I’m going to just start this review off by saying I love it so much. It’s the perfect book for both spooky season and the holiday season. We first meet Nicholas, also known as Coal after he messed something up and at a bar, he shows a steamy kiss with a stranger. One year later, Cole is told by his father that he needs to have an arrange marriage with his best friend who is the Easter princess Iris. All of the holidays have a complicated relationship with one another and rivalry for power as well. Halloween insists that their prince hex also have a chance to woo Iris. He end up being Coal’s mystery kiss. So you have two princes who are fighting to marry someone neither wants to marry , while there is politics going on around them and it’s messy relationships but it’s such an entertaining book with such amazingly complicated characters. This book is emotional and messy and entertaining all at the same time.

Nightmare Before Kissmass is the first in a new series. Fantasy writer Sara Raasch takes on the rom-com genre in a unique way imagining a world where each holiday is ruled by magical royal families. Joy is a commodity and Christmas has been creating a monopoly, which it hopes to expand even more by having the heir to Christmas marry the princess of Easter. The only issue is the Christmas Prince is in love with the Prince of Halloween. As the title might suggest there is a lot of silly humor in the story and it would be a fun read for Christmas or Halloween. There are some serious moments though and all of the characters are dealing with a loss of some sort. Although there is a happily ever after at the books end, it doesn't arrive for every character leaving room for future developments. If you enjoy this novel, then you are lucky the next one in the series promises to involve St. Patrick's Day.

This book was totally adorable and I loved all of the humor and banter - I found myself laughing out loud quite often while reading.

The book definitely has Hallmark Christmas vibes but in the best way possible, I generally find these types to be cringey and unbelievable but I didn't have that problem with Nightmare at all.

If you enjoyed Red, White, and Royal Blue I definitely think this is a book that needs to be read asap, the feels were very similar and it has the same happy coziness vibes.

The concept of forming alliances and the holidays was really fun and I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the political aspects.

I'm really excited to read more of this series in the future

My most unexpected read this year!

New, exciting, romantic, funny, snarky, and just plain delightfully fun, this book was a true holiday gift, no matter which holiday you are closest to.

I began this book expecting a cute, quick, fun holiday read that would entertain me and get me into the Spooky Season Spirit. I was not expecting a book that would captivate me with so many emotions and have every character in it, primary, secondary and background, all tug on my heart and make an impression on me. That is writing that is power and a writer that has skills! I literally was grinning ear to ear as I rooted for Coal and Hex to get their romantic happy ending, and cheered for them to step out of the shadows and claim their own futures as a couple and for their holidays. But do not worry that this is a drama of finding ones love in the face of family and duty, or the conflict of learning to embrace ones truest self, this was a perfect blend of that with all the snarky humour and banter between two amazing brothers and their very best friend in the face of unexpected news, complications and love, the discovery of new friends, lovers, and allies, and best of all a true happiness that only come from the truest love.

Beautifully written, vivid and comic, Sara Raasch has written an all encompassing romantic comedy with the perfect blend of pumpkin spice and gingerbread that will make any rom com lover swoon and giggle.

Coal and Hex will have me toasting Halloween with a hot cocoa and leaving a bat shaped cookies out for Santa this year! 😉

Thank you NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor Publishing Group for sharing the ARC with me. This review are my own thoughts after reading.

Princess Diaries 2 meets The Nightmare Before Christmas in this queer royalty romance between the Prince of Christmas and the mysterious Prince of Halloween! Nicholas "Coal" Claus is not the biggest fan of Christmas nor does he want to take over the reigns of being Santa from his father, but his dad has planned his entire life and won't let him get out of it. After a terrible PR accident Coal commiserates at a bar and ends up spilling his guts to a handsome stranger and kissing him... and when he gets home his father informs him that it is his duty as the heir to Christmas.... to marry his best friend Iris, the Easter Princess... and his brother's not-so-secret crush. There is nothing Coal wants less than to marry his best friend but his father tells him he doesn't have a choice... and so when the Halloween delegation arrives to discuss this to Coal's surprise amongst them is the Halloween Prince, Hex Hallow... who just happens to be the very guy he made out with at the. bar. Hex is here to win Iris's hand as well to make an alliance between Halloween and Easter. Coal cannot believe that the guy he made out with and shared his soul with is now the very Prince has to compete with... except Hex has more secrets that could threaten everything Coal has ever believed in and despite the confusing signs between them, Coal is pretty sure he wants to court Hex rather than Iris. Can Coal find a way to get out of this arrange marriage and be with one extremely off limits prince? This was a cute romance that had a touch of Princess Diaries 2 (IYKYK) meets Nightmare Before Christmas! The leads were cute and the romance was sweet. It did feel a bit younger than what I was expecting but it definitely was giving college age vibes and thats not bad at all. The romance was sweet and the world was a fun one to read about. I am excited to see where the next book goes with the next couple and would rec this book if you enjoy fun rom coms.

Release Date: October 8,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you Tor & Bramble for the gifted copy!

“𝘛𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.”

Happy pub day Sara Raasch!! I absolutely loved this book. This somehow managed to be laugh out loud funny while also being romantic and deep. Based in a world where each holiday has their own kingdom, Christmas and Halloween with a touch of Easter take center stage here. This novel is a romcom, but at its heart it is a coming of age story that explores grief, family, dynamics, friendships, and feelings of self-worth. The side characters were great. There were moments that were touching, moments full of snarky banter, and irreverence, and of course some good spicy moments.

In the midst of all this, this book also forces you to take a look at what makes a holiday a holiday and really what it’s all about.

A perfect book for fall or winter or really anytime. I absolutely cannot wait for a book two to come out! Hats off to you Sara Raasch for a stellar adult debut.

🎃Found family
🎄Forced proximity
🎃Enemies to lovers
🎄Queer rep and love
🎃 So much holiday fun!

I read this book for Christmas in July and had mixed feelings about it and then reread it to gather my thoughts and found myself enjoying it more. So what changed in the last few months? This time around I skimmed over the scenes with the reigning Santa and focused on the budding romance between Hex and Coal. That about sums it up. I came for the romance and was not expecting the rest of the plot to be quite so nefarious. There’s a lot more going on than the PR stunts and arranged marriage alluded to in the summary. Hex and Coal thirsting after each other is certainly entertaining, and I am here for imperfect, lovable Coal and his disaster bisexual vibes. The cliffhanger of an ending makes it clear that little brother Kris Klaus is due for a sequel which I will be reading despite my mixed feelings on book one.

I really enjoyed the book. It was a cute, funny, silly, and sexy story with a lot of heart. I loved all of the characters, especially Coal, Hex, Iris, and Kris. They were all so sassy.

However, I wasn't a fan of how descriptive the writing was at the beginning. It felt like every detail of every interaction was examined and written about. Despite this, I was drawn in by the plot and all the holiday lore and politics. Although the plots are very different, this book reminded me of the Princess Diaries movies.

I think fans of "The Assistant/Apprentice to the Villain" will also enjoy this book.

"Every single one of those instances when I thought I was hypnotized by seeing joy on other people, I’d been searching, searching specifically for his joy. Because now that I’ve experienced it, it renders all past joy obsolete."

The Nightmare Before Kissmass is the utterly ridiculous, emotionally endearing story of what happens when the Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween are forced to fight for the Princess of Easter only to fall in love with each other in the process. For a book set in the North Pole, this one had no right to make me cry as much as it made me laugh, but that's exactly what it did.

"I make jokes. I’m a smartass. I don’t talk like this, with weight, but every second of a life spent being the comedic relief has been saving up sincerity for him."

After a few well-intentioned mistakes in the past, Coal has taken a step back from his role as heir to Christmas. He hides his true feelings and keeps up the facade of the funny guy while doing what is asked of him. But for the past year and a half, he hasn't stopped thinking about that guy behind the bar who understood him so thoroughly in the few minutes they spent together. And when he steps back into his life as a rival suitor and fellow Holiday Prince, Coal starts pushing back on what's expected of him to fight for what he truly wants. And Hex, our sweet and shy Prince of Halloween, has let his grief and guilt overwhelm him until he's shielded himself from the world. But with Coal, he can't help but let down his walls and be himself. These two are utterly obsessed with each other from the moment they meet and watching them fall in love is so beautiful.

"He fumbles, and I rock towards him, the smallest crack in his façade lets pieces of him slip through and I want to catch every single one."

This book is so full of Holiday cheer and joy, but it's also full of heart and that's what makes it special. For a book about fantasy royals based on Holidays, there's a sense of realness around it. The way Coal and Hex allowed themselves to be vulnerable with each other instead of shying away from their insecurities or the way they challenged each other so they could grow into the best versions of themselves. And it's not all about the romance either. The friendship between Coal, Kris and Iris, so full of banter and snark, but also unending support and love is one of my favorite parts about this book. Through Coal's struggles of figuring out what he wants Christmas to be and completely changing the way their holiday system works, they stand by each other. And that's what's at the core of this book, connection and spreading the magic and joy of being with those you love.

"Is it possible to shake apart from loving someone too much? They’re going to feel tremors all the way down in North Pole City and think it’s an avalanche but no, it’s me, combusting because of the calamitous power this one man has over me."

This whole world of joy based magic and Holiday royals is so fun and entertaining. The characters are truly relatable and make you feel so much. Coal and Hex are so completely obsessed with each other and made me so happy with their silliness and the abundance of love they had to give. This book knew how to keep me hooked whether it was with Coal's funny headlines, their hilarious text chains, Holiday puns or just by their ridiculous shenanigans as they tried to fix Christmas. This story has found a home on my favorites shelf and I can't wait to see what's next for these royals!

"Joy creates magic. I have never believed that more than with him."

A very silly premise turned into a pretty sweet book! I’ll be honest I went into this book very skeptical, and while I found it missing out on the holiday joy I was hoping for, despite surrounded by the holidays, it was still a solid rom-com. It was significantly enhanced by the narration, so kudos to the narrators!

Red, White and Royal Blue but make it festive! This book was so fun! In this magical Holiday world, you have courts and royal houses that represent different holidays. The magic is fueled by the joy their holiday generates.
The Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween are forced into a political arrangment and are then compelled to spend a lot of time together.
I loved both main characters, Hex and Coal. The tension, the banter, the sweet moments, I loved everything about them. I loved the way they cared for each other and the way their relationship developed.

Was it incredibly cheesy? Yes. Did I eat it up? Absolutely.
If you love the nostalgia of the Christmas movies you watched as a child but want an adult spin on them, I really recommend this book!
This is the perfect book to transition from Halloween to get Christmas!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒔 is a Christmas x Halloween fantasy LGBTQ+ romcom that many of you will surely love!

Coal, the Prince of Christmas, is forced by his father to marry the Princess of Easter, Iris, for economic reasons.
As if that wasn’t enough, he find himself in a fake competition with the hot Prince of Halloween, Hex, for Iris’s hand.
The problem? Coal kissed Hex years ago in a bar not knowing who he was and now they can’t keep their hands off each other!

I really liked the subplot about Coal’s father’s machinations, I found it really interesting!
I would have liked to know a little more but, as there is a second book coming out in March, I hope the topic is a little more in-depth.

I truly love Hex, he’s introvert and a little bit shy but that makes me like him more!
Unfortunately I don’t really bond with Coal. I found him a bit childish for my liking.

Despite everything, it was a cute and cozy read that I recommend catching up on for the holiday season!
And it’s perfect if you like the following tropes:
🎃 strangers to lovers
🎄fake rivals to lovers
🎃 forbidden romance
🎄 secret relationship
🎃 holiday magic
🎄 family drama.

Thank you Netgalley, @coloredpagesbt, @brambleromance and @sara_raasch for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review 🧡

We love a holiday romance, and this one delivered! While the plot of Christmas taking over and absorbing as many holidays as it can is a bit close to home, it was a good allegory for capitalism and greed that initially had good intentions. I'm happy with the way the Prince of Halloween was depicted--not as someone who was so emo he couldn't feel his feelings, but as someone who loves their holiday so much that feelings are inconsequential to the job, and that finding joy in grief is a healthy part of life. Something that those in Christmas had been forced to repress, up until Halloween showed them better.

I liked the bisexual representation, and endless banter as well.

A super fun queer holiday themed fantasy romcom that has an arranged marriage between the prince of Christmas and the Princess of Easter only to be thwarted as the Christmas heir falls for his one night stand, the Prince of Halloween in this paranormal romance that is great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Casey McQuiston and Timothy Janovsky. I'm so looking forward to what comes next in this new series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

The Nightmare Before Kissmas was such a fun read. I absolutely enjoyed everything about it and left me wanting more! I am obsessed with The Nightmare Before Christmas and I will read pretty much any book with a combination of Halloween and Christmas. I adored the characters. They all had likable qualities. I enjoyed the concept of royal families of all the holidays. The chemistry/relationship between the princes was so adorable and at times hilarious. The opposites attract and forced proximity are the best troupes in my opinion. I was lucky enough to find an early copy at Barnes and Nobles. The cover is absolutely stunning and it looks great displayed on my shelves. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had incredible potential but ultimately did not deliver for me. It’s being marketed as rivals-to-lovers, where Christmas Prince Coal and Halloween Prince Hex are competing to marry a princess but then fall for each other instead, but this is also misleading. Coal and Easter Princess Iris are best friends, and Coal’s father (the reigning Santa) is forcing them to get engaged and pressuring Hex to put his name in the running, all so that he can control other major holidays. (If this sounds confusing, that’s because it is.) And Coal and Hex have already met once before, not knowing who they were, and made out immediately. So they’re not truly rivals…and it’s not actually a competition…they’re being manipulated by a very shady Santa.

Also, the author is telling folks that this is “basically” Wolfstar fanfic…I must heartily disagree.

There are a few problems with the writing structure: first, there is no exposition. We don’t have a good sense of who our characters are or their relationships with each other before we’re dropped into the plot and their group chat. There are a lot of incredibly awkward transitions–for example, one chapter ends with an intimate scene between Hex and Coal, and the next chapter begins with Coal Christmas caroling. Umm, how did we get here? The writing itself is unnecessarily verbose and thesaurus-ed to death, and this relates to another issue I have: Hex. The love interest is a prince of Halloween who has incredible style and is literally named Hex Hallow, but the author has him speaking like a British robot. Like if you combined JARVIS and Rupert Giles–totally stilted and way too formal at all times (yes, even then). Where is the punk?? Some phrases also just make no sense and really take you out of the romantic moment. For example, Hex always “trills” and “warbles” during intimate moments. Is he a sexy bird? Coal at one point touches the “mountain range” of Hex’s spine…I sure hope not.

My other big issue is with the ridiculous plot, and how it affects the romance. This book is being compared to Red, White and Royal Blue, which contains a great balance of characters actually being rivals-to-lovers, their relationships with their families, and their countries’ political landscapes. This book did not achieve that balance. Coal goes on inanely repetitive rants about how Christmas is either a capitalist nightmare or brings so much joy to the world (seriously, the phrase “joy to the world” was used in earnest many times). His father wants to forcibly take control of all the holiday joy in the world–very imperialistic, very “Make Christmas Great Again.” Santa is also incredibly abusive and manipulative toward his sons, which makes this story weirdly high-stakes and traumatic, something I feel doesn’t really fit with the silly holiday romance vibes I was expecting.

Something I absolutely hated is that Iris literally says that being forced to marry her best friend against both of their wills is easier than having to make her own decisions. Excuse me??

I would have loved to see more details of the magic system. All we really see is Coal blasting a little bit of snow, and for some reason Hex summons Halloween decorations any time he cusses. The basic tenant of this book is that holiday joy is supposed to generate magic, and we don’t really see this magic at work. There’s definitely an imbalance between Christmas and Halloween, and I wish Coal would have gotten to visit Halloween in this book. There’s already a sequel coming out in March that will focus on Coal’s brother Kris, so I’m really disappointed that Halloween didn’t get enough attention. I get the feeling that the author thought of a lot of Christmas puns and wrote a book as an outlet for them. I wish there could have actually been a fun, light competition plot between Hex and Coal in some way, but the sweet romance was overshadowed by too many preachy rambles about how wonderful and magical Christmas is (even though we don’t really see evidence of this in the book).

Thank you NetGalley/Bramble for the eARC, and Happy Halloween I guess.

I really wanted to love this book but there were too many things that bothered me. 😭

First marketing this as The Nightmare Before Christmas meets Red, White and Royal Blue doesn't work. There is nothing in this to make you think of NBC except for the separate holiday lands. That's it. And while it wanted to be RWRB, the weird pseudo holiday politics were not relatable enough for me to care. The strained family relationships also added more drama then necessary. It should have been more fun. For being marketed as something so cute I really expected it to lean more into the camp and comedy but instead it took itself too seriously.

I really wish the book was dual POV because I'm sure I would have liked hearing Hex's side of the story far more than Cole's. I just liked his vibe better.
Between all the family drama with Cole and his parents and the fake marriage competition there was way too much going on. I would have loved more character interactions and development. I wanted to care more about the main MCs. I really liked Kris though, so I'll be reading the next book in the series. But I hope it's more about the characters actions and less about all the drama going on around them.
I think this one is still worth a read if you're looking for a fantasy/ holiday romcom. Just maybe lower your expectations a little bit.

I was a big Nightmare Before Christmas fan growing up, so the title comps for this book had me intrigued. I'm not a super big Christmas fan, but I'm so glad I took a chance on this book! I found it very funny and charming, and enjoyed following Coal and Hex and their relationship. I've heard there's going to be more books in this series, and I will definitely pick them up!

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch is delightfully charming, a callback to all the Christmas rom-coms I loved to watch when I was younger. I love the introduction to Coal and especially his meet-cute with Hex, even though he has no idea who Hex is. And as he realizes how much he likes Hex, things only get more complicated from there.
What I like the best is that the author doesn’t shy away from the complications. Neither character is perfect but instead both are layered and their dynamic is rich. Coal must grapple with what he really wants and find a solution even though he doesn’t want to make things worse. What makes this so delightfully charming is the way that he listens to his friends, his brother and Hex, learning to have a foundation of small joys and small changes that lead to happiness. And the text conversations between all the characters are just adorable.
If you like Christmas romance, Halloween characters, complex characters and charming moments, this novel is for you. The characters dynamic is beautiful and this is a joyous romance that is sweet and sexy.

4.5 Stars rounded up

This book was thoroughly enjoyable. I was pulled in immediately and once I started, I couldn't put it down. I loved all the characters and was actively rooting for Hex and Coal's happily ever after. I can't wait to see where this series leads.