How to Train Your Alpha

by MM Farmer

Series: Bangers & Mash [M M Farmer] (1)

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How to Train Your Alpha is the first book in the ‘Bangers & Mash’ series. This stars omega and teacher, Phillip, and Alpha and student, Jesse. This is told in first person from both Phillip and Jesse’s povs.

You know how when you look at a book’s cover it gives an indicator of what the story is like? Dark stories have dark covers, Erotica, Sci-fi, and Fantasy have their own styles too. Well, this one told me it was a new adult, comedy. Take a look at the font for example. That font is for a book with goofiness and humor. I have to say the cover is a total misrepresentation of what the book is about. It’s not a comedy in the least. It covers serious topics of inequality between omegas and Alphas and how omegas were treated. Similar to the differences between men and women and how women didn’t use to have as many rights. There’s also a tremendous amount of sex because of Phillip’s heat. The cover doesn’t indicate any aspect of erotica. Also, the title is on the funny side, and like I said, I didn’t find this book funny. I don’t remember laughing at any point in it. If I was to give the cover a grade, it would be a ‘D’. It’s cute, and nicely done, but it completely fails at representing the story. It needs a makeover.

There is no blurb yet so I’ll give a brief rundown of the plot. Bangers and Mash are the founders of Mash Institute, a highly regarded institute that trains Alphas as an ‘Emergency Support Alpha’, to service omegas going into heat. Phillip is the omega son of the founders. He teaches at the institute. Jesse is sent to the Institute by his school director to observe, not become an ESA. The plot continues with Phillip and Jesse grating on the other’s nerves. Plot continues and they get trapped in Phillip’s cabin just as his heat hits. His heat wasn’t supposed to occur for another week. Phillip gives Jesse a crash course in ESA. Then it’s all about the erotica, messy, messy, heat with knotting, rutting etc., over the next four days.

I read an ARC of this book, so I’m not rating on any grammar errors. However, I do question the way the mate conflict was created. During the heat cycle, Phillip explains to Jesse about bonding in reference to their feelings. Numerous times they agree that they are in love and have bonded. Suddenly, after the heat, Phillip is like no it’s just hormones. Jesse doesn’t believe that, but he takes his cues from Phillip. I realize the author wrote the ending between Jesse and Phillip to not believe they’d bonded in order to create conflict. Instead, it came across as manipulated conflict that I couldn’t believe in because they’d already agreed that they were in love and were bonded during the heat. To back track to such a great extent had me rolling my eyes. The conflict at the end would’ve worked much better if during the heat, they never agreed they were bonded. They could’ve said ‘I love you’, but then said it was only the hormones that made them say that, or only to keep the mating pair together until the heat was over. Therefore, the conflict at the end fell completely flat for me because it felt too manufactured and manipulated. Phillip’s denials and then his sudden realization—again—made him just look stupid and not the intelligent man he was. His personality towards the end of the book also seemed inconsistent.

Now, the characters. When we first meet Jesse, he seems just like an arrogant Alpha. He just wants to get to the beach, relax and find someone to have sex with. I didn’t like him at the beginning and I didn’t even like him part way through the heat cycle because he was too focused on his personal enjoyment. The author did a good job of having him grow into a better and more understanding Alpha of omega’s problems. Phillip was strict teacher mode. He took no nonsense and didn’t seem very tolerant about anyone who didn’t agree with him right off the bat. His personality completely changed while in heat. In the end I liked Jesse more and didn’t care for Phillip.

What I liked and didn’t like about the book. The author did a great job of creating a different explanation about omega heats, how they got pregnant, and how they gave birth. Although I have to ask, how do omegas go p**p during their heat if their rectum is closed off during heat sex? Four days without going number two? (Gotta keep it clean for reviews, lol). Still some biological explanation needed for that it seems. I liked Phillip’s dads; they were both sweet.

Overall, I liked How to Train Your Alpha but the plot is nothing like the cover image or title indicate. I found some inconsistencies that bothered me, since I don’t believe they were mistakes, but part of the plot but they were not well executed. I do like the different kind of A/B/O world the author created. It makes more sense than the simplistic females masquerading as males in the majority of stories written by women authors. So, despite the quibbles I had about this story, I’d likely read another book in this series. I give this book, 3 Stars.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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