I guess I had a vague picture in my mind of what this book was going to be and I was way off. But I'm not entirely sure that this book knows what it is supposed to be either. At the very least I wanted some holiday vibes, but I didn't even really get that. Yes there is hot chocolate and sleigh rides but all of the cozy vibes were zapped by the holiday imperialist machine plot - so it almost felt like the holidays were corporate and menacing. The 'holiday families' were very high court, marry off my daughter to strengthen my alliance, I will expand my empire, dramatic. Not at all what I was expecting. Also, the main characters aren't enemies so the enemies-to-lovers trope doesn't apply. The book oscillated from 'fey court drama' to 'campy holiday romance' and it really never fell into step with either. This was a good idea but it just didn't quite land. Ellis Evans was a good narrator and filled the dialogue with humor and emotion. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

No tricks here, this was a delightful little Halloweeny Christmasy treat! I very much enjoyed the idea that holidays are like their own nations. I would love another book that goes more into Halloweens town/domain! I did see a second book is coming out for Kris that deals with St. Patrick’s Day and I can’t wait to read that and maybe something that focuses on Iris and Easter in the future too!?! Obviously it’s easy to get invested in these characters! And I 100% agree with its Red, White, and Royal Blue + Nightmare Before Christmas mash up claims! Will be recommending this to everyone when it comes out!

Thank you to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Bramble for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

This book was a delight. As you might guess from the cover, it gave me all the holiday feels. It especially focuses on Coal, the Prince of Christmas. He is always getting in trouble and thwarting his father's efforts to train him to be Santa. But his heart's in the right place. And the love interest is Hex, the Prince of Halloween.

I enjoyed both characters and their great conversations. I would like a bit more relationship development in lieu of a few steamy scenes, but overall I appreciated the pacing and character growth.

My favorite aspects of the book were how relevant it felt outside of either a royal household or a holiday land. So much focused on parental expectations and the family business. Coal hoped to shift the meaning of Christmas to focus more on joy and less on consumer commodification.

Coal's friend circle was amazing, and makes me eager for more books in this Royals and Romance series.

I appreciated Ellis Evans' phenomenal narration. It added the holiday spirit so well.

4.25 stars

I was ready to eat this book up! It sounded so adorable and I really love a good holiday romcom. Unfortunately the execution fell a little flat.

The narrator was excellent and if I was rating on audiobook performance alone it would be a much higher rating.

I think some of my issue with this book is a me problem and not the book’s problem but I was uninterested in the uber rich holiday royals and them living lavish lives.

The book as a while read a lot more YA than I would have liked for an adult book (aside from the spice, although even that was rather tame for an adult book).

For a romcom book the amount of politics felt overdone. The whiplash between all holiday politics and then all romance was a bit jarring. I wish there was more of a happy median.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

To be honest, Ellis Evans could read me a grocery list and I would love it 🤣

I will say that I much preferred the audio to the book itself, but regardless The Nightmare Before Kissmas was a silly good time, and I loved every slow burn minute of Coal and Hex’s story!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC! Yall made me a happy, happy girl!

The Nightmare Before Kissmas is a book I knew I needed when I saw it pitched as Red, White & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was thankful that I had an eARC and ALC of this one. Once I sat down to read this one, I just couldn't put it down. The amazing story and narration by Ellis Evans had me hooked. I read it in one sitting. The audiobook made reading this book an even better experience. Ellis Evans was able to really bring this story to life and I need more books with this narrator.

My favorite holiday is Christmas, so our main character Prince Nicholas had my attention from the start. He seems to be a bit of a bad boy, but he really just wants to do right by his people. He stole my heart from the start and we see so much from him. Add in a fake relationship and a connection to Prince of Halloween that's not allowed and this was just everything. The Nightmare Before Kissmas had me laughing out loud and even wiping away a few tears. This book has family, friendship, holiday spirits, grief, and so much more.

The romance has a bit of a slow burn, but it works. The spicy scenes are classy and don't take over the story. We have characters who are fighting for their own holidays and just want their people to be happy. My favorite part was when Prince Nicholas and Kris decided to change a boring political dinner and make it a Christmas movie marathon. It's all about the spirit that makes Christmas amazing.

All of these characters were so much fun! It's hard for me to put everything into words, because I loved it so much. I'll be anxiously awaiting the next book in this series to release. I'm so excited about Kris' story.

My review will also be posted on https://thebookdutchesses.com on November 21st.

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of The Nightmare before Kissmas in exchange of my honest opinion.

Coal is the prince of Christmas, but has lost his love for the holiday when the main focus of it became materialistic things. This was a powermove from his dad to make Christmas the most important holiday of the year. To make things worse, it has been announced that Coal will be "competing" to marry the Easter Princess, Iris with the the Prince of Halloween. However, that was not the first time he has met Halloween's Prince, Hex.

I really enjoyed the grumpy x sunshine from the main couple Hex and Coal in this book. Coal is immature, rash and a bit self centered, although he has good intentions. Hex is quiet, introspective but is eager to act on his feelings to Coal.
The sibling bond between Coal and Kris could have been better explored and I would love to see more interactions between Kris and Iris.

The story of the book flows well and we have a lot of deeper conversations about class difference, the meaning of traditions and greed in a way that was lighthearted but earnest.

Lastly the narrator of this book did a great job in bringing the dialogue to life! it portrayed this opposite personalities of the main characters in a very interesting way and kept my attention throughout the whole book even in moments that I would feel the pacing was slightly slower have I read it in physical format.

Overall a cute and fun read for the holiday season!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. 5 stars and 4 chili peppers for spice. Holy wow! This story was amazing! And the audio book narrator was Chef’s Kiss! This was my first book by Sara Raasch and I was so impressed. Her writing is beautiful. At points almost lyrical. Surprisingly this book went deep with characters reflecting internally. I honestly think there was a point I almost cried. Normally I don’t like world building but she did it beautifully. You really got a sense of this alternate holiday world existing with ours. The politics between the royal families was so good! Two words - male corsets. I also loved all the supporting characters. Everything about this book was just so good. I think this might be my top book for the entire year. This book was a slow burn but spicy. Can’t wait for book two!

Ok so this review is coming from someone who actually hates Christmas themed media, BUT I fell in love with this book! From the characters to the world building I loved everything! The mmc critiques over consumerism and the lack of meaningful Christmas interactions from the pursuit of being the number 1 holiday. In other words, Christmas is the monopoly corporation taking over the world, and if we know anything about those types of companies is that they don’t care who they hurt as long as they have profits, and that was exactly what the mmc’s father was doing with their profits, joy. The book does not shy away from the abusive actions his father acts on in the pursuit of the perfect family image, which is why I believe this is a very unique book. Although it is still a Christmas book, the fact that it brings in real life problems, it makes it more relatable. Then the romance is incredibly sweet, they were a very well matched and I’m glad the book ended the way it did! Even if you don’t like Christmas or Christmas themed books, you should definitely give this a try as it’ll leave you pleasantly surprised!

This book was such a fun read! I was expecting something very cheesy with the plot centered around the concept of Holiday royalty, but this was so amazing. The universe was very well constructed, and I really love how it really is the first of its kind. There was just the right amount of humor but not so much that it became annoying. The characters were believable, although a bit predictable.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Ellis Evans, does a great job acting though the parts, just not always doing different voices for each character.

Overall, a great book and I cannot wait to read more of this universe!!

This was a fun book to get you ready for all the autumn and winter holidays!
The Prince of Christmas Coal has kind of lost his love for the holiday when it dad commercialized it. It has now been announced that he will be "competing" to marry the Easter Princess, Iris who his brother Kris is in love with. When the Prince of Halloween, Hex arrives to compete for Iris's hand, Coal realizes it is the mysterious boy he kissed outside a bar one night who he can't stop thinking about. Coal then unearths some internal secrets that change his view on how things are run.
The characters in this book are fun, I loved the sibling bond between Coal and Kris and I loved the friendship between the 2 of them and Iris (who has been friends with them forever). They were very supportive of one another amidst the things they uncover. Coal and Hex had ok chemistry, it wasn't the best I've read, but there was something there.
The pacing of this book isn't super fast, but I was never really bored. It kept my interest throughout the book and was keen to find out how it would end.
As this is the first book in the series, I would love another book with Kris or Iris as the main character. I think doing the series that way would be super fun (though of course I am not the author!).
The narrator of the audiobook was fantastic. He was really good at bringing the dialogue (specifically) to life and I think is one of the reasons my interest was piqued the entire time.

Thank you to MacMillan audio for this ARC! I was so surprised that a concept that sounded like a cute rom-com could be executed so beautifully with a serious undertone. The characters are so humanly flawed and felt authentic. The humor was laugh out loud funny. The romance and tension were sublime! The themes of power corrupting, class division forcing folks to take what is given, the reality of joy actually means… were so well done. I loved how the holidays were represented as businesses. Also, the narrator was perfect for this story and they did a fantastic job! Really surprised with how much I loved this story!

I really wasn't sure this book would be for me. I'm not usually a fantasy girl, but I found this audiobook to be totally enjoyable. It was fun. There are moments that are kind of junior highish, but it was all the more endearing because of those. This book has family members of the different holidays competing against each other and collaborating at the same time. I don't know how else to describe it.

Bisexual Coal Claus (you guessed it--Christmas) has fallen for Hex, the Prince of Halloween. Unfortunately, his father has pitted them against each other to see which will marry Iris, the Easter Princess. Neither of them want to marry her and have trouble keeping away from each other. There is subterfuge, secret letters, unacknowledged crushes, steamy scenes and chaos galore.

The narration by Ellis Evans was superb. It was a delight to listen to!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

I think this was suppose to be cute and funny but it came across very serious and not at all lighthearted. I wanted to love it but sadly this missed the mark for me. It was okay and the relationships between the characters was decent. Also the smut was out of place with the serious tone of the rest of the story.

Do you remember the movie Rise of the Guardians from 2012? The movie with all of the holiday characters (Santa, Easter Bunny, Jack Frost, Sandman, etc.)? Have you ever wanted similar vibes in a rom-com, that's also an LGBTQ+ love story AND has spice?!?!? It was something I never knew I wanted or needed but BOY it was such a cute and entertaining story! 🥹
The back and forth between the two male main characters (Cole and Hex) was so confusing but fell into place by the end, the personal growth that both characters experience, the family love, the themes of joy, holidays, grief, family, and so much more makes this an extremely strangely well-balanced rom-com! Also, the narrator does a great job of expressing the emotions and the different themes of the story!
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review! 💖

4☆
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Nicholas "Coal" Claus, low-key was very immature, cringy, annoying, irritating, with a little humor to him. I wanted to like his character so badly, but he was just too immature for me with daddy issues.
The audiobook was good, which I would give 4 ☆. The narrator did a great job bringing this story to life. The narrator was very easy to listen to and understand.
The storyline would be 3.2 ☆.
Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR facade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle. But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess. Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬
•Quirky Romcom
•Queer Romance
•Holiday Theme
•Fake Competition
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Oct.8
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Thank you, Netgalley, and MacmillanAudio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

A little like The Santa Clause 2 meets Red, White, and Royal Blue. Coal, the prince of Christmas falls madly in love with Hex, the Halloween prince in an attempt to save both of their holidays out from under the controlling thumb of the reigning Santa. Once you get over the initial cheesiness, it was a cute story.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did! And now I really can’t wait until March for the sequel!!

The synopsis perfectly captures what this book is about but I’ll add that the reigning Santa (Coal and Kris’ father) is basically a mob boss extorting joy from other holidays so that Christmas can be the supreme cause of joy in the world. He’s also trying to be the supreme controller in Coal’s life by negotiating an arranged marriage with an Easter Princess, Iris, who’s also his best friend. And not anyone that he wants to marry.

Throw in The Prince of Halloween, Hottie Hex, as an extra contender for Iris’ hand in a “The Bachelorette”-type contest and the sparks fly when Coal falls for Hex, the mysterious boy he kissed behind a bar a year and a half ago and never heard from again.

Can Coal save the holidays and his future from his power-hungry father and win the boy of his dreams? Well, Christmas is the time of miracles.

Things I loved the most:

- the world-building: contemporary but each holiday has a royal court whose royals possess magical powers
(and pesky paparazzi)

- the brotherly bond between Coal and Kris and their friendship with Iris

- the Christmas time setting

- and, of course, the adorable and steamy romance between Hex and Coal (I’m hoping to see more of them in the sequel!)

This book is well written, well paced, and flawlessly narrated by Ellis Evans!! I absolutely enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet MM holiday romance!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my advanced listening copy.

It’s Red, White, & Royal Blue meets Santa Clause. The overall story is cute, but having a White woman write from the POV of a bisexual man, who in turns falls for a the Prince of Halloween, who is mixed blood, just seems wrong in 2024. Overall, I give a 3 out of 5.

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.

I loved the audiobook and think the narration from Ellis Evans adds to the overall book. His voice acting gives the story and characters an energy lift. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions while listening to the audiobook, and highly recommend reading the book this way.