Something Brewed This Way Comes

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. 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 INSIDE:

• Grumpy forest monster x sunshine barista
• Forced proximity (soulbonded by accident, oops)
• Small town with big magical secrets
• Emotional support gnomes (and one sentient Mumblefluff)
• He falls first (and hard, and silently)
• Witchy cottagecore cozy vibes
• Found family (tiny, scarf-knitting kind)
• She thinks she’s ordinary… she’s not
• Autumn aesthetic so vivid you can smell the cinnamon
• Low-stakes fantasy with high-stakes emotional damage
• Monster smooch tension that will ruin you gently
• Spicy monster lovin'

Book One of The Hollow Hearth Series by Tansy Applewood:
For fans of cozy fantasy, slow-burn spice, enchanted pastries, and emotionally repressed monsters who fall in love with the barista.