Antlers & Anxiety

A Sapphic Reindeer Shifter Short Story (Monstrous Holidays)

By: Lola Bliss

Narrated by: Lizzie Heard

Ana has perfected the art of the Irish goodbye—especially when it comes to holiday office parties that send her anxiety spiraling. When she escapes the company festivities and takes refuge in her favorite bookstore, she expects to find her usual hidden reading nook empty and waiting.

Instead, she discovers Kael—the store's new owner with silver-streaked hair, warm golden eyes, and a pair of very real reindeer antlers that catch the light when she smiles.

As winter snowfall traps them together in a cozy back room filled with books and twinkling lights, Ana finds herself doing the unthinkable—connecting with a stranger who somehow makes her feel perfectly safe being herself.

When Ana notices an enchanted sprig of mistletoe that supposedly reveals true soul-matches, Ana doesn't believe in holiday magic...but she's definitely willing to test the theory with Kael.

One kiss is all it takes to prove that sometimes the universe saves its most perfect gifts for those who've spent too long watching other people's dreams instead of living their own.

©2025 Lola Bliss (P)2025 Lola Bliss

Cozy and cute!

This was such a fun, cozy quickie, and steamy holiday read! The writing was lovely and the narrator did a fabulous job at capturing the vibes as they went from anxious, to cozy, to HOT! Love love love!!

Cute

A really cute quick sapphic holiday romance about a really anxious FMC and the reindeer shifter she falls for. I suggest the audio Lizzy’s voice fits the characters perfectly.

Loved it!

🌶️🌶️

Oh my gosh, is you aren’t quite ready to be done with the holiday season and are looking for a quick holiday sapphic romance listen, you should check this out! I adored that this took place in a cozy hidden nook in a bookstore, but even more I loved the accurate anxiety rep! This has all the cozy holiday vibes, but add in shifter/monster romance. The cherry on top was Lizzie Heard. She is now one of my favorite emerging narrators. I could listen to her all day!

❤️ Tropes ❤️
💋 holiday romance
💋 sapphic romance
💋 reindeer shifter/human
💋 anxiety rep

Ana has calculated exactly how long she had to stay at her office party (aka socially accepted torture) to be socially acceptable. Her anxiety is at an all time high, so she heads to the one place guaranteed to calm her down. The bookstore. Only there is someone in her cozy nook. Not just someone, but the new owner. Oh no. Will she hate someone who comes in all the time but almost never buys anything? Only Kael seems to know exactly what she needs and doesn’t pressure her to do anything. And she finally starts to feel like she belongs.

Awesome

What a great way to spend an hour! A great holiday story filled with the unexpected joy of quiet spaces.

A cute spicy holiday romance

It was cute & had some light spice the last several minutes. I liked it & would listen again if I was looking for a short sapphic holiday romance.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.