Welcome to a new cover reveal!

Today we have the pleasure of help reveal the cover of The Dragon Next Door, an ace romantasy novel, written by Vanessa Ricci-Thode.

Let's take a look at the blurb:

Tollar’s got a stolen dragon egg, and that’s the least of her problems.

Tollar is a hero for hire who just wants to deliver a stolen dragon egg to its kin and get on with her next adventure. But when the dragon hatches, imprints on her, and refuses to leave, Tollar enlists her pyromancer best friend and neighbour, Beenala, to help keep the dragon alive. Tollar’s chaotic life exacerbates Beenala’s overwhelming anxiety, and being stuck at home leaves Tollar feeling stifled and unwanted. To make matters worse, in order to hide an entire dragon from local and foreign hostile factions, Tollar must risk exposing the truth behind her unprecedented power as an aquamancer and face being chased out of the only home she’s ever known.

When Draminedes, perhaps the worst spy in the world, lets slip that the people Tollar stole the dragon egg from are much worse than she thought, Tollar and Beenala realize their home is in danger. Now Tollar needs to stop making herself the outsider and Beenala needs to find some courage so they can team up with this unlikely ally to save everything they love, including each other.

This sapphic ace romantasy is complete with mutual pining and odd-couple energy and is full of marginalized characters out living their best lives and having adventures while being nurturing and supportive in their relationships, including bonds between humans and dragons.  

The Dragon Next Door will be released the June 3rd, 2025. You can add it to your Goodreads here, and pre-order it here. 

The cover features art by Leesha Hannigan (website) and typography by GetCovers (website)

In this post:

Vanessa Ricci-Thode

Vanessa is a Nebula-nominated word sorceress who loves a good story. She’s a Halloween enthusiast and a bookish geek who loves dragons, dogs, astronomy, and travel. If she’s not hibernating, she can be found in her butterfly garden, achieving her final form as a garden witch. She lives in Waterloo (no, the other one) with her spouse, daughter and very good dogs.