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

A cozy monster romance with lingerie garlands, enchanted mistletoe, and one very grumpy blacksmith who swore he wouldn’t stay for the holidays… Junie Bellamy makes naughty holiday ornaments that glow, chime, and sometimes moan if you shake them right. She’s flirty, curvy, and very good at making Christmas sparkle—until one particular ornament misfires, courtesy of gnome leader Letty’s annual Smutmas matchmaking scheme. And this year? Junie is the chosen target... moreA cozy monster romance with lingerie garlands, enchanted mistletoe, and one very grumpy blacksmith who swore he wouldn’t stay for the holidays… Junie Bellamy makes naughty holiday ornaments that glow, chime, and sometimes moan if you shake them right. She’s flirty, curvy, and very good at making Christmas sparkle—until one particular ornament misfires, courtesy of gnome leader Letty’s annual Smutmas matchmaking scheme. And this year? Junie is the chosen target.Dain Ironbrook, Forgeborne and furiously hot, only comes to Wren’s Hollow once a year to sell his ironwork at the Winter Market. He doesn’t do cozy. He doesn’t do cheer. And he definitely doesn’t do gnome-invented holiday nonsense called Smutmas.Too bad the gnomes have other plans.From the Smutmas Eve Reading at the Hollow Hearth (where nothing is sacred), to the Twelve Positions of Smutmas raffle, to enchanted mistletoe that refuses to let them go, Junie and Dain are caught in a storm of cocoa-fueled meddling. One soulbond spark becomes impossible to ignore—especially when his forge heat collides with her sparklewitch magic.– Grumpy/sunshine holiday chaos– Soulbond sparks under enchanted mistletoe– Gnome matchmaking gone feral– A forge-hot blacksmith who worships once he falls– A sparklewitch who makes Christmas very spicy– Cameos from your favorite Wren’s Hollow couples (and future ones, too!)Cozy, spicy, and festive, A Very Merry Smutmas proves one in Wren’s Hollow, no one escapes Letty’s Naughty List. less

I had one run a wholesome summer camp. Then the headmaster across the lake declared war. (For fans of monster boyfriends, chaotic magic, summer storms, and banter that ends in kissing.) I swear, I was just trying to run a wholesome summer camp for the magically gifted youth of Wren's Hollow. Canoes, crafts, minimal explosions. Then one of my campers started sneaking across the lake to meet a monster boy from Headmaster Dorian Haleburn’s prep school for Wilderkind. Now Mr... moreI had one run a wholesome summer camp. Then the headmaster across the lake declared war. (For fans of monster boyfriends, chaotic magic, summer storms, and banter that ends in kissing.) I swear, I was just trying to run a wholesome summer camp for the magically gifted youth of Wren's Hollow. Canoes, crafts, minimal explosions. Then one of my campers started sneaking across the lake to meet a monster boy from Headmaster Dorian Haleburn’s prep school for Wilderkind. Now Mr. Tall, Grim, and Overly Buttoned is accusing me of causing an interspecies scandal.He calls me reckless.I call him repressed.He files reports.I hide the evidence.And when he’s not lecturing me about professionalism, he’s on his tower balcony playing cello solos so low and desperate they slide right under my skin. It’s hot. I hate that it’s hot.Now we’re stuck working together to keep two teenagers’ love story from becoming a diplomatic incident. He says it’s about rules. I say it’s about hearts. And somewhere between his lecture on “proper conduct” and the part where he growled my name like a confession, I stopped pretending I didn’t want him to ruin me. Welcome to Camp Chaos—where love breaks curfew, monsters kiss like promises, and even the most disciplined Emberborne can’t survive a little flannel and defiance. TROPES YOU’LL FIND Grumpy Emberborne headmaster x feral flannel-wearing camp directorEnemies to lovers (with delicious forced collaboration)Forbidden romance (their students start it… but they finish it)Cello-playing monster boy whose feelings hit the air like storm-weather.She drives him insane and he loves itSummer camp meets gothic prep schoolMonster scale-tatts that glow when he catches feelingsGnome cameos (because of course)Cozy chaos + high yearning + scorching tension“I hate that it’s hot” vibesEmotional damage AND emotional healingSpice storm-drenched, ruined-on-a-dock heatHe falls HARD (and tries not to—it goes terribly for him)Book Four of The Hollow Hearth Series by Tansy For readers who crave monster romance, camp mischief, gnome interference, and a headmaster who is far too hot for his own good. less