Author: L.V. Lane
Series: Coveted Prey Series Book #19
Category: Fantasy Romance
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
"He is a monster, and an orc, but he is also my Doug and nobler than any prince." - Jasmine
Jasmine is fanciful but knows her place in the world where humans don't matter much and as a woman, she is vulnerable. Just coming into adulthood as a slave, she is trying to let go of childish dreams of rescue and accept her circumstances while trying to make the best out of the life she has. Given the practical advice to find a strong husband to protect her, Jasmine's luck turns when she captures an Orc's interest and he isn't just fierce but kind.
"Find the biggest, most fearsome male and throw yourself at his mercy. There is no shame before the Goddess in doing whatever you must to survive." - Jasmine's mother
Doug is mute, but that doesn't stop him from doing everything in his power to protect Jasmine. He is adorably devoted and thinks the world of her, devaluing himself because he is a hybrid white orc and wolf shifter. No matter his thoughts, and the many, many trials that burden the couple, Jasmine knows Doug is her true partner in life and loves him wholeheartedly.
"Unconditional. That is who he is. And this understanding is like a revelation unfolding inside me. Here in this barbaric place of sorrow, within the body of a savage orc, a gentle soul exists." - Jasmine
Their love and hope for a better life are tested time and time again, you are not going to get through this book without some tears I'll be honest. But I loved Doug and Jasmine's story of holding on to what matters most and believing that love is enough to get you through anything.
Unfortunately, the last 20% of this book gets convoluted with too many random characters and too many disjointed plot points. I took off a star for this book review solely because of the effort to keep the storyline straight in my head. Overall though, Gentling the Beast is a great fantasy romance book with a lovely couple you want to see get their happy ending.
Tropes and Themes: Touch Her and Die, Cinnamon-roll Hero, Virgin Hero, Mute Hero, Orc, Monster, Shifter, Breeding Kink, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Blurb
When the Blighten raided my village, my mother gave me her last words of advice.
“Find the biggest, most fearsome man and throw yourself at his mercy. There is no shame before the Goddess in doing whatever you must to survive.”
Which was easier said than done.
I lived in denial for a time, daydreaming of a handsome prince who would rescue me and take me to his grand castle. Here, we would live happily ever after, making royal babies.
Reality is cold and bitter.
No such prince comes.
And later, when my vulnerability as a bondservant manifests terrifying consequences, an unexpected savior swoops in.
Not a prince, but a hideous white orc and the ugliest beast I have ever met—a mute outcast with shifter blood but who cannot shift.
Only I sense he has a good heart, and I remember my mother’s advice.
Can I overcome my aversion?
Maybe he thinks I am ugly too?
Will I even survive mating such a fierce male?
But if I don’t try, who will be there to save me the next time human predators come around?
And so I decide, one way or another, that the white orcish monster is going to be mine.
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