Bound By Blood

5 x 8 hardback with dustjacket (image shows case cover; dustjacket is same as paperback cover)

Tropes

mild antagonists to lovers (he's smitten with her after she hog ties him and tries to bargain with him after attacking him with a frying pan)

bargaining for a magical dog with delicious soup

soft moments turning into something deeper

dare you not to fall in love

lonely characters

searching for family

she's older than him

grant a wish

the dog lives and thrives

A lonely soup maker's bargain with a cursed blood fae for a magical pup opens the door to love, soup, and a chance something special in the midst of loss.

Erryn lets everyone believe she lost her memory years ago through a deal gone wrong with the fae, but that’s because the truth is too painful to speak about. She lost everything. Her home. Her family. She took all of them for granted, then struck a bargain that left her with nothing. The last deal she made with a fae revealed there was nothing special about her. But she might reconsider to save this pup.

Ryul lost his whole family in a devastating battle against an ancient enemy and is cursed to never walk the land when daylight touches it. His magic limited and distorted from the fight, he accidentally creates an apparition that turns into an ugly little dog. If he doesn't get it back, his magic will be depleted.

Now this wretched human wants to keep the apparition, and her love is already turning it into a real dog. She swears she can make soup that will replenish his magic if he'll just let her keep the dog. Though he knows he shouldn't, he makes the trade. He even offers her another deal in the event she falls in love with him (which she swears she will never do).

He doesn't make this trade because he likes her. Or because he's lonely. It's just…well, there's a good reason in there somewhere. He needs time to figure out his next step and making sure this strange, sassy, stubborn human doesn't poison him seems as good a diversion as any.

Or is he about to lose his heart as well as the plan?