by Ruby Dixon
First published 2025
Valessa watches Aventinian raiders drag women from her captured town onto ships bound for slavery. When a massive four-armed sea-ogre pirate boards demanding compensation, he announces he wants a bride. Valessa sees her chance and volunteers immediately. She spins elaborate tales about her extensive sea-ogre experience, describing in vivid detail how she knows exactly what pleases such creatures. The raiders eagerly hand her over to the fearsome pirate. But Valessa has never encountered a sea-ogre before in her life. She invented every word to escape the slave ship. Now she faces the challenge of keeping her monstrous new husband satisfied while hiding her complete ignorance about his kind.
Genres: fiction, romance, adventure, fantasy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Aventinia
256 pages · Paperback · Independently published
Content warnings: slavery, violence