*I was given an ARC of Tusk Love in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Penguin Random House UK and Thea Guanzon for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.
As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.
Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.
Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down – even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.
Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.
Review:
Tusk Love is one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 so imagine how excited I was when presented with the opportunity to read it early. Safe to say I literally screamed with joy. Critical Role is very special to me so getting to read one of their releases early means everything. Hopefully this is the first of many!
I loved every minute of Tusk Love. anytime anything cute happened between Guinevere and Oskar, I couldn’t help but picture Jester reading it and telling the rest of The Nein about what was happening.
Which leads me to my next point. Firstly, you don’t need to know anything about Critical Role or The Mighty Nein to enjoy this book. There are quite a few Easter eggs related to the campaign throughout (the troll in the Labenda swamp is one of the biggest) but people new to Critical Role won’t have any issue understanding the world and what’s going on. Also, if you’re worried that this will be a bit gimmicky, it’s really not. The references don’t feel forced in the slightest.
Tusk Love was also more action packed than I expected. Based on what you hear about it in the campaign, I was expecting a cliche romance with not a lot going on (in a good way, I love an easy reading romance) but there’s actually a lot of action and solid plotline. The very first page starts with a fight that gives Guinevere and Oskar somewhat of a meet cute. As this is first and foremost a romantasy, the action isn’t constant but the mercenaries and mystery of the trunk’s contents were really fun. I loved how these linked back to the lore of Exandria. Which is pretty funny considering this is technically a book that exists within the world.
Watching Guinevere and Oskar’s relationship grow, alongside the actual pretty deep plot for a cosy romantasy, is what made me rate this book five stars. When it comes to romance books I have a completely different standard for ratings. If I don’t vibe with the pairing or they don’t make me smile to myself like an idiot, it’s not a five star read. Guinevere and Oskar though? Made me smile to myself like an idiot. I love the opposites attract thing they had going on and even though having them be from different classes is a cliche trope for romances in this type of setting, I loved it. They both learnt a lot from the other person and the people they became at the end of the book were great. They grew a lot during their journey. Guinevere became less of a pushover and Oskar learnt that it’s ok to feel things. Ah, I love them.
Honestly, I was so engrossed in Tusk Love, I couldn’t make any notes while reading. It felt like I flew through the pages and before I knew it, it was over. If you’re a big Critical Role fan, and you love romance books, you will adore this book. It’s a little cliche but that’s the whole point of it. I’d say Jester Lavorre would approve.
Tusk Love is available July 1st!
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: Audiobook Review: Last One to Die by Cynthia Murphy
[…] ARC Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon […]
[…] ARC Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon […]