Borders Between Empires by Sasha Hope

A criminal elite Alpha wouldn't be interested in a police officer omega, would he? Hanni is a good officer and when he has some cases that cross paths with Alpha Jaemin he certainly doesn't entertain the Alpha's interest seriously. But eventually Jaemin convinces Hanni to give them a chance, and what may start as a lark turns into something more.

From the blurb for Borders Between Empires:

Detective Hanni Nassar finds himself in enemy territory while investigating a string of robberies. After accidentally crossing the Central Empire’s borderline, he comes face to face with Jaemin Yi, a high-ranking Alpha of the Southern Empire’s Elite.

A cop and a gangster, both Hanni and Jaemin are suspicious of each other at first. Jaemin wants to know what Hanni’s doing on Southern turf, and Hanni wants to know if Jaemin’s notorious boss has any involvement with his case. Their initial meeting is tense, but soon Jaemin starts pursuing him for his own dissolute reasons.

Despite the clandestine rumblings through the streets of Luxor City, this isn’t about a case anymore.

Jaemin Yi is persistent. He thaws Hanni’s frigid airs and shows him there’s nothing wrong with caving to his more primal desires once in a while. As an Omega working in an Alpha-dominated field, Hanni has buried the Omegan side of himself, and Jaemin seems keen to draw it to the surface.

But where did his sudden interest come from? And will the lines crossed be too much for Hanni to handle or will adversarial passions heat up the borders between Empires?

SNik's Review:

Alpha/omega universe. Slow burn. Single POV. 

Hanni is one of the few omegas in the Central Empire’s police force, and not only is he good at his job, he loves it. When he comes across Alpha Jaemin during an investigation, he’s surprised by the Alpha’s pursuit. Not sure if a romance with someone from across the border, plus Jaemin being an elite Alpha will work. While the two men work together on a few police cases to catch criminals that are going between their two empires, Jaemin is desperately wooing Hanni, and it’s working. 

There’s something about capable, strong and confident omegas that I really enjoy, and Hanni is a very independent and snarky omega. Jaemin comes across as a sometimes deadly cinnamon roll that wants to spoil Hanni and it’s actually very sweet. 

I was really entertained by Borders Between Empires, there is some action and some steamy times. I did wish for more background on both men, but enjoyed the story overall.

Rating: 4.25 Stars

Jacquie's Review:

Hanni is stubborn, aloof, dedicated to his job. Not a typical omega.

Jaemin is what Hanni would call a knothead (fun insult), and he pursues Hanni pretty hard.

There's also a case to solve and gang to take down.

The world-building was good, I think I would have liked a little more depth to it. Can all omegas carry babies, for instance? I think I would have liked more love in the romance. The Banter was top-notch, but the love confessions were a bit fast.

All in all, entertaining and I'm interested in reading the other books of the series.

“Unfortunately, I really do like you.” Jaemin grinned wide only for the expression to be replaced by a frown seconds later. “What do you mean ‘unfortunately’?”

Rating: 4 Stars

Borders Between Empires is available to buy as an ebook.