Title: Stealing the Troll’s Heart
Author: Lyonne Riley
Publication date: May 31st 2023
Genre: Orc Smut
Pages: 144
Format: eBook
Source: Private Collection

Buy the Book: Amazon

Blurb/Synopsis

Telise has survived on her own by being the quickest, the smartest, and the deadliest. But even to her friends, she’s always been a little… Strange. She’s spent her life seeking something that other humans simply can’t offer her, and it’s not until she tries to rob two trollkin that she realises what it is she’s after.

Raz’jin the troll has only ever wanted money—oh, and the occasional casual lay. But when he finds himself with a dagger at his throat, at the mercy of a red-headed human woman, he discovers a new and very unexpected desire in himself.

Telise and Raz’jin are both haunted by the memory of their meeting, even if such a relationship would be the ultimate taboo. Their people are at war, and they can’t even speak the same language. But when they meet in a bar in neutral territory, perhaps their bodies can do the talking for them.

Review

Technically, this is troll smut, not orc smut, but you know, when the shoe fits?

Riley has created a world that is very akin to Azeroth; there are humans on one side of a war and trolls/orcs on the other. Fighting over who gets to call whatever land is theirs for God knows only what reason.

Troll, Raz’jin, and his long-suffering orc buddy, Blizzek are off in the wilds hunting diamonds and any other zany ‘get rich quick’ scheme they can get their hands on. Telise happens to come across them, holds a dagger to the troll’s throat, and it’s love at first fight!

Stealing the Troll’s Heart is the debut novel for Lyonne Riley and the first in the Trollkin Lovers series. It\’s an explosive introduction to the world-building and tropes that Riley likes to employ in her books; forbidden romance, language barrier, stuffing and breeding kink.

I’ve read a lot of Riley’s work at this point and pretty much know what I am letting myself in for with them. New readers are in for a kinky treat. The plot is somewhat thin on the ground, but the spice makes up for it. Stealing the Troll\’s Heart is a more… gentle introduction to Riley\’s work, but there are a few places where some readers may have issues. The language barrier comes across as violent in places, and the constant falling in and out of love between the two main characters can be somewhat irksome. Will they? Won’t they? Who knows.

But I loved every moment of this book. Every page. It was right up my street. I was giggling like a giddy loon while reading this book, and it still thrills me! I recently re-read it and loved it all over again.

Yes, Raz’jin is a bit loose with his morals, but Telise is no saint. All there to ramp up tension between the two so that when they get together, they clash perfectly. They\’re both strong-willed, and their plights are relatable. Raz’jin just wants money. Or women. Telise wants to fill the void in her life, but on her own terms.

The romance is swift and borders on instant-love/lust. But that is kind of the way I like it. Nothing to bog down the fast pace of the novel. I’m not a huge fan of slow-burning, so this length of novel, the pacing and the smuttiness were perfect for me.

Summery

After reading this book, I’m hooked on Lyonne Riley and all her books are instant purchases/reads! Thanks!