Review: Uncomfortable
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2013
I was reluctant to review this one because I had very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I thought Ethan was a compelling character; very sweet and interesting, with ambitions to do something with his life. On the other, I REALLY didn't like Konnor. Konnor was incredibly shallow and obnoxious; a classic Shannon West Dom, but with no redeeming traits. The worst offense of this story was that Konnor never got better. Knowing and "loving" Ethan didn't make him a better person...it actually seemed to make him worse.Being told that he is an Omega is a  horrifying blow to Ethan because Lycan society considers omegas - submissives - to be mentally defective. Omegas are trained and sold into lifelong slavery. As Ethan struggles to deal with losing EVERYTHING, Konnor only makes things worse. He laughs at Ethan's struggles, treats him horribly, and never tries to assure Ethan that he's not defective.Spoilers ahead.After the initial dramas, Ethan's told that he'll be trained as a submissive by Konnor for three months, then auctioned off as a sex slave to the highest bidder. Afraid and unhappy, Ethan fatalistically decides that if he has to be a submissive, then he'll try to be the best, most obedient slave he can be. In response, Konnor vows to teach Ethan a lesson by treating him as nothing more than a sex slave. I'm not really sure what lesson Konnor thought he was teaching Ethan, or if it was all just a plot device to allow the author to write some awkward vaguely-BDSM sex. Konnor's cousin, briefly, argues that Konnor's being unfair because Ethan is probably still upset and not thinking clearly. But Konnor continues to demean and sexually use his new slave, and there's never a moment in the story where Konnor realizes what a jerk he's been. There's no explanation to Ethan, no apology, no great revelation to change Konnor's behavior.I liked Ethan, and I was genuinely rooting for him to overcome this terrible misfortune that life had dealt him. I wanted to see Ethan and Konnor fall in love and turn their situation to a sexy and satisfying advantage for both of them. The sex might have been hot, but this was no romance novel. In the end, it felt more like Ethan just gave in to Stockholm Syndrome!