Toxic

Eden's Omegaverse #3

by Eden West

Angsty standalone MM romance (beta+alpha).
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We, betas, get rejected whenever an alpha sniffs out his perfect omega.
Well, I'm not gonna fall for an alpha ever again. I'll push him away, even if it kills us both...
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Young beta student Soren lives his life in permanent anger and bitterness. Once, he was in love, happy, and hopeful, but his heart was broken when his alpha fiancé left him days before their wedding to pursue a more perfect omega mate.

Soren swears off relationships with alphas. They always leave, following omegas, and betas are abandoned in a heartbeat whenever better mates show up. He despises alphas, but he needs money to cover his father’s debts. His plan to earn money brings him only more misery, and yet another alpha takes advantage of him. Will his dreaded fate ever change?

But alpha Skye Nolan doesn’t know his past. He looks at Soren with wide eyes, smiling and admiring his bad boy look. He seeks his presence and closeness. No, Soren won’t have it! Another alpha to break his heart? Never. He will turn Skye’s life into hell, reject him, hurt him for all the alphas that tormented Soren before.
Soren is toxic and spiteful, but... Skye just doesn’t want to leave him alone.

How much pain can Skye endure before he breaks down? How long will he withstand the suffering Soren inflicts on him? And in the end, as he falls... will he drag Soren even deeper into misery?

Is there a way out of this sick push-and-pull relationship?

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'Toxic' is a standalone book in Eden's Omegaverse series, depicting a bitter and angsty beta pursued by an alpha who, despite everything, dreams of giving him his love and the whole world. But he will have to go through hell to reach what they both secretly dream about.

Main tropes
- High angst / "hateful love"
- Hurt / comfort
- Omegaverse
- Beta/alpha relationship
- Push-and-pull toxic relationship
- Enemies to lovers (one-sided)
- Tattooed MC, piercings
- Slow burn
- College setting, then office setting
- Intense emotions
- Short breakup (2 months)
- Fated mates (not obvious)
- Mpreg, TM, knot, heat, nesting, neck marking

Content warning: Miscarriage (the pregnancy is not between the MCs), mentions of self-harm in the past, mentions of s* assault in the past, smoking, drinking, suicide attempt (not MCs), paid fu*kbuddies, read more in the book.

Genres: Omegaverse, M M Romance, Enemies To Lovers, LGBT, College, Second Chance, Drama

607 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2024

About the author

Born in Poland to a Polish-Ukrainian family, specializes in hurt-to-comfort gay romances and erotica. Eden loves art, hiking and reading. Despite not being a native English speaker, Eden loves to use this language to tell romantic and steamy stories.

What sets Eden's books apart? They are filled with eccentric, intense characters, obsession, and possessiveness, along with plenty of awkward confessions. Expect peculiar dialogues, relationships with unusual dynamics, and always positive endings!

Eden does not shy away from exploring the fringes of what is acceptable in regard to unusual body types, not necessarily neurotypical personalities, and even slight body fetishization.

All Eden's books are intended to be relaxing in the end. Eden focuses on the personality and uniqueness of the portrayed characters, delving into their souls and exploring their distinctive paths beyond stereotypes.

Stay tuned, as Eden has seven books written and waiting in line to be published, spanning genres such as gay romance, omegaverse, and trans women romances!

Eden's partner assists with ideas and editing, so you may refer to them as a duo hiding under the shared pen name.

Feel free to check Eden's Instagram 'edenwestauthor' for news and premiere info.

Reviews

[Joanna Grosz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, what a ride of intense emotions—this book was a true rollercoaster!
Hate-to-love dynamic, toxic and angsty!
The author promised a push-and-pull relationship, and absolutely delivered!
Genre: college / office MM romance
T/b: strict (Soren is self-described "total bottom")
MCs’age: 22+22
Cheating: Not between MCs!
Other person drama: yes, but no actual sex with OP
Breakup: 2 months
Spice: 3.5/5
Kinks: overall vanilla but one hate-sex scene
Omegaverse elements: nesting, knotting, heat, mpreg, neck marking, mating sounds, TM
POV: dual POV
HEA:Yes

This story’s for the brave-hearted, for those who don’t mind falling rock bottom and then rising back up, again and again.
As a fan of hate-to-love stories, I found everything I could dream of here, all the wild tension and chaotic romance full of turmoil you’d expect in such a toxic love/hate setup. And the CO-DEPENDENCY vibes off the chart :D

My emotions kept changing right along with the story—sometimes from one hour to the next.

The plot was about an obsession of one alpha over one beta, who keeps resisting him(very resisting!), because his alpha fiance abandoned him in the past and now he hates alphas.

Main characters:
Skye: A handsome stud who transfers to a new college after being dumped. At first, I saw Skye as a kind of gentle guy and a bit “beta” by personality, but then came a sudden shift and, wow, he finally showed his alpha side!

Soren: My feelings about him were mixed at first—he came off super hostile and standoffish, almost for no reason. But as I learned about his backstory and all the drama he’s been through, I warmed up to him. His indecisiveness really drove the story forward, and it stayed consistent, showcasing a solid example of a classic "beta” personality.
I’m not usually a fan of betrayal in books, but… I liked how Soren didn’t just shrug off his awful behavior but showed real remorse. This quality is so rare nowadays, in a world where the motto “just do whatever makes you happy, fu*k the others,” is becoming the norm. Thankfully, the author made Soren a character with a conscience—he couldn’t just forgive himself easily, which added depth to his personality.
It’s rare to find a character this layered, complex, and nuanced. I really enjoyed reading about his struggles—a solid portrayal of someone from a tough background who still gets what’s right and wrong.

Other characters:

Archer – Skye's roommate, a hacker - and hinted to be the MC in "Red River" upcoming book by this author, where he will be paired with River (Skye's omega brother). I liked him. He's portrayed as a conservative "prick", but for me - he's actually much more likable than the seemingly open-minded character - Alvin.
He is portrayed as a traditional alpha who wants omegas in the kitchen, but I have a feeling it's not that simple :D

Alvin - was so annoying, I wanted to slap him. Yes. Slap him hard (and Don especially!).

Sean - seemed cool at first, but turned out to be kind of a bitch by the end.

Winter – Skye's cold, beta brother. An interesting character!

Liam - It may be surprising, but I liked him, and he actually has his own novella that the author wrote - quite big, about 120 pages! And I absolutely loved it! You need to read it too!
(I didn't find it on Amazon as for now, only read as an ARC, so I have no idea where you can read it, ask the author, maybe they will upload it to Amazon?).

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The story is a standalone, but there are a few side characters whose stories are hinted at for future installments. I’d love to read more about the cold and mysterious Winter and the oddball Snow.

Did anyone else catch that part where Snow says he can “see” emotional holes in people? Ha!
I wonder if he actually has some strange ability.

Bay and Alex also have me intrigued. Their story could be fantastic! I’m guessing since they’re incompatible yet still drawn to each other, there might be a cool storyline: hidden True Mates plot there.

According to the author, the book was originally planned as two separate parts, and it shows. You can see the clear division, with each half focusing on a different period in the characters' lives:

1) End of college stage
(break - summer)
2) Corporate life stage

I really liked this, as I felt like I got two books in one book, and splitting it up would’ve been a cliffhanger nightmare. Luckily, the author spared us and gave us the whole (LONG!) story in one book.

I genuinely loved it and read the ARC in 2 days! The author does an amazing job expanding on characters and the world around them, making sure everything flows together perfectly.

Such a pleasure to read—highly recommend!

One more thing, read trigger warnings in the book, there are quite a few, like a suicide attempt, miscarriage, paying for blo*jobs and so on.

[EveryReadss · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*** – Big points to the author for giving a HEA to a really mistreated side character!

This author keeps surprising me.
This time, they wrote a truly dramatic emotional journey that I haven't seen in any of their other books. I'm not usually a fan of toxic relationships, but this one is actually pretty well done, thanks to the consistency in character development.

The story follows the lives of Skye and Soren, two students who meet during the second half of their final year of college. There’s chemistry right from the start, but Soren’s been hurt before—his ex, an alpha, left him almost at the altar, and to make it worse, another alpha took advantage of him when he was vulnerable. Soren’s been through a lot.

Skye, on the other hand, is initially portrayed as this laid-back guy just looking for casual sex, even willing to pay for it because he’s feeling desperate with all the stress from school. But Soren doesn’t show any interest—he keeps rejecting Skye’s advances, refusing to give him the time of day.

As time goes on, things start to change. Soren slowly responds to Skye's persistent flirting, and there are some sexual moments, but if you’re expecting them to jump into bed right away, you’ll need to be patient. Graduation throws a curveball at them, leading to a dramatic situation that causes them to go their separate ways. Neither of them can forget the other, though.
Skye buries himself in work, and Soren ends up in a platonic relationship with an old friend. But that’s not the end—eventually, Skye, still feeling deeply hurt by Soren’s actions, decides to take matters into his own hands to win him back. And then... the problems really begin.

The emotional tension hits a high point, and the toxicity level goes off the charts. I wasn’t bored with this book at all—big plus, since the last one had moments where my attention drifted. Here, there’s a lot happening and plenty of back-and-forth between the characters.

It’s definitely a story about a very toxic, chaotic relationship, but the ending is really satisfying. And to my delight, the character I felt so sorry for also gets their HEA! That was a big surprise, and I’m giving the author extra credit for that.

My rating is 4.5****—the highest I’ve given so far, since I usually rate this author's books around 3.7 So, definite improvement!

I take away -0.5 points because this book has a cheating plot, not between the MCs, but still there is a betrayal of an innocent and good person, so it upset me a bit.

This is my honest opinion from the ARC.

[LuR · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a long read - almost 550 pages as far as I can calculate, but it was worth the time, the author really builds the drama from the bottom up, very meticulously taking us on a journey through hate and resentment towards passion and love, a very bumpy and very exciting road.

The book is full of emotional quotes, and I have to share some of them:

He took another step toward me, our breaths mixing now.
"No one has humiliated me more," he choked out,
"If you really want everything from me, acting like this puts us millions of miles apart."
"Does it?" My voice was barely a whisper. "We’re in different galaxies now, Soren. So even a million miles seems insignificant."
Silence fell between us, and Soren looked at me with a strange desperation in his eyes.
"Don’t do this, Skye."

"You’re in me, everywhere, like you’re in every cell of my body. You’re my breath…" I
reached out and brushed his pale cheek.
But he stepped back, tightening his lips.
"Skye, stop! Stop, or I’m gonna have to say or do something that’ll hurt you..."

I stood there, watching them leave. I destroyed Skye’s world, and in doing so, I destroyed mine too. Once again, I had nothing. This time, by my own choice. My heart was broken, just like Skye’s—and just like he did before, I sank to my knees, pressing my hands to my face as I cried, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. What have I done?!

If only he knew, if only he understood… I was doing this to make it easier for him, to numb myself, to stop feeling this horrible ethical conflict. Just to turn myself into pure feeling, leaving behind reason and… my morality.

I loved how saturated with emotional scenes it was, I needed a book that made me feel something and it did the job, if only for that reason, 5 stars from me!

[Angela Kohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely interesting! The book starts off kind of slow, and for a moment I had to really get into the characters—there are quite a few introduced all at once. It makes sense, though, since the book is pretty long, so it needed some time to get going.

What surprised me a little was the /fuckbuddies club/ plotline at the beginning, which I didn't catch in the trigger warnings. I’m not a fan of stories with sugar daddies themes, but luckily, as I read on, I realized it wasn’t something that influenced my opinion about the book. It was actually pretty inconsequential—just a way to create some tension between Skye and Soren at the very beginning. There’s no storyline about a true sex work, so thank God for that; otherwise, I’d definitely have rated it lower.
If you don't like books with that tropes, don't worry, it's done subtly and does not spoil anything. Nothing sexual going on beside what is between MCs, so I relaxed after a while :D

Once the book picked up pace, wow, it really had me hooked emotionally, pulling me in deep. There were moments when I literally couldn’t put it down, just devouring page after page.

Soren’s story is dramatic, and the situation with the miscarriage shook me hard. Then when I found out what was going on with Don, that hit me too. Seriously, a lot went down—like, a LOT.

The tension between the characters was really cranked up. Push-pull, back and forth—it kept going like that. If you’re into that kind of toxic dynamic, this book is perfect. Honestly, it sucked me in because it was written so naturally and convincingly—the author really won me over!

Overall, I’d give the book 4.25 ****

It’s pretty great, though quite long. The detailed plot and character development took up a lot of space (or screen time!). I usually prefer shorter books, but with this one, it’s hard to get bored (except for the slightly slow start).

[Guriko · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 3.7****

I decided to read the ARC despite having a lot of reservations about the blurb, and I can honestly say the author wasn’t kidding when they said it’s toxic! 😅 For me, it was an intense hate-love relationship—maybe even a little too intense since I usually prefer more fluff and less drama.

The book is super long; it’s not boring by any means, but it does take time to get to know the characters. Plus, there are a few important characters around the main couple, so it took me a bit to fully immerse myself.

I really appreciate the hard work the author put into this book. They paid attention to every detail, subplot, and minor event, with everything getting wrapped up nicely. The book feels really complete and well thought-out, which is why I bumped my rating up to 4 stars as a nod to the author’s effort.

As for the main characters, it’s hard to say if I liked them. They’re both super angsty—really, it’s not just Soren! Skye, in my opinion, is just as toxic as Soren! The way he clung to his hatred for Soren during their breakup was pretty out there. It's almost like he wanted to suffer, despite the easy way out, he was just too proud to end the suffering.
Honestly, they seem perfectly matched in that way, which makes the book title feel very fitting.

Overall, this is definitely for readers who enjoy angsty, love-hate dynamics. If you get tired of push-and-pull relationships easily, this might not be the book for you.

But it has a very well done happily ever after, I loved the reconciliation with L***.
So I finished the book in a good mood.

[John Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars from me.

I signed up for an ARC of this book and completely forgot about it. A month later, I received something labeled "early ARC/beta" and decided to read it. This was my first omegaverse from this author, and it felt very unique. Definitely an interesting take on omegaverse, with a slightly different set of rules than usual but still within the boundaries of the genre.
It's fresh especially in its heavy focus on the biological aspects of omegaverse, which isn’t usually explored in much detail. That was new for me.

The book starts off as a slow burn, and the entire plot is packed with emotions. Everything felt well-balanced, and nothing seemed rushed. I really enjoyed the portrayal of Soren—he was kind of a mess, but there was something captivating about him. I liked his character a lot.

One thing I really appreciate is how the author responded when I reached out to report a few typos in the ARC. Eden was genuinely grateful and thanked me, which was a nice surprise. I’ve had experiences where authors were almost rude when errors were pointed out in ARCs, so it’s a big plus that this author is humble and polite. It definitely earns them extra points from me.

Overall, a solid book with a fresh take on the omegaverse genre.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sucked... the life out of me. It literally drained me. Not gonna lie, the drama before the end kinda ruined the whole experience for me, but I still loved the story and I don't want to lower my rating because I think this author has good potential.

It's a very character-driven story, so if you're not ready for 600 pages of a character's internal conflict, there's a possibility this story is not for you. I, personally, have a thing for characters with low self-esteem who ruin their own happiness, so it worked for me. You need a lot of patience to tolerate a character like Soren but I understand where he's coming from. He had had a bad relationship experience in the past which had almost ruined him, so obviously he's scared to love again. But poor Skye! I felt so bad for him. He was the most patient, the kindest man in the world. I don't believe people like him exist — he's just too good for this world. This line made me tear up: "I’m a human being, not just a fucking alpha! Don’t reduce me to my gender! I have feelings, and you’re being cruel to me!" I was glad when he finally stood up for himself.

Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I hated Liam. Did he deserve the cheating? No. Do I hate him anyway? Yes. He had been obsessed with Soren for years, he clearly needed to move on, to get some help. He knew Soren wasn't into him in the slightest but still pressured him into relationship. What do you do when you love someone? You want them to be happy even if it hurts you. What did Liam do? He kept convincing Soren him and Skye weren't meant to be. He didn't do it for Soren — he did it for himself. This isn't love, this is obsession. Don't even get me started on the drama at the end (actually, I'll talk about this later).

What I loved about this book is the omegaverse world. I'm tired of modern "omegaverse without omegaverse" where characters call themselves ABO's but act exactly like real life people. Let's be honest, we love omegaverse for certain things like hot sex, heats, mpreg, sometimes true mates stuff, and — most importantly — for watching how their alternative biology and hierarchy affect their lives and relationships. And Eden West delivered. There are all of these mini-heats, and magical omega traits in betas, smells, different levels of True Mates. We've got nesting and mpreg! The author carefully explained everything, and it was very satisfying. Another thing I'm thankful for is natural child birth and breastfeeding are possible in this world. Most of abo's stories don't have it and it really annoys me! It just doesn't make sense! If nature creates beings who can give birth it means it gives them ability to deliver a baby and feed it. So thank you, Eden West.

Also I love how True Mates stuff affected the story in a good way. I mean, typically, in ABO (or shifters) books authors write an insta-love. It ruins the whole point of a romance book and it feels like characters are together only because "they're meant to be". It's not the case here. Yes, the main characters are True Mates but this pull between them doesn't force them to make decisions. They fall in love slowly. I mean, there are other reasons for their love, not just a big dick. Soren fell in love with Skye because Skye was great, because he took care of him, because he was there for him. Skye was a simp, that's true, but still there were times when he had enough and said no.

I loved their chemistry, I loved how Skye supported Soren through the miscarriage. I loved how Soren helped Skye with IT stuff.

As for the things I didn't like. The misunderstanding before the graduation made me go feral. I hate those and I find them lazy. I mean, come on, our characters lost their chance at happiness only because a shitty side character hadn't delivered a message? Nope, I'm not digging that stuff. But the final drama was even worse. At least the first misunderstanding was kinda realistic. The last one is just crazy! You can't convince me Skye instantly believed Soren cheated on him and then Skye ran away... And with whom? WITH F-ING LIAM! Nope, you need to go completely crazy to believe that shit. And then we spent most of the ending with f-ing Liam who wanted to kill himself! It's the end of the book, I want to spend the last moments with the main characters, I want them to communicate as much as possible. and Soren finally admitting to himself they were True Mates in that way was anticlimactic.

Anyway, is this book perfect? No, some things made me frustrated. I loved it anyway. That's how I love my omegaverse: without romanticized violence but with moderate heat, mpreg and classic ABO stuff.

Also, even though I don't like interconnected standalones that much, I've got intrigued by many characters here and want to read their stories. I can't wait for Winter's story! He seems very interesting.

[Jordan M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alpha Skye Nolan is another son from our original couple from book 1 Broken. You don't have to read book 1, other than to know that Skye's parents are True Mates, meaning they are 100% compatible and in Eden's Omegaverse this means that their children have a higher chance of finding their True Mates.

Skye switches schools due to his omega leaving him after find his higher mate. This leaves Skye devastated. He only has his senior year left and so he gets a room with Alvin and Archer. 2 other alphas he's known for a while.

Soren is a beta that has had a tough life. He was in love with an Alpha who also left him for his higher mate, his dad passed away after a long illness and there was further trauma that I won't go into (check your trigger warnings).

Soren has sworn off alpha's for a number of reasons, the least of which is that they will always leave a beta for their higher or true mates. But fate keeps throwing Skye and Soren together and they feel a pull towards each other regardless of Soren's attempts to push Skye away, regardless of others attempts to interfere and regardless of what tries to come between them.

The roller coaster of emotions and angst that Eden writes into her stories is amazing and this HEA is hard won. But it is amazing to see Skye and Soren fight for each other, even if they don't necessarily believe they deserve each other and happiness they still fight for it.

It also amazes me how well Eden writes and interweaves her stories, tying in the end of book two to the middle of this book, while also giving us a glimpse of Skye's brother Snow's up coming book. She also threw in an off handed comment about Winter's book. There is some references to Bay's book. But it's all done seamlessly and fits the story narrative. You are given just enough to either tie up loose ends or pull a thread to keep you guess for more.

Parts of this story deal with some pretty heavy topics, keep your mental health in mind and take care of you.

[Malissa Hilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What A Story

Before I say anything about this story I recommend you read Nathaniel’s story first. I’m not exactly sure when it’s coming out but I believe soon. Now for the report. It’s an absolute 5 star ⭐️ rating for me. This story between Skye and Soren has a little bit of everything. Is there drama? Yes, so much drama. One minute you will love Soren. The next you will want to throw your book at him, lol. His best friend as well. And let’s not forget Skye and Soren’s college friends and associates. You’re be ready to throw down with some of them and hug others. But the one thing that kept me reading was to see how Soren and Skye would find their HEA. I truly loved this book. 💜
Here are some Trigger Warnings that you may need to be aware of: Heat rape, low self esteem, degradation of self, mention of past attempt at suicide, an on page attempt at suicide. These are the ones off the top of my head. There are more so read with a bit of caution.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this story is such a rollercoaster and it's once more a confirmation that I would read anything Eden write! The story between Skye and Soren is full of push and pull from both sides, ups and downs, and really at times toxic as the titles says. At times, both Soren and Skye had unfair and toxic behaviours towards each other and it was difficult to understand them, however in other moments there would be perfect explanations about the reasons behind their actions and I could relate with their feelings and just feel the sadness of it all. And not just the two main characters: several friendships with other people were toxic too and contributed to the couple's issues.
It's definitely a book full of relationship angst with a very hard earned happy ending, not only for Soren and Skye but for a few other characters involved too.
I can't wait to read the next books!

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non toxic

Soren and Skye had a rough start and hell an even tougher time in their situation turned relationship but Skye refused to let go of Soren believing they were true mates. Soren had been heartbroken many times and gave up the idea of dating an Alpha until Skye. He doubted his feelings for him and even pushed him away. But eventually Soren realized him and Skye were True mates and they got their hard fought for HEA.

My only con is the book was a bit too long. In all honesty it could've been around 400 pages. I did feel some things were very repetitive at times as though the author was trying to do a few filler chapters. But the overall story was great and I did enjoy seeing the growth from Soren.

[Jennirella · Rating 3 out of 5]

600+ pages.
This is the first book from this series that I have read. I loved the way the book started and the world-building was interesting. The characters were interesting and layered. But then, the more I read, the more I didn’t like the mc, Soren. It got pretty angsty. Every single thing he agonized over and decided, he then did the thing, then agonized over it and decided to do the opposite. Did that then more agonizing and re-re-deciding.
The writing was long-winded and very very wordy. Of course, it’s a book. It’s gonna have words but this book was at least twice as long as it needed to be. Do writers get paid by the word? Reading this, I would think so.

[aidni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that happened. A) Soren sucks but B) if you told me this was written by someone where English was not their first or even second language I would be believe you.


Edit: apparently the writer is not a native English speaker. I honestly don’t find this much of an excuse because beta’s exist (lol) but i will say props to them for trying I guess.


I’d have done 3 stars for actually keeping the plot moving but Soren continuous hanging you and manipulating his grapist was too much for me. The constant drama so read like 17 years and not those older than that.

[Alexis Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow I was super surprised with this one, the emotional ride it sent me on was amazing. I loved that it was long, full of emotions, emotional pasta and so forth. I adored the hate to love relationship they had and all the side characters really added to everything and made it very enjoyable. I honestly enjoyed how side characters were integrated and they had pretty significant roles they played. I can’t wait to read more into this universe

[Zephania · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 90%. I was enjoying this book a lot, the writing was amazing the connection and description of everything was very good. But the part before graduation sand what came after ruined the whole thing. Too much drama with stupid twists.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! ❤️

[juliette]

Life is too short. DNF@ 2% due to weird dialogue and writing style. Probably just a me thing

[Daryn Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75! Wow! This is probably the most angsty omegaverse book I've ever read! I wanted to throttle certain characters. Skye is 🥹 💖

[Li Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant

I love this series. Each story is unique so far and that’s so good in a series. This one is sooo good. Absolutely couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended series

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC
(A lengthy rollercoaster, quite original)