Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Lady and the Orc by Finley Fenn

19 reviews

sycaid's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Death, Violence, and Pregnancy

meat_muffin's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.5

I want to be obsessed with this one, I really do, but once

the MMC fucking sold her - even if he had a fucking plan!! To get her back!! -

my good opinion plummeted and there was just no redemption in my eyes 🤷‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Confinement, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, War, Infertility, Sexism, and Abortion

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, and Self harm

daisycantread24's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Murder, Kidnapping, Violence, and War

mburnsides's review

This is genuinely so bad. A lot of times poor quality is expected from self published books but BY GOD this is shit. The smut isn’t good, and it’s definitely not even passable enough to make up for the infuriating characters and horrible plot.
Grimarr and Jule are so toxic; they’re both terrible people who manipulate and lie, and they’re both constantly flip-flopping on what they want. One moment Grimarr is telling Jule he wants to protect her and will whatever she wants, the next he’s threatening to kill her and coercing her into sex. Jule can’t decide if she wants to bone the guy or if she wants to get away from him.
Theres some serious overuse of the words naught, prick (dick), and seed. A distracting and unsexy amount of the use of prick and seed. It’s gross and annoying to read. The way Fenn writes smut makes it sound painful and aggressive, and Grimarr is “culturally” kinky, but doesn’t ask Jule for permission ever.
The plot is so nonexistent. The only reason this book is 400 pages is because there’s a bad smut scene every few chapters. Grimarr and Jule spend so much time arguing back and forth over the SAME DAMN THINGS. They never get anywhere. And there’s so much focus on Jule being unable to have children with her husband, but Grimarr believing she can, she just needs the right guy. I hate that trope so much.
I was looking forward to this series because I like orc/human stories, but this is just toxicity with fantasy racism. Grimarr is so unattractive it’s hurts. Hes not charming or kind or protective. He’s all toxic masculinity. And Jule is just a huge idiot.
Don’t waste your time or money on this garbage.
DNF ~30%

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Infertility, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, War, Confinement, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

smuttymcbookface's review

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

I knew what I was getting into coming into this, but I still found myself feeling frustrated by the end.

Pros:

• Good world building
• Well written smut (and a lot of it)
• Decently built up side characters
• The writing for feelings during betrayals was evocative

Cons:

• Jule went straight from one abusive relationship into another. The only difference is she's more comfortable talking back in this one.
• The final act of betrayal was too much for me.
  I understood his actions for the good of his people, but it ruined their possibility of a HEA for me.
  I did not want these two to end up together again, and he didn't even grovel (like he didn't for all his other betrayals). Instead, there was the magic orc lust-maker and all was forgiven because Jule couldn't stay away.
• Dub-con at best, with women being lured into horniness because of genetics. Additionally, Grimarr was pushy with sex acts he knew she would struggle with, usually doing it and seeing how she'd react.
• Pleasure is very male-centric. Constant references to Jule giving blow jobs every day for him, on top of their normal sex, and no reciprocation.
  Additionally, directly after giving birth, Grimarr was petulant because he was told to let her rest for a while whilst his body recovered, and he felt he deserved blow jobs if they couldn't have sex.
  Dynamics like these only work in an already healthy relationship.

Since this was 80% smut, 20% plot, the rating is more reflective of how I found those scenes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual content

Moderate: Infidelity, Abortion, Toxic relationship, and War

Minor: Infidelity

dwarrowdams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Really compelling emotional romance. Not a light read, but worth it, and super hot too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexism

goldensisyphus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This book is repeated miscommunication tropes and repeated bid-d*ck breeding smut. It was too repetitive for my taste and I was so bored. The MMC is a gaslighting, lying self-admitted rapist (and we are somehow supposed to excuse these previous rapes just because he admits they "weren't successful" and he's going to do better?!). The most interesting part was the mysteriously scrawny, unblemished, shy orcs within the mountain. That's pretty much the only part I'd want to know more about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

cluckieduck's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

1.0

I’ve read & loved a lot of monster romance, so was happy to finally delve into the orc world with this one but it just  wasn’t for me, unfortunately. 

Both MCs were beyond irritating with their miscommunication, trust issues, and whiplash-level “I hate you’s, I love you’s”, yet it all miraculously disappeared when the magical orc peen was whipped out. To me, this fell on the wrong end of a dub-con relationship because it just felt like a way to cram in sooo many sexual encounters without any actual desire or connection between the two. Not enough time was spent on any level of development in their budding romance, yet they didn’t come across as fated mates either so it just left me feeling…why??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Kidnapping, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Infertility, Confinement, Death, Bullying, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death

cardaisy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

I feel like 2.5 is pretty fair for how I feel about this book, but there was also a pretty big gap between reading the first and second half of, so take that as you will 

Incredibly readable and weirdly addicting, but boy do I also have some gripes with this book. But, I mean, I finished it? And despite mixed feelings I'm maybe considering reading another one in the series? 

I felt pretty sure that I knew what I was getting into when I started, but, well, this was a lot. I will say that Finley Fenn knows how to write some pretty good grovel, the scene at the midway point was 👌, and the one at the end was still good but I could've used more, Jule deserved it 

I can't with the humiliation stuff though... aaand the blatant abuse and neglect. And I can't let go of the twist/betrayal at the end because I literally would've been mostly fine with it storywise if he had just told her??? It's a shit situation and was the right move politically and for the greater good and all that, but he couldn't at least loop her in?? Especially after she told him that she loved him and was clearly on board with everything by the end of it? He did at least acknowledge that at the end but still. 

Also, I think, as a whole, that this book could've really benefitted by having the MMC's POV as well 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Infertility and Abortion

shelfgremlin's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

2 ★’s — this book gave me a lot of big feelings, and not always in a good way. 

the premise of this book is that jule, our lovely human mc, is left home unguarded and gets kidnapped by orcs when they attack her home. grimarr, our especially lovely orc mc, decides to take her as his mate in an act of political revenge and whisks her away to orc mountain. 

i know this was supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers story but it’s more of an enemies-to-abused-and-abuser story. i’m not at all averse to dark romance, kink, kidnapping, whatever. i’ve read and quite enjoyed books where one mc tortured the other and then they got to know each other and fell in love afterwards. i say this to mean that there’s very little that i think an mc can’t come back from, but abusing someone that you are in a relationship with or have already professed to love is one of those things.

grimarr had a bad habit of saying one thing and doing another. he would whisper sweet promises into her ear about being the best mate for her and how he’s so much better than her husband but then he would turn around and act heinously. he thought that because he didn’t physically hit her like her husband did that he was better, but then he’d say shit like this - 

“I will bind you and gag you,” his menacing voice said. “I will starve you. I will keep you from the sun for the rest of your days. I swear this, woman.”

they were constantly going around and around in circles. he’d say something horribly messed up, apologize or make an excuse, jule would forgive him (of course,) and then he’d do something again. his mistakes always stemmed from mistreating jule because she didn’t do what he wanted or lying/withholding important information from her. it happened again and again and again. and my issue with that is that he did these things AFTER he claimed to love her and care about her and that's where this crossed the line from dark romance to stockholm syndrome/toxic relationship for me.

and that isn’t even the worst of it. grimarr was far more concerned with maintaining his position of power over the orcs than he was about her happiness and wellbeing. he showed this to be true repeatedly, punishing her for speaking out against him in front of others, making a group punishment when she “dishonors” the orcs,

willingly trading her and her unborn son back to her husband in exchange for a peace treaty. all this despite jule confessing her love for him, showing her loyalty by NEGOTIATING THE TREATY ON HIS BEHALF, and willingly complying even knowing she would be going back to a man who would beat her for the rest of her life, kill her unborn child, and probably kill her too. yet grimarr said nothing and sent her and his son off to die when the men came for them.

 

some of this is explained away with “he had a plan” and apparently jule just didn’t know it, but putting her in a situation where she would feel that distress and didn’t know it wasn’t real is equally bad when he’s continuing to repeat the same mistakes over and over. even through to the end of the book he doesn’t learn.

he could have easily told her the full plan but instead he let her sit there for days crying and grieving the loss of her unborn child.

and that’s not to say that jule is perfect, not by any means. i can sympathize with her actions a lot more because i’m sure she was traumatized to all hell at this point, but she grated on my nerves. there were some elements i loved about her, but she was so inconsistent as a character. she was not particularly brave (which is fine) but she would have these moments that felt out-of-character, like

when she killed astin, her ex-husband. out of nowhere she suddenly got the bravery to kill him and escape her abuser, but she failed to recognize that grimarr was equally as abusive, just in a different way.

one minute she would hate grimarr and the next she’d be sucking him off under the table. it was incredibly frustrating trying to like her as a character when she acted so erratically.

and she was willing to sacrifice her son to save the orcs that turned their backs on her. she was just gonna go along with it. she made no sense.

their relationship was nothing but toxic from beginning to end and i don’t think it was intentional. i think i was meant to be hoping for a happily-ever-after at the end, but i was just hoping she’d escape to themyscira and never have to deal with men or orcs again. where’s wonder woman when you need her?

the writing was pretty good. i picked up a few words i was unfamiliar with and that’s always a welcome bonus. there was a good arc, though the ending was a bit too fast compared to the rest of the novel. some of the language, though, was very repetitive. i’ll be very happy to never hear anyone described as “hale” or “lusty” ever again.

if this book had been sold as a stockholm syndrome trope i probably would have liked it, but i went in expecting a true romance and didn’t get it. i’m not sure if i’m going to continue the series. i’m interested in some of the other orcs but i’m not sure i wanna read a repeat if it’s similar to this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, War, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

this book takes place in the midst of a war between humans and orcs. there are descriptions of war and murder from both sides. the mc, jule, experiences abuse both at home with her husband and by the orc who kidnaps her. she processes grief over her confinement, her situation, and what she has lost on-page.