Staff Writer: James
Published Date: July 1, 2025
Number of pages: 357
Format (physical book/e-book/audiobook): e-book
Genre: Romantasy
Tags: Media Tie-In, Spicy, Abuse
Cardigan rating: 4 out of 5
Critical Role is a long-running web series with actors playing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. As with any roleplaying game, various in-jokes are bound to develop. Tusk Love is an example of that becoming reality. Tusk Love, in the show, is a smutty romance novel that keeps showing up and proved so popular a bit that they decided to make a real Tusk Love.
Instead of pumping out something mediocre by a ghostwriter or lesser known author, they got fellow fan and bestselling author, Thea Guanzon, to write it. It shows. This is elevated far beyond the subject matter. The story itself is simple. Guinevere, a merchant daughter, is saved from bandits on the way to her betrothal to a wealthy noble by Oskar, a half-orc wanderer and adventurer. Oskar agrees to guard her and get her to her marriage safely. Complicating matters is a mysterious chest, a band of mercenaries, and their developing feelings for each other.
While it might be on the lighter side of plot, it makes up for it in a very charming character-focused story. On that note, Guinevere starts out as a very infuriating character and you’ll be wondering how someone this naïve is even possible. Stick with it, she develops nicely and you’ll love her by the end and you can absolutely believe what she and Oskar see in each other.
With that said, you’ll “see” a lot of them. If you’re looking for clean, this isn’t it. There is a good amount of spice in here. If I had to give it a pepper rating, I’d probably go with a three – I’ve seen filthier. I’m not a prude so your tolerance may vary. The spice is fun but the relationship doesn’t hinge on it. You can skip those scenes and the story will not suffer for it.
If you have no knowledge or interest in the world of Critical Role, you don’t need it. Various places and races are mentioned but nothing requires any deep knowledge and you’re always given a brief explanation of what they’re talking about. If you’ve read or watched any fantasy at all, you’ll be fine.
This is a standalone novel so you needn’t commit to a series. I’d love to see a sequel, which I don’t think we’ll ever see, but I’m definitely interested in checking out some of the other Critical Role novels that aren’t romances and star the characters being played in the show.