This was such a fun book! I liked how the author brought the two holidays (Halloween and Christmas) together in such a cute way. The character's banter was so funny. I just loved them. This was just what I need to distract myself and I totally enjoyed it!!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’m not entirely sure if the author meant for this to read like destiel fan fiction but I AM HERE FOR IT. It’s wholesome and perfect. No notes.

After making a terrible decision, The Prince of Christmas, Coal, tries to make himself feel better. He meets a stranger in an alley and has the best kiss of his life before the stranger disappears. A year later, after Santa declares the Christmas Prince will be marrying the Easter Princess, the stranger comes back into Coal's life and it turns out he's the Prince of Halloween. Coal and Hex have undeniable chemistry but have to keep it hidden. Coal also uncovers a secret plot his father has been participating in to get joy from other holidays. Coal has to figure out how to save Christmas, get out of his betrothal, and be with Hex. This book felt a lot like Red, White, and Royal Blue but got a little too into detail about the inner workings of the politics of the different holidays.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch is one of the cleverest & unique romance that I’ve read in a long time. The concept of basically having royal families for all the major holidays is incredible. Then add in family turmoil, holiday struggles & a spicy romance between the prince of Christmas & the prince of Halloween & I am there with bells on.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas is great for those looking to read..:
❤️ MM Romance
❤️ Holidays
❤️ Forced Proximity
❤️ Forbidden Romance

This has me in awe, smiles & giggles right from the start. This was such a fun story, even though it tackled emotional moments, drama & more so well. This was a breath of fresh air in the genre. I loved this world & there are so many other stories that I am anxiously waiting to read!

I listened to the audiobook of this one & it was so good. The narrator did a fantastic job of bringing this intriguing , quirky & fun story to life. I listened at 2x & it was magic for my ADHD brain.

If you’re looking for Red, White & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas, I highly recommend the Nightmare Before Kissmas!

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & Tor for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

This is such a fun charming concept. Presenting holidays as nations/corporations with dynasties, inter-holiday conflict, monopolies, and power struggles is somehow entirely believable as a fantastical world. The characters are cute if somewhat clichéd, and Raasch does a great job in setting up the series for delving more into the side characters. It felt a little on the long side, and that highlighted some weaker writing; falling back on the same phrasing over and over again. In the end though, it was so cute and fun and sext that I will be reading the rest of the series.

I requested this bc it sounded like a super fun, campy romp. But it just did not have that knowing wink that camp requires -- it felt like we were supposed to take the things happening seriously. (I also did not love that it was in first person POV. I really tend to not like romance novels with that POV style, so that added to the dislike.)

Ah well, not for me. You might like it if you don't mind 1st person POV & failed camp doesn't bother you.

When I first started this, I figured I'd be in for a light fluffy read, with Christmas overload but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. The plot went in a direction I wasn't expecting and the two MMC's were pretty complex. Coal was grating at first, but he grew on me and Hex was a great contrast to Coal. Opposites definitely attract!

This was so cute I honestly contemplated just eating my kindle to see if it would taste sweet too. The Nightmare Before Kissmass is giving The Santa Clause meets Nightmare Before Christmas if their baby was the Hallmark Christmas channel and honestly? I'm here for it. But for a sugary romance about a world in which our holidays are actually embodied by people in different kingdoms, The Nightmare Before Kissmas had a surprising amount of emotional weight, and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive Raasch for making me cry about the Son of Santa falling in love with a guy who's basically Jack Skellington Jr. This book is just so much fun, and the romance between Coal and Hex had all the effect of a cup of hot cocoa (with marshmallows of course) on a cold, snowy day.

This is an incredible novel, especially to read during election season. It parallels so many of the political problems we see today but in terms of stealing joy from other holidays. It’s so well done.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Tor Publishing Group for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Holiday romance, royalty, mm romance, paranormal, steamy 🔥

This is a MM holiday romance and I loved it so much. It's a mash up with Christmas and Halloween. It's like Nightmare before Christmas with royalty added. It was cute, funny, and steamy. I highly recommend this!

This was absolutely phenomenal! And I would like to start this out by saying thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy!

Coal and Hex are two characters that stole my heart from their first interaction in that bar alley until the last page when they saved Christmas.

I will admit that I nearly teared up a few times when our boys were talking about their pasts. Losing a parent/sibling in any capacity is never easy, but then having to deal with harsh responsibilities on top of that just makes it even worse. They both have so much doubt and frustration in their hearts that it took having someone else see that hurt to start fixing it.

And let's not forget about Kris and Iris. These two are adorable side characters that are integral to the plot and the happiness of Hex and Coal. I hope that they both find the happiness they deserve after all that they have been through thanks to the meddling of their parents. I genuinely can't wait for the second book to see how Kris gets his happily ever after.

This was such a fun, light read that made me laugh and laugh and laugh. It will keep you entertained with antics from page one and you will not be disappointed for reading this. Please go grab this when it comes out!

This surprisingly spicy version of Disney's Nightmare before Christmas was so good! With complicated relationships, intense emotions, and randomly generated jack-o-laterns at the north pole, this is the perfect book to span the gap between Halloween and Christmas.

This was everything I hope it would be and more. Perfect for that in between time of November when you're still wanting cozy, cute Fall vibes, but also wanting to dip your toes in decking the halls.

Thanks to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 30% of the way through.

I find it hilarious this is somehow the second book this year I've read where the book was advertised as romance but was actually about fictional politics and 3% of the book was romance. Very disappointing.

They kiss in the first chapter, and never talk to each other until the time-skip when they run into each other again 20% of the way through the book.

The holiday politics you'd think would be interesting but it was not magical nor fun. It was just regular politics reskinned with holiday names. It was also super depressing.

The dialogue between the friends was also very...modern. It's going to become cringe within a couple months, and some of it is already cringe. I don't know a better term for it, but it just uses a lot of quips and modern references that again, will be very dated very quickly. It's a shame because the concept is pretty good but the execution is terribly dull.

This was honestly just so fun. Just go read it! Especially if you’re looking for a quick holiday read!

The Nightmare before Kissmas is an interesting concept. The holiday’s all have their own kingdoms and they get their magic from joy that is sparked from that holiday. We follow Nicholas “Coal” Claus as he is expected to court the princess of Easter and how he doesn’t want to do that. He is instead interested in the prince of Halloween, Hex. I was thankful to get the ARC e-book from Bramble.

I thought that this story was very cute and really enjoyed the ride. I thought that the friendship between Coal and his friends were genuine and I enjoyed following them. His romance with Hex is really sweet and him getting closer to Hex and showing different emotions about him falling in love was so sweet. I also laughed out loud at some parts. There is a lot of generational humor in this which I enjoyed, but I don’t think it will be for everyone.

I do think this will be a good Christmas time read and I’m glad that I got to read it. However, the one big thing about this is the drama between Coal and his father, King of Christmas, is a bit over the top. The tone completely changes when he’s on the page. They are very dramatic and I rolled my eyes when they kept talking about some politics. Maybe because of how frantic Coal as a character is. He is all over the place that when he’s faced with crisis. However, even with that critique, I would still recommend this book. I think it’s fun and the romance is sweet and there is spice.

Thank you again for letting me read the e-book!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were charming and the set up of the book was interesting I really enjoyed the romance between Coal and Hex. The characters had great chemistry and the tension and build of their relationship was great. I do think that the world that this series takes place in doesn’t quite make sense, and would benefit from more development. I’m also very interested in the dad in this story having his own book in this series.

This started giving me the ick. I had hoped that it wasn't like so many other gay stories written by straight women, but it started feeling like that and I won't be finishing it.

My honest to god reaction to the last chapter was why is it 20 mins long according to my Kindle.

The Nightmare before Kissmas was not a bad book at all. It was quite funny, with an adorable friend group and lots of holiday talks but my problem was with the main character. I didn't like Cole. He did come through in the end but by then I had given up on him.

I also felt there should have been more about Hex's family, like some on page conversations.

I loved Hex, Kris and Iris. And they were the primary reason I pushed through this book.

The premise of this book had a lot of potential, but ultimately, it fell short in execution. Coal, the protagonist, is a lovable mess, and his status as the Prince of Christmas brings with it the looming threat of paparazzi, which adds a nice touch of drama. However, the snarky banter, which could have been charming, often crossed the line into being cringey. At times, it just didn’t land the way it intended.

The plot, sadly, was a major letdown. The book markets itself as a rivals-to-lovers romance, but in reality, Coal and Hex never have a proper rivalry—they’re already attracted to each other from the start. The absence of genuine conflict between them left the story feeling stagnant, especially in the first half, where the characters are mostly reacting to external pressures rather than driving the plot forward themselves. The lack of agency and the forced dynamics make the story drag. A true rivals-to-lovers setup would have been far more engaging, with Coal and Hex competing for Iris’s affection, only to realize their chemistry with each other is far stronger. The third-act breakup and resolution also felt incredibly forced and over-the-top, undermining any emotional stakes that could have been built up.

Another area where the book faltered was in its attempt to weave in holiday politics, which ended up feeling melodramatic and absurd. Rather than focusing on the lighthearted, whimsical elements that could have made for a charming holiday romance, the book veered into convoluted territory with stakes like global holiday expansion and absurd family dynamics. These high-stakes plots, like Santa's imperial ambitions or the forced marriage for political power, felt out of place in a book that could have thrived on personal, emotional drama. Additionally, the book’s critique of capitalist holiday culture—suggesting that one day of joy is insufficient compared to systemic change—missed the mark by oversimplifying the significance of holidays. Holidays are about tradition, community, and meaning, not just gifts and commercialism, and the book's failure to grasp this made its attempts at "deeper" commentary feel misguided.

I'm really hoping book 2 fixes these issues because this series could be so cute!