Happy Krampus Xmas & The Meet Not Cute: Two Xmas Novellas

Angels of Wrath #4.5

by Paulina Ian-Kane

-Happy Krampus Xmas

Happy Krampus Day!

Krampus who? Santa’s evil brother, duh.

The horned demon sort of cursed me, and I need to find a way to appease him.

Otherwise, I won’t be able to proceed with my donor initiation: blood, torture, death, screams—not in that order.

All I need is to follow my three-step groveling plan.

What could go wrong?

A cussing Santa, a house on fire, donors’ accidental deaths, groping spiders, a possessed hen, and pair of bloody itchy, furry shorts.

Xmas holidays suck, and not in the fun way…

-The Meet Not Cute

Falling on a jock’s lap was definitely not part of my plan.

I’m turning my life around, studying hard and going my own way, when a meet not in the least cute puts me on TJ’s path.

Big.

Bigger.

A mountain of a football jock with brown, puppy eyes that unnerve me as much as they suck me in.

We have nothing in common. Not a thing.

But it seems he can’t stay away from me. So why not experiment with his new found bi-sexuality? I’m all for it.

I mean, his athletic, gigantic body is what wet dreams are made of—everything must be proportionate.

Please. Please. Please. Let it be proportionate.

I've been a...good-ish boy.

When I start to catch feelings, my self-preservation kicks in, urging me to turn and leave.

Hard to do that, though, when TJ’s massive body blocks all exits.

Warning: this book contains two Xmas MM novellas, part of the Angels of Wrath series. You need to have read Five (the previous book in the series) before diving into this one.

Happy Krampus Xmas contains an odd demonic ritual, donors’ accidental deaths, spicy sex, an attempt at child kidnapping, an MC with multiplicity, cameos from all the bros, and last but not least, Lori’s madness.

The Meet Not-Cute is a sweet college love story. It contains bi-awakening, very spicy scenes, homophobic slurs and side characters, violence, talk of alcoholism, and fear of abandonment.

Please read the more detailed list of triggers at the beginning of the book before reading.

Genres: M M Romance, Crime, Dark, Romance, LGBT, Novella, Dark Romance

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 3, 2024

About the author

I can't remember a time when I wasn't reading a book. Whether it was sci-fi, romance or a detective story didn't matter, because it was the perfect way to escape from reality for a little while. When I wasn't reading, I was imagining my own stories, and after a while I started writing them, hoping to give other people that little escape I still enjoy so much.

My books are full of dark humor, spicy kinky scenes, possessive, obsessed, protective MCs and always have happy endings.

I live in Japan with my two kids and my stinky, super cute Frenchie.

Find me online:
@paulinaiankanebooks on Facebook and Instagram!

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this world the author has created. Lori, MC of the first story, is just too much for me. Not a fan of the Lori show.
Spencer and TJ are adorable, enjoyed their story and hope we continue getting snippets/updates of them in future.
Looking forward to the next book in this series as all the brothers and their proclivities are highly entertaining.

[Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

God Lori is such a menace I LOVE IT!

I'm so happy we got more of the sass master. I cackled so many times! This was a fun way to add some extra into the sausage fest series. I really enjoyed these and getting to dive deeper into Spencer was such a treat! Spencer is so quick witted and a totally badass! Him and Tj are perfect

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

the Perfect Mix

This was the perfect amount of dark, swoon, and s pexy. I loved both of the novellas. I would read an entire TJ and Spence series. Lori is always an adventure to read.

[Tate Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

chaos and spice


First. Chaos incarnate-Lori thinks he is cursed and everyone comes to help him.
Second. Spicy love between a jock and a smart ass.

Perfection. Loved this book so very much.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very rare that I finish a book in one day, but since this is a book from the Angels of Wrath series and I'm obsessed with the series, I wasn't surprised.

I really loved the two short stories in this. First one being all Lori and I loved every second of all the shit that was going down in the story. I felt like the other characters while reading about Loris'... unique ideas xD

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the second story between Spencer and TJ, but it was really good too. Loved the dynamic between those two.

Now I have to wait for the next book in the series, which will probably take a while.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

So these two short stories worked really well together--we have Loris Halloween style Christmas fiesta, containing appearances from our second story's Hero Spencer, and it sets the tone really nicely for the second book. Paulina meshed the two books really well and even avoided doing the annoying thing where the books overlap with the same scenes. You will not find that here, so yay!

Happy Krampus Xmas 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lori's story! He thinks he's cursed! He might be! It made me a bit uncomfortable how we will never know whether the demon thing was real or not (like being a kid watching the Lizzie McGuire halloween special, freaked out and wondering if they'd ever be normal again, true story). But I laughed SO HARD. Because Typical Lori Style, he was ✨HILARIOUS✨. I had a headache reading this story and 10/10 I do not regret laughing so hard. Maybe it even helped 😏.

It also contained the delightful family (for me specifically: Michael, Raph, Sari, Uri) and dynamics (murder) we love. With all the Lori humor we could ever want (cannot be stated enough, Lori is a RIOT 👏🏻), it was careful not to trespass on any Suri (Sari + Uri 💙) spoilers (need their book NOW, thank you). No hens were harmed in the making of this short story, but maybe an ass was (in a great way, Lori swears!)

Also, Gabe (and Bez!) and Lori were really hot together---but I either suggest reading a bit of their book, or this review, because I totally forgot Bez and Gabe shared a body and until I refreshed my brain I was so confused 😂 but they're just as perfect together in their novella as they were in their book 💙😌

The Meet NOT Cute 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spencer's story! Not really my thing, I'm not a fan of golden retrievers, warp speed love, or such fluff (when its in a dark world I go to for my naughty 🔪 bits) but it wasn't bad. It was sweet. There were moments like

" 'No, it isn't fucking easy, and that's precisely why we need to stop now before you leave me again, hurt and broken!' He gasps, and moves his hand over his mouth like he didn't intend to utter those words. "

That had me MELTING. I love me a little tummy sizzling angsty goodness. That's not the only moment that had me swooning either, but anything else would be ✨spoilers✨ 😌. (THAT ^ my friends, was just a tease 😉).

Overall it was nice to see two hurting boys fall in love. I did keep wishing though the dad was scum enough to be dealt with but alas, this was a truly fluffy story where the heros prevail with no grizzly.

[Nicanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra Novella magic ✨

📚Book = Interconnecting Standalone (Novella x 2)
💕Burn = Fast,
🎭OW/OM Drama = No,
🐺 Alpha Men = Yep,
🔥Heat/spice = 7/10,
😬Angst = Low,
🍆🌮 MM/FF = Yes, MM
🔸POV = 1st Person, MPV,
🔸Genre = Contemporary Romance,
🔹Tropes = MM✨Vǐgilänte family✨Foster brothers✨ Pøssëssive MMC’s✨Rough sex✨
Plus - 1st Novella ✨Dëmønic evøcätion✨Bad Santa
- 2nd Novella✨Sťrǐptëase✨Bǐ-äwäkening✨Fear of abandonment
‼️Check TW’s before reading!

The Angels of Wräth series is a vïgilänte family of foster brothers, who were ëxpërimented on when kids, and are now trying to overcome their bløødy past while finding love...and kǐllǐng ẽvǐl. Those boys are øbsëssed, pössëssive, kind of cräzy, prötective and deliciously dirty.


The first Novella is from Lori’s POV after Gabe and he were official. I love Lori but it seems in small doses (his waffle in his book was too much for me) but in this Novella it was great. I loved the Krampus giving him bad luck and the whole evøcätion bit, so funny!! I really do love the whole brothers obsessive and possessive natures 🥰 and Gabe & Bez were perfect.

The second novella was from Spencer, whom we’d met briefly in book 4. He’s close friends with Lori and he’s now attending college thanks to Gabe’s scholarship.
Whilst working he has a bit of a funny mishap with a wet soapy floor and a very hunky Jock.
TJ is the one who slipped whilst coming out of the showers, and unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately 😜) had Spencer land on top of him! There is a whole thing with TJ’s fellow players and hømöphôbic behaviour so they part ways. TJ just can’t stay away though, he’s only ever been with girls but he’s totally drawn to Spencer and wants to explore their connection.

I absolutely loved Spencer & TJ, their whole relationship was sweet and very høt, with a sprinkle of miscommunication and past hurts, oh and of course possessiveness!!! Yum!!😋

[audiobook_chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s time for Lori’s initiation and the last four donors have been killed in mysterious ways before he could get them to the fun’s room and he’s convinced he’s cursed. He tells Gabe & Bez it’s Krampus because he and Ollie summoned him when he was 10 and every December the curse starts over. Lori gets all the brothers roped him to help him break the curse and he eventually gets an accidental donor. As usual Lori is a laugh a minute with his smart mouth and petty revenge an his use of his Grans saying , conked out had me belly laughing I haven’t heard that saying for years.

The second part is Spencer’s novella you might remember him from Five when he watched Gabes car in the rough area Lori lived and Gabe paid back him by sponsoring his college.
I’m glad Spencer got his story and I loved his banter with Lori it was really funny.
When he has an accidental encounter with TJ in th locker room neither know how to react.
After TJs friends appear and make their feelings known Spencer thinks it’s the end but they have other plans for him.
TJ was protective towards Spencer even though he could hold his own against the bullies.
Really enjoyed Spencer & TJ it may have only been a short story but it was complete.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!!

I can never get enough of the Angels of Wrath world! I would be perfectly content getting books that take place with any or all the AOW characters in it for the rest of time lol! Lori is always a freaking delight and i adore Gabe/Bez so Happy Krampus was Amazing! And has me looking forward to the storyline in the future AOW books!! The not meet cute was heartwarming, sexy and perfect! I finally get a story where the rich creepy dad doesn't successfully push the main character away with threats for some amount of time like so many books out there do. I loved the character of Spencer from the previous book and was not disappointed with how his story was told at all. Tj was a fun new heartwarming character who didn't disappoint. He brought so much warmth and heart to the story. I love the jock with any not jock trope and the locker room not meet cute was Amazing! Definitely read this book you wont regret it!!! Keep up the amazing storytelling Paulina Ian-Kane! I will be right here waiting for more!!!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy Krampus Xmas
MM🌈
Dark
Christmas 🎄

I love Lori! This novella is about him trying to rid himself of Krampus’ curse and finish his initiation into the family. He and Ollie used an Ouija board when they were ten and summoned Krampus. Every December since Lori has had terrible luck and unfortunate accidents. This year, every donor he tries to pick up to initiate himself into the family business has died by accident before he can get them back to the FUNS room. So, he builds a shrine to Krampus with help from Gabe and some of the others.

The Meet Not Cute
MM🌈
College
Football
Bi awakening

Spencer is cleaning the football locker room when he takes a call from Lori. He leaves the showers sprayed down with cleaner and takes a break to talk on the phone. When he gets back he hears a thud in the showers, so he runs in only to slip and fall right on top of a giant football player. He tries to get up but keeps slipping. This makes him rub TJ in all the wrong (or right 😜) places making TJ hard. The upcoming weeks finds TJ seeking Spencer out and confessing he is all he can think about and wants to experiment. But just once is never enough.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Xmas Novellas in the Angels of Wrath series

Happy Krampus Xmas: The protagonist is cursed by Krampus, Santa's evil brother, and must follow a three-step groveling plan to appease him. The chaotic journey involves a cussing Santa, a house on fire, accidental deaths, groping spiders, a possessed hen, and bloody furry shorts, making for a less-than-fun holiday season.

The Meet Not Cute: The protagonist's life changes when they fall on the lap of TJ, a massive football jock with puppy eyes. Despite having nothing in common, they explore TJ's newfound bisexuality. As feelings develop, the protagonist's self-preservation instincts kick in, but TJ's imposing presence makes it hard to leave.

Both of these novellas were suitably crazy and fit into the Angels of Wrath series well. I loved the Gabe/Bez combination with the crazy Lori and how the whole family supported him with his battle with Krampus. I also enjoyed all of the feelings in the second novella. Easy to read, feel and understand. These were MM stories with mature content.

[Jade Gilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you expect in a Paulina Ian-Kane story: Chaos, Hilarity, Romance and Family Vibes.

In Happy Krampas Xmas we get to see more of Lori being his insane, drama-queen, chaotic and hilarious self as he iniates into the family business but believes he’s cursed. He then proceeds to involve everyone into breaking the curse. This is a short, hilarious, feel good novella. Amazing! Lori is definitely one of my favourite characters in this series so I really enjoyed reading more of him.

The Meet Not Cute follows Spencer and TJ. Their meet cute was not so cute. They meet in the locker room, and while the chemsitry was chemistring, the boy bros ruined it by being their homophopic douce nozzle selves. TJ and Spencer are very cute and I would love a full novel of their story. The only negative was that it was too short.

Another enjoyable read :D

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Lori is grumpy af, he thinks he’s cursed by Krampus… Santa’s evil brother.
Lori hates this month and refuses to marry Gabe and Bez in this month. He has to lift the curse.
Chaos, some heavy topics with a fun swing, sexiness, and hilariously fun that’s what’s waiting for you in this story.

The second novella is a less chaotic and more manageable, hurt comfort and of course, Lori is there to help his best friend.

Spencer and TJ the straight jock, even more, a closeted jock.
A jock who wants to get close to Spencer, too close for Spencer’s comfort.
BJ’s and handjobs he can do, even more, but an emotional connection not.
TJ isn’t happy about his future, with his father constantly on his back.
Watch these guys! There’s something between them that is undeniable!
Love this one hard!
Of course, it’s all awesomely written!

[Readbookswithcats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Krampus was a wild ride! Lori is insane and so much fun to read! His belief that he is cursed by Krampus is hilarious. It’s totally unhinged and I was here for it!

The Meet Not Cute
Adorable! I loved Spencer and TJs story! It’s a coming out story- TJ is a big football player and he is fascinated with Spencer after they have a “meet cute” in the locker room! He has to choose between his teammates and his father’s expectations and Spencer. Very hot and spicy!!

Both are fun, light reads! I would say The Meet Cute is more of a stand alone and you don’t need to read the other books, but with Happy Krampus you should read “Five”, first!

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So if you loved Lori, you'll love this book! (If you have no idea who Lori is..go read book 4. If you have no idea who any of the boys are, go start with One. You (most likely, long as darker murdery boys are your thing) won't regret it.

Lori is always a blast and having another short book in his view was the best. Honestly, there isn't much to say beside having this SS with Lori and christmas themed definitely had me laughing (which who doesn't need a laugh around this time).

Also, after reading book 4 and wondering about Spencer, read this book! The 2nd short story is with him, and it's cute! But I will also definitely be needing more of his story in the future please!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this probably would have ranked a lot lower for me if it was only the Krampus story. Lori is not an enjoyable character for me. He stresses me out and feels really inconsiderate and just...a lot. Just personal opinion but I didn't love that story at all. It was a good refresher of some stuff before reading 4+7 but I've started that now and all the information was rehashed.
HOWEVER... the second story was very cute, pretty spicy and I enjoyed it. It didn't stand out from any other bi-awakening book but there was a hint of angst, the requisite parental problems and a good amount of spice for such a short story.

[MLF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lori and his quirky, no nonsense, badass self is back. He can't get his initiation right. How many maggots does he need to finally get it right! The 1st story brings all the main characters together. Lori and Gabe/Bez are the main storyline. This is a feel-good and laugh story. Perfect for the holidays.

Spencer and TJ. The tough as nails boy and the football jock. This story is sweet and spicy. The way they meet is funny and sexy. I'm so glad Spencer gets an HEA. Would love to read more about these two and see more of their future.

[Ashley Rose Dead.inside_but_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advanced Copy Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

This is a Novella set after book 4 so you would have needed to read that one before reading this. There are also some dark parts so you should check the TWs

This was ABSOLUTELY amazing. This book turned around my whole day I was laughing from page 1 right to the end. There were also some really cute moments in here that were literally like icing on a cake or rather tinsel on a tree??

The book was split into 2 Novellas
Happy Krampus Xmas was with Lori and Gabe/Bez
Lori is trying to get initiated into the squad and it's not going well. He believes Krampus has Cursed him and he tries to remove the curse so he can complete his initiation. In true Lori fashion this is not done simply. I loved that we got to see more of Gabe/Bez coexisting after book 4 and just their dynamic with Lori. This was the perfect Christmas dip back into the Angels of Wrath ❤️💚🖤

The Meet NOT Cute is with Spencer and TJ
We met Spencer in book 4 (He guarded Gabe's Car)
Spencer is at college now trying to better his life. He is working for the college when he meets TJ in an unconventional way.
TJ is instantly hooked on Spencer. He does have some Douche Canoe Friends Spencer has to put in their place and there is some additional drama here TJ has to get through. Lori and his antics are back in this one too just not front and center. It does have a HEA as well 🖤

[Bailey Prather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will have you laughing from the jump and loving the characters even more then before Lori and Gabe will always be a favorite for me but getting a better look into Spencer was the best part for me. I truly couldn’t get enough of these, and hated when both stories ended and wish they could have been so much longer, this book is perfect for a light funny holiday read and i highly suggest grabbing it tho i would say you need to read at least Gabe and Lori book before hand to k ow Spencer and have a back story on both.

[Hope Reads27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lori!!! His wild shenanigans and somehow roping everyone into his wild plans. It was a great short story and really funny with Lori’s Christmas fails.
Meet cute was soooo good too. Loved getting to know Spencer and see how he’s doing. TJ was great, he did make some dumb decisions but when he explained them to Spencer and the reasoning behind his choices I understood where he came from. He’s perfect for Spencer, he is so willing to shower Spencer with love and affection. Which Spencer 100% deserves.

[Tee Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lori
The story was absolutely ridiculous… and I loved it! Only Lori can think he’s cursed by the Christmas Krampus, the lighter, rituals, costumes and possessed cat were worth every tear I shed laughing.
Lori is an absolute delight and nothing but chaos, he could carry an entire series alone.

Spencer
Ohhh loved that we got to see Spencer bettering his life, a peek into his future and finding love in an unexpected man, a jock, a dude bro what Spencer didn’t expect to find was the beautiful soul within him. I’m excited to see what next for them

[Monikat · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars!!
🎄🔪✨🎄🔪🪄🎄🔪✨🎄🔪
Two stories (that take place around Christmas) one delving into the Krampus Myth featuring our beloved prince of chaos, Lori. Spending time with many of our favorite characters in the series as Lori tries to break a curse he believes Krampus has put upon him depriving him of his first successful mission.

Story number two, The Meet Not Cute, was a chef's kiss novella with a Jock and a bad boy gone good.💯 Absolutely delicious, feel good moments. Straight to my All star, favorites list.✨

*to re read
*favorite

[Charline Saint-Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much as it's a two for one (Thank you Paulina).
The first book is Lori feeling he is curse because of no other Krampus due to childhood mishaps. As I read this story I never laughed so much. I truly love Lori.

The next story is Spencer not so cute meet. This story is less dark, but just as good. I am so happy to have Spencer book as wondered about him during Five book when he watched Gabe car. I am so happy to see read his story.

[mm_spice_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 2 novella book set in the Angels of Wrath world. The first novella is a Gabe and Lori story - woot woot for more Gabe and Lori!! Lori is just the absolute best, I just love him - he thinks he has been cursed since he is having difficulty with his intuition. This was such a fun, sassy read (like Lori himself). The second novella is about Spencer and TJ - we met Spencer in book 4. This one is a bit sweeter than the other books in this series but I still really enjoyed it as a whole!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is 2 novellas that just bring you so much joy, the first one being with Lori and Krampus is so funny and just over the top. Lori and the gang will have you just rolling with laughter.

Spencer and TJ will grab your heart so fast, these two have a bumpy beginning but they will have you cheering for their HEA. Filled with compassion and a sweetness that both of these adorable men need.

[Sam Vautier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and excellent read! Two great stories, one more focused on the insanity that is Lori (and his hot men). The other we get Loris friend Spencer and his budding relationship with the football jock TJ.

Loved jumping into these two stories, some seriously steamy moments, plenty of crazy, but also some vulnerable and tender moments with Spencer and TJ - a perfect balance.

🎄MM Christmas Special
🎄Lori and his crazy
🎄Hot hot spice!
🎄More Lori insanity

[... · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped the first short because Lori annoys the fuck out of me, so this rating is only for the second story. It was... ok. I'd probably have enjoyed it more if I remembered who Spencer was, but it's too long between reading each book in this series for me to keep everyone straight. The beginning was kinda fun, but the resolution to TJ's big issue was a little too fairytale-ish as everything miraculously fell into place to be truly satisfying. Overall, I could have skipped this one, too.

[Amity Tribby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Shorts

I absolutely adored these novellas. Lori having so many issues with his initiation was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness that ensued. He did awesome by being aware and catching his own donor. TJ and Spencer were wonderful. TJ really worked to prove himself because he knew that was what Spencer needed. I loved their story. Spencer telling off TJ's father was epic. Lori was his typical protective self. Loved them!

[Leigh Gaskill · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐊𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐗𝐦𝐚𝐬

Lori is so chaotic and ridiculous and bonkers. I love him.

He is convinced his string of bad luck is because he summoned Krampus when he was younger, so he wrangles the ‘sausage fest’ into performing a ceremony to appease the evil brother of Santa. Also sprinkle in some Gabe/Bez hotness and donor activities (IYKYK).

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐞

I liked this way more than I thought I would, throwing that out there.

I didn’t know how to take Spencer from his interactions with Lori so I was pleasantly surprised at his character. He’s strong and vulnerable at the same time, but only a few will ever see this side of him.

When he meets TJ he ends up making all these assumptions throughout the book that definitely look the way they seem (if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck…), but once he gives TJ the time to explain he rewrites the story and proves things are not as they seem.

Once these two get on the same wavelengths there is no stopping them. And they are so hot together. Definitely a must read.

*𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.*

[Jane Olivieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well what a little Christmas bonus for me! Firstly… I adore Lori, Gabe and Bez 🥰 any scenes involving them is just a bloody bonus lols. I loved how this was split into 2 stories and I just love Spencer ! I was totally excited to read this novella and it didn’t let me down , highly recommend if you lhave read any of the Angels of Wrath series allready .