youve actually made great points. between both this story and kiss me liar the only world buildin that stuck to me was that omegas can also mark alphas but after an alpha is marked by an omega the alpha cant mark any other omega. that is the one and only thing that stuck. aside from that everythin you said is true. in kiss me liar the last i checked there was another amnesia plot which didnt really add anythin to the plot tbh
no clue if this makes sense haha ＿|￣|○
The powerbalance in this one is different, which makes it better than in KML.
The omega is stronger in this one, not just physcally, but also has much more selfconfidence. The alpha seems much weaker here, much more naiive and innocent, if he ignore his violent behaviour at the beginning. And sweet, Chase is sweet to Josh, Pete and Josh's family, but if he improved otherwise in this aspect that wasn't really shown, but Josh will most likely have an eye on it.
The power balance shown so far is not the one you describe. Yes Josh is "stronger" and I guess the alpha is weaker but this isn't really shown in the context of them being in a relationship which is where power balances really play a part. You seem to really be referring to the novel which I am not basing my opinion on. I disagree that the omega was weaker in Kiss me Liar, bc he had the balls to stand up to Keith, drug him and fully intend on running away. He showed REAL defiance. He also had self confidence but key difference is Yeonwoo LOVED Keith which is what made him weak to his advances. Josh is "strong" physically as shown by his capabilities as a security guard but there is no such resilience mentally as he has shown to give in to this alpha he does not even love.
Yeonwoo had the balls to drug him and run away, because he bit him which made his situation much more complicated. And he was pregnant on top of that.
An omega biting and alpha is a different thing than an alpha biting an omega in this universe, you should know that.
And there are a lot of omegas leaving their alpha in the authors stories. Poor Angel always runs away, Koi left Ash for a long time, Josh raised Pete on his own. Yeonwoo later runs away again.. .
Yeonwoo's weakness is Keith and him being a bit naive. He is resourceful and can use his head, yes I know that, but he too often let Keith have his way.
Having a weakness for their partner is ok, but well Keith was really an asshole for a long time. And the pusherover-trash concern over Spence and the Miller children of Keith, is based on his relationship with Yeonwoo, sure it changed over time.
Yes, Yeonwoo loved Keith, but it's also true that he worked as his secretary for 2 years and most of time was managing Keith sexual afairs with actresses... . Imagine how that is for someone who loves Keith.
If Josh loved Chase or not at the beginning is difficult to tell.
Chase who was dressed like a girl in a chocolate commercial was Josh's first love. Josh didn't sleep with anyone else after Chase, and he was a womanizer before. He said it was because of Pete, but who knows. But what is clear from the beginning is, that Josh is very weak for Chase's beautiful face.
The problem here is also that their work relationship is different, Josh can't just quit because there are others relying on him.
My favorite of the author stories is Desire me if you can (web novel), that's different again from the others.
You got some fair points. I just think the execution and the way the writing is done is pretty shitty for both stories. I'm not surprised by the numerous novels that have come out. They still are stereotypical and very surface level, especially the manhwas. You mentioned the omega biting the alpha and that being diff in this universe but both adaptations have failed to explain anything about how omegaverse works so Yeonwoo biting Keith means nothing to me bc I legitimately do not know how, what, why. The premise is interesting but the execution leaves much to be desired.
I know a lot of readers are praising this story, stating how different and sweet Chase is from Keith (from Kiss me Liar) but knowing this story is from the same author as the shit story Kiss me Liar (has a few positives) and seeing how this is going, this story ain't it. It takes more than just making the ML traumatized and sweet.
Everything that happens in this story is either cliche, stereotypical, or contrived just for the sake of it--just for the smut. An example of this is when Josh finds Chase in the woods of the party and Chase has some sort of reaction and the next thing Josh does is jerk him off... There isn't any worldbuilding to explain how the omegaverse works in this universe and they just state it as its happening, that he needs to drain his pheromones or else he can't breathe.
And for someone who supposedly is trying his best to hide his identity from the alpha he marked, Josh does a pretty poor job. Almost every time they engage, its sexual but there is no sexual tension or any reluctance/hesitation from Josh. You could say he's overcome by the pheromones but there's no worldbuilding to establish that. There's barely any inner dialogue to even show that Josh is worried about Chase finding out.
Side note, ppl praise the art too but I think the art leaves much to be desired. Look at Yeonwoo--the soft, round, juvenile look he's given bc he's an omega. After Chase got his hair dyed, he looks like a punkass gothic teenager.