Orc’s Unwilling Bride by Kayla St James is book one in the Orc Warlord series, and I loved it! Let me start by saying this is a romantic fantasy, not a fantasy romance. This means that while there are romantic elements, it does not follow the same beats as a romance. If you go into this expecting a romance, you may be unsatisfied, but if you go in expecting fantasy with romantic elements, you’ll get what you came for. I, for one, am hooked.
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Orc’s Unwilling Bride by Kayla St. James
🥭🥭🥭🥭
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
(you can find my rating and spice system here)
POV & Tense: Single POV, third limited, past tense
Genre: MF Romantic Fantasy
Tropes/Themes: Warring Clans, Kidnapping, Arranged Marriage, Orc, Elf, Enemies to Lovers, Wild Child meets Brutish Warrior, Size Difference
Synopsis:
Mae and her sister, Edyra, have no love for orcs. The vile creatures raid their land, steal their sheep, and cause mayhem wherever they go. When they visit the overseeing Lord with their father to lodge their complaints, the last thing Mae expects is for their father to marry Edyra off to an orc in the name of peace. But when Edyra is kidnapped before the wedding, their father gives Mae to the orcs instead.
My Review:
Wild Child in Polite Society
Orc’s Unwilling Bride is a compelling read—I couldn’t put it down. A matriarch may lead the orcs, but most of society is misogynistic with women expected to look the part and keep quiet. Mae, however, has grown up wild. She rides horses and herds sheep and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to ensure her clan flourishes. Her father is human, but she has her Elven mother’s fiery temper. Edyra, by contrast, is the dutiful daughter who sees marriage as her sacred duty. Naturally, she’s chosen for the arranged marriage with the orcs. But things don’t go according to plan, and Mae unwillingly takes her place.
Dura’s pale eyes glimmered as she leaned forward. “What? That you want to be certain the orc you’re marrying is handsome and true? A misunderstood beast who speaks softly to his horses and will take you gently by candlelight?” The orcs who stood around them snorted with laughter and elbowed one another.
Enemies to Lovers
The switch of brides creates an interesting dynamic. Edyra would have dutifully gone along with everything. But Mae fights her destiny every step of the way. She’s never wanted a husband, and she’s hated Urim ever since she first set eyes on him. For her, the marriage is a marriage in name only. She won’t give him her heart and won’t give up on finding her sister so she can go back to the way things were. The transformation of their relationship is slow, and Mae is so caught up in her mindset that it veers into Idiots to Lovers territory.
Mae froze as his lips met hers, hard tusks digging into her mouth and hurting her lips. Her anger flared and she bit him sharply, just enough to make him let out a roar of surprise.
Kind-Hearted Warrior
As the story is told from Mae’s POV, we don’t get much of a sense of Urim until the wedding at the 50% mark. From their first few interactions, I liked him (even though she was steaming mad), but it was their wedding night and morning that won me over. He’s chivalrous and gentle, even when his wife is lashing out, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. He is a vicious brute, but he’s got a tender heart.
This was the first time she’d had an actual conversation with the orc she had been mated to—and he wasn’t speaking to her as is she weren’t capable of understanding. Most men spoke as though she and Edyra were furniture, and refrained from speaking about anything serious or that ‘didn’t concern’ them.
Final Thoughts:
This romantic fantasy ends with a Happy-For-Now ending, but it finishes in a precarious place that sets up books two and three and I CAN’T WAIT to continue this series. Book two is Edyra’s story, and I desperately need to know what’s happened to her, while book three carries on where book one ends, and I need to know where that’s going to go too. I’m hooked and excited about what’s to come.
Orc’s Unwilling Bride by Kayla St. James (Orc Warlord Book 1)
Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
Kayla St. James is the author of many dark fantasy novels with orcs, elves, fae, and more.
Goodreads
Banner Image Credit: Sheep
~~If you like spicy books with orcs, check out my Orc Rec List ~~
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