Hollow Hearth Series by Tansy Applewood

I just wanted to make espresso and vibe. Now I’m soulbonded to a cursed, grumpy forest guardian with antlers. (For fans of autumn magic, monster boyfriends, and gnomes who won’t mind their business.)I run a coffee and curio shop at the edge of a cursed forest.My muffins spark personal revelations. My espresso might be enchanted.And the emotional support gnomes under my floorboards won’t stop matchmaking me with the guy who just walked out of the woods.Antlers. Growly voice... moreI just wanted to make espresso and vibe. Now I’m soulbonded to a cursed, grumpy forest guardian with antlers. (For fans of autumn magic, monster boyfriends, and gnomes who won’t mind their business.)I run a coffee and curio shop at the edge of a cursed forest.My muffins spark personal revelations. My espresso might be enchanted.And the emotional support gnomes under my floorboards won’t stop matchmaking me with the guy who just walked out of the woods.Antlers. Growly voice. Eyes like golden ruin.His name is Thorn—and according to my accidentally sentient pet Mumblefluff, he’s cursed, dangerous, and 100% my problem now.Turns out I’m part of some ancient soulbonding ritual no one warned me about.I thought I was just a barista with good instincts.But the flamefox picked me. The forest knows my name.And the monster?He wants more than coffee.TROPES YOU'LL FIND Grumpy forest monster x sunshine baristaForced proximity (soulbonded by accident, oops)Small town with big magical secretsEmotional support gnomes (and one sentient Mumblefluff)He falls first (and hard, and silently)Witchy cottagecore cozy vibesFound family (tiny, scarf-knitting kind)She thinks she’s ordinary… she’s notAutumn aesthetic so vivid you can smell the cinnamonLow-stakes fantasy with high-stakes emotional damageMonster smooch tension that will ruin you gentlySpicy monster lovin'Book One of The Hollow Hearth Series by Tansy For fans of cozy fantasy, slow-burn spice, enchanted pastries, and emotionally repressed monsters who fall in love with the barista. less

I just wanted to shelve books and avoid my feelings. Now I’m being emotionally unraveled by a sin-marked chocolatier who won’t stop looking at me like I’m dessert. (Welcome to Wren's Hollow, home of soulbonding, smut-positive gnomes, and chocolate that tells your secrets.)I’m Roslyn Vellore. Librarian. Lorekeeper. Emotionally repressed human-shaped disaster.I do not have time for monsters who flirt with their eyes and unpack your trauma with cocoa-dusted confidence... moreI just wanted to shelve books and avoid my feelings. Now I’m being emotionally unraveled by a sin-marked chocolatier who won’t stop looking at me like I’m dessert. (Welcome to Wren's Hollow, home of soulbonding, smut-positive gnomes, and chocolate that tells your secrets.)I’m Roslyn Vellore. Librarian. Lorekeeper. Emotionally repressed human-shaped disaster.I do not have time for monsters who flirt with their eyes and unpack your trauma with cocoa-dusted confidence. I especially do not have time for Santos Wildmere, Wren’s Hollow’s dangerously tender Velvarkin chocolatier whose magic-infused truffles taste like everything I’ve tried to forget.My boundaries are ironclad. My wards are gnome-certified.And I’ve never once accidentally made out with a man behind a bookcase.Until now.Because the soulbond between us? It’s real. It hums beneath my skin every time he looks at me like I’m made of sugar and starlight. And when ancient tomes go missing from the Loreloft and something dark rises, stirring long-buried magic in Wren's Hollow, I’ll have to work with the one monster who makes my knees weak and my shields glitch.Together, we’ll chase down forbidden magic. Unravel the mystery. And I absolutely will not kiss him in the back of the library.Or the chocolate shop.Or…okay, listen. This is getting very inconvenient. A spicy cozy monster romance about a feral librarian, a chocolate empath Velvarkin with wreck-me eyes, and the most dangerously sweet soulbond Wren’s Hollow has ever seen. less