
Tusks, Tails & Teacakes
by T. L. StoneGenres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Published on March 22, 2025
Pages: 310
Format: eBook Source: Kindle Unlimited

Welcome to The Tusk & Tail Tavern where the fire is always crackling, the meat pies are rich and savory, the air is filled with laughter and bard-song, and friends are like family. At least, it used to be...
Half-elf Lira is eager to return to The Tusk & Tail Tavern, the place where she and her companions set off on their adventures many years ago. But the rundown tavern is no longer the bustling hub where dwarf mercenaries and halfling farmers shared pints over a friendly game of dice. More crucially, what Lira came back for-what she buried in the tavern's basement-is now bricked over.
What better way to stay close to her hidden treasure-and figure out a way to retrieve it-than to offer to restore the tavern? After all, her grandmother taught her to bake, and she still remembers the recipes-for the most part.
She doesn't count on having to partner with a dwarf warrior named Sassy or have a surprisingly clever raccoon take up residence in her kitchen. And she's grateful for the shy orc soldier who offers to fix her stove and everything else that keeps breaking in the tavern, but why does he seem afraid to talk to her?
As she and her rag-tag group breathe life back into The Tusk & Tail Tavern, Lira remembers the joy in an evening by the fire, the value of a true friend, and what it's like to fight as hard for the quiet moments in life as the ones marked by glory and treasure.
But leaving your past in the past isn't always so easy. Danger has a way of finding Lira no matter how far she runs, but now she has more to protect than herself. And if she wants to leave her days of deception behind her, she'll have to reveal the truth to those she's grown to love.
Tusks, Tails, and Teacakes is a wholesome, low-stakes, slice-of-life cozy fantasy chock full of mythical creatures and magic. It features no fights to the death or worlds to be saved, no epic journeys or warring armies. Only gentle intrigue, the power of unexpected friendship, and the hope that you can make the world a better place one buttery teacake and warm cup of chai at a time.
“Lira had never expected to be running from a horde of wraiths.”
After a heist gone horribly wrong, Lira’s crew disbands. She heads home to find something special that she hid in the last place she was before heading out on her adventures. But she can’t get to it so she’s going to have to stay in town to try to get another chance.
This is a very cozy story – just as advertised. It is perfect for coming into fall. It is all about found family and rediscovering a place that you thought you knew inside and out.
“And if she didn’t want someone to eat those fruit tarts, that lady shouldn’t have left them cooling by an open window.”
“The window was on the second floor, Cal.”
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Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. Friday 56 is hosted at Head Full of Books. Of course I’m also linking this up with Foodies Reads because I’ve been horrible this summer about writing reviews for my own blog event!