Katinka Crnčević ( "That's 'Churn-sher-vitch', thank you.") is in a bit of trouble.
There are things you are not supposed to do while pretending to be a responsible young adult.
Getting drunk and going all alone on a hiking trip that leads you through a dark and ominous forest in a foreign country - just to spite your Ex - is probably one of them.
Especially so, when you have never been hiking before.
So Katinka has no-one but herself to blame when she manages to get lost in the (quite aptly named) "Black Forest" in southern Germany.
It probably isn't her fault, that she also ends up being chased and tackled by an enormous, shaggy bear - who promptly turns into an equally shaggy, unwashed and overgrown guy (well, that last bit might have been kind of her fault), who is rather a little too pleased to meet her.
After all, there are no bears in the Black Forest.
And it's really just bad luck that this unfortunate event causes her to be dragged straight into the world of Fairy-Tales, where she is suddenly faced with Magic and Curses, Fairies, and Dragons, Psychologists, Elves, Wizards, Princes, Queens, Germans, and - all in all - more Attractive Males than anyone should have to put up with.
All of that probably wouldn't be so bad, if it wasn't for the fact, that she is also apparently being stalked.
By a bear.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]