Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Lady and the Orc

This is genuinely so bad. A lot of times poor quality is expected from self published books but BY GOD this is shit. The smut isn’t good, and it’s definitely not even passable enough to make up for the infuriating characters and horrible plot.
Grimarr and Jule are so toxic; they’re both terrible people who manipulate and lie, and they’re both constantly flip-flopping on what they want. One moment Grimarr is telling Jule he wants to protect her and will whatever she wants, the next he’s threatening to kill her and coercing her into sex. Jule can’t decide if she wants to bone the guy or if she wants to get away from him.
Theres some serious overuse of the words naught, prick (dick), and seed. A distracting and unsexy amount of the use of prick and seed. It’s gross and annoying to read. The way Fenn writes smut makes it sound painful and aggressive, and Grimarr is “culturally” kinky, but doesn’t ask Jule for permission ever.
The plot is so nonexistent. The only reason this book is 400 pages is because there’s a bad smut scene every few chapters. Grimarr and Jule spend so much time arguing back and forth over the SAME DAMN THINGS. They never get anywhere. And there’s so much focus on Jule being unable to have children with her husband, but Grimarr believing she can, she just needs the right guy. I hate that trope so much.
I was looking forward to this series because I like orc/human stories, but this is just toxicity with fantasy racism. Grimarr is so unattractive it’s hurts. Hes not charming or kind or protective. He’s all toxic masculinity. And Jule is just a huge idiot.
Don’t waste your time or money on this garbage.
DNF ~30%

Content Warnings

doahdancer's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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_fionn_'s review against another edition

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adventurous funny relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I’ve read & loved a lot of monster romance, so was happy to finally delve into the orc world with this one but it just wasn’t for me, unfortunately.

Both MCs were beyond irritating with their miscommunication, trust issues, and whiplash-level “I hate you’s, I love you’s”, yet it all miraculously disappeared when the magical orc peen was whipped out. To me, this fell on the wrong end of a dub-con relationship because it just felt like a way to cram in sooo many sexual encounters without any actual desire or connection between the two. Not enough time was spent on any level of development in their budding romance, yet they didn’t come across as fated mates either so it just left me feeling…why??

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cardaisy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

2.5

I feel like 2.5 is pretty fair for how I feel about this book, but there was also a pretty big gap between reading the first and second half of, so take that as you will

Incredibly readable and weirdly addicting, but boy do I also have some gripes with this book. But, I mean, I finished it? And despite mixed feelings I'm maybe considering reading another one in the series?

I felt pretty sure that I knew what I was getting into when I started, but, well, this was a lot. I will say that Finley Fenn knows how to write some pretty good grovel, the scene at the midway point was 👌, and the one at the end was still good but I could've used more, Jule deserved it

I can't with the humiliation stuff though... aaand the blatant abuse and neglect. And I can't let go of the twist/betrayal at the end because I literally would've been mostly fine with it storywise if he had just told her??? It's a shit situation and was the right move politically and for the greater good and all that, but he couldn't at least loop her in?? Especially after she told him that she loved him and was clearly on board with everything by the end of it? He did at least acknowledge that at the end but still.

Also, I think, as a whole, that this book could've really benefitted by having the MMC's POV as well

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galpaladin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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