The Librarian and the Orc: A Monster Fantasy Romance by Finley Fenn

5 Stars

The writing and editing of this novel was super clean in the ARC version of the manuscript, with no typos and a lyrical writing style that reminded me of symphonic music. The world building was deftly woven throughout the story without stealing the show from the characters, which were richly drawn, with both strengths and weaknesses. The development of the romantic relationship was natural and organic, and perfectly balanced with the sizzling sexy times. The plot and pacing was simple but held my interest throughout, with high stakes simmering along in the background throughout. The angst was very high on the heroine's part, but her traumatic history meant that her angst was fully justified, so that I was able to enjoy that element of the story. This story contained the Enemies to Lovers trope and the Partner in Trouble trope. It also contained the Non-humans Need Women trope, which is commonly used in sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal romances. The world building and plot were four stars. The pacing was five stars. The development of the romantic relationship and characterization were both five stars. I rounded up and gave this novel a combined rating of five stars. This novel ends on a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, so that is a big plus. I recommend this novel to romance readers who enjoy fantasy monsters being reimagined as sexy alpha heroes. I will eagerly read the next book in this series when it releases, and I will be buying myself a keeper copy of this novel.

I beta read this manuscript, and I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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