Red-Haired Ash Reads

At her father’s dying wish, Poppy crosses the realm looking for his friend Steagor. When she comes across an orc camp she unintentionally finds him, and finds out that her father’s friend is an orc. Now she is living with the orcs while Steagor helps fulfill her father’s wish of finding her a husband. But Poppy doesn’t want her life handled for her anymore so she decides to step up and make her wishes known. 

After liking Steagor in the previous book, I was interested in seeing how he handled finding his mate. What I didn’t expect was for him to be so reluctant about it, especially after seeing how happy Gorvok was with Dawn. But, while he does keep Poppy at arms length for a little while, he eventually falls hard and gives in to his feelings. Steagor was just a good man who didn’t know how to accept happiness and love after losing everything when he left their previous clan. 

Poppy is a woman who has been controlled by the patriarchal world around her. She may have gone along with it, but now she refuses to let anyone control her life and future again. I really liked Poppy and her determination to fulfill her dreams. She doesn’t let Steagor or anyone else push her into a future she will hate. 

Poppy and Steagor’s relationship is a little rocky at first because Steagor is trying to fight his feelings and marry her off to a human. I didn’t love how long it took Steagor to give in to his feelings and admit them to Poppy, but I still enjoyed the story overall. My favorite part of their relationship though was how Steagor ended up supporting her independence and determination to contribute to the clan. 

Overall, this was another enjoyable orc romance. At this point my plan is to read the whole series because I really am liking these characters and this world.

TW: recent death of father; grief; violent death of parents and sibling mentioned;  mention of past abuse;

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

1. Her Orc King