the two of them. Even though Cody isn’t his omega to love, Ethan will do everything in his power to love, honor, and cherish him for the rest of their lives.

There is actually a lot of unpack in Not His Omega to Love. I thought the author did a wonderful job at addressing so many issues people can face in society: bullying, the stigma of teenage pregnancy, not living up to your parents’ expectations, age gaps in relationships, and classism. I knew before starting the book that there would be age gaps and an unusual relationship dynamic between Cody and Ethan and I had hoped it wouldn’t seem too odd, and I was relieved at how well that relationship came off on the page. The alpha and omega dynamic helped make Ethan’s early fatherly feelings toward Cody and his unborn child a lot less awkward as those feelings transformed into attraction. There is a larger age gap between Ethan and Cody, but both are consenting adults and alphas generally treat omegas like someone to look after anyway, so the age gap didn’t really come off as a big deal even when their friends and family questioned their relationship.

I thought the overall writing was well done and easy to read. I sped through this book in a few hours, but I think it was definitely worth the read. On the surface, it was a romantic story of a young omega finding his happily ever after despite everything life through at him. But under all that, Not His Omega to Love addressed a lot of societal issues and I thought they were handled very well. I definitely recommend this story for fans of the alpha/omega and age gaps tropes.