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ohsunnyaa's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
emilyrose_isreading's review
5.0
I'm probably the only person who read this for the romance, not the smut but I really enjoyed it 🙈. Lots of different relationships but so many were sweet and cute
rowena0528's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A great anthology of sexy monster romance stories. I loved reading these and now have a great list of authors to add to my to-read list! All of the stories have introductions that will let you know what kinks and content you will encounter so that you can avoid triggers, which I appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
ednam0dewannabe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, and Toxic relationship
coconutoolong's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
A collection of short smutty stories. All of them are pretty good and generally Christmas/Yule themed. I found roughly half of them hit or miss in terms of what I personally want to read but such is the nature of an anthology.
heats's review
4.0
Why relegate monsters to Halloween? This was a thick (heh 😏) book. Plenty of novellas to meet your needs.
This was a nice switch up to the super sweet and sometimes cheesy Christmas romances that come out this time every year.
This was a nice switch up to the super sweet and sometimes cheesy Christmas romances that come out this time every year.
judythedreamer's review
This could have been so much more. Tired clichés, sanitized monsters and weak protagonists.
magsbaggins's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I bought this book in the hopes of getting some quality monster* content (*the lots of teeth, lots of eyes, lots of claws and other special body parts version, mind you), but if this is what you have in mind as well, best not pick this book up. My enthusiasm for the collected stories started to plummet quite fast as I moved from one story to the next, realizing it was not going to get any better. Most "monsters" in this book are seven feet tall with wings and some cute body paint slapped on top, including a "square jaw" you'd see in any other common romance with regular guys called Hunter. And no, adding horns or wings don't make it any more special. There's barely anything noteworthy in the groin region, either.
The overall Christmas theme is a funny gimmick, but after a while it was somewhat distracting from the monster input they were trying to pull off. The writing could have used a lot of revision as well: I found the stray sentence "I was shaking and crying" rather hilarious, but when multiple writers prove to have a clumsy, it-feels-like-a-horny-teenager-wrote-this writing style as well, it's just a trial to get through the entire book. I skipped a few, I'll be honest. I'm not planning to finish them either.
As for the erotic part of the stories: it was... fine?Best stay away from using that glass bottle as a dildo, though. It works in fiction but it will give you a swift trip to the ER if you try it out for yourself.
At least the Biblical accurate angel was there to spark hope that it could have been better, that monsters beyond human comprehension can be sexy as hell or heaven! But that's just one story with a silver lining amidst a collection of "meh".
In conclusion: I'll keep my hard copy on the shelf as a reminder that my own writing has improved, and that monster fiction deserves a spot in erotic literature. I'll just have to write it myself, though.
The overall Christmas theme is a funny gimmick, but after a while it was somewhat distracting from the monster input they were trying to pull off. The writing could have used a lot of revision as well: I found the stray sentence "I was shaking and crying" rather hilarious, but when multiple writers prove to have a clumsy, it-feels-like-a-horny-teenager-wrote-this writing style as well, it's just a trial to get through the entire book. I skipped a few, I'll be honest. I'm not planning to finish them either.
As for the erotic part of the stories: it was... fine?
At least the Biblical accurate angel was there to spark hope that it could have been better, that monsters beyond human comprehension can be sexy as hell or heaven! But that's just one story with a silver lining amidst a collection of "meh".
In conclusion: I'll keep my hard copy on the shelf as a reminder that my own writing has improved, and that monster fiction deserves a spot in erotic literature. I'll just have to write it myself, though.
domdawnelle's review
I loved the book but didn't finish it by NYE. At that point I was no longer in the holiday spirit so I'll continue with it next year.
destynnee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I read all of Monsters and Mistletoe, but I have to admit that Salem Sinclair's Yuletide Nightmare, might just be my favorite.
This is an anthology, so you will find stories from multiple authors. Before some stories, you get information about what will be reading, like tw/cn, etc. Which, I think should be the standard.
Each author did a splendid job with their story, and I highly recommend not only reading this anthology but picking up their individual work as well.
In Yuletide Nightmare, we find Yule and Mari Lwyd, who is a wassailing spirit. I had no idea that there was even such a thing. Let's just say, he can come wassailing my way any day.
This story was spicy, had bits of BDSM, some praise kink, short king love, and a HEA, I did not see coming.
5/5 stars
- Destynnee
This is an anthology, so you will find stories from multiple authors. Before some stories, you get information about what will be reading, like tw/cn, etc. Which, I think should be the standard.
Each author did a splendid job with their story, and I highly recommend not only reading this anthology but picking up their individual work as well.
In Yuletide Nightmare, we find Yule and Mari Lwyd, who is a wassailing spirit. I had no idea that there was even such a thing. Let's just say, he can come wassailing my way any day.
This story was spicy, had bits of BDSM, some praise kink, short king love, and a HEA, I did not see coming.
5/5 stars
- Destynnee