"I just thought my life would be different."

At 34, Elaine spends each day going through the motions---alone. When she learns of her father's passing, she puts her home up for sale, hoping it will give her the strength to leave the city, its memories, and the ghosts of her dashed hopes. Like her mother says: "There's no longer a reason to stay." But reason comes in many forms. Tall, handsome, green, with a bone shaking laugh, and a glorious smile, the orc innkeeper seems set on wooing her, but he doesn't know the depth of her heartache. Or the truth that could very well push him away.

"This one can still be good."

Innkeeper by day, smuggler by night, Satyr dreams of a future where he can keep the Aspen Inn afloat without skimming Arnell's precious pearls-but too many rely on him for it to be a choice. When the pressure doubles and his separate lives bleed together, it's all he can do to stop it from affecting the inn's newest resident-the castle's head chef, whose ribboned hair and solemn eyes betray more than she knows.

With found family, life after loss, and a bit of hot chocolate, Satyr is a sweet, heart-achy, cozy romantasy about a chef that carries a mountain of grief, and the orc innkeeper who's determined to carry her in turn.