The Elven Days of Christmas
A holiday fantasy romance of very silly proportions
Piper MacLean’s Christmas is a ho-ho-horror show, but she’s used to all that by now, five years into becoming the de facto matriarch of the family, if still single and childless much to everyone else’s chagrin. But she does have one indulgence every year: finding the perfect Christmas tree.
While searching the national forest, Piper is led to a beautiful spruce by way of magic. Well, not actual magic—magic, of course, doesn’t exist—but it sure feels magical when she hears the voice of her deceased mother floating on the wintery winds, telling her just which tree to chop.
Unfortunately, that very tree actually is quite magical, and accounting for it is the last task that half-elf Kol needs to complete before turning in his annual reports to the Elven Perennial Association. When he discovers the pilfered spruce, he simultaneously finds that the only way to return order to the forest is to endure a human holiday alongside a grumpy and overburdened woman who does not want him around.
Kol doesn’t belong in Piper’s world, but it’s her fault that he’s there, so he doesn’t intend to make things easy for her and announces to her family that he’s her boyfriend, come to visit for Christmas. Surely that’s the perfect cover for his presence and not at all the start to a ridiculous romance that will either tie up both of their hearts in pristine bows or rip them apart forever.
Villains & Virtues
Dark lord
Demon spawn
Prophesied realm destroyer
With a demon for a father, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne’s destiny could be nothing but nefarious, and with the completion of his most vicious spell, Damien is on the cusp of fulfilling the evil inevitability all of his dark machinations have led to.
And then, her.
Bubbly
Obnoxious
Blonde
Harboring secrets of her own, a tiny yet troublesome thief calling herself Amma completely upsets Damien’s malevolent plans when she mistakenly gets chained to his side through magic, forcing him to drag her across the realm. Killing her would fix things, of course, but the nauseatingly sweet Amma proves herself useful on Damien’s unholy crusade and then proves herself the source of something even more sinister: feelings.
Will Damien be forced to abandon his villainous birthright to help the tender thorn in his side? Or will he manage to overcome the virtue Amma insists on inspiring and instead cut it out at the heart?
A.K. Caggiano 