Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review and giveaway for a new dystopian-Omegaverse M/M romance from Leta Blake. BITTER HEAT is the third book in the Slow Heat series. It’s set in a post-female world where males of three genders have a highly-ordered society. If this intrigues you, I’d advise checking out my review for ALPHA HEAT, which introduces us to Janus Heelies–an alpha in need of redemption. I also loved SLOW HEAT, the first book in the series and plan to share a review for that soon.

In the meantime, drop down to catch my review and enter the book giveaway!
About the book
A pregnant omega trapped in a desperate situation, an unattached alpha with a lot to prove, and an unexpected fall into love that could save them both.

Kerry Monkburn is contracted to a violent alpha in prison for brutal crimes. Now pregnant with the alpha’s child, he lives high in the mountains, far above the city that once lured him in with promises of a better life. Enduring bitterness and fear, Kerry flirts with putting an end to his life of darkness, but fate intervenes.

Janus Heelies has made mistakes in the past. In an effort to redeem himself, integrity has become the watchword for his future. Training as a nurse under the only doctor willing to take him on, Janus is resolute in his intentions: he will live cleanly in the mountains and avoid all inappropriate affairs. But he doesn’t anticipate the pull that Kerry exercises on his heart and mind.

As the question of Kerry’s future health and safety comes to an explosive head, only the intervention of fate will see these desperate men through to a happy ending.

This gay romance novel by Leta Blake is the third in the Heat of Love universe which began with Slow Heat. It’s 111,000 words, with a strong happy ending and a critically-acclaimed, non-shifter Omegaverse. It features alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, mpreg, heat, and knotting. Content warning for a violent and oppressive society regarding reproductive rights.

My Review:
This book, set in a post-female “omegaverse” world is filled with males of three genders: alpha, beta and omega. Alphas are the most dominant, and have the most rights and privileges in society. They are the only gender allowed to officially mate omegas, who are genetically-altered males that have a uterus. Thus, alphas breed with omegas, and the omegas give birth to alphas, betas or omegas. Betas are relegated to service jobs in society. Omegas become the property/responsibility of their alpha husbands–and they go through heat every several months or so. Heat is a painful experience for an omega, and the clawing need to reproduce is only assuaged by knotting coitus with an alpha. And, while betas and omegas can receive an alpha, it’s forbidden by law and religion for an alpha to be “unmanned,” or mated, like an omega.

Kerry Monkburn is the contracted (married) omega to Wilbet Monhundy, a sadistic alpha who was incarcerated for brutalizing omega prostitutes. Wilbet had been violent with Kerry for years prior, but as Wilbet’s unlikely to find another omega to carry his offspring, his parents refuse to release Kerry from his contract. In fact, they force Kerry to return to Wilbet’s prison for forced coitus during Kerry’s heats. It’s degrading and debilitating, and when Kerry finally falls pregnant he’s not sure if he should kill himself or abort the fetus. How could he love the monstrous offspring of his rapist husband?

Janus Heelies is determined to set his life on a track toward respectability. Loss of his first love, his cousin Xan’s omega Caleb, set Janus on a self-destructive path of seducing contracted omegas, wrestling contests, extorting Xan, and other unsavory activities unsuited for a member of such a respected family. Readers of ALPHA HEAT know how horrible both Wilbet Monhundy and Janus Heelies are–but Janus is dedicating his life to service now, studying to become a doctor and moving to the rural mountain community of Hud’s Basin. He lets a room at Monk’s House, Kerry’s pater’s guest house.

Interested? You can find BITTER HEAT on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a copy of SLOW HEAT!
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Leta Blake is the author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more on her website, Patreon, Facebook and twitter.