Ascension of the Orc King

The Orc Prince Trilogy #3

by Lionel Hart

With Taegan held captive by the merciless warlord Hrul Bonebreaker, can Zorvut reach him before it's too late?

Their worst fears have come to pass. Taegan has been captured by the orcs, and Zorvut knows that going after him will be playing right into the warlord's hands. His only hope of outmaneuvering him is to enlist the help of King Ruven and the elves.

Imprisoned in a dark cell, hungry and cold, Taegan knows he can't take on a city of orcs by himself. But imprisoned alongside him is an unexpected ally: Zorvut's mother Naydi, who wishes to be free just as much as he does. Even with their combined forces, is there any hope of escape?

Despite all their efforts even after they're reunited, there are still threats lurking outside of their view. How much more will it take for Taegan and Zorvut to know peace? Does their dream of ending the conflict and uniting their nations have a chance of success anymore?

Ascension of the Orc King concludes the Orc Prince Trilogy. It is meant to be read after Claimed by the Orc Prince and Blood of the Orc Prince.

This steamy MM fantasy romance contains light omegaverse and A/B/O elements, featuring some delicious size differences. Mpreg is alluded to, but does not occur on the page. This 18+ novel contains explicit scenes, as well as some violence.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, M M Romance, LGBT, Royalty, Fantasy Romance, Magic

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2021

Reviews

[Rina Pride · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.
Primeiramente... Devo dizer que o que me convenceu de ler essa trilogia foram as capas ilustradas com Zorvut e Taegan ❤️ Vi lá no Twitter do autor, achei os desenhos lindos e amei o traço dos personagens 😍

Dos 3 livros, gostei mais do terceiro. Teve tudo que curto numa história! Teve lutas, tensão, e sexo 🙌
Sinceramente... O sexo de Taegan e Zorvut é uma coisa bem gostosa de imaginar 🔥 Química boa em toda interação deles.

Vamos ao meu top 6 personagens

1 Zorvut

2 Taegan

3 irmã de Zorvut ( pena que apareceu só no terceiro livro, poderia ter colocado antes)

4 Tom

5 papi de Taegan

6 Pau gigante do Zorvut ( estou brincando 😂)

Zoar faz parte.

Espero mais histórias desse autor ( acho que é homem)

[Poppy || Monster Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters in this series were wonderful, engaging, and relatable. Zorvut was an absolute cinnamon roll with all the die-for-you dedication to his love, and Taegan loved him just as much. Poor Zorvut had to make some impossibly difficult decisions. It was a nice change of pace to have 2 POVs in this book. Taegan and Zorvut both had some growth—Taegan in his adaptability, Zorvut in his confidence.
This was a solid finish for the trilogy, with a lot more violence than the previous 2 books. I was a lil annoyed that Zorvut’s mother took all the blame for the infidelity. It takes 2 people, and Tomlin got off scott free. I’m still a little confused about one plot point decision, but I think I understand where the author was going with it well enough to still rate the book high.

Spice: 3/5


SPOILERS IN TRIGGER WARNINGS


Triggers: kidnapping, murder, violence, gore, beheading, imprisonment, starvation, infidelity (off page, not involving MCs), violence between family members, dismemberment, coma

[Mariah · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 for an orc romance this series sure ended up being pretty boring and super tame on the steam

[Alanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t understand I’m obsessed. If Titan’s Bride and Captive Prince had a baby who played D&D it would be this series. I’m really gonna need my signed, stencil edged special editions.

[j. santos ¨̮ ꒱ · Rating 2 out of 5]

MANNNNN.... plotwise this was quite good in balance to what was built beforehand in the other books but the erotica part.. man i am disappointed. i know this is a conclusion to the STORY and not the romance itself but there was a lot promised (ie zorvut and taegan switching places) that did not happen in the end. as much as i complain, this trilogy was very entertaining - i had fun reading it - and a breath of fresh air from all the +18 spicy books you see recommended around so cheers to that

[BookishKB · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Here, everything felt right, like a long journey finally coming to an end.”

💖Taegan and Zorvut will forever be my favorite MM couple✨

I’m still crying over the series ending 😭

I do wish we hadn’t jumped straight into the epilogue and had gotten to see some of the resolutions and conflicts as Zorvut took the throne. But the epilogue was beautiful and perfect! It made me so so happy!

Overall, both Taegan and Zorvut grew so much during their journey! Taegan matured and learned to compromise. Zorvut grew in his confidence and power and it was beautiful! He is such a sweet soul!

Highly recommend listening to the series on Audiobook! The narrator was amazing!

[Iwi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The same thing happened twice.

I do think the characters are cute, but I feel like the writing didn't give space for proper tension. Suddenly violence would happen and it would feel so out of place because everything is so perfect and chipper throughout the series.

It was also annoying how interesting things happen off page.

I also am never a fan of orcs brutish, elves good. I know we had that one jealous elf and many of the orcs fall in line but like it feels very boxy.

But still it's cute and cozy, I just wish the author had spent time on making the writing match the plot.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Perfektionaise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not as boring as the second book but still not very awesome.
An okay read. Book one was really good though...

[Tabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't even say why this was so boring but uts taken me months to finish it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series could have been 2 books. The second was stuff that could have gone in the first or third book. The series is good and I liked it.

Not sure if I'll read anything else by this author but maybe.

[Barbara➰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best one of the series. Finally Taegan was likable.

[Danna Iuliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more of a 3 stars for me. I feel like this trilogy fizzled out after the first book which I gave 5 stars too. I still liked it as a whole but it had too many loopholes for lack of a better word. Zorvut was nicely developed through out the books, I loved his character and spirit, Teagan was great in book 1 but 2 and 3 he lost his spark. He was a wuss who complained a lot, did nothing and was incapable of defending himself although he was described as a fighter and a future leader. Book 2 he had no story, just passing time and drinking, in book 3 he was kidnapped and you d think that would give him some action time but he acted like a scared, helpless damsel. There was no witt or fighting spirit to him, he slept during captivity waiting for his rescue. We finally see some spark in him in the final battle, that s how I would have wanted him. Also, there are things that nagged me, Elves had magic and yet Teagan did not, there wasn t an explanation for this. Orcs usually don t yield magic and yet Zorvut had an abundance of it and he goes to his human father for guidance. How the heck does a human have magic?! The epilog has them with their one month daughter who looks more like Zorvut, how was she born?! There is no mention of men having babies so I assume none of them carried her but she looks like them so what?,do they have surogate mothers there?!😀 I m a bit disappointed of how this turned out as opposed to how much I liked the first book but I definitely like the writing style, I would read this author again.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this series. It was solid storytelling with loveable characters, and the world was unique enough. However, the story became pretty predictable, especially by the third installment.

Part of my frustration was the transition from warlord leadership to a monarchy, and our two main characters acted like a monarchy would solve all of Orc society's problems. When a monarchy's "goodness" still hinges on its leader, Zorvut's stepdad wouldn't have been any better as a leader as king instead of a warlord. At the same time, Hart built a world where Taegan's father, the elf king, is a benevolent, peaceful, and overall good ruler. Going against that would've undone that. I also don't expect one author to solve the "what is the best form of government," especially in a romance book between an Orc and an Elf.

My other issue was how the magic was used, especially when Zorvut battles his stepdad and his half-brother for the Orc leadership. It wasn't that creative, and it didn't rely on Taegan and his bond in any unique manner.

These are certainly nitpicks, and it did not take away from the fact that this is a very sweet and enjoyable romance. Even though there is killing and other types of violence — including some threats of SA at the very end — this felt closer to a cozy fantasy romance than an epic fantasy romance. It's less a romance-version of Game of Thrones and more a romance-version of Legends & Lattes.

I look forward to reading more from Hart.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little trilogy was really cute and sexy. A lot of romantic and fun moments as well as a lot of angst and heartache. I really wish that the ending was a bit different, but despite that a fun read!

[Katelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this series and wish there was more to it. There was so much more to it then just a romance book and I wish more people would read it!

[Kitty]

I read this book series this year but I paused this book with plans to hopefully return to it. then kindle lost my page number so I’m putting it aside indefinitely for now.

[Rozarka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh no, there was a plot! I was hoping for more coziness tbh. The epilog was cute, though.

[Marietere T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this whole series. Like so so much, like so so much. Like I am obsessed with these two.

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5* rounded up

[Tuni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally the Zorvut POV this series needed! This is definitely the best of the bunch. Finally some consistent action to keep things moving. The smut was definitely less inspired, and Taegan still mostly did nothing, but the series definitely ends on an upswing.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun short trilogy, really a fun read if you like dnd honestly.

Not much else to say, except I definitely think it could’ve been 1 stand alone book.

[Jordan Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series. As a conclusion it was a good story. Solid. I felt for the characters. I loved the addition of the orcs family in this one. It was great to see the other side. Looking forward to more of the writers work.

[Daesy · Rating 3 out of 5]

**grm**

When you read a title like that, you expect to see a really good plot, full of action and danger, love and drama, but mostly plot twists. Here the story was pretty predictable and the part about the ascension of the Orc King happend in like 2 pages. I was expecting an huge fight with the enemies but what we got was a skirmish where 70 ppl or so, fought vs 50. What kind of war was that? How were the Orcs planning to take the elves capital with like maybe 100 ppl? I think the author should have thought bigger, in ancient Rome when world population was pretty low, they had more ppl in their wars than the ones he used in his fake world. There were so many things that didn't make any sense to me. Where are Zorvut's other brothers and sisters? What did his big brother do in the end? Why didn't we see again the elves' King? I think he could have got at least 1 page in the end. What will they do now? Will they stay with the Orcs or go back to the elves? You can't end a story without really ending it. So disappointing. I'm sure many other ppl will love this series, and maybe I always expect too much from the books I read, but I don't want to be happy by reading mediocrity. Yes, I may seem harsh, but also if I liked the MCs, I don't really think this series was worth 3 books, not for how the plot was developped. Maybe my rating would have been higher and my feelings better, if the story had been completed in 1 book.

I rated 3 stars, because I'll reserve my 2 stars for books that not only lack plot, but have also triggering content.

[Garrett Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating:2/5
Feels: 🤷 🤷 🤷
One Liner: Better to read all the books at once otherwise you won't feel like coming back to the series (or was that just me 😅)
Rec: Probably skip this one if you are looking for depth

If I had read this book along with the first two (this one wasn't out yet when I started the series) then maybe I would have been more engaged with it. Truth is was that I didn't feel like reading this but it was there and it wasn't long and I was mildly curious as to how it all ended. I liked the first two (the first one more the second) so I just thought why not and jumped it. I didn't really remember the story from the first two and I skim read most of the book but it didn't really matter that much as I feel like I didn't miss anything - it was that simple. It pretty much ended how you expect it to end, there isn't much tension in the story so it felt like a pretty flat experience. Also I'm pretty sure Taegan was supposed to be a warrior that had 'prepared since childhood to fight and lead armies against invading orc forces' but you would not think that reading this book, he was just a damsel in distress and didn't show any warrior spirit :/

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

After reading and really enjoying the first book in this series, I decided to read book 2 & 3 back to back to avoid a cliffhanger between installments. The plot was decent enough, and I very much enjoyed the dual POV, but sadly these installments fell a little flat. I wasn't as invested in the story and was kind of just waiting for everyone to just get on with it and be done. There was so much potential that just wasn't ever realized and the series ended up being OK, but not as great as it could have been.

[GlutenFreePixels · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love the idea of this series. Arranged marriages, fantasy lovers, and all those wonderful things. I feel like this series hit on some interesting ideas but only scratched the surface of them, and then layered on a lot of fluff. There were many missed opportunities to delve deeper into the world and characters. I suppose if you want just want a tiny bit of plot with your spicey reads, this is for you.

[Meg (queer_book_recs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic conclusion!

Exciting conclusion to the trilogy! I just adored Taegan and Zorvut! They go through a lot in this one and make that happy ending so satisfying! What a fun trilogy, I can’t wait to read more from Lionel Hart!

[Aeron · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up solely for major size difference sex. This is a whole series review (I read the omnibus version).

So, this world was pretty cool. There were a lot of neat ideas, and frankly, there aren't many MM orc books. Things started off decently well, but it morphed into something rather boring as the story went on. I skimmed a lot in the last 40% or so.

My biggest issue is probably the lack of relationship building. There's a lot of lust between the MCs, and they have hot sex. They also demonstrate love for each other. But we're not shown much realistic growth into that love, in my opinion. And the relationship conflicts that were written fell flat for me. I just didn't feel deeply connected to them as a couple. In other words, the relationship felt boring, especially after the first 30% or so.

My second issue, and it's very close to the top, is the lack of entertainment. Everything just felt... dull? There would be good setup to things (such as the impending war), but then the execution and conclusion of those things was simply mediocre. I felt like I was watching one of my filler TV shows. You know the ones you don't have a huge interest in, but you need something to fill the time and they're at least tolerable? Yeah this series was one of those for me.

Next issue... Zorvut doesn't really act very orc-like. He's like a big green elf, frankly. It would have been far more entertaining to see him act more like his orc brethren. Then, together with Teagan, they could learn to meet in the middle with Zorvut learning more about how to live in elven society and Teagan learning to live in orc society. But this could have been and elf/elf romance and not much would have changed about the story.

Also, Teagan is very annoying in certain parts. He acts very childish and unlike the character that was established in the beginning of the book. At certain points, it becomes hard to believe he was raised to be a king.

Last thing I'll mention... the lack of an in-heat sex scene was a big missed opportunity, in my opinion. It was talked about and I kept thinking we'd get there, but we never do. That just added to the "flatness" problem.

I could keep going on about issues (e.g. the train wreck of a character called Kelvhan), but it would be more of the same concept. There just wasn't enough relationship growth and entertainment to hold my interest. If the sex wasn't as hot as it is (though sadly infeequent), I probably would have DNF'd.

I don't necessarily regret reading it, but I'm also not sure it was worth it. 🤷‍♂️

[WillBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the conclusion to this trilogy, the book picks up where it left off in Book 2, with Zorvut leaving Aefraya with a plan he and King Ruven have decided on to rescue his husband and stop the war between the orcs ad the elves. The evolution of points of view in this trilogy has been very nice. In the first book, everything was in Taegan's POV, and in the second book, we only got Zorvut's POV in the last chapter after Taegan was captured. In this book, the POV is shared pretty much equally between then, mostly alternating every other chapter (Taegan does have a few back to back chapters), and it was very enjoyable to finally get more insight into Zorvut. There is also a progression in the books of which territory is explored: in Book 1, we are in the elves' home, in Book 2, in a human town, and in Book 3, in the orc territory.

This is a darker book than the previous 2. I appreciated the content warnings about the increase of violence, which was to be expected since the book starts already in conflict. Zorvut has to face that he will most likely need to kill the orc who raised him as his son, the Warlord Hrul Bonebreaker, in order to get Taegan back. The elves are now relying on him as well, and he is dealing with a lot of guilt, feeling that he failed Taegan and it is his fault he was captured. So while the book is darker, it is also richer in character development and growth, and emotional payoff, especially for Zorvut. This is definitely a Zorvut book, whereas the other 2 were Taegan books. I've really enjoyed the trilogy and this feels like a satisfying conclusion, tying up all of the loose ends from the other 2 books.

I continue to adore how gentle and tender Zorvut is with Taegan. He is shown to be a fierce warrior, but when it comes to taking care of his husband, he knows how to be soft, and that is one of my favorite things. Without giving away any spoilers, there was a scene between the two of them where Zorvut is the most vulnerable he's ever been with Taegan and I just melted (also the way Taegan responds to that vulnerability). That scene alone bumped the book a whole star up for me.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review