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Well-written, as all of the Orc Sworn books are, BUT I was pissed the entire book for Alma. She deserved more for the entirety of the book. I can see why so many folks have given this book high ratings, and if Alma's treatment was better I also would have rated higher.

Sooooo, this was my first ‘monster romance’ and I couldn’t get enough! Honestly, I thought I’d give it a try and DNF it within the first 10%, but I was hooked. I learned from others reviews that I needed to go into this book with the understanding that the Orcs have different customs and what they believe is honoring others is very different for humans. I’m not going to go into the plot too much, but it was a roller coaster. Jules is married to a horrible man who is abusive and not faithful. She is considered barren and she is miserable. But when Grimmar kidnaps her and drags her to Orc Mountain, he promises her safety, love, and passion. She has a hard time adjusting to life in the Orcs world and Grimmar basically keeps her as a prisoner and punishes her when she speaks I’ll of him or the other Orcs. Some of it bothered me, but Jules was a bit snobbish at times and disrespectful. As the truth comes to light, not giving away spoilers, my heart BREAKS for Jules and even for Grimmar as he is bound by his duty as the chief of the Orcs. I am eager to continue the series!

Tropes
Monster Romance, Monster Hero, Alpha Hero, Scared Hero, Starchy Hero, Protective Hero, Possessive/Jealous Hero, Titled Hero, Abused Heroine, Damaged Heroine, Experienced Heroine, Outdoor Steam, Monster Steam, Dirty Talk, Angst Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Kidnapped, Betrayal, Secrets & Lies

THE REVIEW
Maria is desperate to escape her horrible husband so she makes a plan to go to Orc Mountain, offer herself to an Orc for year, and then have her freedom. She even plants letters behind to be sure to humiliate her awful husband when they find out she would prefer an Orc or him! But, after being ignored, belittled and untouched for years, she finds freedom and fulfillment in the mountain.

Simon is the Enforcer of Orc Mountain who is trying to change the brutal ways of his clan, Skai, who is known for its harsh treatment of their mates. So, after bumping into Maria on the road, he uses her to prove to his clan that you can successfully find and keep a mate without those ancient ways.

Together they manage to challenge those ancient Skai ways with some success until Simon is challenged as Enforcer and Maria’s deception comes to light.

Book Four was different in that Maria choose to seek out the Orcs whereas in other books it was more forceful. After four books, it was a nice change of plot. Also, after watching Simon in previous books, it was also fun to see Simon find his woman!

TROPES
Paranormal Romance, Monster Romance, Alpha Hero, Pugilist/Fighter Hero, Aggressive Heroine, Damaged/Tortured Heroine, Heiress Heroine, Outdoor Steam, Desk Steam, Monster Steam, Fling to Love, Betrayal Trope, Hidden Identity, Secrets & Lies, Four Star, Five Flame

chapter 21

Another I-read-this-because-of-the-hype. Except unlike Ice Planet Barbarians, I didn't quite enjoy the ride so much.

The technical skill just wasn't there. I kept getting hung up on the author's writing because it just wasn't good, in a really distracting way. It made me confused and I reread a lot of sentences. If it had been better in that aspect, I think I could have enjoyed it more.

I also just didn't vibe with the constant mentioning of how grotesque the orcs were and how wrong and dirty it was to have sex with them, for the first 1/3rd of the book. I get it, they're monsters, it's taboo. But it was just annoying to listen to Jule constantly say those things while getting fucked by the giant monster dick without thinking more about her preconceptions or what she truly wanted for herself. And it all came back to desire because of a bond even while she found him to be grotesque. Anyway, like I said, just didn't vibe with me.

I also really felt really sympathetic to Jule. I didn't like her at first because of the prejudice, and her constant flip flopping of 'I hate you but I want your orc cum.' But she was manipulated by her own father into marrying an abusive and cruel man, and Grimarr constantly blamed her for that. It's hard to say Grimarr is as bad as Astin, but it was really hard to have any more sympathy for Grimarr than I did for Astin. Grimarr still took Jule, kept her against her will, manipulated her into staying, and constantly lied to her to use her for his own gain. Jule had power and all Grimarr ever wanted from her was to possess and control it. He never grew to understand Jule and her position in life and how she was constantly used against her will, or how to love her as an individual, but instead we are forced to sympathize with Grimarr and learn to love him because he sacrificed Jule against her will for the sake of the Orc's future.

Yeah, so, it's really just fun because of the, uh, novelty. Orc Mountain? More like Cum Mountain. Anyway, I'll probably continue the series.½

Really should have expected this, but wowwww Mandingo horribleness

***what sucked me in***
Oh man people on Reddit just comment what they like to read and boom! There I go adding another book to my list...