Captured by Krampus

by Megan Linski

This Christmas, Santa isn’t the only one that’s coming.

Holly Klaus is the world’s most infamous monster hunter. The daughter of Santa, she’s sworn to use her magical dagger to defend all children from evil creatures. Her number one target, and the only monster that got away?

Krampus.

Holly is determined to strike down the infamous creature, until Krampus corners her the night before Christmas Eve. He captures her in combat, dragging Holly against her will into his mysterious lair.

Holly expects to be eaten on sight, but Krampus intends to devour her in a much different way. Trapped within Krampus’s realm, Holly discovers the monster she was hunting all along is not only her worst enemy, but also her fated mate.

Bonded to Krampus and caught within his claws, Holly must discover the truth about Krampus’s evil plans… and the depths of his dark devotion.

Captured by Krampus is a hilarious, short and spicy Christmas monster romance from Megan Linski. Funny, sexy, and full of Yuletide cheer, this unexpected love story will warm more than your heart for the holidays.

Genres: Audiobook, Holiday, Fantasy

94 pages, Paperback

Published November 27, 2025

About the author

Megan Linski lives in Michigan. She is the author of more than fifty fantasy and paranormal novels which feature themes of friendship, community, and healthy romantic relationships. She has over fifteen years of experience writing books alongside working as a journalist and editor. She graduated from the University of Iowa, where she studied Creative Writing.

Her passions include ice skating and horseback riding. In her free time she enjoys dancing in the snow and drinking fancy coffee while at her natural habitat, the mall.

Megan advocates for the rights of the disabled, and is an activist for mental health awareness.

Megan co-writes the Hidden Legends Universe with Alicia Rades. She also writes under the pen name of Natalie Erin for the Creatures of the Lands series, co-authored by Krisen Lison.

Awards Megan has won include;

Best Fantasy Book of the Year 2019 by Once Upon a Book

Best Co-Authored Book of the Year 2022 by Once Upon a Book

Author of the Year 2022 by Once Upon a Book

Keynote Speaker at Once Upon a Book 2023

Best Book Friends (Ava and Kallie) 2023 by Once Upon a Book

Featured in the FOX Teen Choice Awards Gift Baskets

Two-time Reader's Favorite Five Star Read (Bronze Medal Finalist)

Winner of Amazon's Kindle Scout Competition

Reviews

[Demi]

Had me bored, it was too rushed for my liking.

[Kimmy’s Reads!]

This was not what I expected when I picked up this book, and I loved every second of it. I can’t even explain how much I enjoyed this novella. Holly Klaus is the black sheep of her family never living up to Mrs. Klaus’s expectations and definitely not fighting enough demons to be a “proper” warrior. She goes through the motions of this life, but she doesn’t love it. She doesn’t want to be a demon hunter… except when it comes to Krampus. He’s the one monster she truly hates, the one who took her childhood best friend.
The twist? Krampus might not be as out of reach as she thinks, and Holly isn’t the only one searching for something more. This novella was exactly what I needed to start my morning. I love it here!!

[Amy]

I was excited when I learned she was trained to be an monster hunter since she was young, and was expecting beauty and the beast with cutthroat tension. I fear my expectations were too high

[Emily Burns]

Wow. What a wild book 🤣🤣🤣 that’s all I got

[Sassy Mystic Reads]

Not my cup of tea

[Julia Nash]

This book is very silly.
Not that I was expecting a literary masterpiece from a romcom about Krampus with the tagline, "This Christmas, Santa isn’t the only one that’s coming".

[Barbara Marie Warner]

Captured by Krampus (Holiday Monster Kings) ~~~ This book hooked me from page one and there was no putting it down until I hit the end. I was lucky enough to read an ARC, and I’m genuinely glad I did, because this wild Christmas ride is unlike anything I’ve picked up in a long time.

Holly Klaus, daughter of Santa and notorious monster hunter, has spent her whole life chasing the one creature who slipped through her fingers: Krampus. She’s fierce, stubborn, and absolutely convinced she’s ready to take him down once and for all. But when he finally catches her, everything turns upside down. And let me tell you… the twist from sworn enemies to something far more intense? Worth every minute.

What I loved most was how clever and funny the story is, with just the right amount of chaos, heat, and holiday magic. Krampus isn’t just some villain hiding in the shadows—he’s complicated, powerful, and impossible not to root for once the layers start peeling back. The chemistry between him and Holly? Off the charts.

This is a fast read that’s bold, entertaining, and absolutely addictive. If you want something unique for the holiday season—something with heart, heat, and a wickedly fun fantasy twist—don’t sleep on this one.

I highly recommend it. Grab it and enjoy the ride. 🎄🔥 I received this book as part of an ARC program and this is my personal opinion!!!

[IAmNotACentipede]

This was such a fun little spicy read!
You know those fun little Disney/Nickelodeon specials that used to come on back in the day as a one off to a show/series/movies that wasn't quite the length of a movie but still longer than your typical 20min episode?.. Yeah this felt like that.
It has a cute little adventure going on in the background and the twist of making the Klaus family these monster killers to keep peace of the realm was such a pleasant change of pace!

Even though the characters were all named according to the Christmas holiday themes (the female main character is named Holly) it was still so charming and whimsical. It honestly reminded me of Beauty and the Beast Christmas movie but with more smut. There was a cute little found family/fated mates and even a small amount of character growth/development with Holly recognizing that not all monsters are bad.

The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read is that we went from revenge to lust literally INSTANTLY and I would have loved to see more of the Klaus family accept and develop that Krampus is now a romantic partner and play that out a little more.
Overall I was so shocked with how much I really enjoyed this and I feel like makes a perfect little holiday novella to quite literally "spice" up the festive season *wink wink*

[Ash]

*Disclaimer I received an arc of this novella for an honest review.*

All in all I think it is worth the read if you like very fast pacing and almost instant resolve.

I usually love Megan Linski's work and am sucked into her books. Something in this novella wasn't working for me personally. This is my first novella that hasn't been tied to other books/series which allow for a lot of external context. So it might be an issue I'm having with it as a standalone novella and nothing to do with the writing or story itself.

I love the concept and the general direction of the novella but there seemed to be so much going on. There were a lot of "chekhov's guns" that all were resolved and that is a major feat to keep track of all of them in this story. I believe this could have benefited from being longer and allowing some of these plot points to breath.

I do really enjoy the main characters and think that the FMC's growth in such a short time is admirable. The MMC is very much not what he seems and I really like the subversion of preestablished lore.

[Tally Vivarais]

I usually give a LOT of leeway for Trash books because they are usually at least FUN.

See, my issue with this one is in two parts:

1. There was no reason for this many tropes to be fit into 64 pages. Enemy to lovers, hunter vs monster, fated mates (?????!!!!????), "it's not my dream dad, it's YOURS.", etc etc and then to mix it with Christmas turned the insane level up to 11.

Here's the thing, I could've gotten over that, I REALLY COULD'VE (which should tell you a LOT).

But that brings us to

2. The writing was so bad it was almost embarrassing. Like, there was a lot of things that could've changed with the prose alone to instantly make this book amazing. Like, don't say "So, you see." Dharman ass prose, no one talks like that. Go crazy with your monster spice all you want, but at least make it BEARABLE.

[Sky P]

Krampus, the Holiday children eater, has been hunting Santa’s daughter Holly. Holly Klaus got close enough to Krampus to cut him while he stole her best friend, Carol. I didn’t have high expectations but this book was so much fun! No spoilers here but it is a fast paced, quick, easy read. A holiday romantic suspense/ fantasy smut read that you could read anytime. I did get a bit of whiplash as it was moving so fast to rush to tie it all up in a bow at the end and still be a novella. But the SMUT was soooo good! Definitely more Naughty than Nice! I wish this was a series with these characters but I would settle for a full length novel because I enjoyed it that much!

[Savanah Weakly]

Read if you like:
👹Krampus
🎄Holiday Novellas
😈Monster Hunters
🫂Enemies to Lovers
❤️Fated Mates x Insta-Love

3.75/5

Captured by Krampus is a short, fast-paced holiday novella about Holly Claus, Santa’s daughter, and Krampus, the fabled Germanic child-snatching monster. I listen to the entire audiobook in just a couple hours. It was definitely fast-pasted, I’m just not a huge fan of the insta-love trope. I almost feel like this could have been a full length book, I would have enjoyed more world building and back story.

[Jordan Wilson]

“Santa’s not the only one who can Ho Ho Ho”

Masterpiece? No. Sometimes a bit of holiday whiplash. But I ate this smutty fantasy novella up and it had me laughing out loud at times! The narrator really got into the characters and made some of the lines that much more hilarious. Can’t beat a 90 minute free audible book, zero regrets. Just “stop being a Grinch and let Krampus stuff your stocking!”

I now need more books to end with “Merry F*cking Christmas!” 🎄😂

[Stephs.bookshelf09]

This book was interesting and was one of the last few holiday reads I had on my TBR for 2025. I thought where it was a short one I would sneak it in real quick. It was a quick listen and a fast book.

This is a different take on the holidays stories of Santa clause. It’s an insta live fated mates situation. She is a killer and he is a monster. Their paths are bound to cross.

The narrators were great and fit the characters well.

[Tamarra]

Welp that was totally different.. monster hunting, total Christmas setting, sex.

Holly is the daughter of Santa and has been raised hunting monsters. Krampus is the one they all want to get, he's hard to catch and always stealing children including her best friend. Holly finally catches him and he takes her back to his village where she sees her best friend again. Is Krampus a bad or good guy? Will Holly be able to kill him? Why is he stealing children? Who else is hunting Krampus?

[Alorix_S]

This book was a quick and fun read. It’s short enough to finish in one sitting, but despite the length, the plot felt compact and intriguing.

I really liked the characters, they felt relatable and real, and the dynamics between them worked well.

Honestly, I would have loved an even longer version of this story.

If you’re looking for a quick, fun, and enjoyable Christmas read, this one is definitely for you!

[Alexandra Russo]

The second I got this into my hands, I did not put it down! It was honestly such a fabulous story and I loved all the holiday themed names and places throughout the book. The romance/forbidden love was HOT, plus all of the fighting and action on side? I wish there could be a second one, I think I need more of sexy Krampus! 10/10 would recommend for a holiday hot read!

[Andrea Fernandez]

An interesting, spellbinding and exciting journey to go on with Holly and Krampus. This story was so different than anything else I have engrossed myself in and I enjoyed it. Wish it was a little longer but it is a fun little treat.

[Kara de la Fuente]

It was a cute short read to help me get through a Chiptole shift, wish there was more smut or like sorry to it but like…there was no real bad guy….just Yule cats who couldn’t get home and vampires who came for like the last 30 seconds of the book

[Melissa]

I really enjoyed this story, definitely gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes but with a little holiday twist. Highly recommended!

[Dianne McNorrill]

It starts with action from page 1 and keeps getting better and better from there! I just couldn't put it down! love it! Another capturing book by Megan Linski.

[LeeAnne Traylor]

I really need this to turn into a 400 page book.

[Sarach]

It had me at: “Dear Christmas bulbs” & “Horn grabbing” 🤣

[Debby De Knock]

Ho ho ho… Let Krampus stuff your stocking! This was hilarious! 🤣

[Kayla Stewart]

ending sucked but it was a good short read i guess

[Anna Bathgate]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I mean it’s good for a laugh.

[Catrìona Davidson]

Short & sweet and only a little bit weird

[Jeanne]

Meh

[Steff]

stars: 4.5/5
sadness: 0/5
spice: 3/5
comedy: 1/5
drama: 1.5/5
surprise: 0/5
romance: 3.5/5

[Lauri]

Well, there was that. Thanks to the Smashcast boys for the rec? We listen and we don't judge here - it's getting uncomfortably close to 2026 and I really need to hit that hundred mark haha