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isitcake's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Ok wow I was not expecting to like this book so much. Pretty good writing, good plot with intense emotional struggles for both characters. It was like Pride and Prejudice but with orcs.
Lady Jule is married to an abusive man, Lord Astin Norr. He leaves her in their undefended castle when its well-known orcs are pillaging around. Orcs attack and she sacrifices herself to protect her servants. She is taken to be the mate for Captain Grimarr, an orc who has quickly risen to lead all orcs.
We learn that human woman are unnaturally attracted to orcs in this universe; by their smell, huge orc dicks, and their sweet "honey tasting" buckets of semen. This was the grossest part of this book/series lol. The orcs drip semen when aroused nonstop and by the time they cum, the woman has GEYERS of cum coming out of her. So gross lol.
Jule finds herself attracted to Grimarr and craves him even as she tries to resist, and tries to think how she can plot revenge. However, Grimarr constantly publicly humiliates her and degrades her, treats her like a servant (forcing her to cook for hours nonstop) and then afterwards he threatens to take away her clothes permanently to humiliate her. This is her breaking point and she mentally disassociates from her body. There's a really sad scene where he takes her, and while she bodily gets pleasure from it she is mentally shutdown. This is the breaking point for Grimarr too. He wants a wife who loves him. And this is when he reveals she's 1 week pregnant. Jule realizes the power she has now over them and threatens to self-abort. Grimarr makes her a deal to give him 40 days to do a complete turnaround and treat her like a mate should be treated.
Again, this is erotica so the world building was unexpected. There are only like 1000 orcs left in the realm. I guess all orcs are male?? I guess they need human woman to reproduce. I also didn't fully understand the orc's physical appearances. They had a lot of different races. Some were almost like gray humans, these were the scholars. Some seemed to have shamanic power? Lots of miners. Oh yea they all live underneath this mountain in dark tunnels. That's a point of contention between Jule and Grimarr, she demands to see the sun, to go outside.
Finally we learn Grimarr's backstory. His dad used to lead the orcs but after Grimarr was born he got greedy and started stealing other orc's women. None of his sons survived. There was lots of violence that divided the orcs. Finally Grimarr murdered him for the greater good. Grimarr's goal is to have peace between orcs and men, that's the only way they'll survive. He sends letters to meet with the 3 nearby Lords to broker peace. They sign a treaty but part of the deal is that Lord Norr wants his wife back, Jule. Even though Jule and Grimarr are in love, even though she's obviously pregnant with his orc-son, even though he knows Norr will kill his son and abuse Jule, he agrees (again, the greater good).
Lord Norr immediately horsewhips her in front of ~50 men. But once they're in the carriage, he threatens to stab her in the stomach right there, she stands up to him and asks to let her do it herself and instead kills him. As she's about to be murdered for her cousin Otto to get her land now, Grimarr she's up with a band of orcs to rescue her. They also enforce the peace treaty.
The book ends with 2 human woman have also moved in (the next books in the series) and Jule gives birth to their son, Tenjil, who is prophesized to be an orc king.
We learn that human woman are unnaturally attracted to orcs in this universe; by their smell, huge orc dicks, and their sweet "honey tasting" buckets of semen. This was the grossest part of this book/series lol. The orcs drip semen when aroused nonstop and by the time they cum, the woman has GEYERS of cum coming out of her. So gross lol.
Jule finds herself attracted to Grimarr and craves him even as she tries to resist, and tries to think how she can plot revenge. However, Grimarr constantly publicly humiliates her and degrades her, treats her like a servant (forcing her to cook for hours nonstop) and then afterwards he threatens to take away her clothes permanently to humiliate her. This is her breaking point and she mentally disassociates from her body. There's a really sad scene where he takes her, and while she bodily gets pleasure from it she is mentally shutdown. This is the breaking point for Grimarr too. He wants a wife who loves him. And this is when he reveals she's 1 week pregnant. Jule realizes the power she has now over them and threatens to self-abort. Grimarr makes her a deal to give him 40 days to do a complete turnaround and treat her like a mate should be treated.
Again, this is erotica so the world building was unexpected. There are only like 1000 orcs left in the realm. I guess all orcs are male?? I guess they need human woman to reproduce. I also didn't fully understand the orc's physical appearances. They had a lot of different races. Some were almost like gray humans, these were the scholars. Some seemed to have shamanic power? Lots of miners. Oh yea they all live underneath this mountain in dark tunnels. That's a point of contention between Jule and Grimarr, she demands to see the sun, to go outside.
Finally we learn Grimarr's backstory. His dad used to lead the orcs but after Grimarr was born he got greedy and started stealing other orc's women. None of his sons survived. There was lots of violence that divided the orcs. Finally Grimarr murdered him for the greater good. Grimarr's goal is to have peace between orcs and men, that's the only way they'll survive. He sends letters to meet with the 3 nearby Lords to broker peace. They sign a treaty but part of the deal is that Lord Norr wants his wife back, Jule. Even though Jule and Grimarr are in love, even though she's obviously pregnant with his orc-son, even though he knows Norr will kill his son and abuse Jule, he agrees (again, the greater good).
Lord Norr immediately horsewhips her in front of ~50 men. But once they're in the carriage, he threatens to stab her in the stomach right there, she stands up to him and asks to let her do it herself and instead kills him. As she's about to be murdered for her cousin Otto to get her land now, Grimarr she's up with a band of orcs to rescue her. They also enforce the peace treaty.
The book ends with 2 human woman have also moved in (the next books in the series) and Jule gives birth to their son, Tenjil, who is prophesized to be an orc king.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Violence, Rape, War, Torture, and Murder
unusablebooklore's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This was my first Orc book. I was heavily influenced via social media. I cannot be mad. This book lived up to all the hype.
Kidnapping of a headstrong Lady MC, sexy mate magic, an unusual take on forced proximity; not to mention the spice. This book excelled in a lot of ways. I appreciated the level of emotion used to help the reader really commit to the cause of the Orc's, not too heavy but just enough to make me want to read the remainder of the series.
My biggest issue was that the MC seemed utterly irrational the first half of the book. It made it difficult to really dig in and like her until the second half. However, her Orc Grimarr was truly excellent.
Kidnapping of a headstrong Lady MC, sexy mate magic, an unusual take on forced proximity; not to mention the spice. This book excelled in a lot of ways. I appreciated the level of emotion used to help the reader really commit to the cause of the Orc's, not too heavy but just enough to make me want to read the remainder of the series.
My biggest issue was that the MC seemed utterly irrational the first half of the book. It made it difficult to really dig in and like her until the second half. However, her Orc Grimarr was truly excellent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Violence
mslori's review
This had an interesting start, but as it went on I just found myself losing interest. It was too much in places, so much "good orc seed" for example, and not enough explanations or logic in other areas. Like why do Orcs only have sons, and why are the babies 100% orc, but they rely on human women to have them. But they are not half human? I found the politics of how the humans were hunting the orcs more interesting than you would have thought. I can say in favor of the book, the orc MC went a little too far pretty early in the book, but there was some proper groveling. I almost forgave him.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence
Minor: Kidnapping
thatfabchick's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I love the writing in the book. With that in mind this author can right some really rude women. I mean the stuff that came out of this women’s mouth I was very very much upset. Like they way she talked to these orcs but would NEVER EVER TALK TO HUMAN MEN THAT WAY. Unacceptable. Also the last 20% is trash, completely threw in a wrench that was unnecessary. Just two toxic people in love. Ugh 😣 .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, War, and Suicidal thoughts
onlyonebookshelf's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: War, Violence, Infertility, and Infidelity
ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition
I could have kept going if it weren't for the main characters, both of whom get on my nerves and make me want to get into the book so I could give them each a good beating. Few books have ever gotten on my nerves like this and I didn't expect this from this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, and War
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Infertility, and Infidelity
grilledcheesd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
i'm gonna be honest i almost dnf'd this book about 30% in. i'm glad i finished it, but also i kinda wanna smack grimarr up the side of his damn head. but i'll probably continue the series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Infertility
words_and_dreams's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
elfsteel's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Slavery and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault and Infertility
katierose_reads's review
dark
tense
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
3.5
Having started with book 5 in this series (please don't come for me haha!) I found it so so interesting to see how this world that Finley Fenn created began. Discovering the history of the orcs and the origin of the peace treaty - perhaps that's why 'normal' people start with book one?
Grimaarr is definitely not as easy to like as Joarr from book five was, for me at least. However, his family history was so interesting. He has a very unique perspective on the life of the orcs and genuinely very wholesome goals for future of the orcs - even if the way he goes about achieving these goals is sometimes a lot less wholesome.
Jule, our female MC is in a loveless and abusive marriage when she gets taken by the orcs. And then once again, Finley Fenn is like ...
'You thought this was going to be all about orcs boning didn't you? Well, how about you also look into the role of women in our society and the emotional labour women do to placate the patriarchy... AND orc boning.'
I really enjoyed this one and would recommend reading it if you want to try out some fantasy orc romance.
I agree with some that the end of this book was a little rushed/there needed to be some more development from Grimaarr for a 100% convincing HEA - watch me trying not to spoil anything haha! - But I still really enjoyed this book.
Grimaarr is definitely not as easy to like as Joarr from book five was, for me at least. However, his family history was so interesting. He has a very unique perspective on the life of the orcs and genuinely very wholesome goals for future of the orcs - even if the way he goes about achieving these goals is sometimes a lot less wholesome.
Jule, our female MC is in a loveless and abusive marriage when she gets taken by the orcs. And then once again, Finley Fenn is like ...
'You thought this was going to be all about orcs boning didn't you? Well, how about you also look into the role of women in our society and the emotional labour women do to placate the patriarchy... AND orc boning.'
I really enjoyed this one and would recommend reading it if you want to try out some fantasy orc romance.
I agree with some that the end of this book was a little rushed/there needed to be some more development from Grimaarr for a 100% convincing HEA - watch me trying not to spoil anything haha! - But I still really enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Abandonment