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sycaid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Death, Violence, and Pregnancy
meat_muffin's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Rape, Self harm, and Death of parent
daisycantread24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
mburnsides's review against another edition
Grimarr and Jule are so toxic; theyāre both terrible people who manipulate and lie, and theyāre 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 heās threatening to kill her and coercing her into sex. Jule canāt 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. Itās gross and annoying to read. The way Fenn writes smut makes it sound painful and aggressive, and Grimarr is āculturallyā kinky, but doesnāt ask Jule for permission ever.
The plot is so nonexistent. The only reason this book is 400 pages is because thereās 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 thereās 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 itās hurts. Hes not charming or kind or protective. Heās all toxic masculinity. And Jule is just a huge idiot.
Donāt waste your time or money on this garbage.
DNF ~30%
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War
smuttymcbookface's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Pros:
- Good world building
- Well written smut (and a lot of it)
- Decently built up side characters
- The writing for feelings during betrayals was evocative
Cons:
- Jule went straight from one abusive relationship into another. The only difference is she's more comfortable talking back in this one.
- The final act of betrayal was too much for me.
I understood his actions for the good of his people, but it ruined their possibility of a HEA for me. I did not want these two to end up together again, and he didn't even grovel (like he didn't for all his other betrayals). Instead, there was the magic orc lust-maker and all was forgiven because Jule couldn't stay away. - Dub-con at best, with women being lured into horniness because of genetics. Additionally, Grimarr was pushy with sex acts he knew she would struggle with, usually doing it and seeing how she'd react.
- Pleasure is very male-centric. Constant references to Jule giving blow jobs every day for him, on top of their normal sex, and no reciprocation.
Additionally, directly after giving birth, Grimarr was petulant because he was told to let her rest for a while whilst his body recovered, and he felt he deserved blow jobs if they couldn't have sex. Dynamics like these only work in an already healthy relationship.
Since this was 80% smut, 20% plot, the rating is more reflective of how I found those scenes.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and War
Minor: Infidelity
dwarrowdams's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism
goldensisyphus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Both MCs were beyond irritating with their miscommunication, trust issues, and whiplash-level āI hate youās, I love youāsā, 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 didnāt come across as fated mates either so it just left me feelingā¦why??
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death
cardaisy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility and Abortion
shelfgremlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
the premise of this book is that jule, our lovely human mc, is left home unguarded and gets kidnapped by orcs when they attack her home. grimarr, our especially lovely orc mc, decides to take her as his mate in an act of political revenge and whisks her away to orc mountain.
i know this was supposed to be an enemies-to-lovers story but itās more of an enemies-to-abused-and-abuser story. iām not at all averse to dark romance, kink, kidnapping, whatever. iāve read and quite enjoyed books where one mc tortured the other and then they got to know each other and fell in love afterwards. i say this to mean that thereās very little that i think an mc canāt come back from, but abusing someone that you are in a relationship with or have already professed to love is one of those things.
grimarr had a bad habit of saying one thing and doing another. he would whisper sweet promises into her ear about being the best mate for her and how heās so much better than her husband but then he would turn around and act heinously. he thought that because he didnāt physically hit her like her husband did that he was better, but then heād say shit like this -
āI will bind you and gag you,ā his menacing voice said. āI will starve you. I will keep you from the sun for the rest of your days. I swear this, woman.ā
they were constantly going around and around in circles. heād say something horribly messed up, apologize or make an excuse, jule would forgive him (of course,) and then heād do something again. his mistakes always stemmed from mistreating jule because she didnāt do what he wanted or lying/withholding important information from her. it happened again and again and again. and my issue with that is that he did these things AFTER he claimed to love her and care about her and that's where this crossed the line from dark romance to stockholm syndrome/toxic relationship for me.
and that isnāt even the worst of it. grimarr was far more concerned with maintaining his position of power over the orcs than he was about her happiness and wellbeing. he showed this to be true repeatedly, punishing her for speaking out against him in front of others, making a group punishment when she ādishonorsā the orcs,
some of this is explained away with āhe had a planā and apparently jule just didnāt know it, but putting her in a situation where she would feel that distress and didnāt know it wasnāt real is equally bad when heās continuing to repeat the same mistakes over and over. even through to the end of the book he doesnāt learn.
and thatās not to say that jule is perfect, not by any means. i can sympathize with her actions a lot more because iām sure she was traumatized to all hell at this point, but she grated on my nerves. there were some elements i loved about her, but she was so inconsistent as a character. she was not particularly brave (which is fine) but she would have these moments that felt out-of-character, like
their relationship was nothing but toxic from beginning to end and i donāt think it was intentional. i think i was meant to be hoping for a happily-ever-after at the end, but i was just hoping sheād escape to themyscira and never have to deal with men or orcs again. whereās wonder woman when you need her?
the writing was pretty good. i picked up a few words i was unfamiliar with and thatās always a welcome bonus. there was a good arc, though the ending was a bit too fast compared to the rest of the novel. some of the language, though, was very repetitive. iāll be very happy to never hear anyone described as āhaleā or ālustyā ever again.
if this book had been sold as a stockholm syndrome trope i probably would have liked it, but i went in expecting a true romance and didnāt get it. iām not sure if iām going to continue the series. iām interested in some of the other orcs but iām not sure i wanna read a repeat if itās similar to this one.
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War
this book takes place in the midst of a war between humans and orcs. there are descriptions of war and murder from both sides. the mc, jule, experiences abuse both at home with her husband and by the orc who kidnaps her. she processes grief over her confinement, her situation, and what she has lost on-page.