The Mistrustful Mountain Lion’s Omega is the fourth book in the ‘Male-Order Mates’ series. It stars Jagger, a bar owner and Alpha, and Rex, an omega. The story is told in first person through both Jagger and Rex’s pov.



I’ve read quite a few books by this team of authors, this story being the second one in this series. I decided to read this one because I liked the humor that was in another book in this series and was hoping this one would also be funny. Unfortunately, it was not. However, it was better edited with fewer errors even though the copy I have is an ARC. Also the transitions between scenes are smoother, unlike some other books’ scenes which were frenetic or didn’t flow well from paragraph or into another scene.

I enjoyed the plot although I was hoping for more humor. This was low-key and the two men getting to know each other, nothing stressful, so if you’re looking for a fast, easy read, this might satisfy you.

Jagger is a mountain lion shifter that showed up in a previous story I read. That also attracted my curiosity in reading this book. He applied on a shifter dating app and then erased it after he received a match. Rex, a bear shifter was the match. He didn’t give up when Jagger didn’t reply and he tracked Jagger down. Rex has a ‘job’ that is secret pretty much throughout the story. I liked that. His job was different from the typical ones found in M/M romance. One of my complaints in the other books I’ve read by this writing team is that the characters start to sound the same the further I read in the book. The writers did a better job this time, except when Rex is pregnant. Suddenly, he’s no longer a self-confident guy, but a whiny, weak sounding character. He reminded me strongly of females in M/F romance and why I stopped reading M/F, because the woman only wanted to catch a male, get pregnant and marry. In a way, mpreg stories are similar, except it’s a male. I always hope the authors keep the males strong and confident, but as soon as they’re mated and pregnant, they are no more than romantic females.

Now we come to the point about mpreg in this world that still baffles and annoys me. This is a fantasy/paranormal world which makes it easier to allow a pass on some ideas. But even those kind of worlds are subject to either science or magic. The science may be different from our current world and of course magic is a system that needs to be explained even briefly, something the authors have yet to do. The mpreg is based on what I gather to be current female anatomy. But there is no mention of that sort of anatomy when the males have sex. So if there’s only internal female parts, how do they give birth without a va****? When Rex gives birth, there is mention of a cervix. Where? Up his a**? Because that’s the way he got pregnant and there’s no mention of a birth canal. Which means he gave birth out his a**, which means mixing with the waste canal, which is unsanitary and gross. Here again, is why a scientific or magical explanation needs to be given. Suddenly, the male is converted into a female at the birth with no explanation which is a total disconnect. The authors may as well have written an M/F story if they don’t explain a fantasy world. Further questions include: If there are females (Rex gave birth to a daughter), can they give birth? Is their anatomy like males, females or are they neutral? If they can give birth, are male omegas unusual or the norm? The fantasy reason of why either only male omegas give birth or why males and females give birth needs to be explained. It would make the created world more interesting and believable. Another question is can the females be Alphas? If they can, do they knot the omega? Meaning would a female Alpha have a p****, which leads to a whole other bunch of questions. The biological/magical world needs to be plotted and explained but it’s been totally left out.

I would have enjoyed this story more if it weren't mpreg because the characters were interesting enough as was Rex's career. If the characters had been fleshed out and Rex’s secret career had been part of the story more, there wouldn’t have been the need for mpreg. As it is, I found the story interesting until the pregnancy, because there was no scientific or magical explanation that made the idea believable in a fantasy world. At that point, I was just reading another M/F romance where the heroine gets pregnant. The authors did better with writing flow and fewer errors. The characters were more consistent in the continuation of their personalities until Rex changed into a typical female romance character. This is a fast and easy, non-stressful read if that’s what you’re looking for. I give this book 3 Stars.



I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. ( )

Awesome

Rex and Jagged took a minute, but once they figured themselves out, they were pretty awesome together I think. They are going to do great things tigether. ( )