A review by pearlbrook
Honor Among Orcs by Amalia Dillin

4.0

Genre: Fantasy romance adventure set in a quasi-historical time period in a fictional land. Orc/human pairing, expect foreplay. Story begins with characters experiencing non-consensual physical abuse from one of the villains.

Spoiler

Main pairing: Bolthorn/Arianna
Favourite character: Bolthorn
Villain(s) Gunnar, Alviss, Vanadis.

Character rating: 10/10
Plot rating: 6/10
Setting rating: 9/10
Overall rating:8/10

Pros: The chemistry, oh my the chemistry! *fans self* from the first meeting of our main characters, through to "do you, do you not" bit right to the HEA, this book is scorching. The relationship develops beautifully, with a sprinkling of angst and self doubt on both sides, and both the romance and the sex are emotionally charged and well written. I was absolutely behind this couple 100% of the way.

Cons: I'm not sure I have any complaints about the first half of the book. But the second?

By the time our hero and heroine reach the other side of the mountains, they are separated. And the separation goes on. And on. And on. Interesting stuff was happening in the meantime, but it is a pet hate of mine when a romance novel has the romantic partners spending large amounts of plot apart. I'm here to make simpering noises at the cute couple, not get increasingly frustrated that things just keep getting in the way of all the sweet lovey-dovey moments. That and the elves just get freaking annoying after a while.

Another pet hate of mine is when the villain does a little bit too well. I have no idea how you'd measure this and I'm sure it is very idiosyncratic and not really a reflection on the strength of the novel. But I tend to get frustrated and bored when the bad guys are always a step ahead of the protagonists.

Some of the miscommunications and trust issues between the main characters get a little tedious, and occasionally you have to seriously question Arianna's intelligence.

Final opinion: This was one of those books that, halfway through, I was certain would be getting five stars and an entry onto my "favourite books" list. And then off went the plot and my heart just couldn't quite follow. I still loved this read, I will still read it again, and I still think of the characters weeks after finishing the thing (the sign of a good book if you ask me). It just missed the mark slightly for me.