Book Review: Enticed by the Orc, by Tabitha Black

I picked up a copy of Tabitha Black‘s Enticed by the Orc as an Amazon freebie.

Are you feeling lost? Lonely? Disenchanted?

In my case, it was yes to all of the above. So when I saw the ad promising to fulfill my biggest wish, I chugged the rest of my wine… and said the I deserve happiness. Love. Belonging.

I should’ve read the fine print.

Now I’m in another world, filled with Fae folk. There are witches, minotaurs, and trolls. The dark elf king has put a bounty on my head. And the only protector I have is a huge, grumpy orc who loathes humankind – including me. But his brusque commands and intense stare make my belly flip and my breath catch. And when he touches me… oh, my heart…

Despite our undeniable chemistry, the orc is determined to help me get home. Problem is, I’m not sure I want to go.

I kinda want to stay here…

With him.

This started out really well. Throughout, I appreciated the DV rep and the way that the author handled a woman leaving an abusive relationship with a narcissist. Plus, the heroine had some characteristics you don’t too often see in romance characters (having gotten a boob job, for example), which was fun.

Unfortunately, the whole thing fell apart pretty quickly. It became predictable and dull. The transition from barely tolerating each other to falling in bed and love was too abrupt and without any reasoning behind it. Just one minute, they dislike one another; the next, they can’t keep their hands off one another.

I had two main issues that kept me from liking the book, though. One, Orakh (yeah, the orc is basically named Orc), never solidified himself as a male lead worth my time. He was dismissive of her (and just about anything feminine) from the start and then abandoned her in her time of need. Second, the kink felt unbelievably out of place. I know BDSM was all the rage for a while, and some authors try to write for the market. But to say it didn’t fit in this story would be a vast understatement.

All in all, I’m just glad to have finished it, which is a shame because it started out well.