WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 67. Alpha Heat by Leta Blake Book 2 of Heat of Love (Gay Romance/Science Fiction/Dystopian/Omegaverse)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40103645-alpha-heat

How do you write an interesting and reflective LGBTQ story within the stereotypical omegaverse genre? I started my book review series a year ago with book 1 of the Heat of Love series, Slow Heat. Now I am an old hand at writing these reviews, but I still feel like I am only scratching the surface of what is available in gay fiction and stories. Leta Blake has remained one of my favorite authors in gay fiction over the years, she has a penchant for developing complex characters well. In the world of ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) or Omegaverse stories, you will seldom find something like this novel. She’s not only handling the subject matter maturely, but she has also managed to reflect LGBTQ characters across the spectrum rather than narrowly redefine a gay relationship by replacing a normal female with a male omega. I’ve read both this novel and her third novel, Bitter Heat, but I am continually drawn to this one as it speaks to me as a gay man and my demisexuality. I think the themes resonate far more here than in the first book and it is more inclusive than the third book with its range of perspectives.

Length: 424 pages and 15 hours 22 minutes on audible, this book is quite long and involved. However, I enjoyed the story and the characters to a great extent. It’s sad and beautiful, tragic and honest. Give yourself a week or so to finish this book.

Plot: Xan is an Alpha, who secretly longs to be with other Alphas as their Omega partner, but his biology and society consider such desires taboo. To satisfy his sexual needs, Xan goes to the home of a cruel and abusive Alpha named Wilbet Munhundy, who would demean and sexually assault Xan before granting him sexual release. These visits leave Xan sore and beaten to the point of unconsciousness, he knew that one day it may even lead to his death. After one of these occasions, Xan encounters an acquaintance, Urho, who is also a doctor. He at first thought that Xan had been unmanned by another alpha, their world’s equivalent of homosexual rape. Yet, when he learned the truth and Xan’s peculiar issue, things begin to change as Urho begins to grow to care about the young Alpha. We’re also introduced to Xan’s faithful Omega partner, Caleb, who is frigid, their world equivalent of asexual and aromantic. Xan has a duty to Caleb, who he wants to protect and treat well. Caleb has been through many issues in his life as an asexual Omega since society pressures Omega to bear offspring, and Omega’s painful heat cycles can only be relieved by sex. Caleb needs Xan to perform for him to not suffer, but neither Xan nor Caleb have interest sexually. In between the characters’ struggles with biology, sexual identity, and sexual orientation, there is a plague brewing in the background of the city that they inhabit, forcing Xan, Caleb, and Urho to depart to an isolated home. Issues arise, when Xan’s Alpha father sends his cousin, Janus, to spy on Xan and Caleb. Xan knows that he cannot hide his true self forever, but he does not know if he has the strength to acknowledge who he truly is. Urho is reluctant, knowing his feelings toward Xan are growing and feeling an abnormal connection to another Alpha was strictly against social rules and the law. Caleb is trying to help sort out the various issues and also mend broken bonds with Janus, who at one point loved Caleb in their youth. The book has a happy ending for all three partners.

Review: A poly relationship is complicated to write. Add to the fact that two of the partners are sexually incompatible and one of the partners has no sex drive at all, then you get a very big challenge. That’s what Leta Blake triumphs at in this novel. While she developed her dystopian world filled with genetically modified males, she also showcased to readers an allegory for our world with LGBT themes.

I loved Xan in the first book as he felt like the most approachable LGBT character, who never quite fit into the body he was born with. While Jason, the protagonist of book 1, may be bicurious or bisexual if we were to use real-world connections; he eventually chose to be with someone, Vale, whom his society expected him to be with, an Omega. As the second book explains, Xan doesn’t have that choice, because he was born biologically inclined to be with other Alphas as their submissive partner. Xan’s yearning for that part of his soul brings him to some dark corners, including being the sexual punching bag for Wilbet Munhundy. There’s no overt BDSM theme in this story, but it’s hinted that Xan was willing to be beaten and hurt to be with any Alpha, who would give him what he yearned for even out of violence. Xan deserved to be loved and cherished, but his society’s views on his behavior made that impossible. It’s a beautiful allegory for how homosexual and transgender people have to struggle to find their partners, navigating the endless maze of dangers. Xan represented the most well-thought-out allegory to an actual LGBT character in any Omegaverse story that I’ve ever read.

Urho, on the flip side, is a different kind of character. He’s a former medic and now a doctor, who has a lot of life experience. He lost his Erosgape, a true Omega mate, years ago, and his former lover, Vale, is now married to Jason, who is Vale’s Erosgape. Urho is very conservative and does not want to break societal rules, but he has been craving something for many years that no one could fill, except Xan. Urho’s slow reconciliation with his sexual orientation is akin to a late-life bisexual awakening, which happens to different people in different ways. Despite being strict and structured, he was not bigoted or unwilling to open his mind to various possibilities, including being with Xan. Maintaining this relationship, while also keeping Caleb’s needs in the mix was a balancing act.

Finally, the last partner in the menage, Caleb was a refreshing character to read. He’s been through a lot as an asexual omega. There were even hints that Caleb had undergone gang-rape at one point, which in this society is acceptable to be done against an Omega. He doesn’t want a sexual relationship, just a friendly companion that he can be himself with, but he has biological needs created by the omega sexual drive that was genetically modified. He also has no legal rights or freedoms in this society without someone like Xan to cover for him, so there’s mutual protection and friendship that exist between Xan and Caleb. Urho and Caleb appear to have more of a friend and doctor relationship, where Urho’s assistance in the sexual release is more clinical than pleasurable, unlike Urho and Xan’s trysts. If I had to offer a real-world context to Caleb, I’d consider him an allegory for an asexual female willing to be a beard for a gay man in the past, to protect themselves and their friend. He’s a nuanced character with various layers of emotions, despite not being romantic or sexual, he does know how to love.

There were some minor flaws in this story, such as the irregularity of the technology level in this society. Though it was post-apocalyptic, the technology level appeared to be advanced enough to genetically engineer humans, so why would a plague be so difficult to create vaccines for? With Covid-19, we have seen what just a mere fraction of genetically modified viruses can do to create vaccines in record time. I mentioned this in book 1 as well, but I think Leta’s main issue with science fiction is worldbuilding with equivalent levels of technology balanced between the 20th-century theme she had and the near future theme that was also presented. It wasn’t much to detract from the story though.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5, it is highly enjoyable and perhaps the best LGBT representation in an Omegaverse story written so far.