Hmm, I seem to have been on a romance binge. Ah well, it’s got me back in the reading habit so I’ll let it slide. Just need to make sure to throw in some other stuff as well otherwise I’ll get burnout from all the spice.
The blurb:
She wants a contract. He wants kisses.
Although she battles loneliness, Rychell is determined to grow her spice business and raise her adopted pixie son in peace. Love is off the table—she made that mistake once, and she won’t let her heart lead her astray again. So when the town herald announces that a prominent trader is seeking a wife who can treat marriage like a business deal, Rychell knows this is the opportunity she’s been waiting for.
Halvard the Orc has only ever had eyes for Rychell. When he hears she needs a guard for a journey to the port town, he volunteers without hesitation. His plan? Keep her safe—and finally win her heart. But Rychell’s walls are higher than he’d expected, and as danger brews along the road and attraction simmers between them, Halvard starts to realize this mission might require more than brute strength.
She’s all plans and practicality. He’s passion and persistence. It’ll take more than muscle and charm to break through her walls—but Halvard’s never backed down from a challenge. Especially not one that smells like cinnamon and stubbornness.
This is the fourth book in the Leafshire Cove Monsters series and they are all lovely.
Safe and cozy romances with a sprinkling of mild peril, some strong feelings, sassy characters, a sprinkle of spice, and a vast cast of mythical creatures. This particular one focused on a human and an orc working round their feelings for one another and it was quite nice to have the grumpy/sunshine roles reversed for a change and have the stoic grumpy character be the woman.
I enjoyed Halvard’s protective nature and also how he reigned himself back to make sure he didn’t force himself on Rychell at any point, letting her take the lead and work out how she felt in her own time. The fact that he was gentle and unassumingly kind to her son and her horse regardless of how she felt was an enormous green flag right from the start. (Chortle at the big green orc being a big green flag.)
With so many romances being enemies to lovers or dark romance etc, sometimes it is a breath of fresh air when there’s no moral grey areas or toxic relationships to be found in a story – the Leafshire Cove series is one I know I can reach for when I have had a few too many red flag romances and want a break to restore my faith in… uh, I was going to say ‘humanity’ there but I think maybe ‘romance’ is the better word choice – given how often the romantic interests in things I read are not strictly human.
I gave When The Merchant Met The Orc 4 stars, and it ticked off ‘Horse’ on my Book Bingo as Tamar the horse was very much a main character throughout their journey in the story.
I also listened to Jackson by Neven Iliev, which is book 9 in the Everybody Loves Large Chests series. This one felt like a true return to form after a few less strong instalments – I romped through it and had a whale of a time riding the wave of chaos. I particularly loved the interlude where little Mimic (the pet House Mimic belonging to Boxxy the main character who used to be a mimic itself before they ranked up into a doppelgänger) got to have an adventure of its own with a ragtag band of magical sea creatures.
The whole series is insane and I wouldn’t even know where to start describing it to anyone, especially if you’re not already familiar with the universe of Dungeons and Dragons and the quirks of that kind of game. It is irreverent, brutal, funny, chaotic, light-hearted, explosive, and nonsensical to anyone who walks in halfway through – you’d know within minutes of opening the first book if it wasn’t for you. I however, appear to be addicted to the antics of a sentient ex-chest and its companions on its quest for all things shiny and tasty, so here we are.
There was also a million orcs in this one – though these were more the mindless grunty will-crush-you-if-you-don’t-crush-them-first type (and they largely got crushed first), so it would appear I’m also having an orc phase.
I rated Jackson 4.25 stars out of 5 and used it to tick off ‘Name In The Title’ on the Bingo card.
This pair took my total of books finished in 2026 up to 60!
