Hi! Welcome back to my site. More importantly, welcome to my BL library. I am your BL librarian.
This is a new series I want to start where I go through a specific tag within BL, talk about what it means, and then find everything I read the previous year (or years) within that tag – the favorites, the mids, and the misses. Each section will be linked below for quick navigation.
Today, we will be going through my library’s archives and finding all of the titles I’ve read with the omegaverse tag over the past year, 2023 (I’ll also be including some from 2022 since this series is starting so late in my time of reviewing things). These are what I have read and reviewed over the year, not what came out that year.
With that being said, let’s get started.
About the Tag
Favorites
Mids
Misses
One last thing: throughout this post, I have linked each entry with the full review, so if you want more information, you can check those out. With all that being said, let’s get started.
What is “Omegaverse”?
Omegaverse, also known as ABO for Alpha, Beta, and Omega, is a fantasy setting with various rules depending on the author or creator. The key feature includes individuals born with or manifesting secondary genders consisting of alphas, betas, and omegas. In addition, it allows all primary genders to get pregnant depending on their secondary gender and the rules of the author or creator.
- An alpha typically can’t get pregnant but can get others pregnant regardless of the alpha’s primary gender. They release pheromones and go through breeding periods known as ruts. This can differ per story.
- A beta is someone who typically can only get pregnant based on their primary gender. So, biological men can only impregnate others, and only biological women can get pregnant. They do not release pheromones. This can differ per story.
- An omega typically can get pregnant but can’t get others pregnant, regardless of the omega’s primary gender. They release pheromones and go through breeding periods known as heats. This can differ per story.
There are also unique physical and anatomical characteristics associated with each secondary gender, sometimes further linked to the intensity of the secondary gender’s manifestation. There is often a hierarchy of dominants versus recessives, with the dominants having much stronger secondary traits than their recessive counterparts. I’ve read some titles where a recessive omega may have a more diminutive stature or look no different from their beta counterparts, while dominants will look very feminine. The same is true for alphas, recessives looking closer to betas, while the dominants are much more masculine. The most common manifestations of these anatomical differences are:
- An alpha is typically taller and larger than average, with a phallus, regardless of their primary gender.
- A beta is typically average for their primary gender with no unique anatomical differences.
- An omega is typically much smaller than average and has a womb, regardless of their primary gender.
I’ve also read some titles where dominant omegas have prominent breasts, regardless of their primary gender. This difference in dominance versus recessive traits may also affect their fertility or their ability to breastfeed after pregnancy.
All of this is to say that this is a very flexible tag and can differ vastly between mediums, the origin of the title, and author preferences.
Favorites
Surge Towards You by Cheongyeon
This is a classic omegaverse universe with alphas, betas, and omegas, but with a unique spin on our main characters. We’ve got an alpha, a swimmer who has an aversion to omega pheromones, and then an omega figure skater with no discernable pheromones. It’s a match made in heaven. This is a case of the bottom falling hard but the top falling harder, which I absolutely adore. Not to mention, it has some of my favorite aspects of the omegaverse, that being male pregnancy and child-rearing. I think this is an excellent introduction to the omegaverse, so if you’d like to dip your toes into this tag, I’d say this is a great one to start with. Plus, this has probably one of the cutest babies, if not the cutest, in the omegaverse.
Gold Gray by Lee Green
This has many of my favorite aspects of omegaverse, such as male pregnancy and child-rearing. However, what this has that many others don’t is the really cool science fiction element. I wouldn’t recommend this to sci-fi fans, but this one is great for those looking for a unique omegaverse setting. It features a world where omegas have been wiped out due to a pandemic (a very timely topic) but are being regrown in a secret laboratory for the purpose of breeding with the upper echelon and producing high-grade alphas. It’s a really interesting sci-fi-like scenario unique to this tag. All of this culminates in this being one of my favorites. This is a great one if you’re looking for a smutty and unique omegaverse experience unlike any other on this list.
Sating the Wolf by Troy Arukuno
I absolutely adore this title. It takes the fantasy setting of omegaverse one step further and puts it in a setting of beast-people. Our main couple comprised of an omega wolf and an alpha rabbit, which places the rabbit as the dominating top, and I love it so much. Size difference content is excellent, but especially when the bigger of the two is the bottom. Tack on a mention and glimpse of male pregnancy and child-rearing, and I am sold. It being super stunning certainly doesn’t hurt, either. I highly recommend it.
Look at Me by Tansan
Not only is this my favorite omegaverse novel, but it is also my favorite BL novel that I’ve reviewed to date. Unfortunately, this has no child-rearing or male pregnancy, but for those elements to be missing and still be my favorite says a lot (at least to me). This is a relationship between a rich and famous alpha and his beta employee, whom he pursues after an intense and passionate drunken tryst. Where this shines is in the tone of the writing. The sex is passionate and tender, the sadness and mourning are palpable, and, maybe most importantly, the embarrassment and cringe are enough to make you put the book down for your own comfort. I long to write emotion and tone so strongly one day, and while it isn’t always the most comfortable read, that’s what makes it so good. The side stories have also recently been licensed for publication, so now is the perfect time to get on this title.
Love is an Illusion! by Fargo
If Look at Me is my favorite omegaverse novel, this has to be my favorite omegaverse manhwa. It’s an expansive world with multiple couples of various secondary genders like the classic alpha and omega, an alpha and beta, and a beta and omega. It even spawned off a spin-off of an alpha female and an omega male. All of this is great and wonderful, but my favorite aspect of this entire series that solidifies it as my favorite is the main character and recessive omega, Hye-sung. He’s my favorite tsundere of all time. He has a propensity for being impulsive and ditzy, and he has a dark and painful past that affects his ability to be a parent and a loving partner. He isn’t perfect, but throughout the series, he learns to trust and love while navigating a surprise secondary gender manifestation, an unplanned pregnancy, and an even more unplanned romance. This is the pinnacle of omegaverse for me, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Mids
Wails of the Bound by Keri Kusabi
This is so close to being a favorite, mainly because our power bottom reminds me so much of my power bottom omega Asher from my Dominate Me series. However, as much as I love him as a character, the couple in this isn’t very well-established. This is a classic whirlwind story, but much of the focus is on many and varying story elements that ultimately strangle the romance aspect. Many of these elements could have been dropped in favor of some of the more interesting ones and, in turn, helped create a more well-rounded and better fleshed-out story. While this seems like a miss from all of my comments, I love this title. It would’ve been a favorite if not for some of my criticisms, so with that said, I think this is worth a read.
Wails of the Bound ;β by Keri Kusabi
This is the sequel to the previously mentioned title, and while I do like this one way more, it isn’t strong enough to be a favorite. The story is part of the problem, just like with the first. However, where the first didn’t do a great job of establishing the relationship between the main couple, this does a great job of setting up the relationship for our main couple. It really hones in on these two and their growth from hate to love, which I adore. Unfortunately, while that part of the story is strong, the plot of the secondary love interest is poor and really weird. If that part had been better executed, I have no doubt this would’ve been a favorite. This does have male pregnancy and some very brief child-rearing, so if you were missing that in the first, this has it.
Butler by Nabit
Honestly, this one barely makes it into the mids rather than the misses for several reasons. Unfortunately, much of it has to do with the localization by the platform, which is poor for this one. It’s a challenging read with awkward grammar and stilted dialogue. But what this has that many omegaverse titles on this list don’t have, or if they do, execute poorly, is child-rearing. Now, a child doesn’t appear until the side stories, but when she does, she goes beyond a cute accessory or an adorable decoration. When the side stories begin, the daughter develops her own personality, and she has agency that pushes the story forward, which is so nice to see. This is far from perfect, but it definitely got the child-rearing aspect right.
Double Marks by MIRO
Omegaverse typically deals with darker subject matter, such as sexism, classism, and more, which is another reason I love it so much, and this is no exception. This is a dark and hopeless love triangle between an obsessive childhood friend alpha, an aristocratic and pressured omega, and a cocky fuckboy alpha that ends up morphing into a weird poly-scenario. The omega is faced with struggle from all sides. He can’t afford to slip up in school. Otherwise, his father will marry him off to a much older alpha. He has to keep his childhood friend happy so the friend will allow him to cheat off him in class. Then he has to sell himself sexually to the fuckboy who has evidence of his cheating. It’s bleakness and struggles piled high, which I tend to like. Unfortunately, this suffers pretty badly from rough art, a super compressed story, and a questionable choice in ending that puts it out of the running for a fave, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Staff Only by soorak
Now this. This was a tough one. It is the antithesis of Double Marks in many ways. We have a love triangle scenario that evolves into a casual poly scenario, but where Double Marks layered on the dark, this is pretty bright and playful, which is a nice change of pace. I so desperately want this to be a favorite. It has amazing art, and the story is super cute with a unique focus on penis shrinkage, which I still think about to this day, and our newly manifested omega is smothered in smut and praise, which is everything. Unfortunately, the ending isn’t very definitive. With romance, typically, we want some kind of resolution to a love triangle scenario, whether that be choosing one of the two suitors or both, but we don’t get either of those endings, which is what takes this out of the running for favorite. I can only hope that this comes back with a full-fledged series, as it has so much promise, and I will be waiting, fist-full of money, ready to support it.
Love Shuttle by Aeju
This one is very nostalgic for me, and on that front, it very well almost makes it into my favorites list. Our main couple of a manly omega and his doting alpha, both with garbage personalities in a very enemies-to-lovers scenario, is just so good. Unfortunately, the side couple and the teasing without payoff lose me here. While our main couple is cute and toxic, the side couple is… gross and toxic. It’s between a creepy alpha doctor top and an alpha bottom, which isn’t that bad, but then the bottom’s brother is introduced, and he is a rival for his brother’s love. So, we have incest, which is such a weird thing to throw into this story. Ick. That’s undoubtedly the main reason I can’t call this a favorite, but male pregnancy appears, and the author’s note mentions stories with a baby reveal that never happens, and that’s just rubbing salt in the wound on this one. I still think the main story is worth a read, but be mindful of that side couple.
Delinquent Omega Belongs to the Beast King! by Kumagoroshi
This one is very interesting. It’s an isekai omegaverse, which is fun. Our main character is a morally upstanding delinquent (one of my favorite contradictions) pulled into a fantasy world, manifests as an omega, and becomes a king’s fated mate. While this is fantasy, with a heavy focus on political intrigue, world-building, and, of course, smut, it does, ultimately, feel lacking due to this being short-form. Higher-level fantasy, like what this tries to achieve, begs for more time to explore and expound upon the world and relationships within it, and this just doesn’t have that time. It also relies very heavily on dramatic and very corny depictions of fights and interactions that, admittedly, made me cringe. This title has a lot of potential, and it’s a refreshing setup for the omegaverse, but it leaves a lot to be desired.
Your Love Belongs to Me by Honoji Tokita
This is a heavily underrated title. The art is absolutely stunning. This is probably some of the best art on this list, which is part of the reason it’s so disappointing that it is so short because I would kill to see more. The story has a ton of potential with a classic rivals-to-lovers storyline, an athletic alpha and omega, and even the appearance of an alpha female rival for our omega’s love. Unfortunately, because of the length, we don’t get much development beyond the realization that they love each other. Short-form omegaverse is such a hard sell for me, as it always leaves me wanting more, and this is the case for this one. Definitely worth a read, but it will leave you wanting.
Wolves Behind Bars by Joy
This is another omegaverse with an interesting concept. Our main character is an omega artist who is framed for a string of murders. Typically, he would be placed in an omega prison, but for some nefarious reason, he ends up in an alpha prison. The art isn’t the best, which is part of the reason this didn’t make it into my favorites. But more than anything, the names (and some of the dialogue) they use in this are also so painful. Chick is the main one, but eventually, chirpy is added in there, and it’s all just so unfortunate. That’s super nitpicky, but those kinds of things really irk me, so it’s enough to push this out into the mids. We do get to see male pregnancy and child-rearing, though, and the baby is adorable, which definitely wins it some points.
Misses
Seven Days of Lust by Fujoking, Hato, Hoben, Lee Aru, MEL, Pyoryu
This isn’t terrible by any means, and it features one of my favorite BL artists of all time, Fujoking. Shorter series are already a hard sell for me, as my favorites are typically longer with more in-depth stories and well-developed characters. That’s not to say it isn’t possible in shorter work, but it’s rarer in my experience. While this collection has some interesting gems, with an average of three pages per story, there’s not much to go off of in each title. All of them will make you feel wanting for one reason or another, some being more nonsensical than others, and all have varying degrees of quality. As much as I love omegaverse and particularly Fujoking, that’s just not enough to make this worth a buy or a read unless you are just desperate for more omegaverse content.
Conclusion
With all that being said, the omegaverse tag is a very flexible and open setting where writers and readers alike can explore various societal, relationship, gender, and family dynamics that many other tags or settings might not be able to so freely without widespread appeal. I am a huge fan of this tag and look forward to having more to share from it in the future. Have you read any of these? Are any of them on your favorite list? Let me know, and comment below.
Otherwise, I’ll catch you next time. Bye!