Book Blurb:
A fated mates monster romance featuring an orc king, a portal to a brutal fantasy realm, and a heroine who refuses to kneel.
Thena came to FantastiCon to survive the weekend with minimal human interaction and maximum sarcasm. She didn’t plan on catching the attention of a seven-foot orc painted in war green—or the way her pulse stutters when he looks at her like she’s already his.
Viggo Klausson isn’t a cosplayer. He’s the High Chieftain of the Eastern Orcs, stranded in the human world while searching for the mate fate promised him. The moment he scents Thena, the bond snaps tight.
Then a portal drags her into Korule—a fractured kingdom where women are rare, power is carved in blood, and claiming a mate can start a war.
Thena refuses to become anyone’s prize. An ancient magic awakens inside her, and suddenly she’s not just the king’s fated mate.
She’s dangerous.
Viggo may be steady. He may be patient. But when enemies circle, he does not hesitate to bare his teeth.
He found his mate.
Now he has to earn her.
Tropes:
*Netgalley ALC *Orc MMC x Human FMC *Portal fantasy *Fated Mates *Danger
*Magic *Spice *Age Gap *touch her and 💀 *Protective MMC *Possessive MMC *Romantasy
*Monster Romance *Forced Proximity *Powers awakening *mental health rep
Thoughts:
Thena (FMC) is used to people taking advantage of her, even though she's strong and fierce when she needs to be she feels like she's never quite fit in and maybe has become a "yes" woman in the process agreeing to help others when it puts her in a position she doesn't want to be in just because she doesn't want to let someone down.
During one of these times she has agreed to take a job from an aquaintance to help out with photography at Fantasycon at least here she won't be the only one being looked at she is over 6 feet tall and used to people staring at her she's not used to feeling small (ever) until she runs into Viggo a cosplayer who has made a name for himself as a handsome Orc... his costume is really realistic and his special effects make up is seriously amazing... it seems so real.
Thena finally able to leave feels like she's being followed (and she is) Viggo has followed her and one touch from him changes the entire course of her world next thing you know he is saying weird things like that they are fated mates, 2 others emerge and it turns out his brothers are there too... Viggo as it turns out is not a cosplayer at all but a real orc... a King and he has come to earth to find his mate and now he has decided to take her to his homeworld which they go to via portal.
Now Thena is in a strange land, being told that she is in danger and will be unless she finalizes her mate bond with Viggo... yea not happening she just met this guy, and there are so few unbonded women in this society that if other men know she's there she could cause a world war for one of these men to claim her... just awesome!
Her main goal now is getting back home but is that even possible? Also the longer she's in this new world the more she realizes that maybe there isn't anything back home that really matters since she had a lack luster life there and she spent a lot of time alone.
Thena continues to fight against her bond with Viggo even though she feels it too, she's entirely too stubborn for her own good and throughout the whole situation Viggo is patient and caring waiting for her to come to the conclusion that he already knows they were made for each other and will find each other in each life time.
Some Likes:
I like the fated mates aspect, Thena is strong willed and Viggo loves her just as she is flaws and all, She struggles with anxiety/panic attacks and Viggo helps her thru them.
The portal fantasy world with magical elements, Thena once in this new land it awakens a power inside of her she didn't know she had making her even more rare (and causing more danger for her and her travel companions).
I liked that the spice didn't over power the plot
I liked how patient Viggo was with Thena... she continued to fight him (about everything) and he continued to put her needs and wants first throughout their time together.
Thena was hard for me to like throughout the book but does have some personal growth at the end at least and finally figures out that she has been putting up a fight against things she actually wants to happen and making things harder on herself... and everything else.
Some Dislikes:
I feel this might have been a bit longer than it needed to be and long winded padded out with pop culture references, metaphors and comparisons... orcs arn't going to understand any of these... but oddly enough never ask about it.
I truly struggled with Thena she was supposed to be a "strong" "powerful" woman but the fact that she's in this new world she knows nothing about, she doesn't know how to stay safe, she doesn't know what the protocols are and she doesn't know the true dangers that are out there and she is so stubborn that she is constantly fighting against anyone who is trying to help her stay safe while she's there... she's told to stay somewhere she decides to leave and go for a walk leading to a battle and several injuries/deaths... that could have been avoided if you just stayed in the room that they told you to stay in girl! She came across as naive, immature and selfish putting others at risk just because she wanted to do x, y or z.
To be honest some of the time with how much Thena pushed Viggo away... I was like maybe he would be better off with a different partner.
Did you read this one? What did you think about it?
No comments:
Post a Comment