Author: Taylor Fox
Genres: Monster
Published: November 26, 2023
Pages: 400
Format read: Paperback
Triggers: Kidnapping, Religious Bigotry, Child Abuse, Racism, Murder
Quick Thoughts: My favourite Krampus read of the year until now!
This book was self purchased.
All reviews are entirely honest and my own opinion.
Rating:
Characters:
Plot:
Spice:
My Christmas dream involved a small town, Christmas markets,
and maybe a handsome man who would sweep me off my feet.
But I was never very lucky.
This small town thinks I’m wicked and
After a series of attacks, they decide I’m the perfect gift to calm Krampus down.
Krampus. Yes. That Krampus.
I laughed, too. I even hoped this was all a prank.
Spoiler it wasn’t.
Dressed only in my nightshirt, I’m dragged into the woods, tied up… and left for the beast.
And the beast comes.
And the beast takes me away.
This could have been the end for me.
But nothing is as it seems.
Krampus has other plans for me.
Plans that involve claiming me as his.
And the more I fight, the more he wants to punish me.
I know I shouldn’t enjoy this. I know wanting this monster is wrong.
But I can’t help the way he makes me feel.
Maybe I am as wicked as they say.
And that might just send us straight to Santa’s naughty list.
Listen, the moment that a Christmas book contains Krampus, I will most likely pick it up. I am such a huge Monster Romance fan, I simply can not resist it’s call! That definitely is true for Knotty List. The moment I saw the blurb, I had to read it!
Don’t change your truth for other people, Little Lamb.
And boy, was it a fun read! Knotty list by Taylor Fox was on the longer side for my usual Christmas reads. I tend to stick with novella’s from around 100-150 pages for specific Holidays. But I am very glad that I decided to pick this one up anyway, because I enjoyed it a whole lot!
The book started off super strong, the story interesting from the very first page. I liked the female main character; Olivia. The whole situation with her mother felt realistic enough to really drive the point home. And it added a certain amount of depth to her character that she definitely needed.
Krampus was a fun character as well! Though, it did not read entirely as a Krampus story to me. It was more edging towards your typical Grumpy x Sunshine instead. But there was enough little easter eggs and tidbits about Christmas and Krampus through out the story that it still counts, if you ask me. But if I am entirely honest, I like my monsters a bit more on the violent side. I love it when a monster stays a monster!
That being said, this was everything but a bad read! Not entirely a Krampus story, but a very fun take on the whole idea instead. If it had just been a little darker, if Krampus had just been a little bit more monstrous, just a bit more violence, then it would most likely be a five star read for me. But as it is right now, I am going to rate it 4 stars.
Taylor has a quick-paced writing style, which reads pretty easily. At some points the story dragged on just a little too much. It could have used a few more different type of scenes, creating different scenery or locations. Even though I loved reading it, a little bit of variation would have been pretty nice.
The big finale was actually a lot of fun! Where it dragged on a little in the middle, the end was a bit rushed. If the middle (around 60-70%) had just been a little shorter and the last 15% a little longer, it would have been such a good read! It was still a fun Krampus retelling, though it was giving me more Beauty & The Beast vibes than my favourite Christmas monster.
If they can't take you as you are, then walk away. It's their loss.
All with all, Knotty List had been a really fun read! I am a Monster Lover and would have liked things just a little darker, but that is personal prefference mostly. The blurb could have suggested the lighter tone of the story, but I guess it did cover what the story was about good enough!
Good bits
Bad bits
- At most points, there was good pacing
- It has light Omegaverse vibes
- The characters were a lot of fun!
- I didn’t see the plottwist coming
- A whole lot of different synonyms for smutty words which brought some variation to the reading
- Some details were a little confusing, especially with the smut scenes
- Felt more like a Grumpy x Sunshine than a Krampus retelling
- I really would have liked for this to have more violence
- Sometimes the pacing felt off
Knotty List is definitely a book I would reccomend reading, if this is your thing. But please don’t pick it up expecting a Dark Romance – like read, because it is everything but. Still a fun read, but just went in an entirely different direction than I expected.
If you are a fan of Grumpy x Sunshine, this definitely would be a fun read to pick up!