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Mothballs & Mistletoe: A Cryptid from Outer Space Romance
“I am far from a bug. Monster, sure... but no, little human, I am not a mothman.”
Delaney Hart is barely holding her life together. She’s drowning in debt, haunted by grief, and clinging to her grandfather’s failing Christmas tree farm—the last piece of family she has left. The holidays are supposed to be magical, but for Delaney, they feel like a countdown to losing her home.
Then something crashes onto her land.
Maelic isn’t a monster... but he’s not human either. An elite Artaisan bounty hunter stranded on a restricted planet, his technology is destroyed and his biology is spiraling out of control. Without his damper mask, his pheromones fixate on the one person he believes he shouldn’t want—soft, stubborn Delaney.
Snow traps them together. His presence heats her blood. What starts as fear turns into an attraction neither of them is prepared for. But Maelic’s body isn’t just reacting—it’s bonding. Once an Artaisan male marks his mate with Luminance, there is no going back.
As Christmas draws closer, they must decide if this connection is just a temporary heat... or something powerful enough to cross the stars for.
🎄 Why you’ll love this spicy Sci-Fi
✨ The A seven-foot “Mothman” alien with wings, antennae, and protective instincts.
✨ The Snowed-in forced proximity, caretaking, and fated mates.
✨ The Explicit open-door scenes featuring unique alien anatomy and pheromone play.
✨ The A blend of heartfelt grief, healing, and steamy cryptid romance with a guaranteed HEA.
Perfect for fans of cozy monster romance with teeth, heart, and a whole lot of heat.
This standalone novella introduces a larger universe of alien bounty hunters.
Delaney Hart is barely holding her life together. She’s drowning in debt, haunted by grief, and clinging to her grandfather’s failing Christmas tree farm—the last piece of family she has left. The holidays are supposed to be magical, but for Delaney, they feel like a countdown to losing her home.
Then something crashes onto her land.
Maelic isn’t a monster... but he’s not human either. An elite Artaisan bounty hunter stranded on a restricted planet, his technology is destroyed and his biology is spiraling out of control. Without his damper mask, his pheromones fixate on the one person he believes he shouldn’t want—soft, stubborn Delaney.
Snow traps them together. His presence heats her blood. What starts as fear turns into an attraction neither of them is prepared for. But Maelic’s body isn’t just reacting—it’s bonding. Once an Artaisan male marks his mate with Luminance, there is no going back.
As Christmas draws closer, they must decide if this connection is just a temporary heat... or something powerful enough to cross the stars for.
🎄 Why you’ll love this spicy Sci-Fi
✨ The A seven-foot “Mothman” alien with wings, antennae, and protective instincts.
✨ The Snowed-in forced proximity, caretaking, and fated mates.
✨ The Explicit open-door scenes featuring unique alien anatomy and pheromone play.
✨ The A blend of heartfelt grief, healing, and steamy cryptid romance with a guaranteed HEA.
Perfect for fans of cozy monster romance with teeth, heart, and a whole lot of heat.
This standalone novella introduces a larger universe of alien bounty hunters.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 20, 2025
8 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 29, 2025
2.5 stars rounded down
This started off pretty strongly and engagingly. Given that it’s a debut and a novella that’s packing in some heavy themes, I’m not surprised that it faltered some as the story continued. The plot remains interesting throughout, but some of the structure of the story and character actions pulled down my overall enjoyment.
Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama. The h is experienced and thinks vaguely about it at times (a thought about when she was last with someone and another thought about how she was good at oral sex). The H has no experience, he was focused on his mission.
Some tropes/themes:
☆ Mothman alien MMC x human FMC
☆ MMC is a bounty hunter who crash lands on Earth
☆ FMC is struggling with her family’s tree farm
☆ Heavy themes of familial loss, grief, and responsibility
☆ Virgin MMC
☆ Fated mates with a kick of mind-altering pheromones
☆ Fast burn to me
☆ Light up equipment, knot-ability, and bonding bite
☆ He doesn’t want to leave her, he's not allowed to stay
☆ Third act conflict - emotions and danger run high
First off, I was not crazy about the formatting of the story with all the spacing between lines. I also sometimes got lost in transitions between scenes because of the formatting. I did appreciate that the characters’ thoughts are put in italics so at least those were clear.
I felt sympathy for Delaney (h) with the loss of her beloved grandparents and the impending loss of their farm, but some of her choices made while clinging to that grief were incredibly frustrating. Even when she has an epiphany and shifts her perspective, I felt like the plot device chosen to do so was weak given all that had occurred in the days prior. I know she must have been written intentionally to be emotionally messy though.
Maelic (H) is a much stronger character imo with clearer motivations and focus. He’s in the midst of a mission, crash landing on a planet he shouldn’t be on, and then his body’s going wild for a female of a different species, which shouldn’t be possible. Yet, his emotions were complex but made sense. His actions and reactions were also nuanced. He also had experienced trauma related to grief and family, but he felt multi-dimensional whereas Delany was more one-dimensional.
There is emotional development that occurs between Delaney and Maelic, even while their bodies sometimes go a bit haywire and lust-fogged. Delaney’s attitude towards the events happening around her lessened some of the vulnerable moments. I also just want to say that sometimes emotional intimacy can simply be a quiet time where the characters are connecting and sex doesn’t have to come into play. A couple of times, the characters were in an intense headspace and the shift to something physical didn’t click with me.
Clearly it’s a steamy book though with multiple spicy scenes. Maelic does make sure to get consent from Delaney, esp important because of the pheromones. I did get annoyed at one point when Delaney made an offhand comment about him really being a virgin because he didn’t know what kissing was, I think. He wasn’t just a virgin, he was an alien for goodness sake!
The third act has a lot flying around - mate bond reveals, hurtful words, touching base with Maelic’s team, and a spot of unexpected danger. It’s pretty rushed there at the end and even though the characters end up together and bonded, there’s no epilogue wrapping up what happens next for them. I had no idea how Maelic’s work might change or what Delaney was going to do. There’s a lead-in to the next book with Maelic’s mentor but I’m personally not going to follow up. Overall, it had promising moments but the execution wasn’t on point for me.
This started off pretty strongly and engagingly. Given that it’s a debut and a novella that’s packing in some heavy themes, I’m not surprised that it faltered some as the story continued. The plot remains interesting throughout, but some of the structure of the story and character actions pulled down my overall enjoyment.
Written in third person, dual POV. No ow/om drama. The h is experienced and thinks vaguely about it at times (a thought about when she was last with someone and another thought about how she was good at oral sex). The H has no experience, he was focused on his mission.
Some tropes/themes:
☆ Mothman alien MMC x human FMC
☆ MMC is a bounty hunter who crash lands on Earth
☆ FMC is struggling with her family’s tree farm
☆ Heavy themes of familial loss, grief, and responsibility
☆ Virgin MMC
☆ Fated mates with a kick of mind-altering pheromones
☆ Fast burn to me
☆ Light up equipment, knot-ability, and bonding bite
☆ He doesn’t want to leave her, he's not allowed to stay
☆ Third act conflict - emotions and danger run high
First off, I was not crazy about the formatting of the story with all the spacing between lines. I also sometimes got lost in transitions between scenes because of the formatting. I did appreciate that the characters’ thoughts are put in italics so at least those were clear.
I felt sympathy for Delaney (h) with the loss of her beloved grandparents and the impending loss of their farm, but some of her choices made while clinging to that grief were incredibly frustrating. Even when she has an epiphany and shifts her perspective, I felt like the plot device chosen to do so was weak given all that had occurred in the days prior. I know she must have been written intentionally to be emotionally messy though.
Maelic (H) is a much stronger character imo with clearer motivations and focus. He’s in the midst of a mission, crash landing on a planet he shouldn’t be on, and then his body’s going wild for a female of a different species, which shouldn’t be possible. Yet, his emotions were complex but made sense. His actions and reactions were also nuanced. He also had experienced trauma related to grief and family, but he felt multi-dimensional whereas Delany was more one-dimensional.
There is emotional development that occurs between Delaney and Maelic, even while their bodies sometimes go a bit haywire and lust-fogged. Delaney’s attitude towards the events happening around her lessened some of the vulnerable moments. I also just want to say that sometimes emotional intimacy can simply be a quiet time where the characters are connecting and sex doesn’t have to come into play. A couple of times, the characters were in an intense headspace and the shift to something physical didn’t click with me.
Clearly it’s a steamy book though with multiple spicy scenes. Maelic does make sure to get consent from Delaney, esp important because of the pheromones. I did get annoyed at one point when Delaney made an offhand comment about him really being a virgin because he didn’t know what kissing was, I think. He wasn’t just a virgin, he was an alien for goodness sake!
The third act has a lot flying around - mate bond reveals, hurtful words, touching base with Maelic’s team, and a spot of unexpected danger. It’s pretty rushed there at the end and even though the characters end up together and bonded, there’s no epilogue wrapping up what happens next for them. I had no idea how Maelic’s work might change or what Delaney was going to do. There’s a lead-in to the next book with Maelic’s mentor but I’m personally not going to follow up. Overall, it had promising moments but the execution wasn’t on point for me.
December 31, 2025
Call me easily satisfied, but I think this was a pretty good debut story from the author. I give more leeway for debut books because the author is usually still finding their voice. If I see effort and care within the writing, that’s the most important thing for me.
What is it about Mothman mmc’s? It’s like they’re tall, willowy fluffy gentleman-monsters who loathe their baser instincts but once the heat takes over, look out. 👀
I’ve started to see authors not use scene breaks in the middle of chapters, where one paragraph is one pov and then the very next paragraph it’s the other pov in a different scene and it takes me out of the story. It’s not just in this book that it happens but with established authors as well. Not a fan of that.
I’ll be checking the next installment when it comes out.
What is it about Mothman mmc’s? It’s like they’re tall, willowy fluffy gentleman-monsters who loathe their baser instincts but once the heat takes over, look out. 👀
I’ve started to see authors not use scene breaks in the middle of chapters, where one paragraph is one pov and then the very next paragraph it’s the other pov in a different scene and it takes me out of the story. It’s not just in this book that it happens but with established authors as well. Not a fan of that.
I’ll be checking the next installment when it comes out.
December 31, 2025
✨️ fated mates
✨️ cryptid
✨️ knot
✨️ virgin MMC
I went into this totally bling just expecting a cute short Christmas read. And while yes. It certainly was a CUTE Christmas novella- it was so much more.
This book follows Delaney, our human woman who is trying her hardest to save her families Christmas Tree Farm... annnd whose failing at it. And Maelic, our mothman cryptid who crash lands on her farm and immediately is drawn to this little human.
There were SO many times Kit had me giggling, and normally thats not my jam in a book, but she killed it! I was so enamored throughout the story. There was a perfect balance between sadness, laughter and hope for the future. I will absolutely be following this authors journey and diving into book two.
Highly recommend anyone to check this out at any time of the year. Perfect little palate cleanser.
✨️ cryptid
✨️ knot
✨️ virgin MMC
I went into this totally bling just expecting a cute short Christmas read. And while yes. It certainly was a CUTE Christmas novella- it was so much more.
This book follows Delaney, our human woman who is trying her hardest to save her families Christmas Tree Farm... annnd whose failing at it. And Maelic, our mothman cryptid who crash lands on her farm and immediately is drawn to this little human.
There were SO many times Kit had me giggling, and normally thats not my jam in a book, but she killed it! I was so enamored throughout the story. There was a perfect balance between sadness, laughter and hope for the future. I will absolutely be following this authors journey and diving into book two.
Highly recommend anyone to check this out at any time of the year. Perfect little palate cleanser.
January 1, 2026
What i thought was going to be a cosy read turned into one that had me gripped!
The smut didn't overtake from the plot which was fab!
The smut didn't overtake from the plot which was fab!
December 28, 2025
Mothballs & Mistletoe is not your average Christmas novella. The romance is sweet and spicy, but there are some deeper themes in the story that I really enjoyed. Because Christmas is not always sweet and fluffy. Reality doesn't stop for holidays. And this book shows this reality without being a drag, and ends up in a hopeful, better place - as a romance book should. We get two characters grappling with loss in very different ways - and we see how they help each other. On top of that, Delaney and Maelic have amazing chemistry. And as every good alien/human encounter, they learn about each other's cultures, which leads to some pretty hilarious moments. This is always my favorite part.
December 21, 2025
SO GOOD!!!
This book is the perfect quick Christmas read, but tbh its more than that!!! The story is actually really intriguing and the groundwork for a series is definitely laid down.
I LOVED the MMC (love me a good mothman, but alien AND mothman? Yes, please!).
The spice was great, the vibes were immaculate, and the story popped off. CHECK IT OUT!
This book is the perfect quick Christmas read, but tbh its more than that!!! The story is actually really intriguing and the groundwork for a series is definitely laid down.
I LOVED the MMC (love me a good mothman, but alien AND mothman? Yes, please!).
The spice was great, the vibes were immaculate, and the story popped off. CHECK IT OUT!
December 23, 2025
Comical and smutty
Short read, good laughs and nice smut plus mention of hot cocoa! Absolutely loved the humor in this book for some laugh out loud moments. Not a sci-fi reader but this will be my exception.
Short read, good laughs and nice smut plus mention of hot cocoa! Absolutely loved the humor in this book for some laugh out loud moments. Not a sci-fi reader but this will be my exception.
December 30, 2025
I loved this winter themed paranormal romance. This has hit all the marks for me. I loved the interaction between the MCs and Maelic learning about earth traditions. Of course there is a little drama to help push them over the edge of love. Great debut and looking forward to more from this author
December 31, 2025
This was a fun concept and the execution was well done, but I just didn't sink into the story and it was a tricky balance to strike between Delaney's grief and her just being a bit cruel at times. I also wanted to see more of a bond between these two beyond magic pheromones.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews