Review - Heat for Sale by Blake Moreno

In a world made up solely of males, university student Adrien is an omega, a male capable of bearing a child, and he is about to experience his first heat. Most omegas would have close family to arrange for an alpha to handle the delicate situation, but Adrien is all alone. Since he’s also in need of money to pay for the rest of his education, he has little choice but to auction off his first heat, and the possibility to be bred, to the highest bidder. Heath is a rich and powerful alpha, still smarting from the death of an omega he gave his heart to many years ago. When he finds out about Adrien’s auction, he is struck by the resemblance to his dead omega. On investigating Heath finds out that Adrien is in fact the offspring by another alpha of his former lover. He makes plans to pay for Adrien’s heat, breed him, and finally have the heir he always wanted.

“Heat for Sale” is a very erotically charged and fast-paced romance. Although set in a sort of alternate world without women, per se, it doesn’t spend too much time world-building, since in almost all other respects it’s a world very much like our own. The men of this world have a canine-like social structure as well as mating practices. Omegas, while prized for their child-bearing capabilities as well as their capacity to give pleasure, are nonetheless treated as second class people and even denied access to information about their own nature.

Raised by his conservative alpha father in an isolated farming community, Adrien is more innocent than most omegas, which makes him wholly unprepared for the changes that overcome him during his first heat. Although the point of view alternates between Adrien and Heath, it feels like much more time is spent on Adrien, such that it seems like we get to know him much better. He is a very sympathetic character that you’ll come to root for.

The main dramatic driver of the story is Heath’s failure to tell Adrien about the real reasons he originally bought his heat. It’s a classic communication breakdown, where a lot of grief might have been avoided if the characters were just honest with each other. In this case, Heath is aware of the risk he is taking. He seems to have no shortage of friends to remind him of it, but we can also sympathize with his desire to let go of the past and keep Adrien happy.

Between the hot scenes and the desire to see what happens when Adrien inevitably finds out the truth, this is quite a page-turner. It’s also a completely stand-alone story, which is refreshing in these days when everything is a series.

“Heat for Sale” is available from Amazon.