Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Krampus Hates Christmas
Author – Andi Van
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 104

Cover – Gorgeous and perfect!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Yes!

Genre – Christmas, Holiday, LGBT, Romance, Contemporary, Fantasy/Supernatural


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


This was perfect, in every way.

As a Christmas story, it had holiday cheer, fun, laughter and excitement, but it also had a very serious message about the frivolities of Christmas, how it's lost it's meaning and what can be done to save it, for those of us who feel it's not what ti should be any more.

I loved that the story started right in the middle of the action, exactly as the blurb suggested it would. Krampus, or Karl, is St Nick's twin brother and the guy who gets to teach all the kids on the Naughty List a lesson. Not only is this a brilliant start, but the entire Christmas season's expectations are flipped on their head:
Mrs Claus is a guy, who knows martial arts and has a skill for meddling and match making.
The reindeer are female.
Santa is gay! I know this was implied above, but it needs reiterating.
Krampusnacht is just as important as Christmas.

When it comes to the characters, I was instantly in love with Karl. He was huffy, sweet and loveable all while trying to do the right thing, yet coming across as the bad guy. He's big, burly and huggable. In contrast, Lewis is short, just a little tubby, early forties and feels old, fat and left out. Yet he's absolutely in love with Christmas, the same way that Karl had fallen out of love with it. Together, they're a great team and the way they bond through the story, on little dates that have a lot of significant meaning, is beautiful. I even love Jerry, the moody, flamboyant best friend who is actually a heart of gold feeling the Christmas chill. Noel is perhaps my favourite, bar the two MC's, because he's bubbly, bright and loveable, but he's also serious and concerned about the people he loves.

I loved how the story challenged those holiday stereotypes that we're just come to accept over the years, though some of us still hate them – Black Friday; Christmas taking up practically 3 whole months, because it starts right after Halloween; the gender labeling of toys that should be available for all children to play with, whether that means a boy playing with a Barbie or a girl getting a Monster Truck. It was so subtly, but brilliantly done, placed into the conversations and thoughts of both MC's, giving them something to bond over and discuss. Yet it wasn't thrown in our faces, so that if we don't mind those things, it didn't matter that they were mentioned.

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Overall, it was a sweet, romantic Christmas story with a message and a grumpy Krampus to lead the way back to what Christmas is supposed to mean. I loved every minute and would love if there was another story in this world, someday. For now, I'll just be off to buy all the rest of Andi Van's work.

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Favourite Quote

“Just be careful. Guy could be perfectly nice, but don't push your luck with strange gigantic men who sound like they could probably grind your bones for their bread or something.”

““I'm old,” he said when he hesitated to let his newly minted boyfriend divest him of his T-shirt. “I don't work out a lot. I've got a layer of chub around my midsection, and the only six-pack I see these days involves either beer or soda.”
“You're beautiful,” Karl said. “You're solid and real, and I would have you any way but as you are.””