A cute, enjoyable and cozy read. Character driven story and it really makes you root for both Oskar and Guinevere throughout. The spice was spicing.

The only way I can really describe this book is 'fun'! I came into Tusk Love knowing the context within Critical Role, so I knew what I was getting into and it didn't disappoint. The best thing I think was the brilliant balance it struck between comedy, drama, romance and action. The two protagonists also complimented each other excellently. The fact that it didn't take itself too seriously made it much easier for me to laugh and enjoy all of the tropes, banter and other shenanigans and just have fun!
I found the plot engaging and easy to follow, but there was a good amount of complexity in there too. The pacing did feel a little odd sometimes (the end was a bit rushed) and it was definitely larger than life, but this didn't detract from the overall reader experience.
Overall, a fun time with loveable main characters, fun to hate villains and a sweeping comedic romance. Check this out if you like romantasy and want a lighthearted read that plays on the tropes!

A fun and feisty romance here! I had very little knowledge of Critical Role, or D&D in general, outside of the staple character roles that we see in a lot of fantasy books, but I was drawn in by Thea Guanzon, whose Hurricane Wars I loved, and the beautiful cover. Turns out, you don't need to know a lot in order to enjoy this book!

Guinevere and Oskar were a beautiful match - her quiet and fearful, him sturdy and steadfast - they bought out the best of each other repeatedly. A cosy tale, the stakes weren't world-ending, but very much focussed on the character's long term happiness, and it was a lovely way to spend a day reading. While clearly taking place in an established fantasy world, we were never bogged down with too much backstory, but nothing felt lacking for those coming from outside the fandom. Tusk Love feels like an excellent introduction, and will appear to lovers of D&D, as well as those just interested in romantasy.
And for those romantasy lovers - the slow burn was excellent, and the payoff was spicy!

My only complaint? Now I need more from the world of Exandria, and it looks like Critical Role have hundreds of hours of gameplay for me to get through!

As a DnD nerd and fan of Thea Guanzon, author of The Hurricane Wars, I was so excited for this combination!
While on the way to meet her betrothed, merchant's daughter Guinevere is set upon by bandits and brooding half orc Oskar comes to her aid.
Love the emotional journey as they travel together on the road. Its giving Grumpy / Sunshine, with a dash of there's only one bed.
Only thing as a Yorkshire lass I'm sad our regional cheese is being dragged down by a mid Lord Wensleydale 🤣
I preordered this ages ago and was thrilled to get ARC request granted!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5⭐

Thank you Thea Guanzon and Del Rey UK for the ARC.

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon is about a merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger.

This was a cosy take on romantasy. The cast of characters are endearing and a delight as they go on an impactful journey both physically and mentally. The world-building is amazing and the execution of the pacing ane character development was top notch. The overall writing style is flawless and I took my sweet time reading this book.

The initial meeting of the two MCs started with misunderstanding that led to tension brewing between them which slowly evolved to a beautiful talw of love as they discovered new parts of themselves and let go of the broken shards still left inside of them. They realised a lot of this and let go of things towards the end. , I truly believe Guinevere and Oskar found their equal within one another and I had the best time getting to see their love story develop.

If you love cozy romances this is for you! So well executed great plot with some lovely world building. I loved the characters and watching them unfold in their adventure! I finished the book in a day! Let’s just say I was not disappointed! Had a nice amount of spice too 🌶️ 🌶️

3.5 Stars ⭐️

A super easy, lighthearted read that had me smiling throughout! The relationship between Oskar and Guinevere felt genuine and well built throughout the story. They were both such loveable characters you couldn’t help but root for them! I really enjoyed the humour in this book- Guinevere was so sincere but so naturally funny, a really well written character. I really wish we got to see more of them at the end- how did she fare without her parents and where did they end up? I also found the beginning a little too slow my liking but other than that I couldn’t fault it! Overall it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I dove in not expecting anything. At first, I was annoyed with the characters – with Guinevere (too sweet and naive for her own good), but she grew on me. I like how Gwen & Oskar relationship unfolded during their journey, the magic and the atmosphere.
I felt like the world building would have needed to be developed a bit more (as for some developments in the story) for the book to have the 5 stars. It felt a bit rushed but overall I'd totally recommend this read.

Tusk Love is a fictional smut book from the Critical Role (DnD) universe turned into a real life book by Thea Guanzon. And it's exactly the kind of ridiculous fun you'd expect it to be!

Guinevere is a sheltered merchant's daughter traveling with her dowry to meet her parents and fiance, when she and her guards get attacked by bandits. Luckily, grumpy halfling Oskar is there to save the day and help her get to where she needs to go. Hijinks ensue. Obviously they fall in love on the way.

This book is a fairly straightforward cosy romantasy, well-written and highly entertaining. I read it in a day and had a lot of fun doing so. It's exactly what it says on the cover, so if you think you'd enjoy it, you probably will!


Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone for letting me read an eARC of this through Netgalley. All opinions are, of course, my own

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon is a cozy romantic fantasy that’s as sweet as a hot chocolate with marshmallows—if you’re into that sort of thing, but without the emotional depth or complexity. The world-building is cute, the characters are fun, and the romance is adorable, but the plot is nice, though nothing earth-shattering. It’s a sweet, fairy-tale-like story that’s pleasant, but not something that’ll change your life.

The romance between Guinevere and Oskar develops a little too quickly, and while their interactions are fun, the emotional depth is… well, where exactly? Oskar, on the other hand, is chef’s kiss. This grumpy, brooding guy totally won my heart. He’s got that perfect mix of “leave me alone” and “I’ll protect you” that makes him irresistible. Honestly, I’d follow him into a forest, no questions asked.

The plot? Adventurous, sure, but it’s more like a cozy walk in the park than an epic quest. Don’t expect any life-or-death battles or plot twists. It’s low-stakes, stress-free, and perfect for when you just want to kick back and read something cute without needing to invest your soul.

All in all, Tusk Love is a charming, easy read that’s sweet and light, but not exactly deep. If you’re in the mood for a fun escape with a grumpy hero who’ll steal your heart, this book’s got you covered. But if you’re hoping for emotional rollercoasters or life-changing moments, well… keep looking.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really liked the Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon and when I saw the cover of Tusk Love, I was enchanted! One night I woke up at 4am and said to myself to read just a few pages of this story and I ended up finishing it in one go and going to work sleepless but happy!

Guinevere is a merchant’s daughter who is in grave danger when her caravan is destroyed by thieves and she is left stranded in the middle of nowhere. Oskar is a gruff orc who saves her but the last thing he needs is an innocent girl in his way. He has to postpone his plans though so he can accompany her for her wedding to a wealthy nobleman chosen by her parents.

This book won me over by its characters. Guinevere is kind, trusting and pure-hearted although sheltered by her parents. Oskar is a protective, loyal hero who does everything to just be there for her.

This story has adventure, passion, pining and yearning! I loved their relationship and despite their different upbringings, they complete each other. It is like watching your favorite fairytale movie!

This book is the perfect cozy romantasy about a grumpy half-orc and a sweet fair maiden! I wishThea could write more books like this because it was like a balm to my heart!

4,5 stars!

Thea Guanzon, the woman that you are. I absolutely adored Tusk Love. This cozy paranormal romance/monster romance feels like Legends and Lattes meets Studio Ghibli meets two scenes from LOTR. Plus a ton of spice. It has an epic quest component to it, and that forced proximity brings our two MCs inevitably together. They learn about themselves along the way and realize that the life designed for them by others is not necessarily the one they want to live. Absolute banger.

This was a quick and easy read. A fantasy with creatures where the mcs have a three year age gap?? Didn't know that was possible.

It was a little rough in the beginning. It felt like I got thrown into the story right away, the characters instantly met. I wish there was a little more build up with a few extra chapters. The story overall was easy to follow, sometimes too easy and I wish more happened. Just riding horses, bad guys, more horses and bad guys. Is this what a cosy fantasy is supposed to be like? If so it was definitely not for me. I started hating the book more and more every chapter.

Judging just from the cover, great character design. Now the characters itself were less likable for me. Guinevere felt childish at times, dumbed down (Cat from Victorious post lobotomy). I found her quite annoying. Oskar however, he was an okay guy apart from the fact he had a lot of horny thoughts about Guinevere basically right away, but I guess that's just how men are. Halfway through he also started to annoy me. Near the end, I stopped liking him altogether of something he said. I liked their friendship at first, but they got attached to each other unbelievable fast. You barely know each other, spend 2 days together, there's no chemistry whatsoever. I'd rather have a 7 year slow burn than this, it was boring and bland.

Giving this book 2 stars is me being kind.

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful romance that has all the best bits of the tropes we all know and love. The yearning and banter was so entertaining and kept me giggling throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Couldn't have asked for a better collaboration! Thea has done such a fantastic job taking the narrative from the Critical Role team and transcribing onto page, whilst keeping it alive and fresh.

Tusk Love is the perfect summer read for romantasy fans seeking a standalone hit of all their favourite tropes. Forced proximity, ray of sunshine FMC, grumpy MMC, one bed at all the inns and so much more. Add in to the mix, lots of adventure akin to Buttercup and Wesley in The Princess Bride and you've got yourself a winner. Nothing about this book takes itself too seriously and the dialogue reflects this, meaning that sometimes it didn't work for me. However, the world building was not overly complicated, which allowed the adventure to just happen and that felt like the point.

*Thank you to the publisher and author for sending me an ARC via Netgalley*

I had no idea the backstory of this book before requesting it, but I'm a huge fan of The Hurricane Wars so I was very excited to read this and it did not disappoint!

This was such a fun and cute story, with a good mix of romance and fantasy. I loved how strong the fantasy element was within the last 20% of the book.

Guinevere and Oskar are two of the most loveable characters I've ever read. I adored the adventure they went on in this book. I haven't had a fun read like this for a while, and I greatly appreciated the humour.

Tusk Love is a wonderful, light-hearted read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy when it is released.

4.5/5⭐️

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓼𝓮𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸.. 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓯𝓪𝓭𝓮, 𝓮𝔁𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓵𝔂, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓼𝓸𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓷, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓾𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓰𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮.

I loved this book! I absolutely adored Guinevere’s admiration for Oskar. She constantly makes him compliments and shows him how great he his. Oskar is not the typical MMC. He’s this grumpy guy, tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. And Gwen brings the best out of him. They both are so caring with each other, a relationship full of green flags.
The book is more focused on Guinevere character development, which I very much liked. Especially as Oskar resembles the missing piece in Gwen‘s life, by showing her what‘s really important. Trust, Love and Support.

The romantasy story of my dreams! I’ve been missing out without these characters in my life.
I adored this book so much. I loved its whimsy and its heart. Both Oskar and Guinevere are so well written and the fantasy world we get dropped into is so enjoyable. I loved the magic and the mystery and the romance. I’ll be rushing to catch up on Thea Guanzons backlog because if I adored her writing in this so much I have no doubt that I will love everything else she writes.

4.5 stars

This was such a delightful read. It was funny and swooney and so so good!
I live the romance in this. It felt natural and... real(?). And these two were so amazing together.
The pinning 🤌
The banter 🤌
The passion 🤌
Everything was just perfect 🥰 that plus a plot that was actually plotting and an interesting world with a fabulous magical system ✨️ This book was absolutely wonderful.
If you want a fantastically magical romantasy read, this one is definitely for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.