The Orc's Stolen Bride by Honey Phillips [Review]

The Orc's Stolen Bride (The Five Kingdoms #1) by Honey Phillips
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 5, 2025

The Five Kingdoms
0.5. The Orc's Hidden Bride
1. The Orc's Stolen Bride - Paperback | Kindle
2. The Orc's Promised Bride
3. The Orc's Bonded Bride

Honey Phillips
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

One minute Kari is going about her normal life; the next she is thrown into a terrifying new world. Despite the strange bond she feels to the massive orc warrior who rescues her, she is determined to find a way home.

In a desperate attempt to save the orcs of Norhaven, Wulf makes a plea to the Old Gods… and a strange, beautiful female appears. Although she cannot speak his language and she is unlike anyone he has ever known, he’s sure she is his mate.

But prayers to the Gods are a tricky business. Just how much is Wulf prepared to sacrifice for his people?

Thoughts on The Orc's Stolen Bride: We're dipping our toes in the Five Kingdoms where the orcs are facing the looming threat of extinction thanks to falling birthrates and a pact that's being upheld in everything but spirit. (I feel like maybe I'm wording that wrong, but the king is sending warm bodies to fulfill the terms of the pact, not women who can actually help the orcs with their problems. So maybe I didn't actually work it poorly. Huh.)

I guess I'm trying to say that things are looking dire for the orcs. So Wulf, being someone who cares for his people immensely, does something that could have been dangerous. He calls on the Old Gods. Fortunately for him, they don't smite him down for being presumptuous or anything. In fact, the pull a woman from the modern world into his.

As you might imagine, Kari is not prepared for this. Thrown into a different world with a different language and very different people, she has to figure things out. On the plus side? She has a hunk of an orc who's smitten with her. She's also someone who picks things up quickly and isn't blind to the plight of the people she's now living with. So she starts working on a way to help these people survive.

A little godly magic, a land full of proud individuals trying to survive, a leader who is willing to go the distance for those he leads, and a lady who has to decide where she belongs. *thumbs up*