Fans of Critical Role’s second campaign are in for a spicy treat. Penguin Random House has announced it will publish the tabletop media empire’s latest novel, Tusk Love. The fictional sordid romance that started as a joke on the popular play has taken on a new, very real life thanks to their partnership with traditional publishing.
Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guazon, Tusk Love also builds on the recent revival of the Romantasy genre A Garden of Thorns and Roses And Fourth wing. Although not set in the world of Exandria, Tusk Love holds a special place in the hearts of many Critical Role fans, popping up throughout the adventures of the Mighty Nein and making a special appearance in the Legends of Vox Machina animated series. Romance fans of the actual play yearned when Laura Bailey’s tiefling character Jester Lavorre made allusions to the book while pursuing her romantic interest Fjord (played by Bailey’s real-life husband Travis Willingham).
According to the description on the Critical Role book page, the novel’s plot follows the beats you’d expect from Jester’s favorite romance. Jester’s self-insert Guinevere is the daughter of an ambitious merchant (much like the character himself), determined by birth to marry into a noble house and “live quietly as the obedient life of a gentleman.” But she wants more. When her caravan is attacked by bandits, Guinevere is rescued by the stoic Oskar (Jester’s headcanon Fjord fantasy), who thinks she is little more than a “spoiled wanderer”. The two must put aside their differences to survive the dangerous Amber Road, and do everything in their power to ignore their growing passion as they must choose between the lives chosen for them or the lives they create for themselves. create.
Tusk Love will be Critical Role’s seventh book published in collaboration with Big Five publisher Penguin Random House. Their previous publications include prequel novels such as Friends and relatives by Marieke Nijkamp, The nine eyes of Lucien by Madelein Roux, en What doesn’t break by Cassandra Khaw; next to the official Beautiful Exandria Cookbook, The world of crucial role production guide, and Crucial role Mad Libs. Tusk Love will debut in July 2025 and be available everywhere for $30.