This month doesn’t feel like it has even started and yet, here we are at the end! Three months left of the year. Have you put your heating on yet? This month I’ve managed to cross a few books off getting towards the second of my reading goals of the year. Still not entirely sure if I’ll make it or not, but all I can do is try!

Highwayman: Winter Swarm & War’s End

A highly enjoyable set of novellas that are quick to read and fast-paced. Filled with swash-buckling, dare-deviling, heroic antics. A wonderful lead character that’s entertaining to read about, rich in back-story and passion for his cause. Side characters are just as well considered and they share believable foes to thwart. Great to read if you’re fans of anti-hero type characters and have only an hour or so to fit a whole story into. I throughly enjoyed reading this mini series and am keeping my fingers crossed that there might be some more in the future too. These were well worth the £3 I paid for them and if you ever see them for such a bargain of a price, I encourage you to pick them up.

Across the Nightingale Floor – Lian Hearn

A novel that held a lot of promise but didn’t live up to it. Flat characters, insta-love romance and lacking in any sense of depth. I won’t be picking up the rest of the series if I can help it!
This book held a lot of promise for something a bit different in the blurb/synopsis but didn’t live up to my expectations. The characterisations felt dreary and the whole book turned into a bit of a slog towards the end. I didn’t like the romantic subplot as it felt utterly flat. There wasn’t anyone to really root for and it just felt like a bitter waste of good world building.

Orc’s Toy – Celeste King

I really wanted to like this book too. I just really struggled with the main character, Anna. A poorly written female lead that really pushed the boundaries of Mary-Sue in her abilities to out-wit her enemies. Physically and mentally stronger than all the other characters put together. Still, it’s an Orc Smut book so let’s not judge it too harshly! I mean, we know what we’re in for at this point and honestly, I just go along for the ride! Not my favourite in the genre, but it’s keeping the blog fed so I can’t complain too much!

The Orc Wife – S. J Sanders

Me and bratty female leads get on worse than me and overpowered ones, obviously. The female lead, Sammi, in The Orc Wife wound me up so much I should have DNFed it and throw my kindle out the window! She was so pathetically useless, childish and useless, but hey, that’s okay, she’s got big boobs! The main protagonist wasn’t much better. Complete arsehole! Really should have DNFed this one and saved myself the brain-rot!

King – Ben Kane

A well-written, action-packed novel stuffed with political intrigue. Expertly researched details of Richard the Lionheart’s life post-Outremer. Compelling characters that you feel deeply for. Frantic fight scenes that’ll stick with the reader long after the book has been finished. I am only somewhat sad that I came into this trilogy so late – although I still enjoyed the book on it’s own merit – as I wasn’t as connected with some of the characters as I could have been. I recommend this book to any that enjoy tales of Richard the Lionheart, templars and/or knights. But, maybe start at the beginning.

Kelraz the Vicious – Cara Wylde

Another enjoyable Orc Romp! Pretty standard in terms of how the couple meets – it’s tribute time with a slight twist – the romance and steam were decent if a little flat and the whole plot felt a little too swift and organised, would have loved to see a few curve-balls thrown to throw me off the scent of the plot. There are a lot of similarities between Celeste King and Cara Wylde in terms of their books – both involve Orcs invading Earth through portals and/or using human women as tributes to ease tensions between humans and orcs, so seeing them both branch out in similar and different ways with their Orc Smut is… interesting.

The Witcher: Time of Contempt – Andrzej Sapkaoski

Although there is a very confusing element to this book in terms of characters and their allegiances it’s still an enjoyable read. The characters are developing in their individual directions and it’ll be wonderful to see where and how they end up. The Elder Speech is a bit of an irritant that kept me in the dark.

I am mostly left eager for more resolution that will, hopefully, come in the next book; Baptism of Fire. Just need to get the go-ahead from my buddy readers before I pick it up. I don’t think I’d be bothering with this series without them, so I am grateful to have them reading through these books with me.

The Orc Run – Poppy Kildare

The Orc Run is a very short, quick and easy story to read and follow. It’s a bit predictable in places, especially the ending with the couple. But, it filled a short gap in my daily schedule and fitted the bill nicely. What is written, is written very well and it would be amazing to see the author write something a bit longer, so that the world can be further fleshed out and the characters better developed. As it is, it’s a decent hit of Orc Smut for when time is short; something I’ll remember for the next offering in the series.

Perturabo: The Hammer of Olympia – Guy Haley

A solid entry in the Horus Heresy Primarch series that blends the backstory of the titular character with pre-heresy warfare. Good action scenes are interwoven with a character-driven narrative. Well worth reading if you’re looking to learn more about the Primarchs and their origins; as this book has a heavy focus on Perturabo’s home-planet.

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Looking over this post, it seems as though I have read a lot this month. I have. But some of these reviews were me playing catch-up from the Summer Holidays too.

I have been investing a lot of time in writing since the kiddo has gone back to school. I’m going to do a tally of the words I’ve written at the end of the year. I just like the idea of competing with myself and making a record of my achievements.

At the moment I am standing at roughly: 122,500. Which isn’t bad for an amateur writer! Unfortunately, it’s mostly stand-alone prompts and/or writing that’ll never be publically published on the blog due to adult content!

My longest single piece of writing is 5511 words long and involved the details of when Nyathena purchased Caleb from the flesh markets. Slavery is such a taboo subject, but… I kinda like it. Fictionally.

While I have enjoyed most of the prompts and been pleased with the outcomes of them, I think my favourite piece of writing involved Wulfstrad and him hate-fucking Queen Eranin, but, honestly, I am still working on the whole ‘bigger picture’ thing. It’ll come in time!