A Toast to Twenty-Three

Victorian A/B/O #1

by J.D. Riley

Bartholomew "Hollow" Hainsley has presented as an Omega at the relatively late age of twenty-three, leading his brother, the Earl of Westbrooke, to start looking to marry him off. Painfully shy and set in his ways, Hollow wants nothing more than to stay at Westbrooke forever but as he certainly knows, the bulk of the soirees in London are about to begin and there is nothing he can say that will make his brother change his mind about finding him a proper suitor. With at least one marriage proposal under his belt, he can't believe how unlucky he could possibly be to have drawn the gaze of the most formidable Alpha he's ever seen in his life, the rakishly handsome and devilishly mannered Duke of Asterly.

Genres: Omegaverse, Romance, M M Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Regency, Fiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2017

About the author

Author of book length fiction on the Archive of Our Own fanfiction site.

Reviews

[annob [on hiatus]]

Dnf @ 12%

MM historical romance set in an omegaverse world sounded like a great match of themes for me, but unfortunately I couldn't overlook the incorrect use of nobility honorifics. The irregular application of 'My Lord' usage threw me out of the story repeatedly, and there were a lot of those instances. Not unfixable in the hands of an editor, but a bad match for this European reader as the story stands.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is wonderful weaving of the Victorian aristocratic romance genre into an omegaverse setting where individuals present worth an alpha, beta, omega dynamic (A/B/O) as well as a gender (e.g., male, female). This is a quick and sweet exploration of a beta who suddenly presents as an omega in his early twenties, and then is therefore Suddenly exposed to a debutante "Ton" season where he is pursued by Alpha and Beta suitors. For those who enjoy both genres (A/B/O and English aristocracy), it's a fun crossover (although the steamy/smutty Omegaverse is saved until the very end).

The story was simple and sweet, with a couple of standard tropes form both genres: a rakish Alpha Duke; a late presenting/suddenly Omega male; characters who never intend to marry but are driven by their interpersonal chemistry (both personality and hormone-driven). It yields a fluffy but sweetly compelling quick romance, poking at typical alpha boorishness and over-the-top debutante.

The Kindle edition reads well and seems to be tightened up nicely from the initial Archive of Our Own fanfic exposition.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

MALE omega who grew up as a beta and didn't present until he was 22 behaved like he had been raised as a FEMALE. So it was the traditional Rake and Virgin Debutante Regency romance. Story was rushed at the end. The one sex scene with the 2 MCs was short and dull. The society scene was good but was at the wrong time of the year. Warning, there was a sex scene with the alpha and a female omega before the MCs met.

[Lisa Preston]

Literally my only gripe with this is that it wasn't longer, because I could honestly read a thousand pages of these two awkwardly navigating social events and being terrible at controlling their desires.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omegaverse Alpha/Omega mm story set in Victorian AU

Omegaverse fans who also enjoy a Regency/Victorian aristocratic setting, this is a quick and sweet exploration of a beta male who suddenly presents as an Omega in his early twenties, and then is therefore exposed to a debutante "Ton" season where he is pursued by Alpha and Beta suitors. For those who enjoy both genres (A/B/O and English aristocracy), it's a fun crossover (although the steamy/smutty Omegaverse is saved until the very end).

The story was simple and sweet, with a couple of standard tropes form both genres: a rakish Alpha Duke; a late presenting/suddenly Omega male; characters who never intend to marry but are driven by their interpersonal chemistry (both personality and hormone-driven). I especially enjoyed the presence of a secondary but important female Alpha as well as the romantic lives of betas (and future installments in the series will focus on a range of A/B/O and M/F characters), a major plus for me.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so goood!!! I live for abo and historic romance, this is an amazing combo of both!!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read. If you don't mind Omgeaverse you'll probably enjoy this regency romance.

[Sabél Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

idk man I ate this up

[Mika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole Victorian a/b/o series is absolutely enthralling. It’s my second time reading the series and I love it just as much as when I read it the first time.

[Jaseryx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I loved this to bits! Honestly, another 100 pages of courting, back and forth with the Alpha lady Earl and Edwin, and we would have had Bridgerton Season 1 but the Omegaverse version.

[Gini · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG THIS WAS AMAZING

This Victorian era story made me so happy! Falling in love! The main characters are relatable, a great read for those into A/B/O, solid story lines, romances, and happy endings :)

Well-written and insanely addicting to read. Binge reading the other stories now, I was literally eating dinner in front of my computer because I refused to stop reading this.