A review by krin
The Orchid and the Lion by Gabriel Hargrave

3.75

The first 70% of this book was quite good for an indie debut. It was noticeably indie though - almost fanfic-like. And it became more obvious in that last 30%, almost like the author and his betas ran out of steam for editing. But ultimately, so much of this worked for me even though it has a lot of stuff I don't normally read (i.e., fantasy/sci-fi, more erotica than romance, BDSM). The author's character work is great and he created a very cool sense of place. And the way sex work was centred and portrayed was really good. Ultimately, this was a compelling story with interesting characters that kept me engaged despite lacking polish. I will definitely read the next one when it come out.