12 Days of Monsters Under the Mistletoe: Paranormal & Creature Christmas Romances
If you want less Hallmark Christmas vibes and a little more ‘ho-ho-holy sh*t’, welcome to the creature corner of Christmas romance. Because while everyone else is reading about small-town holiday kisses, some of you (definitely us) are craving claws, fangs, tentacles, ancient winter gods, and magical beings who do a lot more than put presents under the tree.
This list is for the readers who thinks being carried off by Krampus sounds less like a punishment and more like a once-in-a-lifetime Christmas experience.
Please remember: we don’t yuck any yums here.
If you want to deck the halls with a gargoyle, get naughty with a yeti, or get tangled in tinsel with a tentacled menace, we say go forth and be festive, babe. This is a judgment-free zone. The books on this list are just pure, unhinged holiday fun.
So prepare to kiss the monsters under the mistletoe but be warned, they bite… but like, in the fun way 😉
1. A Very Krampus Holiday — Katee Robert
Krampus MMC • Dark Holiday Smut • Offering Ritual
This is the perfect “I want holiday spice but maybe also a demon” novella. The FMC essentially offers herself up to Krampus and he absolutely delivers. It’s dark, it’s delicious, it’s aggressively horny, and frustratingly short because the chemistry is feral. Think all the holiday filth you didn’t know you needed.
2. He Sees You When You’re Sleeping — Emily Antoinette & Kass O’Shire
Monster Stalker • Masked Intruder • Sleep Token Inspired
Ada is recovering from a brutal attack, hiding away in her secluded cabin… except someone refuses to let her spend Christmas alone. Texts appear. Decorations start showing up. Gifts are left inside her locked house. And her dreams? A masked monster keeps starring in them, making her tremble with fear and want. It’s a secret-Santa-stalker situation with a creature who’s done being just her nightmare, and trust us… this one is dark, delicious, and beautifully deranged.
3. Santa’s Good Girl — Adrian Blue
Santa MMC • Daddy Kink • Insta Love
Okay hear us out… if you’ve ever had an intrusive thought about sitting on Santa’s knee to give you the “daddy” energy you’ve been craving… this novella delivers. Noel is lonely, frustrated, and convinced she's never going to find the right dynamic. Then Santa (huge, grumpy, and absolutely ready to claim his good girl) appears in her living room offering everything she’s ever wanted. It’s insta-love, high heat, size difference, and full holiday kink wrapped in a bow.
4. Mr. Jingle — Layla Fae
‘Touch her & die’ vibes • Stalker Fantasy • Tentacle Romance
Mr. Jingle has been trapped for centuries watching the world through his prison until he becomes obsessed with her. Not in a human way. In a “I’ll break cosmic laws and ruin the universe to claim you” way. She doesn’t know he exists, but he’s seen every private moment, every tear, every secret desire… and on Christmas Eve, he finally breaks out to collect what he thinks is his. Fun and delightful? Yes. Steamy AF? Definitely. Sweet? That too!
5. Winter Star — Cassandra Elizabeth
Yeti MMC • Forbidden Romance • Snowed In & Survival Vibes
This is for you if you want adventure romance with big feelings and an even bigger beast. Dahlia was betrayed, stranded in the Himalayan snow, and ready to give up until a Migoi (basically a yeti) rescues her from an avalanche. In his hidden caves, she slowly realizes he’s not a monster at all, but a protector with a broken past. Their chemistry melts faster than the ice around them, but when her ex returns to steal her work, she has to choose between the world she knew and the creature who saved her.
6. Kidnapped by the Krampus — Emily Shore
Krampus MMC • Fated Mates • Kidnapping
You’re going to love this one because it’s equal parts romantasy, monster k*nk, and full-on Christmas chaos. Twyla sneaks into Krampus World as a journalist and ends up waking in a magical winter castle after being kidnapped by the horned, hooved, impossibly hot CEO who might… actually be Krampus. He speaks in a different tongue, dances in hooves, and wants her as his last chance to break a curse. It’s cozy, spicy, enchanted, and gives those “Hallmark but make it feral” vibes.
7. Tinsel & Tentacles — Kate McDarris
Tentacles • Poly Romance (MFM) • Holiday Heat
A holiday poly romance with a rockstar, a bodyguard, a manager and a tentacle twist… This thruple have Christmas plans that involve getting very tangled in tinsel together.
8. Frisky the Snowman — Lauren Biel
Sentient Snowman • Unhinged Spice • Frosty Obsession
Listen… it’s a snowman romance. And before you judge, this one is weird in the most delightful way. The FMC loves building snowmen to keep herself company, but this year one of them decides to come to life… and become obsessed. It’s frosty, spicy, slightly unhinged, and exactly the kind of bonkers holiday novella that turns “Do you want to build a snowman?” into a question with consequences.
9. Elf’d — Ginger Kane
Fae Monster MMC • Magical Short Smut • Christmas Chaos
This is unhinged in the best, most candy-cane-striped way. It starts with the FMC opening what she thinks is just a naughty Secret Santa gift… only for an ancient fae sex-god to appear in her living room with a tongue that tastes like sugar and a “candy-striped monster” that is absolutely not OSHA compliant. He’s here to jingle her bells, deck her halls, and stuff her stocking with holiday cheer — and this fae does not believe in subtlety. It’s chaotic, filthy, festive, and over far too fast.
10. The Gargoyle Grinch — Lilith Stone
Gargoyle MMC • Grumpy/Sunshine • Cozy Monster Romance
This one is cozy monster romance at its finest — grumpy gargoyle + sunshine girl + forced proximity + Christmas healing. Grayson is a stoic gargoyle who hates the holidays, stationed on rooftops guarding the city. Maisie is a hardworking FMC who takes a housekeeping job in his giant, cold, stone home. Their personalities clash immediately, but when she gets sick, he swoops down from his rooftop to take care of her… and suddenly her warmth starts thawing his granite exterior. So cute!
11. Knotty List — Taylor Fox
Krampus MMC • Dark RomCom • Two Peens 👀🍆🍆
The FMC wanted a cute, small-town Christmas. Instead, the town decides she’s wicked and gifts her to Krampus to calm him down. She’s dragged into the woods, tied up, left as an offering… and the monster absolutely comes for her. Except he doesn’t kill her. He claims her. And the more she tries to resist, the more he enjoys punishing her. Spicy & ridiculous, and will 100% land you on Santa’s naughty list.
12. Guarded by the Yeti — Cara Wylde
Yeti MMC • Forced Proximity • Bodyguard Monster
You should give this one a go if being ‘snowed-in with a monster” is your jam. Ysella is a mafia princess being smuggled into hiding by a massive, silent, ridiculously protective yeti who’s definitely not supposed to fall for her. The problem? Her scent makes him feral, and being trapped together in his remote Alaska cabin is a terrible idea… which makes it perfect. It’s primal, tender, snowy, and surprisingly emotional — with a beast who would burn the world down for her.
If you’ve made it to the end of this list and your December TBR now looks like a festive fever dream full of claws, tentacles, horns, hooves, sentient snowmen, and giant furry beasts… congratulations. You are officially one of us.
Monster romance isn’t just a genre, it’s a lifestyle. Kissing under the mistletoe hits different when he isn’t technically human.
And if you want to keep your December reading deliciously chaotic, don’t stop here. Check out the rest of our holiday lineup:
🎄 12 Days of Christmas Romance — the warm, cuddly, Hallmark-but-better vibes
🔥 12 Days of Spicy Christmas Romance — the steamy Christmas reads that will jingle all your bells
🖤 12 Days on the Dark Side of December — stalkers, killers, and morally grey holiday obsession
Wherever you head next, may your books be spicy, snowy, and just monstrous enough to keep you warm all season long.
Happy holidays ho-ho-hoes!
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