Reviews

Lilacs and Leather by Thora Woods

tgomes42's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

ritaj63's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

lovelyslibrary's review

4.0

4.7 ⭐️
Wow! Absolutely loved this poly, omegaverse read!! I haven’t read one since my AO3 days and am pleasantly surprised by my adoration.

The main character - Lydia, navigates new relationships with her St Clair pack whilst dealing with trauma from her past. Enamoured by this new pack and their members, these new relationships ignite love and passion she’s never felt before.

A lovely, intriguing storyline with a variety of characters, I love how everyone is queer in some way and have different dynamics with each other.
The passion is strong through the love and smut, which is HOT might I add!

Without spoilers, the plot was intriguing enough due to the layers of characters, their complexity, and the connection to their past - which comes back to haunt them. Excited to see how this series ends.

Only crit is for the use of the word channel for

kindleafterdark's review

5.0

I'd give this 10 stars if I could!

This sat on my Kindle for so long and Idk why I never bit the bullet, but I'm glad I finally did!
I don't think I've felt so attached to an entire pack of characters since I read Baby and the Late-Night Howlers.

Per usual, we have an Omega with a traumatic past--a trope I will just never tire of tbh--and a rich pack of hot men and 1 female alpha. The BDSM element was pretty light, which I was totally okay with, but I'm hoping we build on that in the other two books in the series.

I'm just so obsessed with Rhett and how gentle and loving he is with her. His patience and affirmations/praise just made me swoon, and the confidence he evokes when he finally professes his love for her--I felt that!

This was just such a pleasant reading experience, great plot and character development, and perfect ratio of plot-to-spice! Highly recommend!

tabitha_jones's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

izzyfleckner's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

aniutka's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

twinstea85's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

georgie_626's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

booksbystarlightandshadows's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thora Woods has taken the concept of an omegaverse and put her own unique spin on it; it has all the usual hallmarks but there are some additional politics involved, polyamory not being the norm (although the St Clair dynamic is a little ambiguous) as well as consent and autonomy being one of the ongoing recurring themes. I haven't read many omegaverse books with a female alpha let alone as the prime alpha and I'm interested to see more of Lex in the series and her dynamic with the others in the pack.

Lex and Lucas aren't given much on page time and this very much focuses on Rhett and Matteo's relationships with Lydia.
Rhett was the standout for me with his thoughtfulness, how he courted Lydia, and showed her what a real relationship between an Alpha and Omega should be like. I loved his analogy of people not being like a jigsaw looking for a missing piece. In contrast, Matteo's relationship with Lydia is completely different but still felt genuine.

Although the pacing felt a but sluggish towards the middle, the performances in this dual narration kept me completely engaged throughout. I loved Matt Haynes performance, particularly as Rhett whenever consent was discussed as it felt so earnest. Maeve York really brought Lydia to life; the juxtaposition of the Lydia in flashbacks, to the Lydia at the beginning of the book, to the Lydia at the end show just how far this character has come. From the last chapter we are definitely moving towards a confrontation between Lydia and her past and I'm looking forward to seeing Pack St Clair prove they have her back.

My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read