3 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 240 pages. Published October 6th 2018 by Piper Scott & Virginia Kelly
Blurb:
Bookish, snarky, and fiercely independent Nate Boudreaux leads a solitary life. Between teaching classes at the university and working toward his PhD, he doesn’t need a partner to occupy his time, and he certainly doesn’t need a man like Alistair Drake complicating his future.
Alistair Drake, black sheep of the tremendously wealthy Drake family, is more interested in adding another notch to his bedpost than another zero to his bank account. When a Grindr message brings him to Nate’s doorstep, then straight to his bed, he has no reason to believe that what they share will be more than a simple hookup, until, three months later, a tug on his soul informs him otherwise.
For the Drake family has a secret—one that will force Nate and Alistair together as much as it will demand that they be torn apart. One that Alistair and his brothers have carried all their lives… and one that Alistair and Nate’s future children will carry, too.
Bound to each other by the three precious impossibilities, Nate and Alistair have no choice—no matter the consequence, they will fight for their forbidden clutch.
Clutch is a 64,000 word steamy omegaverse mpreg-ish romance that will leave you in stitches. It contains a Grindr hook-up gone very wrong (or very right); giant magical lizards; a pig named Olive; a wank throne; and a HEA, right down to the white picket fence.
Likes:
- Dragons.
- Nate and the eggs were cute.
- Good smut.
- Good hook for the next book.
Dislikes:
- No world building outside the dragons.
- Nate didn’t ask a ton of questions about dragons.
- Alistair thought humans were beneath him.
- Both men were moved by instinct not logic.
- The way the draconic society is structured.
- Nate keeps forgetting that his best friend got dragged everything too.
I almost dropped this book after about 16%. Not because of the writing or the characters, but because of the structure.
There’s a common writing tip I see a lot, telling authors to start their story as close to the action/turning point as possible. I think it’s because a lot of books where a normal human discovers the supernatural world start off by showing the human’s normal life. In all honesty, that normal life can be a bit boring, and authors want to hook the reader right from the start. I get it.
But that hint of the character’s normal life serves several functions. The biggest is introducing the main character to the reader. This book did not do that. Neither Nate nor Alistair got any introduction. The prologue opens up at the start of the sex scene, chapter one jumps straight into Nate laying the eggs, then Alistair barges in and takes Nate back to his place amid much confusion. There’s not really time for any solid characterization for several chapters.
I don’t think I really got a good feeling for either man until about 25% into the book. Needless to say, Nate and Alistair didn’t know each other until then either. If you’re a fan of unplanned pregnancies driving the romance, this book is for you. It was the only reason Alistair and Nate ever saw each other again.
Thankfully, and I did end up liking both men once they were properly introduced. At first, Nate was bothered by the lack of independence having the clutch caused, but he turned out to be a fantastic parent. Watching him fuss over the eggs was surprisingly adorable.
It took me longer to warm up to Alistair. He didn’t like humans; thought they were beneath him. He was clueless when dealing with Nate, which was clearly supposed to be funny but seemed a little childish. It did fit with his character though. Alistair hasn’t been focused on building wealth like most dragons. His hoard is small because he prefers to travel and buy artwork that appeals to him, rather than what’s worth the most.
However, this allowed Alistair to have the most character growth. It didn’t take him long to realize that Nate wasn’t some stupid, fragile omega. Alistair tried to give Nate what he and the eggs wanted and needed, including building his wealth. While Nate might have been the egg’s predominant caretaker, Alistair loved them just as much, and was willing to go the distance to make sure they and Nate stayed safe.
That being said, this book did feel like a bit of a dumpster fire. Neither Nate nor Alistair had any real experience with romance, parenthood, or dragon eggs. Their hearts were in the right place, but damn. To call them unprepared would be a massive understatement. It was a good thing all dragons have Attendants to serve them.
In the same way that there was no time to get to know the characters at the start of the book, there was no time for initial world building. I know that humans are aware of alpha/beta/omega dynamics, but have no idea how that impacts people or society. There is practically no world building outside of the dragons, and even then it’s lacking.
One of the notes I wrote when reading this book was, ‘Why isn’t Nate asking more questions!!??’ He’s surprisingly blasé about the whole dragon thing, when I expected him (a history professor) to be full of questions. The only one who seems to pepper everyone with questions is Nate’s friend Harry, who got caught up in the whole mess. And strangely, Nate tends to forget about Harry for large swaths of time.
On the plus side, Nate accepted his new reality well. Of course, for the first third of the book, both he and Alistair were basically going on instinct. Especially when Alistair brings Nate and the eggs to his place. Their relationship doesn’t really start to develop until around the 33% mark.
What is shown of the dragon society is definitely a little fucked up. The fact that Nate is allowed to stay with the eggs is rare. The fact that omegas aren’t generally treated well is touched on, but not a main focus of the book, thankfully. But the whole thing smacks of rich men doing whatever is necessary to produce sons.
Overall, this wasn’t an impressive start to a series. I am glad I finished the book, and will say that the second half was much more enjoyable than the first. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next book, since it’s about Harry and Everard.
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