Egg Hunt

Twisted Holidays #2

by M.L. Philpitt

People rationalize their desires by calling them sins, and then use the Easter holiday to seek repentance before doing it all again. The pearl-clutchers of town would send me straight to hell if they knew what I enjoy. My sins are my own.  

The day starts like any other, but then I learn she’s moved back. The woman I wanted for so long. She’s here. She’s free. But I’m about to change that. 

When the town’s annual Easter egg hunt comes around, I decide that her and I will be having a private one.  Even if she has no idea I’m the man behind the mask. 

Except, I’m not the only one chasing her, but what he doesn’t realize is, she’s mine. My hunt. And wolves defend their prey. 

Run, little rabbit, run. 


Egg Hunt is the second book in Twisted Holidays, a series of dark-themed holiday novellas. The series can be read in any order.

Genres: Dark Romance, Holiday, Novella, Ebooks, Dark, Romance, Short Stories

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author M.L. Philpitt writes both dark romance and paranormal romance. When she’s not writing made-up realities, she’s reading them. She lives in Canada with her four pets and survives life with coffee and an obsession with fictional characters, especially the morally grey kind. By day, she masks as a therapist, and is still waiting for her Hogwarts letter so she can be sorted into her Ravenclaw house.

Reviews

[brittany:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this one, it was a fun, dark little romance read for Easter! 🐣🖤

You’ve got:
— Friends to Lovers 🌸
— Stalker vibes 👀
— He chases her… literally 🏃‍♂️❤️‍🔥
— Masked man 🎭
— Small town setting 🏡
— Touch her and die energy 💀
— Psycho ex drama 🔥
— Over-the-top protective MMC 🖤
— The “It’s always been you” feels! 🥹

Cute, twisted, and the perfect quick read for the season!

[Kendra Renae · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4 🌶️3


Primal play Easter egg hunt and I’m your golden egg ? oh baby sign me right tf up I’m SAT . Then you’re my second chance high school not so friend to lover ? DOUBLE SAT 😇

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I want to be chased and eat chocolate eggs…

“Run, little rabbit, run. I’m coming for you.”

I loved the romance in this book. The second chance after them having hidden crushes on each other in high school was so good.
I liked the fact that Jace accepted and never judged Payton, not back then not now. He was so obsessed with her, but he let her go once and he was not doing that this time around. The second he found out she was back in town he was scheming and planing how to get back in her life and this time, get to keep her as his.

“Her, my deity, the only one who’ll own my loyalty.”

Payton was so strong and resilient. Her life was turned upside down and her ex was a douche of the highest category, but she wouldn't be sacred, she wouldn't change what she wanted and she was brave and would take the masked man up on his offer.

This book had the perfect mix of spice and romance and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

My only issue, I wish it were a tad darker, like the first one. I wanted more intensity, maybe more obsession from Jace, maybe a little death.

Thank you to the author for this e-arc!

[Tyler Kruchkywich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lil read was actually so good? I really enjoyed the little storyline, and of course the dirty bits. Jace can fuckin chase me too 😮‍💨😮‍💨

[Yasmine M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Such a short and hot novella. Loved the chase.
He wants to devour her like a wolf but protect her just the same.
I am so glad she got justice against Bennett, he is a psychopath.
He built her a vet clinic. 😭 He really loves her.
I wish we got a little bit of a longer timeframe but…still such a hot romance.

[Hecate’s Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️4.5 🌶️3

Guys, I just really love a holiday romance. And this one was a medium grey (rather than dark), adorable, Easter themed read. I love when a novel feels like an entire novel, just short and sweet, instead of only a piece of a story.

🐇dark romance
🐇childhood friends? to lovers
🐇he falls first
🐇masked MMC
🐇small town
🐇stalker vibes (but not quite a stalker romance)
🐇holiday romance

Honestly this one was more on the cute spectrum than dark, and that worked for them. Jace and I would have so much fun, just putting that out there….

I do wish the end hadn’t been so abrupt and tied up so easily. I was a bit unsatisfied from that standpoint.

*this is a novella, so I don’t rate it the same way as I would a full length novel*

[Courtney Pinnock🖤 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Mani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a fun little Easter novella to read for the vibes! Nothing too dark or crazy. Just something quick to read for the holiday. It’s got a bit of stalking, pining and Easter “hunt” 😉

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Read

The plot was super good, but the climax just didn’t quite deliver like I thought or hoped it would. Great book for those that like their spice mild to null… perhaps a good beginner book for primal.

[Sarah Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

guys it’s me… what else do you expect? Anyways Happy smutty Easter! 🐣

[Alisha Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
I was here for a good time with a primal kink and I enjoyed 🩵

[Kade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had everything I wanted in such a short novella. Smut AND a plot!
Loved this sm 💕

[Sally May *✧･ﾟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝓔𝓰𝓰 𝓗𝓾𝓷𝓽 𝓫𝔂 𝓜.𝓛. 𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓽
𝒯𝓌𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝐻𝑜𝓁𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 #𝟤

3 ⭐️

: ̗̀➛ small town
: ̗̀➛ stalker/masked romance
: ̗̀➛ Easter holiday
: ̗̀➛ Second chance
: ̗̀➛ Friends to lovers
: ̗̀➛ 1.5/5 🌶️

⁺˚⋆｡°✩ 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓲 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 ✩°｡⋆˚⁺

This one was less dark romance and more a cute, second chance, high school crush, friends to lovers, he-falls first (and hard), Easter themed fun time.

The small town/ diner vibes are giving Oregon in the autumn.

And Jace is hot. That’s all.

⁺˚⋆｡°🐣🍫🥚🐰°｡⋆˚⁺

╰┈➤ 𝓠𝓾𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼

“𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔.” 𝒲𝒶𝓈 𝐼? “𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉.” “𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉? “𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓂𝑒.” “𝐹𝓊𝓃𝓃𝓎,” 𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝓊𝓇𝓂𝓊𝓇𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝒹𝓇𝓎, 𝓊𝓃𝒶𝓂𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉, “𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊.”

———————————————————————

absurd but I'm down

[♡Marizel Meadows♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶 Out of 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
Would I reread : YES

"𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐈’𝐦 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫."

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

SPICY CHAPTERS:
Ch.17 Ch.18

I'm 3 days late to reading this but pretend it's still the 20th.

It's fast paced, lighthearted and I absolutely LOVE that there's actually plot, but considering "silent nivht" was a masterpiece I shouldn't have expected anything less with this one.

Can NOT wait for the Halloween one!!

[Tiffany Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

damn. this was so good! new kink unlocked. 🐰🥚🏃‍♀️🐺🌲one thing i loved about this book was how big Jace was on consent and clear expectations and safe words. He also checked in with her throughout the hunt as well. I like my book guys dark but also gentlemanly.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 • i thought this was a fun concept but it wasnt anything life changing. i would recommend if you need a quick palate cleanser or want to read something that is holiday themed.

[Katie Beeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[madie dragoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5⭐️
3.5/5🌶️
📱

short, fun, spicy AND easter themed? actually the perfect read today while i’m at work

“if there’s anyone i’d go to jail for, it’s her.”

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

He should have just killed her ex lol

[~golda~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected tbh, they were actually pretty cute and all. I just wanted a quick fun read with a more unique setting and I feel like this ticked all the boxes!

[Abbie Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have liked it if it was longer. I believe I just didn’t like it because it felt super rushed!

[Thais tybooktok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for something spicy to add to your holiday TBR?

Egg Hunt by M.L. Philpitt delivers all the heat, thrill, and dark delight you'd expect from a primal play novella—with a delicious Easter twist.

Set in the shadowy woods behind the FMC’s house, the story kicks off the day before Easter, when she’s given one task: find the hidden eggs while a masked man hunts her down. What follows is an adrenaline-fueled, heart-pounding chase that’s equal parts danger and desire. It’s raw, wild, and incredibly hot.

This novella is a quick, filthy escape into a world where fear and fantasy collide, and honestly? I devoured it in one sitting. If you're in the mood for something dark, spicy, and just a little bit wicked this holiday, Egg Hunt is an absolute must-read.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Run, little rabbit, run. I’m coming for you.

As the town’s annual easter egg hunt is in preparation, there’s another planning a different kind of hunt and this one doesn’t involve chocolate eggs. And, he can’t believe his luck at finding his prey.

That she yarns to be chased…
To feel the ground beneath her bare body…
And, to be consumed by the hunter that makes her feel alive…

Confess your wicked sins on Easter Sunday…

“You know what predators do when they catch their prey? They eat them.”

A perfect dark easter hunt!

Ooo I loved this short wickedly, dark, sexy egg hunt. Payton has returned home, broke and faced the glares from everyone in town after the break-up with the town golden boy. But, little do they know how much pain he’s put Payton through and now living paycheck to paycheck, Payton is drowning.

Jace can hardly believe his eyes when he sees Payton after all this time and soon hears the rumors that are spreading like wildfire in the town. However, she is still that girl he grow-up with and even more beautiful now.

I love the storyline, how the twist drags you in and the emotions are exposed. The hunt was very clever, the easter theme was well used throughout and you’re not left disappointed…

“Happy running, my prey.”

[Anahita · Rating 5 out of 5]

M.L. Philpitt has done it again! Egg Hunt is a captivating short story that had me hooked from the very first page. It follows the story of Jace and Payton—former high school friends who reconnect after years apart. When Payton returns to town, Jace is determined to prove that she still belongs with him. What begins as a playful Easter egg hunt quickly turns into a steamy, heartfelt journey of rekindled feelings and undeniable chemistry.

This story has everything I love in a romance: a small-town setting, an obsessed but sweet MMC, a strong yet emotionally bruised FMC, a douchebag ex, and the magic of second chances. Jace’s unwavering devotion and Payton’s emotional growth made their reunion all the more satisfying.

What truly makes Egg Hunt special for me is that it pulled me out of a nearly year-long reading slump. It reminded me why I love romance novels—and even inspired me to start writing reviews again.

If you're a fan of swoony, fast-paced romances with a touch of spice and heart, don’t miss this one. M.L. Philpitt delivers all the feels in this short but unforgettable story.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a little lighter than other books in this series and...I liked it? Yep, I liked it. A lot. For all Jace is into the chase and being a little rough, he's also super into consent. He gives Payton plenty of opportunities to tap out if he's pushing her too far, but our girl is ALL IN from the start. Even more so when she realizes maybe the one hunting her isn't the stranger she originally thought he was.

Yup, Payton's into the chase. She's into being hunted through the woods. It speaks to a part of her she had never been able to indulge and, in fact, had been shamed for by her previous boyfriend. Who's a total tool, btw. Anyway. Payton spills her secret want to Jace and Jace is into being the chaser, so it works out for both of them. Not that Payton knows it's Jace, at first. She's just thrilled to be able to experience this thing she's been craving.

A very adult egg hunt, a little chasing, some steamy times in the woods, a man who knows what he wants, and a lady who is willing to let go and experience something she never thought she'd have. *thumbs up*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Heather Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every freaking bit of this book! Such a fun read!

Jace is... I mean, that man is just perfection and I swooned so hard for his intensity and obsession with Payton. His surprise for her at the end.. OMG! 🥰

I just loved this dark, second chance, small town romance. So hot; so sweet; so funny.

Spice rating: I'll say 3.5🌶️ because while we did really only get one scene, that one scene was drawn out and very, very enjoyable. Primal play with a masked man is my ultimate weakness. 🥵🥵

The intro got me!
🖤For the romance readers wanting a special kind of egg hunt. The kind where you’re chased by a masked man. Don’t run fast enough, and you’ll be caught, put to your knees, and fu*ked within an inch of your life. Run, little reader, run. Jace is coming…🖤

Favorite quote:
“I want to be selfish with you, little rabbit.” His hands slide around my waist, keeping me flush against him. “But I also can’t be selfish when it comes to your happiness. You owned me in high school, and you own me now. It’s entirely up to you to decide what to do with me.”

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I liked the Christmas one better, but this one was decent. I found some of the comments in regard to religion a little off-putting and contradictory at times, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so that's all I'll say on that. The biggest downfall for me was how rushed it felt. Yes its a novella so there's a lot to pack into a short time span...but I think I would have enjoyed this more as a standard length book. It would have allowed for a deeper connection between Peyton and Jace. Their dynamic just seemed rushed... same with Aaron's eventual downfall...if you can even call it a downfall. It could have gone much further and not so much "oh I got my ass kicked so I'm going to repay the money I owe and admit to everything"...like you were a cocky bastard the whole time and now you just crumble? Kind of disappointing.

All that said, it was a quick and easy read. I will be continuing the series because the next one is for Halloween so I definitely have high hopes!

[Lashawna Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little touch of a violent ex with a whole lot of new hope

I'm a victim of demostic violence from a 12 year marriage to an alcoholic abuser. I was also kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a friend's family member. So I normally don't do well with books that trigger emotions of violence from my past. But this book just slightly touches on it. There is one very quick scene that could be triggering for some who are fresh from such relationships (I broke free 26 years ago, and have undergone PTSD EMDR theray, so I can handle it). If sensitive to feelings of powerlessness, this may not be for you.

But there is an HEA, a good guy who is loving and protective. There is some aggressive sexual role playing, so keep that in mind also. Overall, I enjoy see bad men get their "just desserts." Especially when it leads to new-found love deserving of the MFC.

[Sassy_Vixxen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been so fascinated by a book dedication until I read this one. Egg Hunt by M.L Philpitt pulls you in before the story has even begun. The dedication is both a promise and a challenge. Run, because Jace is coming. For readers who enjoy chase scenes and masked men along with their romance, this story delivers. The setting is believable with descriptions that make you feel like you could be there. Jace and Payton are so fun together with great quotes throughout the book. The slow burn between the two main characters just adds to the tension. This will be a go to novella for me, even outside of the holidays.

Setting 5/5
Plot 4.5/5
Characters 5/5
Emotional Impact/Vibe 4.5/5
Overall Enjoyment 5/5

Spice 3/5

[The Bou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author holiday novellas!!!
I absolutely loved Silent Night and enjoyed this Easter story as much.

The opening speech about sin and religion was so good!!


✅small town romance
✅ bad boy/good girl vibe
✅  « second chance » story
✅ primal play 🔥 🔥
✅run and I chase 🐇

I also think the book was the perfect length for their story/feelings to develop.

Little minus point: the fact that Jayce has done the chasing with other women in the past…
Also I wanted it to be a bit more darker, because you know primal play is my kryptonite… 😈

“You’ve become my Easter treat, my place of worship, my sin on Earth”
Swoon 🫠🫠