This was so much fun! I really loved these characters and their romance. I think the world and magic system could have used a little more building, but I'm hoping that will come up in later books in this series. Overall I thought this was just a fun, cute time, which is exactly what I'm in the mood for sometimes. I will definitely be continuing in the series!

Weird and wonderful- I'll be looking forward to the sequel. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this early!

'The Nightmare Before Kissmas' is a solidly cute, silly romance. This is in no way an enemies-to-lovers and more of an insta-love. At times it attempts to be angsty but it never really hits, except with the brothers. I think truthfully the strength of this book is Coal and his brother Kris's relationship. At times, it felt like the main focus of the book and set aside the romance. All in all, solid if not a favorite and I'm looking forward to reading more from Sara Raasch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group | Bramble, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Nicholas "Coal" Claus used to love Christmas, until his father, the reigning Santa, made everything into a PR faced and Coal would do anything to escape the spectable, like making out with a stranger while drunk. But as the heir to Christmas his father wants him to marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his bother, not so secret, crush. When a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess' hand, things get from bad to worse when Coal recognize the stranger he made out with as Hex, the Prince of Halloween. As they fight each other for a hand none of them really wants, Hex and Coal start to fall in love into a messiest, sexiest and more brilliant move.

I LOVED The Nightmare before Kissmas! First of all, it's so original and being marketing as similar to Red, white and royal blue captured my attention right away and I fell in love with Coal and Hex and this world created by Sara Raasch.
WOW!
It's swoony, sexy, funny, embarassing and so cute and I loved every single page of it!

You know the feeling when you are snuggled under a blanket with your favorite beverage and everything is just right in your world? This is how The Nightmare Before Kissmas made me feel.

I loved this cozy, whimsical take on the different holidays with the undercurrent of political intrigue. This was such an adorable, messy romance.

🎃 Prince of Christmas falls for off limits Prince of Halloween
🎄 fake competition for a marriage of convenience with the Princess of Easter that neither wants
🎃 funny banter

As a longtime fan of "The Nightmare Before Christmas," I tore through this book in no time flat! (I must apologize at my late review, as I didn't realize that I forgot to submit it!) There was a bit of predictability, but enough surprising elements that I wasn't bored, which is saying something with the number of books I read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch!

This one was soooo cute! Cannot wait for the next book this year! The characters were great. There are some heavier topics sprinkled in, so check trigger warnings. Will definitely be suggesting this book to romcom fans!

This one was super fun! Coal, the prince of Christmas (a troublemaker who resents his dad, Santa, and doesn't want to inherit the family crown) crushes on a mysterious stranger he met outside a bar one night, never expecting to see him again... but when a marriage is arranged between Coal and the princess of Easter, the Halloween royalty sends its own champion to vie for the princess's heart... and it's the mysterious stranger: Hex, the prince of Halloween. It's no surprise that the novel's plot revolves around Coal and Hex and their forbidden love story, with all the secrecy and hijinks of their increasingly steamy attraction derailing plans for the arranged marriage and the impact of holiday politics.

Yes, I did say holiday politics. Quite a bit of the novel focused on the corrupt conspiracy behind the scenes, the inner workings of the political deals and betrayals between the different holidays. It was an interesting undercurrent beneath the romance plot, but it never felt fleshed out or developed enough to be intriguing or to add much to the book-- instead, it was convoluted and distracting, and I kept flipping forward to the next romance plot beat, which was a much more thoughtful and developed throughline. With the political subplot, this book needed a bit more time to work on integrating it better to fit with the romance plot, or to strip it down to make the politics less confusing and more digestible for the reader.

The romance, however, was quite good. I loved the dynamic between Coal and Hex and their dalliances, the thrill of secrecy and trying not to be caught while being so unbelievably obvious. It was more fluffy and romantic than anything else, but there were a few somewhat spicy scenes. I loved how Coal and Hex complimented and contrasted each other, and how it developed into a relationship where they understood each other in a way other people had not, rather than relying on the insta-love (or insta-lust) trope.

Not the best written or plotted book, but definitely a fun read with a cute, cozy romance between two adorable idiots in love.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC of The Nightmare Before Kissmas in exchange for my honest review!

This was a decently charming Christmas rom-com, and it's funny that I'd picked this up after having recently rewatched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sure, it's not like this book necessarily grabs at my heart as much as I want to, and I'm also arching an eyebrow at the worldbuilding and the parts of it that could have been further developed. But I click with the abundance of banter that Coal and Hex share, and the steam between them is very nice, too. This book directs plenty of attention to the consent that they give, and it's something that I appreciate.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Nightmare Before Kissmas 3.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 3 stars. I'm glad I gave this holiday read a try!

I have enjoyed Raasch's fantasy books, so I was interested in her foray into a new genre.
The concept of the holiday realms intrigued me, and I have to say it made for a very interesting world. This world served as a full backdrop to witty, humorous, and charming characters. Coal and Hex's relationship was very cute and definitely made for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue!

This was one of those that almost didn't happen. Not because of anything particular in the book, even though it does start off pretty slow.

And OOF—it took me so long to get this, Raasch is actually getting ready to publish the sequel next month, which the publisher has also reached out to me about!* And after finishing this one I did accept, so fingers crossed I get to it a lot sooner than it took me to get to this one.


This book starts off with a bang and then drags for a good bit, for me at least. A huge chunk of this is because there was so much world building and background information that had to be provided in order for it to make sense. And I get it, but I wonder if there was a better way to go about it. The book was billed as a romance—and it is—however, it is also a political intrigue/royal court novel and that seemed to overtake the romance through the middle third (or more!) of the novel.

Some of my meh and dragging out the reason was Coal's attitude and general annoying persona. I really feel if either the romance or the coming into his own would've started a little earlier I would've gotten hooked and read it a lot faster, but the perceived-spoiled brat party persona really slowed it down for me. That being said he grew so much in the novel, so I could truly appreciate it. Kris and Iris were fantastic supporting characters and, Hex, the Halloween prince and love interest was perfect.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good slow burn and the fact that Coal and Hex kiss in the first chapter (even though we don't officially know it's Hex for some time) and then don't meet again for quite a while is fine. But it felt so dragged out, by time they kissed again around the 2/3 mark I was ready to throw my Kindle out the window.

I do think that Raasch might've tried to put too much into the novel, there seemed to be so many sub-stories (not really full plots, but broader world building maybe?) that didn't necessarily seem to fit the main storyline making it super convoluted. There was the intrigue in the Easter court that never went anywhere, there was the main Christmas taking over plot, there was the Hex history with his sister, the school stories to start, it was just a lot and streamlining it a little bit more might've made it that much easier to get through.

I don't seek out a lot of bisexual romances, I do read them but more by accident in the MM Romance genre. I truly enjoyed the bi representation and the breaking stereotypes but also leaning into self-deprecating stereotypes:

Another thing tha bonded us over the years: the absolute bi confusion induced by movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Mummy. Kris got in on that confusion too, but the only thing stopping me from calling us NSYNC (ya know, Bi Bi Bi) was him cringing at any kind of label, and when I told Iris, 'I guess that forces you and me to be Bi Bi Buddies, but the first Bi is for two,' she'd smacked the back of my head. Which was just proof that I am way too much of a loud-mouthed asshole to be her type, and she has her shit together too much to be mine. What can I say, I get off on a mess. Like calls to like. (Chapter 3)

He's laughing. 'Good lord, dude. You walked over to me, said you needed my help, then immediately zoned out to stare at the guy you're sleeping with. You are the poster boy for disaster bisexuals.' (Chapter 17)

And of course, as per usual, I'm always a sucker for a meta reference in a romance novel. I mean it just makes me so happy to see authors either making fun of themselves or their characters with the self-referential:

"I point at the starlit sky and the rolling hills of ivory and the cozy bookshelves and the pulsing light of a crackling fire like all of it is solely responsible for being so picturesque that we may as well be standing in a romance novel." (Chapter 8)

I'm glad I accepted the ARC and I'm looking forward to reading the followup, Go Luck Yourself, and I do hope some of the other vague references and storylines are mentioned again or wrapped up in it (looking at you Iris and the Easter court).

Recommendation: It's a great premise and a fun read. I struggled a little bit with getting into it, mostly because of Coals' attitude/general character, but I'm glad that I stuck with it because he grew so much and really grew into his own. There were some minor annoyances I had in the side-stories, but now for sure knowing there is a sequel they make a bit more sense in that Raasch didn't have to wrap them all up in the first novel. I'm definitely looking forward to the follow-up and fingers crossed it's a little less of a slog for me because Kris definitely seems to have his act together more so than Coal.

Cozy and entertaining! The perfect read for the holiday season especially if you are looking for a book that will have you laughing out loud. I loved all the characters and I am strongly looking forward to reading more books set in this world.

I was really excited about this one—the premise had so much potential! A Nightmare Before Christmas-inspired world of holiday magic, unique ruling classes, and a mix of romance and fantasy sounded like the perfect read. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver for me.

The relationship between Coal and Hex felt overly juvenile, making it difficult to connect with their dynamic. While the book included several steamy scenes, they lacked the emotional depth to make them feel earned—I found myself more eager to move past them than invested in their connection. The story itself felt like a series of disjointed moments strung together, with little development in between. The insta-love aspect didn’t help, as their relationship felt rushed rather than organically built.

Oddly enough, I was more intrigued by Chris and Iris, despite their limited presence on the page. While the concept had all the right ingredients for something I’d typically love, the execution just didn’t work for me.

If Red, White & Royal Blue and The Nightmare Before Christmas had a book baby, it would be this utterly delightful rom-com filled with holiday magic, forbidden romance, and off-the-charts chemistry. This book is everything I never knew I needed—a queer, holiday-inspired royal romance where Christmas and Halloween collide in the most chaotic and swoon-worthy way!

Coal Claus is the reluctant Prince of Christmas, tired of his father’s corporate-driven holiday empire. Enter Hex, the rebellious Prince of Halloween, who is dark, brooding, and completely off-limits. After a steamy, anonymous make-out session behind a bar, fate throws them back together in the most unexpected way—rivals in a fake competition over a political marriage that neither of them actually wants.

The result? An absolute rollercoaster of witty banter, stolen moments, and undeniable attraction. The fake competition, the arranged marriage chaos, the family pressures—every element of this story is perfectly executed with humor, charm, and just the right amount of angst. The world-building is playful and immersive, making each holiday kingdom feel like a character in itself.

🔥 The romance? Pure gold. Coal and Hex have an electric dynamic, filled with longing, tension, and heart-melting moments that will have you grinning like a fool. Watching them go from forbidden desire to undeniable love is everything.

This book is a must-read for fans of quirky rom-coms, holiday magic, and couples who go from enemies to lovers in the most spectacular way possible. If you love books that make you laugh, swoon, and cheer for love in all its festive, spooky glory, grab this one immediately!

This was one of my most anticipated holiday reads for 2024 and I was so excited to have received the e-ARC. I was incredibly worried that it was going to be a cheesy throw away as many "holiday" books can be, however Sarah's take was refreshing - light but full of plot and intrigue.

My absolute favorite part was the banter, did I squeal and kick my feet sometimes? Yes, yes I did! It was the perfect snarky and found family dynamic that I eat right up. I can't wait to learn more about the other holidays in future books!

I simply can't with this. The cover, the characters, the story ... cute cute cute. Such a fun take and engaging. Love seeing this one on my trophy shelf.

The premise of Nightmare Before Kissmas initially drew me in, and for the first half I thought it was delivering on its promise. As the story progressed, my interest faded.

The biggest issue for me was that I just didn’t feel anything. The author seemed to expect me to be invested in the characters and their relationships, but there wasn’t enough depth or development to make me care. The political intrigue also didn’t hold my attention-making the plot feel unengaging.

It’s a shame because the world-building had real potential—I just wish the story had done more to bring it to life.

Look, I’m always down for a fun, silly time—but this? This felt more cringe than cute, and I just couldn’t push through. I made it about 10% in before tapping out because every line had me secondhand embarrassed instead of entertained.

I know holiday rom-coms are meant to be over-the-top, but there’s a fine line between charmingly ridiculous and too much, and for me, this one landed squarely in the latter. Maybe it gets better, but I just didn’t have the patience to stick around and find out.

Genre: Holiday Romance

Format: Audio

4.25🌟 - I enjoyed it!

This book is pitched as RW&RB meets The Nightmare Before Christmas and it’s such a good comparison! This was such a fun and unique little world to get swept away in, and I really enjoyed the romance between Hex and Coal 🎅🏼🎃🖤! There’s a bit of mystery, royal politics, forbidden romance, and truly entertaining! Loved the audio!