Orc Tested by Cady Austin is a story about reaching down deep and finding the inner strength you didn’t know you possessed. It’s also a saucy story about a young woman and her three orcs. It’s set in a historical fantasy world with creatures existing alongside humans.
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Orc Tested: Novella
🥭🥭🥭🥭
🌶️🌶️🌶️
(you can find my rating and spice system here)
POV & Tense: Single POV, third limited, past tense
Genre: Why Choose? Fantasy Romance (No MM)
Tropes/Themes: Riches to Rags, Found Family, Revenge, Sexual Awakening, Manipulation, Magic, Murder, Revenge, Inner Strength
tw: Brief attempted SA
Synopsis:
Alana Brighton comes from noble blood. But winning the birth lottery doesn’t stop her misfortune following the death of her parents. A nefarious businessman takes her under his wing, and soon he all but owns her. To turn the tables, she risks it all and ventures into the forest to seek the help of three dangerous orcs. But they have other plans for her…
My Review:
So, I went into this book blind (with the exception that I knew it was a Why Choose romance involving a woman and three orcs). I expected a simple spicy romance and instead found a story with complex world-building and emotional depth. I LOVE it when a book surprises me and keeps me guessing.
She hadn’t expected the most vicious and terrifying of the elven race to be as alluring as they were. Their deep, jewel-green skin held and unearthly glow, and their forbidding expressions only heightened the allure of their sharply carved faces and intense eyes. No one would call them handsome—not to their faces anyway, but fascinating, certainly.
Inner Strength
At the start of the book, Alana has suffered the loss of her father, and her mother has been ill for years with an irreversible sleep curse. The family fortunes have dwindled all in the name of finding a cure. Richard Albright, under the guise of emotional support, has funded Alana’s quest to save her mother and now she owes him everything. He wants everything she has to offer and more. At the start, Alana wants someone to come in and save her. But she soon learns she only has herself to depend on. I love the idea of adversity teaching us about our inner strength.
A Deal with the Orcs
Alana attempts to make a deal with the orcs, but they are not impressed. They are tough and refuse to be used or commanded by a human. I don’t want to say too much and give away the plot, but this is a Why Choose, so despite the rocky start, there is a romance between the quartet. There is no sword-crossing (MM) within the equation, and while the steamy moments are smoldering hot, it’s not explicit (hence the three chilis instead of four).
How could Brun make her whole being twist to his attention with the same noise while Lord Albright’s laugh made her skin crawl?
World-Building
I love the world-building in this story. There’s a historical feel to it, and it’s interesting how orcs, elves, and fae are all related. Orcs are essentially taller, larger elves. I’m so intrigued by the magical forest and the hierarchy within the magical beings. I’m curious to see more in the next book.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Orc Tested really impressed me and the epilogue has me craving more. I’ll have to add book two, The Lords Savage & the Lady, to my TBR.
Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
Cady Auston is the author of science fiction and fantasy romance.
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Banner Image Credit: Forest Path
~~If you like spicy books with orcs, check out my Orc Rec List ~~
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