Listen, I don't know what exactly I was expecting out of this one, but it definitely wasn't this masterpiece of a creature feature. This book came at me out of left field and hit me like a truck, I'm still reeling in the aftermath. It was fast paced, full of body horror and gore, and had delightfully wicked humor that kept me cracking up the whole way through. When I say I want a good holiday read, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

St Nicholas is a strange and failing town up in Canada, with some colorful folktales and history. But that’s just urban legends, right? What we have here is a whole new view on Santa and his rather personal relationship to a small town that is not so jolly. In fact it’s downright demonic. If you enjoy Krampus you will love this dark tale of comedic horror staring the jolliest man in history who gifts come with a price. All hail Santa!!! Awesome and very creepy.

Bizarre horror story of Santa influencing people to kill, to let him kill them, do crazy things. Too strange for me ..I stopped about a third of the way.

Setting the Scene: 🇨🇦 Welcome to the fictional town of St. Nicholas in winter during Christmas (reminiscent of the northern regions of Ontario or Quebec, Canada).
POV: The story flits between various characters and their perspectives – from an elderly priest to a child filled with the Christmas spirit, to a corporate CEO.

Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Winter isolation survival thriller
-Christmas creature feature and creepy kids
-Descriptive folk horror paired with body horror and gore
-Light-hearted but deep exploration of themes of consumerism, community, reinvention, not-all-as-it-seems, misplaced loyalty, survival, denial, fear, and hope.

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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🗣️ Tale-Telling: The writing was cinematic, punchy, and snappy. I don’t like comparing work to other authors, but I have to here - this felt like what could happen if John Marrs and Nick Cutter wrote a story together. The scenes transitioned smoothly, each packed with just the right amount of thematic detail. It was a slow-paced fast read for me that felt like watching a horror movie.

👥 Characters: This was a large cast, but each character, no matter how briefly featured, was vividly drawn and fleshed out with consistent motivations and quirks. I felt like a fly on the wall, observing their personalities and actions.

🗺️ Ambiance: I loved the cinematic worldbuilding. I was immediately immersed in each setting, thanks to the succinct, atmospheric descriptions. It was a world that felt real and palpable (it also captured to 'feel' of Canada lol). Even the motivations and dynamics of the town’s past, and mixed feelings about the future felt believable. There seemed to be a lot of thought put into the worldbuilding detail and sensory descriptions, which I love.

🔥 Fuel: The suspense comes from knowing just a bit more than the characters at times, and less at others. The story kept me guessing with twists and unexpected developments, and some well placed ‘wtf’ moments. There were a lot of action, escape, fight-for-your-life, cat-and-mouse scenes which I normally struggle to stay engaged with but had no issues here. They were written in a way that we keep the immersive fast-paced momentum so it’s easy to follow the…violence? The fast-paced scenes are interspersed with slower moments for reflection and regrouping.

🎬 Scenes: The action scenes were vivid and impactful, devoid of unnecessary heroics or gore (there is gore though, prepare for lots of gore, I just mean it didn’t feel gratuitous). The horrors are startling and swift, then it’s back to building suspense and wondering who will survive. The looming dread is worked in to every scene and I loved the portrayal of Christmas traditions mixed with dark origins to add the eerie layer.

🤓 Random Thoughts: I thought this was a ‘fun’ read, but on reflection it was also kinda deep. It played with the idea of Christmas cheer masking darkness and being used for evil purposes. And it touched on themes I’ve rarely seen in horror, like the ‘freeze’ response many have in crisis situations, challenging the traditional notions of heroism and masculinity.
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Content Heads-Up: Medical (heart). Murder. Gore. Body horror. Brainwashing. Sexual assault and harassment (unable to consent; insinuated; on page). Step-incest (fantasizing; lusting).
Rep: White, Black, and Chinese Americans and Canadians.

👀 Format: Digital Review Copy from Blood Bound Books and NetGalley

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Posted on Goodreads:

Gore. Mayhem. Red stuff splattered everywhere. I had to read in small doses because the gore was goring and was starting to be thankful for not being a Christmas fanatico like good boy, Devon. Boy has some issues.

This book reads like a b-rated movie. And with these types of books/movies comes my irritation of bad choices characters tend to make. Like jfc, stop freezing up, Curtis…time to run!

Small dying town is being bought out and turning into a ski resort. However, residents like Devon and his friends aren’t happy with this so they call on Santa to save the town. The children become his little elves and they get to work on saving the town. If you want to call what happens…saving.

Thank you netgalley, blood bound books and John mcnee for the opportunity to read this book.

I love holiday horror. It's a whole thing. This fantastic book is one of the best Christmas horror novels I've read. No, it's not deep, but it's gory and there are a ton of people to root for and Santa is really horrible.
I'm going right out and signing up for the author's newsletter as soon as I thank NetGalley for letting me read this!

Outstanding! Great mix of folklore horror with a lot of gore.
It's a great ride.
Pretty fun. Some humor mixed in.
Highly recommended.

This had an interesting premise and I was excited for it, but it fell short for me. This had a lot of descriptive language and switched between the POV of a lot of characters which would be a selling point for some but made the pacing feel too slow for me. Also, the characters really fell flat for me, especially the women. While I love horror and love Christmas books, I don't think I was the target audience for this.

I was glad the women didn't all get killed off and that Ling got to do something big at the end, but for most of the book the female characters had no depth and almost all of them seemed to exist just to be something that the male characters wanted for Christmas. I can tolerate a lot of things that make you well aware that a book was written by a man, but there were parts of this that felt unnecessary and uncomfortable in a different way than horror typically is.

I did not enjoy reading a child's POV of Santa sexually assaulting his mom and besides that being unnecessary (especially when it was actually that that was what he was seeing while really Santa was some demon thing killing and eating her), I found it extra unnecessary to explicitly write that scene out and from that POV. I also really could have done without the whole recurring storyline about how Kendra's stepbrother didn't think of her as a person and had just always wanted to sleep with her and had asked for her for Christmas and all of the gross almost incestuous rapey vibes that were repetitively there and Kendra's whole storyline as an object Devon wanted. While I'm glad that eventually a couple of women got to do a bit of stuff near the end, it was not enough for me after all of the sexual assault/sexual harassment and women just existing to give the male characters depth in positive or negative ways for the most part thing and I definitely advise people take trigger warnings into account before reading if they're going to.

Hail Santa is a holiday horror bordering on splatter punk with its gruesome death scenes and festive references to popular holiday song. The book starts off a little slow with backstory to the main characters and the town but soon it turns to a quick paced murder spree as you rocket towards the finish line.... Christmas day. It almost has a hidden feel of loss of faith vs. Consumerism facing the popular holiday and makes you question believing in Santa as a right of innocent passage. Of course in the end greed and consuming wins.
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Trigger warnings I'd give this book would be for gore, death, mild sexual themes, body horror, mind control, loss of family, questions of faith, harm to children, trauma, mild racism.
If you'd like a spoiler free review please stop reading here.
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Pros of the story, you are definitely entertained and want to keep reading, fits the holiday theme very well. If you like horror that makes you question and feel a bit sick and enjoy spatter punk or body horror its a fun rjde.

Cons, I really just did not like the main characters. They really humbled their way through this and got lucky which I can understand could be part of the story to add a feeling of hopelessness but really I was never rooting for them at all, the side characters of Kendra and Funded and a fee others who of course died saving our main characters were so much more likeable and in the end were useless and Kendras "final girl" potential felt like an after thought. The fact this was spurred by a child lusting after his teen step sister sort of gave me the ick too. He was of undetermined age around 10 at most and she said she was around 18. A kids perverse wish lead to a letter to a monster claiming to be Santa and awakening him. Kendra was definitely someone I rooted for because this was so weird and undeserved and you wanted her to live but it also felt so odd because this one kids tiny pervy motivation lead to him willfully leading his whole class to be claimed as minions and convinced to murder dozens.

Shona and Curtis are basically a one night stand pair who band together and spend time feeling sorry for themselves or reminiscing about their one night stand with more clarity than they have for the fact ppl are dying all around them and they in general should have died at the beginning but basically got lucky and rode the backs of other victims to victory just to stay and begin the cycle all over again. I felt no relief for them when they lived and cussed them out repeatedly for their decisions all the way to the end. I get the ending had a point but it lacked the dread of people being caught because you don't feel like these two were tricked since they're just dumb to begin with. Cinder the 6yr old vegan was more aware then they were most of the time. If I could have liked them more and really rooted for them and invested this would have been 4 or 5 stars.

Just take a look at the cover and you know you're in for a treat when Santa is coming to town...only don't you ever call him Santa, because he is Saint Nicholas, after whom the town was named. So he doesn't take it kindly when St. Nicholas is to be renamed and turned into a tourist resort. To take revenge, he needs an army of elves - and the town's children are exactly the right size...
Christmas is in the air, but this year it is not bringing joy and presents, but blood and body parts!
What better to read during christmas time then this mad gore feast? Highly recommended!

Thank you, John McNee and NetGalley, for the ARC.

I loved this book. It was a really fun slasher seasonnal read. The plot is perfect for the season, the characterization is really good and above my expectations, the plot is nicely tied and moves at just the right pace.

It's the perfect holiday fun!

My only regret is not having my hands on this book right before Christmas.

I went into Hail Santa with comparatively low expectations, but was greatly surprised at how good at was. Not only did it feature all the gore one would expect from a book like this, but it also has some genuinely good characterization and writing. By and large, McNee avoids turning his characters into stereotypes, instead going in unexpected directions with them. For instance, I was was expecting the businesswoman in charge of the town to be your standard corrupt corporate executive, but McNee instead gives her insecurities and overall makes her a likeable character. Furthermore, the novel has an overall fun feel to it that reminded me of classic Christmas-themed horror works like Gremlins. I highly recommend it.

Hail Santa! has everything I want in a Christmas horror story: blood, violence, scares, and a little bit of magic. I loved McNee's unique take on holly jolly Santa. Forget the merry man filled with magic and cheer. Meet the REAL Santa, a monstrous creature that feeds on the flesh of his believers and recruits innocent children to do his violent bidding.

Synopsis:
Long ago, an ambitious homesteader purchased land, hoping to find his fortune. Instead, he is lost in the woods and nearly perishes. Then, a massive man with rosy cheeks, a flowing white beard, and dazzling velvet clothing saves him and returns him home. The homesteader repays his savior by naming the land and eventual town in his honor - St. Nicholas. The catch? As long as the city holds his name, the mysterious man can claim anything in St. Nicholas as his own. Now, St. Nicholas is a floundering town with little hope until a Chinese corporation purchases it to create a ski resort. But Saint Nicholas does not take kindly to losing his town and recruits the help of school children to make the community pay.

Review:
Character Development - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The cast of characters in Hail Santa! is impressive and well-constructed. It's easy to root for the main characters and cheer them on while they fight for their lives. However, I wish I had more insight from Saint Nicholas' perspective.

Writing Style - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The descriptions are top-notch, but some areas got bogged down in the details. Overall, this was an engaging and entertaining read.

Plot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - My only issue with the plot was the end. While conclusions were implied, it felt a bit unresolved.

Originality - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One-of-a-kind, gory in the most beautiful way, and a stand-out choice for Christmas horror.

I can't wait to recommend this book! It is a must-read for all horror readers, especially those who need a morbid escape from all the holiday cheer. Thank you, NetGalley and Blood Bound Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Hail Santa!

This novel is a rip roaring, full throttle slasher that takes the concept of Santa Claus to horrifying, terrible levels.

If you think Children Of The Corn meets a slasher while the children turned into hideous monstrositys are led by jolly ol' Santa, you'd get the vibe of this book somewhat.

A small town going through some changes is snowed in with no internet, phone service, cable, or any other means to communicate with the outside world. The children are excited because Santa is coming but this isn't the bubbly rosey cheeked being you remember. In fact, he appears as such for those who worship him but its true form is disgusting, twisted, and terrifying.

As he "recruits" the town's children to commit a horrific string of brutal murders, a handful of citizens are left knowing the truth but with no Idea how to fight it. It becomes life or death at every turn as they struggle to survive this hellish Christmas.

This is a fast paced and extremely enjoyable horror book. There's plenty of blood and gore and great characters that may or may not survive. It's one of those books where characters are never safe and not all of them are going to make it.

I had a lot of dreadful fun reading this and I highly recommend it.

Exciting, riveting, full of twists and suspense. Man, I would have loved to read this on Christmas Eve. Perfect holiday horror.

I really enjoy reading holiday themed horror before Christmas, so I was excited to read this when I saw the cover. This book has a good premise, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped to. I didn't find any of the characters or dialogue to be that interesting or memorable and found it to be a bit of a chore to get through. It seems like most people that have read this enjoyed it more than I did, so if you are looking for a Christmas horror novel, give it a try. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a ARC for me to review!

Creepy holiday gore perfect for this time of year. This psychotic thing who appears to be Santa from a distance or under his control tears a bloody swathe with the help of kids who serve as elves. Creepy and tensr

Excellent new horror novel! Loved the characters and complex world building. Perfectly horrific villian & terrifying children sidekicks. An absolutely wild ride from start to finish! Looking forward to reading more tales from the author.

Thank you, John McNee and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Going into this book, I honestly will say I thought it was going to be about some demon going to a small town to torment and torture the individuals there getting what it wanted and then leave. I was way off. This thing, Demon, Monster, creature, god... whatever it is unknown and not many even know what it is. All anyone knows is the name it takes, and that is Santa clause.

This book is full of gore, death, language, and things you wouldn't expect in a holiday book. I absolutely loved every moment of it. The details and just the overall feeling you get from yhe writing leaves you wanting more and unable to tear your eyes from the pages, hoping your favorite characters live and escape from the terrors they are going through. Not only that, you just hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

With all that said, this book makes you think. Could there be such a being out there just hiding in wait? All it needs is a name and people to believe in it enough to give it some form of power and them that's it. The terror of it all comes crashing through, and if you can't see what's happening, it's the end of the line. So the real question is, do you believe in Santa? If so, there's only one thing for you to say: Hail Santa!

If you can see past everything, then run!

Nice Christmas horror. I enjoyed this one! I always worry holiday horror will end up campy, and while this one had a few corny moments, it still was a solid read.

The ending was well done but I would’ve loved an epilogue to account for some loose ends.

Overall this is a gory, solid horror story.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.