Book Title: Stepbrother in Heat by Anna Wineheart

Published: January 1, 2021

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

What’s the worst thing you can do when you’re in heat?

Deliver a message to your long-lost stepbrother—the one you still have a secret crush on. The one who answers his door half-naked after his shower, and in the process, almost burns your pants right off.

Worse, what happens when he finds you drenched from the rain?

You guessed it—he demands that you take your clothes off. Otherwise, you’ll catch a cold.

Have I mentioned that you’re in heat? And that he goes into a rut?

And his rut won’t end until you help him with it?

I decided to give another ABO story a try. 

🔍 How I Discovered It

Among all the entries in the Winter Wonderland giveaway, I instantly grab the titles written by the authors I’ve read before. Stepbrother in Heat is written by Anna Wineheart, the same author of my first English ABO book. This novella seems to fall within the vast world of Meadowfall, specifically the Meadow Street Brothers series. I haven’t read the other books in the main series so I don’t think knowledge of the other books is needed to understand the story.

💭 Thoughts

▫️Tension

The best part of the novella is the tension. I love how Wineheart sets up the atmosphere so I don’t just read but feel the tug of the UST between the main characters. The pull is so strong that I almost wished that this is a longer story and have a more fleshed out resolution. The tension alone is so thick it almost veils the issues I have with the characters.

▫️Corey – the fumbling omega

Speaking of characters, I have the most issues with Corey, the omega. I prefer my omegas to be more assertive and independent. Corey is the opposite of that. He fumbles and bumbles a lot, basically the damsel-in-distress. I could only hope that he acts like that because he is around his alpha, Atlas. Corey’s change of mind is pretty quick especially with someone as indecisive as him. One moment, he is all “I should leave” and then after their makeup sex, he is all okay to be with Atlas.

▫️Unbelievable scenario

There is a part that makes me scratch my head — the burglar scene. I understand the purpose of that one, but it comes out of nowhere. Suddenly, there’s someone wanting to steal, and Atlas is fighting him. Like why would there be a burglar in the middle of a storm? Why not when the weather is clear and on an ordinary household and not on a lighthouse?

📚 Related Books

I think there is a whole series out there with the Meadow Street Brothers. The characters are mentioned in Stepbrother in Heat, most notably Corey’s boss. This series looks promising so I might also give it a try once I’m done with the Winter Wonderland giveaway.