Plunged into Fablemere through a mysterious second-hand book, Vanessa Waters finds herself in a dangerous predicament. She's fat, over-forty, and doesn't have a gender to dictate whether she's the damsel in distress or the intrepid hero. When she's captured by ogres, her epilepsy is mistaken for a supernatural gift—one that a ruthless vampire, Baron Aerrax Scylas, would pay handsomely to exploit.
Vanessa finds a protector in Droguk, a gruff and grumpy ogre who's no hero-he wants to live a quiet life in his crumbling castle in the swamp, and to support his widowed sister and two precocious nieces He has no time for a human making outlandish claims about magical books. Although Vanessa and Droguk start out repulsed by each other, a grudging friendship eventually blossoms into an attraction they both struggle to deny. With her supply of crucial medication running out, they undertake a dangerous journey to save her life...and escape the Baron's relentless pursuit.
GENRE: Romantasy
PAIRING: MNB
TROPES: portal fantasy, magical realm, marriage of convenience, knotting
CW/TW: violence, seizures, recreational drug use, ableism
