Series: -
Volume: 1/1Publisher: Self-Published
Genre/s: MM romance, omegaverse, Holiday
Length: -
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✬✰✰
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For Dominic, a workaholic who runs his own truly successful business, it was supposed to be just a relaxing evening, like many others. It wasn't supposed to bring anything new into his life or change a thing in it. And yet when Jeremy, an attractive, irresistible Omega, enters the bar, everything slowly gets out of control. It was expected to be simple – chance meeting, mutual interest, strong attraction, fantastic sex with no commitment. The problem is that what we want doesn't always go hand in hand with what fate has planned for us, and that's exactly the thing the stubborn Alpha need to understand.
Starting reading "His Christmas Package" I really hoped it would be a light, positive omegaverse story, perfect for this festive time of the year. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that my adventure with this book will not be as easy and pleasant as I thought. It should be noted that we are dealing here with a second chance short story, and therefore it is to some extent marked by bitterness. I must admit this is not what I expected, but I consider this subject to be an advantage, because in a measure it gives this novella a deeper meaning.
Reviewing "His Christmas Package" I must mention that at the very beginning of this story we are presented with some rules that shape the world of this novella, namely: the Alphas are superior to all other genders, the Omegas seem to be treated a little like some objects, a man is shown in a similar way to an animal that acts instinctively and is driven by lust. What I missed here is this typically human factor that distinguishes men from animals – feelings, soul, free will, independent thinking. In general, this is what the beginning of this short story looks like, and the thing lacking later on is the expansion of this world, which we get to know from the rather dark and negative perspective. The "His Christmas Package" universe undoubtedly has much more to offer, so I regret that the author has not decided to put some more emphasis on its construction.
Another element of the story, about which I have mixed feelings are the characters. Well, one of them is Dominic, a cold son of a gun, to whom we are reluctant from the very beginning, as first of all he shows us his worst side. Even when it seems that something in his creation is changing, eventually we return to the starting point and simply don't like him. Maybe if the author had put more emphasis on his emotions and feelings, on explanation of the motives of his behavior, it would have been different. Unfortunately, that's exactly what's missing here. It's different with Jeremy, who quickly wins our hearts. His biggest advantage is the fact that he is different from the average Omega in this novella's universe, both in terms of body structure and some personality traits, as sometimes his claws are showing and he can be quite stubborn. However, at the same time he is so cute that it is simply impossible to resist him. This boy really deserves someone better than Dominic.
The advantage of "His Christmas Package" is certainly the fact that the author emphasized that the time is essential in building a relationship and in getting to know each other better, so that the main characters could fall in love with each other. Thus, Eva Leon distinguished the sexual attraction of the alpha and omega, in some ways imposed by fate or biology, in the short story it was not specified, from deeper feelings, love. In other words, the sexual desire and the status (probably chosen by fate) of being mates are not one with the feeling of love, as love is usually built on close emotional connection. However, the disadvantage in this case is that the readers don't really know what the characters see in each other, they don't have a chance to witness how their feelings are born and how they develop. There are the moments when the story jumps forward by several months and that's when the author really could give us something more, so that the characters' feelings would make more sense to us. In fact, we have no idea what they actually see in each other outside of physical attractiveness.
In summary, "His Christmas Package" is not a bad short story, but not the best either. It has potential, but it hasn't been used to such an extent as to fully satisfy us. However, I personally think it's worth giving this story a chance and I hope that the author will decide to write its little continuation so that she will have a chance to work on the lacks of this short story.
Headcanon: Jeremy managed to train Dominic so well that now he is the one who always wins their quarrels.
Fanfiction idea: Holly asks Dominic and Jeremy how they fall in love, so her parents tell her about all the events, gestures, words that made them fall in love with each other.
AU idea: University!AU, Dominic is the biggest playboy at the university and so far no one has resisted him. Jeremy is therefore the first who managed to tell Dominic "no". Dominic can't leave it that way so he plans to conquer Jeremy's heart at all costs. The truth is that Jeremy seems hard to get because he's already madly in love with Dominic and he's just shy.
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