So torn on how to rate this. I feel like S.E. Wendel took some of the criticism of Halfling to heart in this book and it feels super duper different from Halfling. I really loved Halfling, despite it's faults. Ironling is a lot more plot (that's fine, I guess), less deranged monster smut (I actually said to myself at one point, "wow, there aren't nearly as many fluids in this book than there were in the last one." I don't know if I should be proud of my observation skills here). Despite the adjustment in content, this book still had some of the craft issues from the first book (far too long, lots and lots of repitition). Hakan was basically Orek with shorter hair. He was deaf in one ear, a fact that seemed to come and go as it pleased the plot. We just glossed over him teaching her to sign? He says NOTHING ROMANTIC TO HER in his hand letters? Tsk tsk.

There was this potential conflict with him buying land and wanting to settle down and have a family there, literally 'steal her away' from her life as an heiress. Her wanting to remain in her position, not marry, not have kids. We, as readers, knew how in conflict these desires were. The characters really didn't. All this was conveniently resolved with zero friction between the two characters. The bad guys somehow moved these disparate values into sudden harmony. Problem solved!

Ok now that I'm typing this out I'm realizing what the issue was - there was so much potential for there to be internal conflict between Hakan and Aislinn - and everything got resolved by big fantasy action external forces. It was unsatisfying. 

Hakan at one point muses that if he'd tried to run off with Aislinn and take her from her duties he would have lost her, she never would have forgiven him. He realizes that his idea of the perfect mate and perfect life were poisoning the real, messy love in front of him. Cool realization, bro. Y'all never even talked about what you imagined life together might look like. Not even one conversation? Wouldn't that have made Hakan's sacrifice even more impactful? How could Aislinn REALLY have appreciated how much that land meant to him if he never ever shared what he wanted to do with it (other than bang her in the meadow in spring). Hear me out, hear me out, how much more impactful would Chapter 32 have been if our Orc hero had tried to kidnap her, it had TOTALLY backfired, and he sold his land and did all this other romantic stuff to make amends, and then she chose him? Maybe she lowkey could have actually been considering accepting Lord Beheady Spaghetti (can't remember dudebro's name) because she saw no way out of her predicament? I dunno. The stakes weren't stakin. And I am now rambling.

The best part of this book was Aislinn. Our FMC from Halfling, Sorcha, suffered from being all things all at once. She was everything, she had all the good qualities. She was a fictional chameleon. Aislinn felt real and flawed. Much stronger character work.

Devastated to learn that S.E. Wendel is one of those authors who rates her own books 5 stars on Goodreads.