by Lyonne Riley - find her on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as well
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Healing the Orc’s Heart is the second installment of the Trollkin Lovers series. This book was my introduction to Lyonne Riley’s monster romance universe, and I found it very fun! Even though it’s the second book in the series, it was very easy to slip into and I didn’t find anything confusing—the protagonists of the previous book, Stealing the Troll’s Heart, are secondary characters here, but you don’t need to know their story well in order to follow Blizzek’s and Nera’s journey together and apart.
This is a short and sweet little book, coming in at just under 150 pages on Kindle. I really loved the initial language barrier between Nera and Blizzek—caught on opposite sides of a war, the two have never really had a chance to mingle with those outside of their own respective cultures, let alone learn each other’s languages. Nevertheless, with a bit of tutelage Nera picks up Trollkin (Blizzek’s language) very quickly, and this turns into an advantage for her further along in the plot.
Nera was a great protagonist; I loved how she insisted on caring for every wounded person she comes across, even if she meets resistance or her rendering aid ends up getting her own self in trouble further down the line. Although very good-hearted, Nera never strikes me as silly or naïve—instead, she just comes across as a person who is determined to do what’s right. The medical assistance she renders is very abstract (Nera mostly fetches a plant or two, makes a potion, and then the patient gets better after it’s administered) and isn’t gruesome or graphic at all. Dark themes like war and slavery, though present in the setting, are touched with a very light hand and never cloud the horizon too ominously.
Blizzek was equally wonderful. His internal conflict of fearing that his presence in Nera’s life would hurt her since there is a stigma against interspecies relationships in this universe, in spite of their blooming life-mate bond, was conveyed with a lot of feeling. It was very funny seeing Raz’jin (the troll protagonist from the first book of the series) knock some sense into Blizzek and make him realize that he could have a life with Nera. The sex scenes were deliciously steamy, and I loved how tender and gentle yet still incredibly masculine Blizzek was with Nera in the bedroom.
The HEA was cavity-inducing in the intensity of its sweetness, but it felt very much earned. Nera and Blizzek went through a great deal of strife and heartache to find each other after their initial separation. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am excited to start reading the others in the Trollkin Lovers series!
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