Tusk Love (novel)

This article is about the real-life novel. For the fictional in-game book, see Tusk Love.

Tusk Love
Tusk Love cover art
Attribution Information
Author	Thea Guanzon
Cover artist	Erion Makuo
Publication Information
Publisher	Random House Worlds
Publication date	2025-07-01
Media type	Hardcover Ebook Audiobook
Pages	288
ISBN	978-0593874264

Tusk Love is a novel written by Thea Guanzon. It was published on 1 July 2025. The audiobook version was narrated by Brittany Presley as Guinevere and Teddy Hamilton as Oskar.

Publisher's summary

“

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 New York 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.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role's Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.

”

– 

Publisher's summary

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Plot summary

The full Tusk Love cover art, by Erion Makuo.

Jester's alternate cover of Tusk Love, by Critical Role.

Wedding edition alternate cover of Tusk Love, by Critical Role.

Raised in riches, merchants' daughter Guinevere is traveling from her home in Rexxentrum's wealthy Shimmer Ward toward her waiting parents in Nicodranas when her caravan is attacked by bandits. The family has fallen on hard times, and Guinevere is bringing with her the last of their inventory, including a pearwood trunk, the unknown contents of which have always been identified as her "dowry". The attack re-awakens the wildfire spirit that has dwelled within her since her birth during a forest fire in the Cyrengreen Forest, Teinidh of the Wailing Embers, who incinerates the bandits as well as the surrounding forest. However, the bandit leader escapes the conflagration and is threatening Guinevere when a handsome half-orc, Oskar, appears and wounds him enough for the two to escape, with Guinevere rescuing the trunk and some of the inventory before they flee.

Alone in a cave in a pouring rainstorm, the two spend an awkward night before setting out for Oskar's home of Druvenlode, southward on the Amber Road and the nearest settlement. Oskar had been on his way north to visit his recently deceased and much-loved mother Idun's home village of Boroftkrah, but agrees to escort Guinevere back to Druvenlode so he can restock his supplies destroyed in the fire. Once there, he takes her to his home, and admits to her that his mother is dead, killed in a mining accident, weeping in Guinevere's arms until they both fall asleep on his bed.

In the morning, Guinevere wakes before Oskar and traded some of the rescued inventory for supplies, in the process befriending two of the major gang leaders of the town. A very worried Oskar finds her there and tells her he is going to escort her to Nicodranas to keep her safe. They buy two horses and Guinevere finally tells Oskar she is traveling to the Menagerie Coast carrying her dowry with her because she is to be married to Fitzalbert, Lord Wensleydale. Her parents have arranged the match to salvage the family fortunes, although she has never met him. As they travel, sharing a horse and their personal lives, Oskar finds himself increasingly attracted to Guinevere while telling himself she is betrothed, and moreover, much higher class than he is.

Along the way, they are attacked by four mercenaries who want both Guinevere and her dowry trunk, but they manage to escape on horseback into the woods. When they are both thrown from their horse on top of one another, Oskar tries to kiss her but misses, and they head into the Labenda Swamp. While camping that night, Guinevere has a nightmare and while comforting her, Oskar kisses her for the first time. Things are progressing nicely when they are interrupted by distant predatory howling. While continuing their journey the next morning, they encounter a troll and during the battle, are joined by a warden of the forest, Elaras, who recognizes Guinevere's inner magic and teaches her something of how to use and control it.

Once in Berleben, the inn room has only one bed and Guinevere discovers ale, but despite her drunken overtures Oskar nobly sleeps on the floor. During the next day's journey they reach a lake where Guinevere bathes and pulls Oskar in with her. Both naked, they engage in ultimately satisfying sex play in the lake. In Zadash, Oskar spots one of the mercenaries who attacked them before renting the last room at the Song and Supper Inn, which again has only one bed. Later, he confronts the uniya mercenary, who admits they've been paid to acquire both Guinevere and her trunk, and offers to cut Oskar in on the deal. He angrily declines, but Guinevere, watching from an upstairs window, has seen their meeting and jumps to the conclusion it is a tryst and her uncontrollable wildfire power endangers Oskar. She writes him a farewell letter, but he finds it and catches up with her. In their inn room, bodices are ripped as they engage in mad passionate sex.

In the morning, Guinevere trades the last of her possessions for swords to re-arm Oskar. Along the road they fall in with a group of goblins heading south, but are attacked again by the mercenaries (known as the Spider's Web) before repelling them with the goblins' aid. Fearing they are endangering the group, Oskar and Guinevere go on alone, but the goblin grandmother gives Oskar a Vigilance Stone to alert him to nearby evil intent before they separate. During the long journey, Guinevere decides she wants to learn to work with her wildfire spirit, and more sex is had. Although they are clearly in love, Guinevere still believes she must go forward with her betrothal to save her family, and Oskar is still convinced he is too far beneath her.

In Nicodranas, they head to Lord Wensleydale's estate, where Guinevere reunites with her somewhat odious parents, and they meet Lord Wensleydale, who is decorative and charming. He invites Oskar to the engagement ball being held the next evening. They learn the chest contains an ancient Parure. Guinevere's parents, who both are natives of Yrrosa, tell them that her father won it in a card game.

At the ball, entertained by the Opal of the Ocean, Oskar leaves when he sees the gloriously transformed Guinevere on her betrothed's arm. She comes to the realization that she can just leave and finds Oskar saddling the horses. Trying to protect her, he tells her to stay here where she can have a luxurious life, but as she flees from him she is captured by the mercenaries. Oskar's Vigilance Stone begins glowing and, unable to find her, he confronts Guinevere's parents. He learns that only Guinevere's willingly-given blood can unlock the chest containing the Parure, and that Guinevere's father had stolen it from a Yrossan mage named Accanfal, who set the Cyrengreen on fire during Guinevere's birth while pursuing them, inadvertently giving Guinevere her magical powers. The parents have survived all these years by selling the various stolen items of jewelry until only the Parure remained.

When Guinevere regains consciousness under a calming spell, she finds herself on a ship sailing out of Nicodranas and confronted by Accanfal, who reveals the treasure is the Duskmaven's Parure. Her fiancé, Lord Wensleydale, has also been captured. Guinevere must use her blood to unlock the chest, and they will be freed. She refuses, and just then, Oskar bursts in, after having killed the mercenaries with his own pursuing troop. Accanfal attacks, bringing Oskar close to death before Guinevere agrees to open the chest to save him. When Accanfal reneges on the deal, Guinevere overcomes her fear and uses her love for Oskar to call upon Teinidh, her wildfire spirit, to incinerate the mage. She manages to control the elemental, and uses a scepter from the Parure to heal Oskar. They find a small boat to escape from the burning ship, but when Lord Wensleydale is condescending toward Oskar, Guinevere pushes him back into the water and she and Oskar row to shore alone.

Admitting their mutual love, the pair bid farewell to Guinevere's parents and head off toward Boroftkrah, stopping along the way to make love in a field of wildflowers.

Featured characters

• Guinevere
• Oskar
• Teinidh of the Wailing Embers, Guinevere's wildfire spirit
• Idun, Oskar's deceased mother
• Illiard, Guinevere's father
• Betha, Guinevere's mother
• Fitzalbert, Lord Wensleydale, Guinevere's betrothed through a business arrangement
• Elaras, a warden of the Labenda Swamp

Trivia

• The cover of the hardcover edition of the book, when reversed, was an alternate allegedly designed by Jester Lavorre, reflecting art presumably drawn by herself depicting her and Fjord, as well as quotes praising the book by her friends of the second campaign.
• Laura Bailey said she didn't have any input on the writing, but Dani Carr had a lot. Laura also said during the Critical Role panel in Sydney, Australia on June 20, 2025 that she was approached about doing the audiobook version of the novel, but had concerns about the content being appropriate for her son Ronin to discover.
• A 2026 Daggerheart expansion will include a romantasy themed campaign frame, titled "With Love and Magic", inspired by Tusk Love.

External links

• New York Times, "How a Dungeons & Dragons Joke Led to a Best-Selling Romance Novel", by MJ Franklin, 6 August 2025.

References

Art: