thank you to netgalley and tor publishing group for this eARC!

i really liked this book! i read the description initially on netgalley and was super interested in the premise and desperately wanted to read it. so you can imagine my excitement when my request was approved, and i was not let down by this book. the characters were adorable and complex and i loved all of their interactions. the world that raasch built out is incredibly interesting as well. beyond the characters’ interactions, the interactions of the different holidays and seasons was really fascinating to me. it was really fun to read! i think maybe my only critique is that the romance felt a bit rushed. as an idea, a time crunch is very appealing for the plot and it definitely has some good pay offs, but it was a little hard for me to believe these two people, who had essentially just met, fell in love in that short amount of time. i think for me it would have played better if there had been more of a break between hex leaving and when he came back. it would have given a bit more weight to coal’s decision to carry on with his “coup” as well. despite that though, i definitely really enjoyed this book and will 100% be recommending this when halloween and christmas come around! i’m excited to see and continue reading whatever is next for this universe!

I haven't stayed up past my bedtime to read a book in such a long time, but this one had me hooked from the beginning! It's a mug of hot cocoa on a snow day, a cup of cider while wandering cold streets illuminated by Jack-o-Lanterns. It's cozy and romantic and everything I love in a romance novel!

This was very much not for me, but I can see the appeal of this book for other readers. As a longtime fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was excited about the concept of a romcom that plays on the idea of holiday kingdoms, but the execution unfortunately did not deliver. This novel primarily suffers from the simplistic writing style, and I will echo other reviewers' critiques of the balance between the romantic and political aspects of the story: the author could not seem to find a good middle ground for delivering these ideas. Furthermore, the characters felt rather one-dimensional despite the attempts at fleshing out backstories for each.

This book has also been incessantly compared to Red, White, & Royal Blue, so I was expecting at least a comparable mastery of the romcom formula found in McQuiston's works. I cannot say that I found that in this novel.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy. To be honest, I thought this was kind of a boring romance and I wasn't invested in any of the characters. The holiday politics were amusing.

This was just as whimsical and funny as I thought it would be! These two were such lovable train wrecks, I wish I could read it again for the first time.

Extremely cute book that any romance lover would enjoy. Fun characters and interesting plot move the story along. Great read for either holiday season!

This was a lot of fun to read it’d like a cozy romance with magic and kinda mythical characters lol. So in this world the mc Coal is a prince of Christmas because his dad is Santa. Each holiday is a kingdom I guess so Hex the love interest is the prince of Halloween. One of the side characters is the princess of Easter and it’s interesting, a bit silly but fun. He and Coal meet each other again while going along with an arranged fake relationship/ marriage plan that the mc’s dad planned.

As Coal and Hex spend time with others, they are attracted to each other and also discuss themes like grief, anxiety and joy during holidays etc. Coal’s dad Santa kinda sucks and is going a while lot of things that are sucking the joy out of holidays. I enjoyed the romance it was good I thought they had chemistry, history and cute moments. I thought the writing was charming with all the things each character did relating to the holiday they represented.
This book is similar to red white and royal blue the show( not the book). There were lots of parallels with scenes and characters that I liked. There’s a bit of steam but not too much. Overall this light and fun queer romance read especially for fall. Thank you Bramble for this arc for an honest review.

Read for:
- Queer romance
- Bisexual mc
- Holiday themed plot
- Magic
- Fantasy
- Rival holiday princes
- Royalty

I totally loved this silly tale where the prince of Christmas falls in love with the Prince of Halloween. It is exactly what i needed and I am so excited for the others.

This book wasn't what I expected it to be and I was very much lost the entire time. The romance was good but the everything else kind of was lackluster to me.

This book was not for me. I appreciate the publishers and netgalley giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was really fun to read! I loved the Nightmare before Christmas vibe and the fantasy world where all the holidays had their realms and special magic. The main characters were adorable, and the supporting friends equally endearing. A special shoutout to the author for bringing the importance of Dia de los Muertos into the Halloween story. I would definitely recommend this to readers of romance and fantasy. This was a feel good book that I think anyone would enjoy!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

Nicholas doesn’t know what to do with his life when he doesn’t feel the Christmas spirit anymore. Literally, he will be the next Santa Claus when his father retires or passes it along. And it’s not holding its appeal anymore. He keeps doing everything wrong, according to his father. It doesn’t help that his father is making him marry someone he doesn’t love. He is still thinking about the mysterious man on Halloween.

It’s pretty funny that the prince of Halloween, Hex, is the mysterious man. It’s fated between them. Unfortunately, they are both bound to complete their marriage. It’s not going to hold much because Hex and Nicholas are falling in love with each other.

This book was such a fun, easy read. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was what I needed. It’s too cute for words. I truly adore how much Nicholas truly cares for everyone, and it takes a toll on him. He wants to change things, but he is finding it hard when he doesn’t have the support. Thankfully, he finds support when he sees Hex again.

Nicholas and Hex may not be ideal since they are both heirs to different seasons. But they were always meant to see each other. They have undeniable chemistry between them. You just know that they belong to each other.

While Nicholas and Hex being together is too cute for words, the drama surrounding them is out of this world. It literally kept me entertained with the drama. It was like watching a reality show. I definitely recommend reading it if you enjoy reading about queer romance with bits of nightmare before Christmas vibes and the forced proximity trope.

With a title like that, how could you not read it!?! The characters were so fun to read, and the whole book was cozy, spooky, and fun. Absolutely will reccomend to all my spooky readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!!! So holiday romances can be steamy and a lot of fun. Romance, smut, coming into yourself, and just feel good with a side of scheming. Throw it into a pot for a good old fashioned time with some chaotic bisexuals.

I really loved the premise of this book, as someone who loves Halloween and The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the end, I thought the book was just fine. It's a single POV (Coal) and I think the story would've benefited from a few chapters from the POV of Prince Hex. I just would've loved to have some insight into what he thought about Christmas and about the Christmas Prince.

I wasn't expecting the amount of holiday politics that was in this book. It was an interesting take and something I haven't seen in a holiday book before (and I've read a lot of them). There just seemed to be a lot going on with the fake engagement, Coal being a mess, Nick hiding his own feelings for the Easter Princess, and Santa just being a jerk. Sometimes the balance between all of that and the romance wasn't quite right. When it came to the romance, I feel like Coal was more focused on how Hex looked, and what he wore instead of seeing the big picture. While the book was open door, it was still pretty tame since the author never truly described the sex scenes. It was just a lot of "his hand on me" and wording of that nature. This is supposed to be an adult romance, but overall, it didn't feel that way. This could easily be a YA book.

All in all, I thought the book was OK. It took me a bit to get into it. I did like the text messages between everyone but at times the book came across as clunky with some repetitive lines and wording that just didn't flow well.

A sweet and fresh take on the contemporary Christmas centered romance genre. Essentially each holiday has a corresponding royal family that harnesses the joy experienced by people during said holidays in order to perform magic. Again the premise of this book is really unique, I like all the characters quite a lot and the political machinations were interesting to watch unfold. This book takes the real world issue of Christmas slowly encroaching on other holidays and and turns it into a political drama with a forbidden romance between the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween thrown in.
I really liked the characters relationships with one another; love a good friendship triad. The plot itself is told over the course of the month leading up to Christmas Eve and the relationship between Coal and Hex develops very quickly. Our boy Coal is ready to jump Hex after their first meeting before even knowing his name. Not a bad thing overall, and I think fans of traditional contemporary romance will love how fast things get intense between Coal and Hex. This is being packaged as Red, White and, Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas and usually I’m not for these types of tags but this one fits. I would also add that it gives a little bit of a Rise of the Guardians (animated film from 2012) vibe; Coal reminds me a lot of Jack Frost from the film. Looking forward to Kris’s book next!

Biggest gripe? How often ‘pulse’, ‘pulsed’ and, ‘pulsing’ were used in the book. It was a lot. I think maybe another pass by an editor could have fixed this.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas is every bit the the light, fun, Christmas romance you would expect with a title such as that one.

With its enchanting characters, whimsical setting, and heartfelt message, Sara’s latest novel is sure to cast a spell on readers of all ages. Highly recommended for anyone in search of a cute sweet adventure!

This was just kind of fine, not actually terrible but not actually that good either. I feel like the tone was all over the place - I know RWRB is the main comp title but I think that book did a better job balancing the political stuff with the romance than this one. The idea for holiday kingdoms is fun and some of the visuals were great but I felt like we were either focusing way too much on the kingdom politics or on the romance, never quite in the right ratio. I think this is a book that might have benefited from a dual POV rather than only being in Coal's head. Hex didn't end up feeling very fleshed out despite all his infodumping about his backstory once they get together.

A joyful romp of a romance! Felt like I was inside my favorite holiday Disney movie, complete with all the feels and joy!