The Vibes: The Nightmare Before Christmas (you know this), rivals to lovers, fighting for the same girl but we really wanna kiss each other

Heat Index: 5/10

The Basics:

Nicholas Claus (otherwise known as Coal) is the Prince of Christmas. His father, the reigning Santa, has commercialized Christmas to the point that Coal is rebellious and and chafes at the prospect of duty... which doesn't mean he isn't obligated to marry his friend Iris, the Easter Princess (who Coal's brother is currently pining for). Problem: Hex, the Prince of Halloween, is here to vie for Iris's hand... except he really doesn't. Because Hex actually wants Coal. And also, they made out a couple of years ago.

The Review:

Well.... I really loved this in theory. In reality? It's solid, but it's another one of those "'twill be better for others than it is for me" books that I seem to be running into a good bit lately.

"But Caroline," you say. "Surely you didn't have high expectations for a silly, fun Nightmare Before Christmas but it's rivals to lovers book, right?"

I mean, I didn't expect it to be some sweeping epic romance, no. But I do expect to have a fun and sexy time, and while this is a fun and sexy time for many, I'm sure, it's not MY type of fun and sexy time. Because I do enjoy a silly book! I was so down for silly here.

It is fun and cute and all that, but it's actually way more in touch with reality (our reality) than I expected. With Christmas romances especially, I often want to be swept up into this Christmas world. The Christmas Notch series, for example, is a Christmas romance series set in our world that is still somehow SO. INTO. CHRISTMAS. It feels "Christmas realm but making out". This had some of that, but I really thought I'd get more.

This leans a lot into the daddy issues of Bad Cynical Santa, versus the potential cackling fun of Bad Cynical Santa. And there wasn't as much magic as I expected? Like, I expected the *creepy organ riff* Addams Family type intro for Hex, but alas. He's most notably wearing a corset. Which I love, but MORE. HALLOWEEN.

When you reference The Nightmare Before Christmas, I just expect... more camp holiday joy and less "let's reference Frozen". There is a Frozen joke, and that was JARRINGLY close to our real world. When you combine that with the capitalism commentary, which is a surprisingly big part of the novel, I'm like... But wait. I want like. Peppermint-flavored dicks, or something. Not OUR world.

That said. I love the holiday royals. I loved Iris. There is a lot of cute here. The concept of two guys trying to win a princess who doesn't want to marry either of them, really (but she will because Holiday Royal Duty) making out with each other on the low? Great.

I think I was just looking more for... more.

I also will say, this falls victim to another "this reads like a well-written book but does it read as romance-y as it could because there is one POV and we need both" situation. Being in Coal's head all the time honestly left me feeling like I'd spent more time getting to know Coal's friends and family than Coal and Hex as a couple. Which, again... doesn't mean it's a bad book. But it did keep me from investing in the romance.

I also do have something of a golden rule with romance novels, which is that... if you don't have everyone involved in the romance show up by 20% in, that's a deduction. Hex does show up early. Technically. But then we have a time jump, during which he and Coal never see each other, and then... it's a good bit before he shows up. Not a lot happens in that good bit, admittedly, because we're mostly getting to know Coal's platonic relationships. But I don't know, man. We needed more.

The Sex:

This is lightly steamy, I'd say. There's chemistry, there's Stuff, but it's not super descriptive or super frequent.

I do actually totally get the Red White & Royal Blue comparisons. If you enjoyed that book (I'm more about the movie version) then yeah, I totally see this working for you. For me... it was more of an "alright" experience. Solid voice performance from the narrator, no complaints there.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Tor, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in advance.

This one is actually lived up to the Red, White & Royal Blue comparison.

Coal is the hottest of hot messes. Outwardly he’s a total disaster but his heart is in the right place. His father is very power hungry and has lost sight of their original goals as the stewards of Christmas. He decides to dump an arranged marriage on Coal and the Princess of Easter, Iris, and they both about throw up on the stage. Young love.

There are two love stories in this. Only one is romantic love. I loved how genuinely these brothers love each other. Kris and Nicholas were allies and friends - best friends - and the plot never makes us second guess them.

Coal ends up hooking up with the Prince of Halloween and that goth baby was a dream. The two of them were very sweet together and this book was so fun. I’m excited that the series is continuing.

Ellis Evans was the perfect choice for the narrator of this book. Coal was kind of goofy but earnest and the narration caught all of that. He did a good job with all of the characters.

I absolutely loved this one! I normally try to avoid any type of rom-com that is holiday related, so this was a bit of a leap for me. However, I would say this was an excellent leap, because I adored this one. Does it take a minute to get into, yes, though once it finally gets going it is amazing! If you like stuff that is delightful and quirky, and overall fun to read/listen to this the one.
This book also has an amazing cast of characters, Coal and Hex are little angel babies and I love them. Also there is amazing banter between characters in this one, so yeah. The narration for this book is fantastic, it added a little extra something to the characters and the banter!

Overall, I highly recommend this one! Read it or Listen to it please!!
5/5

Admittedly this one took me a bit to embrace. Had it. It been an ARC I may have flirted with DNFing it too early and I wouldn’t have missed out.

I am thankful to have gotten the audioARC for free from Netgalley and Macmillan Audio so I can leave my voluntary review.

I finally settled into this work at about the 50% mark. Honestly, I think I would have preferred reading it over the audio. Is there anything wrong with the audio? Not at all. The narrator Ellis Evans is delightful in his recitation creating each character. It also has a great normal speed pacing.

It’s on the longer side of 12 and a quarter hours of listening time for this type of cute romance with a bit of political posturing.

I love the use of the holidays as sort of ethnicities/countries. Underneath it definitely gives a whole lot of political commentary but if the consumer show so choose, they can simply not lean into that aspect and just enjoy the ride.

The book does have a little spice. I’m. It sure if the main relationship is really that healthy in a tea world sense but it’s a fiction book, just roll with it.

So if you love romance and especially queer content, this is the perfect read heading into the holiday season. It comes out to the public on October 8, 2024, just in time for Halloween!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

The Nightmare Before Kissmas is a sweet, sexy romcom with fantastic characters and a delightful plot.

Gosh, this book was so fun. It was romantic, cheesy (in the best way), funny, and entertaining. It felt like a combination of Hop (movie), The Santa Clause (movie), and Red, White & Royal Blue (book). I adored the hilarious characters and lovely character development. The romance was steamy and sweet. The pacing was great, and I loved the plot. I highly recommend this book, especially as a holiday read!

Ellis Evans nailed the audiobook narration. His voice fit Coal well, and he did a great job with the other voices. I loved the energy and emotion he brought to the story!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

This book desperately needed to go back to the drawing board.

It’s frustrating, because the basic premise of this was great, and there are elements that really work. Although this has been comped to Red, White and Royal Blue, for me, it gave off more Boyfriend Material vibes. Coal is a bit of a mess, and his status as the Prince of Christmas means there’s the ever-present threat of paparazzi blowing up his failures. His memorable voice was brought to life by an outstanding audio performance from Ellis Evans. I also really enjoyed his relationships with his brother, Kris, and his best friend, Iris. Although, I do think the snarky banter walked a razor-thin line between “funny and endearing” and “cringey,” and sometimes it tipped too much into “cringey.”

But the entire trajectory of the plot was a complete mess. The summary promises a fun rivals-to-lovers romance, but this book is NOT that. Coal and Hex never wanted to be rivals, don’t even bother to fake a rivalry, and are pretty much in love with each other from the get-go. There is basically no conflict in their relationship until the third-act breakup. In fact, there is a severe lack of agency for all of the main characters until a little after the halfway point. They’re all being forced to do things they don’t want to because of Coal’s father, instead of actively controlling the plot, and that makes the story feel like it’s moving through molasses in the first half. The romance would have been much more exciting if Coal and Hex acted as legitimate rivals (like Hex legitimately wants to win Iris’s hand, and maybe Coal doesn’t think Hex is good enough for his best friend), only to find they have more chemistry with each other than with Iris. Also, both the third-act breakup and the resolution of the Christmas conflict at the climax were some of the silliest things I have read in a while, and I really do not say that lightly.

The other part that really fell short for me was the holiday politics. Normally, I enjoy angst and drama, but for this book, I wish it had stuck to being just a lighthearted, magical, fluffy romcom. The attempt to add high stakes via the holiday politics felt silly and melodramatic. Oh, Coal’s screw-ups are bad for Christmas’s reputation because Santa wants to expand the global reach of the holiday? I mean…that sounds kind of colonialist/imperialist, no? Considering that non-Western countries have their own major, important holidays? (It would have been actually interesting if Christmas was duking it out with Lunar New Year, Eid, and Diwali, but I guess the author didn’t want to tackle that angle.) Oh, Coal is upset that Santa wants to mass-produce cheap toys instead of giving real gifts because he wants to save his magic to turn more of a profit? Oh, Iris needs to go through with the arranged marriage because her family is unpopular with the Easter Court (and yet it's not like they can be removed from power)? Oh, Santa wants to check the power of Halloween (view spoiler)??? I’m sorry, but I found these “stakes” laughably ridiculous and nonsensical. I wish this book had been written more like a contemporary romance in the sense that the stakes are usually more personal and emotional, instead of attempting and failing to have grand, world-changing stakes.

Also, the whole message that “one day of joy doesn’t accomplish much compared to improving people’s lives” just felt like a misunderstanding of what holidays are. For as much as the book tries to critique the capitalist approach to holidays, it ultimately does the same thing by treating holidays as only “one day of joy.” Holidays are not just about buying and receiving presents; they’re about tradition, community, and culture (and, yes, religion, in some cases, even though the book attempts to brush that part off). And again, none of this would have been a problem if the book had just stuck to a fluffy, lighthearted, whimsical fantasy world, like Rise of the Guardians. It’s by clumsily trying to make “deeper” points that the book utterly falls flat on its face.

Other things that bothered me: some of Coal’s internal struggles were repetitive and brought up too many times, and the book was way too melodramatic at some points. Also, the make-out and sex scenes were actually torture to read. It's like the author took a thesaurus and went to town during these scenes. The prose was flowery to the point of making me laugh out loud, and not in a good way.

It’s a shame, because a Rise of the Guardians-style holiday story with a Boyfriend Material-esque queer romance could have ended up being a brilliant book. Unfortunately, the execution of this story was a miss on so many levels. Alas.

This was so cute! I love a good Christmas rom com. I thought the humor and spice were both top notch! From the cover I thought it was more about both Cole ans Hex but it really is more Cole's story with Hex as a side character. I was a little confused when Hex barely made an appearance in first 20% of book. Nonetheless it was cool to see Cole's growth throughout the book. I loved the narrator- he gave Ryan Reynolds vibes and really expressed the humor in the book so well! I hope there's a spinoff with Cole's brother, I would definitely read that!

This was such a fun book, especially listening to the audiobook. The narrator did such a great job being the characters to life! I loved the premise, the quirky characters, and all the holiday references. It all came together so well! A romance between the Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween, how can you not love that?!

Hex and Coal were easy to love! I found myself completely invested in their romance and their holiday duties! Their connection was sweet and spicy. This book is a new favorite holiday themed romance for me! I definitely recommend checking out the audiobook!

Read if you like:
🎃 Holiday Romances
🎄 Queer Romance
🎃 Family Drama
🎄 Rivals to Lovers
🎃 Fun Banter

This book is clever, funny and sexy! The relationships felt so real, both the romantic and platonic ones. I loved the mix of texting and traditional storytelling. This story had me laughing and reading as fast as possible the whole way through!

Firstly , Thank you NetGalley and Sara Rassch for the opportunity to read an ARC of her upcoming book .

I absolutely loved this book! From beginning to end it had me hooked. The love story is so cute and the plot is great. Hex and Cole are just 😍and I really hope she writes a book about iris and Chris .❤️❤️I can’t wait for her next book.
1000% would recommend this book to my family and friends or frankly anyone wanting to hear me obsess over it lol
5✨
Amazing holiday read ❤️

this was so fucking adorable its almost painful 😩

one thing about me all you have to do is mention something has the likeliness of RWRB and i am THEREEEE. i can confirm this was just as fun and hot and cute 🤭

i really love how unique this story was, it hooked me from the very start. never would i have ever thought that holidays but make it royalty would make for such a fun story!!! sara raasch truly created something so special with this one and ellis evan’s did a phenomenal job at bringing these characters to life. i felt like you can really tell a lot of thought and care went into the writing and production of this book 🥹

this was my first book of sara’s and i just cannot wait to read more of hers

This book is extremely ridiculous in BEST way.
This is not something I would usually pick up but the cover was too cute to pass up.

Coal the prince of Christmas hates what Christmas has turned into. So he tries to do something about it, only create a huge mess. That night he meets and makes out with a hot stranger.
When his father throws a surprise fake engagement to his bestie his way he is all kinds of pissed, things only get worse for him when he meets the Prince of Halloween 🎃 who happens to be the hot stranger he made out with. They have to fight for the hand of the Easter princess. Shenanigans are to follow obviously.

I found Coal to be hilarious and I found myself laughing out loud to a lot of his antics.
Hex is literal sunshine dressed in black.
He’s the sweetest emo boy.

I loved their banter and their chemistry.

I had the privilege to listen to this on audiobook form and Ellis Evans is amazing in his narration, loved all the emotion he put into reading and giving life to Coal, if you have the chance to listen to the audiobook don’t miss out.

I’ll definitely be rereading this for Halloween and maybe even Christmas 🎄
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC, all opinions are my own.