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A review by mintiemarie
The Duchess and the Orc by Finley Fenn
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
The Duchess and the Orc was a refreshing take by Finley Fenn thus far in the Orc Sorn series. This is the fourth book but the fifth overall work in the series and kicks off with the FMC, Maria, a Duchess desperate to escape a loveless marriage to someone we've already heard of in prior books. Hatching a plan to flee to Orc Mountain, she thinks she'll breezily find an orc to take her in and help her plan to get rid of her current life. However, meeting the MMC, Simon, the hulking Enforcer of Orc Mountain turns into more than she'd bargained for.
Once again, I found I liked the orcs more than the women they were falling for. Although I appreciate that Maria is taking this on herself (choosing to choose an orc rather than suddenly finding herself in the company of one) the pitfalls of the other works still entrap this work. The deceit and lies are a large factor in how this pair come together and while Simon shows himself to have depth, skills, and intelligence often thought orcs simply don't have, Maria was... lackluster. She had nothing to bring to the table as it were - just a mostly unwavering desire to start a new life, while Simon sought to protect, honor, and serve his kind.
While I gave this 4 stars, I didn't do it because I 'felt for Maria' or 'saw myself in her', but rather because I felt for Simon. His desire to do what was right by his kin, to find a mate who'd be a life-long partner to match his desires and help show his clan a new, more prosperous way, and the continued evolving subplot of the plight between orcs and humans was a good story. Even when I felt that, again, the orcs were expecting these human women to adapt to their culture while not at all respecting the boundaries these women's culture may have instilled in them, there was more genuine depth to Simon, Baldr, Drafli, and the rest of the reoccurring characters (and new ones) than in Maria who at one point has no other skills to show off than to be able to jig. The FMC simply felt silly, vapid, and thoughtless; just a pawn to further the orcs when instead they could be real, fleshed out, and thoughtful participants in the furthering of the long-term subplot.
What keeps me reading is my willingness to accept that these books, while entertaining, will probably never be as genuine as I'd like my romance to be. The author had the potential for Maria to be honest, and forthright, and still get what she wanted but chose the cheap out of our FMC lying to try to gain something, even when the lie really isn't serving her. Even thoughwe find out the orcs knew all along that she was lying, it felt less deceitful for them to not call her out on her lies than it did for her to keep lying... I will give credit that, in past books, it seemed to take forever for the FMC and MMC to find real, genuine truths with each other but in The Duchess and the Orc, this started to occur in a refreshing 50-60% mark. The swing into real, genuine emotions was where I really started to enjoy this book.
To note, I realize these books are meant to be fun, light, and easy reads despite the overarching themes of war and personal growth - I see the genuine points the author is speaking to about the parallels of this world she's built and modern times with misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. being valid and real issues that fit well into the HEA's of a romance tale. Nonetheless, it's frustrating to see them used over and over with little to no growth on the FMC's part.
Also, just once, I'd like an FMC to say: no, I will not subject myself to xyz thing just because it's part of insert-orc-clans culture and the Orc to say: okay, we can just not do that thing then. Maybe I'll be so lucky as I read on to the next book in the series. Or, maybe Maria will have some growth by the time I get to this book's bonus epilogue on the author's website (probably not, but I could get lucky...)
CW: This book contains graphic depictions of mature, adult content including open-door, 4 chili-pepper spice level including kink and BDSM themes, F/M, and M/M relationships as well as mild gore and violence. This work also deals with themes ofparental death, theoretical sexual violence, and misunderstood mental health issues.
Once again, I found I liked the orcs more than the women they were falling for. Although I appreciate that Maria is taking this on herself (choosing to choose an orc rather than suddenly finding herself in the company of one) the pitfalls of the other works still entrap this work. The deceit and lies are a large factor in how this pair come together and while Simon shows himself to have depth, skills, and intelligence often thought orcs simply don't have, Maria was... lackluster. She had nothing to bring to the table as it were - just a mostly unwavering desire to start a new life, while Simon sought to protect, honor, and serve his kind.
While I gave this 4 stars, I didn't do it because I 'felt for Maria' or 'saw myself in her', but rather because I felt for Simon. His desire to do what was right by his kin, to find a mate who'd be a life-long partner to match his desires and help show his clan a new, more prosperous way, and the continued evolving subplot of the plight between orcs and humans was a good story. Even when I felt that, again, the orcs were expecting these human women to adapt to their culture while not at all respecting the boundaries these women's culture may have instilled in them, there was more genuine depth to Simon, Baldr, Drafli, and the rest of the reoccurring characters (and new ones) than in Maria who at one point has no other skills to show off than to be able to jig. The FMC simply felt silly, vapid, and thoughtless; just a pawn to further the orcs when instead they could be real, fleshed out, and thoughtful participants in the furthering of the long-term subplot.
What keeps me reading is my willingness to accept that these books, while entertaining, will probably never be as genuine as I'd like my romance to be. The author had the potential for Maria to be honest, and forthright, and still get what she wanted but chose the cheap out of our FMC lying to try to gain something, even when the lie really isn't serving her. Even though
To note, I realize these books are meant to be fun, light, and easy reads despite the overarching themes of war and personal growth - I see the genuine points the author is speaking to about the parallels of this world she's built and modern times with misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. being valid and real issues that fit well into the HEA's of a romance tale. Nonetheless, it's frustrating to see them used over and over with little to no growth on the FMC's part.
Also, just once, I'd like an FMC to say: no, I will not subject myself to xyz thing just because it's part of insert-orc-clans culture and the Orc to say: okay, we can just not do that thing then. Maybe I'll be so lucky as I read on to the next book in the series. Or, maybe Maria will have some growth by the time I get to this book's bonus epilogue on the author's website (probably not, but I could get lucky...)
CW: This book contains graphic depictions of mature, adult content including open-door, 4 chili-pepper spice level including kink and BDSM themes, F/M, and M/M relationships as well as mild gore and violence. This work also deals with themes of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, War