The Black Bear Clan Archives - Proud Book Reviews

March 6, 2023March 6, 2023

Her Orc Mate – Zoe Ashwood

This book contains:

Sexual assault
Attempted murder.

Rose lives and works in a small village tavern. While life isn’t perfect, she’s got a roof and a bed for the winter season to get her by, and unless she’s willing to risk losing that she puts up with the wandering hands and leering eyes of some of the local patrons.

Uram is a warrior Orc from the Black Bear Clan who’s recently been travelling. While he’d love to find his fated mate, he knows it’s a long shot, especially since he hasn’t met her after his travels and he’s now on his way home.

As it’s a short story there’s not a lot I can say here without giving it away, but basically Uram meets Rose while she’s working and discovers that she’s his mate. From there he’s committed to ensuring her safety and happiness, even if it doesn’t include him, but he hopes it does.

Knowing Zoe is working on the next full book in this series, I had to make an effort to read this now that it’s available as a standalone short story. I don’t know how, but Zoe has managed to pack Uram and Rose’s story FULL of drama and action.

How she did this in just 40 pages I have no idea. But it works. There’s a great balance of the drama and action alongside the softer romance that she’s known for (with some extra spiciness), which has you just flying through the pages wishing it won’t stop.

If you’ve been waiting for Her Orc Protector for a while and need your Zoe-flavoured Orc romance, you should definitely grab this for a quick fun read.

November 28, 2022November 28, 2022

Her Orc Warrior – Zoe Ashwood

This book contains:

Homelessness from childhood
Thievery
Attempted murder
Domestic/close relationship abuse.

Hazel is a single mum of a 4-year-old little girl doing her best to make the best of her life. She’s resourceful, quick and determined making her potentially difficult for others to work with.

Vark is an Orc we’ve met in the previous 2 books, but now he’s finding his own love. He’s still coming to terms with the trauma he experienced in the first book, Her Orc King, but he’s doing his best while also trying to accept a mate that he wasn’t expecting at his “lowest” point in life.

Vark is surprised to discover his mate in the back of his wagon, almost as surprised as Hazel is to find out that the wagon driver is an Orc!

Because of this surprise for them both, things heat up, get complicated and of course, drama ensues. Together, they need to find their way to clear communication, safety and security for them both and a future together.

In some ways, this felt a little slower than some of Zoe’s other books, but in others it felt perfectly paced. For those that like fast paced books, I can understand why this might not be for them. But I really enjoyed the slow character development and reveal for both of these characters.

Since we met Vark back in the first book, it felt right that everything happening between Hazel and Vark was careful, considered and measured. We of course had our moments of erotic fun, because how could it be a Zoe book without some smut?

Although in the grand scheme of things, this was still very tame for Zoe!

November 21, 2022October 22, 2022

Her Orc Guardian – Zoe Ashwood

This book contains:

Death of parents (discussed)
Criminal accusations.

Poppy’s world turned upside down when her father got sick and it was clear her stepmother wouldn’t do right by her (in a very Cinderella vibing kinda way). So she sneaks off in the middle of the night with a letter from her father to find his friend Streagor who will help her start anew, away from her stepmother. While she’s got limited resources and a long way to go, her ingenuity, smart wits and confidence stay with her, even after finding Streagor.

Streagor is one of King Gorvor’s trusted soldiers and while he’s quiet, he’s fiercely loyal and upholds the orc values even to his detriment. If you’ve read Her Orc King, you’ll recognise Streagor as one of Dawn’s guards and boy does his fierce personality come through even more in this book!

Poppy has travelled across the human kingdoms all the way to the Black Bear Clan’s lands to find Streagor, a man her father has assured her will help her after his death. The only problem is, when she does find him, she’s caught stealing food supplies from him and he’s not a man, he’s an orc. A very large, green, scarred orc.

Streagor to his credit reads the letter her father wrote him and immediately takes responsibility for Poppy and does everything he can to set her up for a prosperous future. Including interviewing eligible men to marry her, with a significant dowry provided as well.

My biggest disappointment with this is that there were a few spots I would have enjoyed being more fleshed out. While what we got was amazing, there were a few scenes that I would’ve loved to have seen more of to get more depth for the characters.

I know it’s hard to get that when there’s a fair bit to pack into the book, especially because Zoe’s book tends to be a fairly consistent length so it’s hard to add in the extra’s. But I really would’ve enjoyed this one being just a little longer than it was to give those scenes the attention that I think they deserve, and I know Zoe can write.

Otherwise, I loved little miss feminist and all the ways she embodies equal opportunities while also respecting the thoughts and feelings of those around her. Where possible, she was thoughtful, considerate and compassionate; all while standing up for what she believed to be right for her and her future.

I know I don’t normally share this, but my absolute favourite scene in the whole book was when she comes into the common room in the inn to find Streagor interviewing all the village men. Classic! I loved it!

Thank you Zoe for writing such a fun scene between such strong characters!

November 14, 2022December 10, 2022

Her Orc King – Zoe Ashwood

This book contains:

Slavery
Kidnapping
Attempted murder
Treason and betrayal.

Dawn has worked and supported herself for some time, until she was kidnapped and sold as a slave. Although she’s now considered property, she doesn’t give up her fighting spirit and insists on continually trying to find a way to escape her new orc owners.

Gorvor is the Orc King of the Black Bear Clan and it’s his duty to ensure the continued prosperity and safety of his clan. With his brother and mate both arriving in the same week, he needs to carefully manage the goings on at the Black Bear Clan to make sure he keeps Dawn safe.

Dawn was kidnaped in the human town she worked in before being sold as a slave to orcs that live under King Gorvor’s rule. Little does she know they purchase slaves in order to free them, so while she’s doing her utmost to escape the brutes and get to the safety of a human village, they’re just trying to give her a chance at a second life.

But with Gorvor’s brother also visiting the Black Bear Clan, things aren’t as simple as it appears.

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I love Zoe’s books. Yet going into this one I actually thought it might be the first book I wasn’t going to enjoy.

I mean… it’s orcs.

When you think about Lord of the Rings and the orcs there… how could that be sexy? How could anyone want to be with them? How could a human even SURVIVE?

Well. I should have trusted Zoe to work her magic and create a whole different type of orc that is so far removed from those in LOTR that you don’t need to worry at all!

In fact, grab the book, grab some popcorn or whatever snack you like and just enjoy! With a good balance between the romance, sex, sassiness, action and mystery; you’ll be sure to find something you’ll love in this book.