This was a really cute, but also surprisingly emotional read. Nick aka Coal (the Prince of Christmas) meets Hex (the Prince of Halloween) one drunken night at the bar, and then that’s all he can think about for the next year and a half. Coal and Hex reunite unexpectedly when their “courts” meet to arrange a marriage (not between he and Hex) and work some other things out. I loved getting to see Coal and Hex fight their attraction and really get to know each-other through talks about their lives and spending time together sleigh riding and other things. Although this is a romance read, there is quite a bit of conversation between Coal and his brother Kris about the damage their mother leaving caused and it really got me all in my feels. Kris is such a sweetheart and it’s heartbreaking at times to hear how desperate he still is for his mom to want to come back to them and actually be a caring mom. The further the book progressed the more meaningful and eye opening Coal and Hex’s interactions were and the narrator (I did audio and e-ARC) did a wonderful job of portraying both men’s emotions and hesitations to give in to their feelings.

Thank you so much Tor and Netgalley for the E-Arc.

This book was a very cute read, speacilly for a lover of Halloween AND Christmas such as myself! The writing is on point and I left the book with a huge smile in my face. I'll definitely be reccomending it to my colleagues (:

Super charming and fun book! It does what it sets out to do for sure, and the characters are incredibly likable. I had a lot of fun reading this and am interested in the sequel!

Ah this book. Okay so if you aren’t quite on board with Christmas yet, can I interest you in this fun mashup between Halloween and Christmas? Coal is the prince of Christmas and Hex is the prince of Halloween. Coal reminded me of Alex in Red White and Royal Blue (which if you loved that book, you would love this book). This book was hilarious and had me in stitches at times. I was besides myself with laughter and had so much fun. I truly think that this author must moonlight as a comedian because the one-liners are just that good. There was a little miscommunication, but it was handled nicely, and I enjoyed how it was handled (like adults). I also loved that the characters were whole people, and we got to see a whole wide variety of emotions in them. For example, Coal had anxiety, stress, excitement, and glee all throughout the book. He was just great. The author made me feel connected to the characters so my empathy kicked in along the way and I was also rooting for them. Truly a great reading experience.

So, this one lives up to the marketing. If you loved RWRB or the Nightmare before Christmas, you would want to read this one ASAP. Don’t sleep on it, get it now.

Genre: contemporary holiday rom-com with a little magic

Coal is the heir to Christmas, and while he's known for being jolly, he's also known for his pranks going just a little too far. He finds himself in a bind when his father (the reigning Santa Claus) arranges a marriage for him to his best friend, Iris, daughter of the ruling family of Easter. Iris is great, but Coal isn't in love with her and he thinks his younger brother Kris is. But Coal can't get the stranger he made out with in the alley a couple years ago out of his head... until one day that stranger walks into the Christmas palace and Coal discovers he's the heir of Halloween. Hex is mysterious and dark and everything Coal wants in a guy, but Hex is also supposed to be there to woo Iris. (It's a love quadrilateral when you explain it, but don't worry all the emotion goes between Coal and Hex.)

This was a lot of fun to read. The MCs (and their behavior) skew a little younger than I prefer, but it fits so well with the overall tone of the narrative. Nightmare Before Kissmas was a near perfect surface level read where I suspended a lot for "romance reasons" and let myself enjoy the spicy holiday book. I giggled quite a bit over the friend groups’ antics and group texts, and love that they’re all looking out for one another.

Such a great book. Perfect this this time of year when you can’t decide if you want Halloween or Christmas vibes because it’s a great mixture of both. The banter and give and take between the characters was hilarious and top notch and I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book and completely devoured it. I thought I knew what this story would be going into it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and unique it was. I also really loved that it didn't bring religion into the holidays at all. As for the banter and text messages not only between Coal and his friends, but with Hex, I completely ate that shit up. They had me laughing, squealing, kicking my legs, and fainting. I loved every single second of this book and was so happy that my expectations were not only met but surpassed. I will be eagerly awaiting book two.

When I saw this pitched as Red White and Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas, I was all in. I pre-ordered the print version. And then this came up on Netgalley and I have never requested a book so fast.

And it. Is. everything.

Cole is a Prince of Christmas who has cast off his duties to become the next Santa. Then his dad (Santa!) arranges for him to marry the Easter princess, Iris. But they are best friends and neither wants the marriage. And then the Prince of Halloween, Hex, shows up at the North Pole to “vie for Iris’ hand” to help make nice with the Fall Holidays.

But all too soon, Cole and Hex are making excuses to spend time together, and they can’t stop the passion growing between them.

Soon they uncover secrets about how ruthlessly the holidays collect joy, and together they must work to save them all.

My thoughts:

Oh my gosh. This book. Sara Raasch!

This book is so dang witty, clever, funny, sweet, and passionate. Hex is everything a Halloween prince should be. (The bit with the cursing repercussions is pure genius).

Cole, Chris, and Iris are a fantastic friend trifecta, and I adore every single thing about how they want to save, protect, and care for each other.

The romance. The ROMANCE. I can’t. It’s so sweet and passionate and sexy and I just love them so much.

The holiday references are pure gold. The way that the courts feed on the joy of the world reminded me of Monsters Inc and it was perfect.

Honesetly, this book is perfect. Just get it already.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Will the Prince of Christmas finds his own "ho ho ho" in the Prince of Halloween...?
Yes and so much more!

While this holiday-themed romcom might seem like all sugar plums and candy corn on the outside, there's a darkness at the center of the story. A tale of devious politics and manipulative parenting under the cloak of cute holidays.

The current Santa is determined to strongarm the other holidays to fit his agenda, co-opting all the joy, all while maintaining his title of controlling father. The eldest Prince of Christmas, Coal, is the self-proclaimed family failure, hellbent on being the disappointment everyone expects him to be. Followed with younger brother, and Spare Santa, Kris bringing up the rear (always so dependable!)

Enter Hex, the Prince of Halloween. The instant connection between Hex and Coal is enough to make anyone feel all tingly inside... and turn everything Coal knows about himself - and Christmas - on it's end. With the declaration of the arranged marriage between Coal and the Princess of Easter (his BFF and brother's love), Christmas will never be the same.

Major points for the fluidity of the sexuality among the characters (Hooray for Bi-representation!) and eventual acceptance and processing of parental trauma. We love to see supporting friends and family along with people getting to be their true selves.

Also, I'd love to see someone fashion sketch all of Hex's ensembles. *swoon* (I'm a little jealous of all the corset vests, TBH.)

Overall, 8/10 - cute, deep, spicy, and now I'm ready for Halloween!

📚Trope(s): He falls first, Secret relationship, MM, HOLIDAYS!
What you get: 🎅🏻🎃🐰🍆✨
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 4/5
🌶️Spice: 4/5

Such a fun cute book! Love all of the Christmas vibes mixed with the Halloween vibes. Loved the banter between the characters. Also had great characters growth.

This book was so much fun! I loved all the holiday puns. What was even more lovely was that there was a heartwarming story of growth and love and finding yourself. I’ll absolutely be recommending this to friends and family and it’’s definitely made my holiday shopping list for a few folks. It ended on a cliffhanger around the brother, but I see that’s what the second book will be about. Of course I’m going to be clamoring for it as soon as it’s ready. So much fun!

3.5ish rounded up to 4!

This book was just a super sweet, easy to read story. It was exactly what I wanted, which was something fun and light, but this also had surprising depth at times!

It's a cute story, which I will definitely be recommending to people who want a nice Christmas romance.

Thanks for the eARC!

Wow, is Santa a complete and total asshole! Honestly, that is my main takeaway from this whole book (j/k!) I really really enjoyed this book! It was way more complex of a story then I thought it was going to be. I assumed it would be a cozy holiday romance, with the Prince of Christmas falling in love with the Prince of Halloween. And I do really love the romance between the two. Their banter is top notch. But there is so much more to the story! Mental health and self esteem issues are, in my opinion, handled very well. I really enjoyed seeing the progression of Cole's character, and how he really comes into his own in the book. I also enjoyed all the political intrigue and machinations in the book as well. The side characters were great, I loved the dynamics between Cole and Chris and Nora, some of their interactions made me laugh out loud. I cannot wait to see their story continue in future books!

TW: Parental abandonment and emotional abuse, sibling death (off page, in the past), sexy times

Nicholas, Coal, wants one things from this Christmas, not to think of all the ways he's fucked up in the last few years. Between his last failing relationship, bankrupting an entire country, and a kiss with a handsome stranger, he just wants to survive this holiday season. Until his father announces that he's courting his best friend, princess of Easter. And that there's competition in the form of the prince of Halloween. It all boils to a breaking point when Coal finds out the prince is the handsome stranger he kissed and that something is going horrible wrong in his holiday. What's a young man to do?

This book was everything I was hoping for. An anxious main character full of growth, camaraderie amongst family and friends, the joys of the holidays, and the swooniest romance. A perfect balance of court politics, holiday merriment, and flirtation so hot it makes ice melt. Quickly paced and a joy to read.

I loved this one so much! Hallmark with a bit more drama and a good amount more spice! The tagline of RWRB meets The Nightmare Before Christmas is spot on in a perfect meld of the Christmas Prince and Halloween Prince falling fast and hard for one another in this book!

Sometimes I'll read a summary and think, I'm so glad this author thought to write this because I never knew I needed it until now. Kissmas is a perfect example because it is exactly my type of story. Coal is a perfectly flawed but loveable character looking to better himself and live up to what HE wants from life, as well as his oncoming responsibilities as Santa's eldest son. I loved him as a narrator and every other character had just as unique of a voice that they all remained interesting and not one seemed to fall to the sidelines (Hex, Iris and Kris respectively).

I enjoyed the underlying politics of the holidays and how this world was crafted to incorporate them alongside the regular world. Absolutely looking forward to book 2 to follow Kris' love story next!

I had SO MUCH FUN listening to this book!!! This is a silly royal romantasy with a hefty helping of holiday spice.

The Crown Prince of Christmas, Coal (short for Nicholas) is kind of a f*ck up. (See that nickname, chosen expressly to annoy his father.) He's a bad student about to graduate with his bachelor's, dodging the holiday paparazzi and trying to forget the last time he took his job seriously because he almost ruined a whole country's economy. His father calls him home for the holidays and announces that he's arranged Coal's marriage to Iris, part of the royal court of Easter. Iris is his best friend, but Coal does NOT want to marry her ... but he can't see any way to get out of the situation without making things bad for her. When the Halloween court finds out about the possible Christmas/Easter merger, they protest. As a compromise, the Crown Prince of Halloween, Hex, is sent to "compete" for Iris's hand. But there's something rotten in the state of Christmas, and it's not just that Coal finds Hex irresistibly hot.

So yeah, this is an absolutely ridiculous setup. I know that I am on the record as someone who just doesn't love New Adult romances OR the first person, present tense POV that often goes along with them. And yet listening to this was a supremely enjoyable experience. Narrator Ellis Evans does the absolute most with Coal's dramatic/anxiety-ridden inner voice, and managed to sell me lines like "Joy tithes. These Holidays send a percentage of their accumulated joy to Christmas" with the perfect mixture of tension and a sense of the ridiculous. Truly, the narration adds a full star to my rating.

Look, this is fun, funny, has a lot of spice (my ears were burning), and takes itself exactly as seriously as it should (meaning that I believed that Coal realizing his dad was kind of a capitalistic Grinch was both a revelation to the character but also did not stop me from laughing at the whole situation. This is perfect for spooky season, Christmas, and all of the holidays in between.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the audiobook.

Fun queer holiday romance/Nightmare Before Christmas retelling that can be read anytime between now and Christmas.

I just loved this book so much! It's funny, it's sexy, it has substance...I'm thrilled it's going to be a series and I'm so ready for the next one!

This was good story. Not great, but good. I struggled a bit and I know this is a classic case of, “it’s not you, it’s me,” since everyone I know that read it, loved it.

Thank you @brambleromance @macmillan.audio #partner for the free copies of this book!

Oh. Em. Gee. This book! Committees for all the holidays coming together to save the joy in the world? All wrapped into a love story, laugh out loud one liners AND audio that was PERFECT for this book with a neat little Christmas bow on top?! Sign me up every time for Sara’s books! I LOVED this one! I cannot sing enough praise about this book. The humor alone puts this in a winning category! I don’t know but when I put this book down I felt like I wanted to give Sara a call and ask her to be friends with me! Ha! This book to me felt like the perfect holiday book…don’t get me wrong it may sound young however it was anything but. There is definitely some spice and the politics made this all adult but I’m telling you the romance and wittiness of this book is what sold me. It could easily be a holiday movie I’d watch! I need more of these characters and can’t wait for the second book! 5 stars from me!