Bratty Omega Woos the Upper Echelon of Alphas
About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series How to Snag an Alpha.
Content Warning: There may be references to male pregnancy, self-deprecation, prejudice, sexism (specifically in regards to secondary sex), violence, excessive drinking, assault, invasion of privacy, age gap, gossiping, strained familial relationships, cheating (not between the main couple), manipulation, mentions of death, corruption, dubcon, overwork, alcoholism, mentions of abortion, mentions of miscarriage, kidnapping, confinement, disordered eating, child abandonment, child abuse, ageism, PTSD, blood, drugging, police, slut-shaming, power imbalance, experience gap, and politics, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Yoon Wooyoung is part of a prolific family. Unfortunately, his place in society, while elevated due to his family’s standing, is shaky because his secondary sex is that of a lowly recessive omega. Being a regular omega or dominant wouldn’t be a problem, but recessives often suffer from unreliable hormone levels. This issue further leads to infertility, little to no pheromones, and a lack of heats. Ultimately, it’s easier for recessive omegas to identify as betas, but for someone like Wooyoung, proud as he is, lying about these things just pisses him off, especially when strangers try to hit on him as a beta.
But then he runs into Cha Kyungju.
Unlike Wooyoung, Kyungju is a dominant alpha. He exclusively sees betas, but only in the most casual of settings. Yet, that doesn’t stop all manner of people from trying to seduce him. Very much like Wooyoung, he’s pissed off by all of this, too, and seeing Wooyoung openly putting down all of his pursuers, Kyungju takes the opportunity to save them both. What neither of them expects is for this run-in to make Wooyoung’s dormant omega traits suddenly awaken.
Review:
This might surprise some people, but I despise this art style. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen by any means, but there are aspects of it that just rub me wrong in every way possible. Wooyoung, in particular, hurts my soul. He eats a ton, and the panels of him eating are some of the worst panels I’ve ever seen. I think he’s supposed to appear cute and endearing, but I was immensely disgusted. I also think their baby looks more like an alien than a baby, which isn’t great when compared to all of the cuter BL babies I’ve seen. There are pretty panels, of course, but the style is overall inconsistent and just unattractive, in my opinion.
With that said, there are a lot of sexy panels, and a lot of those are the best-looking ones. It’s interesting to note that the main story is entirely softcore. There is not a penis, lightsaber, or otherwise to be seen, though it is very suggestive all the same. It still certainly falls under the smutty mature category, but it’s pretty tame relative to other BL. Then, we get to the side stories with Genie and Jooyoung. Boom. Lightsabers. So, with that in mind, if you’re hoping for the same sensual softcore throughout, be warned that is not the case with the side stories.
Unfortunately, another difference between the main stories and the side stories is the quality of the stories themselves. The relationship is certainly a whirlwind, which within itself isn’t a bad thing, but in this case, it feels completely nonsensical. The story beats disappear before we’ve even had time to experience them. There a couple of examples, but some of the worst ones are the transition from Kyungju being an ass to Wooyoung to loving him and from Wooyoung living with Kyungju to being kidnapped back to his family home. The transition from red flag to green flag happens so quickly that I didn’t think Kyungju was all that mean until later in the story, when he feels regretful for being ‘so cruel’ to Wooyoung, which means we were supposed to perceive him as a red flag. Then, the other issue, Wooyoung’s kidnapping, occurs, and it is all but ignored until the side stories. It seems like things were accidentally cut out, but I have no evidence that this wasn’t intentional. The whole story just ends up being confusing as a result.
But it isn’t all bad. I adore Wooyoung’s personality and that he isn’t swayed as a character. He is very consistent, especially during the birth scene and while raising his baby. He’s annoying, but I appreciate that he doesn’t instantly change just because things around him change. The side stories, especially the one featuring Genie and Jooyoung, are also much stronger narratively. I would have much preferred their story to be the main story, and if not that one, the historical one would have been a fun one too. They just seem more cohesive as concepts, but they are relegated to shorts, which is unfortunate.
Results:
This is a huge miss. Even though there are strong elements to it, such as the side stories and the concept of male pregnancy, which I am a huge fan of, there is too much to dislike for me to recommend this. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of commentary on how beloved this title is, which honestly scares me because I feel so vehemently different, but here we are. I’m glad I read it, but I would not read it again.
Have you read How to Snag an Alpha? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!