*4.5 Stars On My Instagram*

"He's a ten but - he's the hot goth prince of Halloween and you're the bi-disaster son of Santa, and you've both been coerced into a PR rivalry where one of you will end up marrying the Easter princess (who's your BFF). Oh and he's also the mystery guy you made out with behind a bar years ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about since."

Now that you are caught up with the laugh out loud farcical plot of the fantastical The Nightmare Before Kissmas (A Royals And Romance Novel) by outrageously creative RomCom author Sarah Raasch; let's swoon over the sweetest sensuously sexy MM couple, sarcastically witty Hex (prince of Halloween) and hilarious self deprecating Nicholas "Coal" (prince of Christmas).

These two shouldn't be together, whether it's vying to marry the princess of Easter or plotting against their fathers; especially Santa who is seemingly buying into the commercialism of Christmas. They definitely shouldn't have enough explosive sexual tension to scorch the North Pole.

Listening to voice actor Ellis Evans AKA @narrator_pete bringing this writer's cleverly innovative world to life was pure joy. As Coal, our storyteller, he enhanced Coal's comical banter and his sweet vulnerability. He brought out Hex's sensitivity hidden behind his got it all together attitude.

If you want to laugh for a few hours, blush a bit during some intimate moments, and appreciate the genius that is the imagination of this author then don't sleep on listening to this dream of a holiday romcom.

Fav Quote: "My soul wants to smile to whatever god created him."

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

4 out 5 Star

Ahhh, that was so freaking cute. Even though this a suppose to be cute Christmas romcom, I'd say it can probably be read year round. It had bit of spicy but it wasn't doing to much but also not to little (side note the mention of condoms during the spicy should have made me swoon like it did.)

This was such a good read that I bought both the book and the audiobook. The concept of holiday rulers extends from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but this one's an adult novel with queer characters and, of course, as holiday rulers, the main characters have powers pertaining to their holidays. I loved it!

This was such a great Holiday Romance. I just loved it. I loved the text message thread between Coal, Kris, and Iris. I laughed so hard. The banter between Coal and Hex was everything. Coal is the next Santa in line. He has such dreams for Christmas but is slowly learning how his father runs things. He does not agree with these processes. There is a potential forced marriage, an imprisoned prince and forbidden love. I love all of these tropes. I hope we get another book about some of the side characters. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a delight to read! Very good representation of the various holidays. Squee-able romance! Great character voices! Will definitely be coming back for more!

4 stars.

"The Nightmare Before Kissmas" by Sara Raasch is soooo much fun! This book had me squeeing from the very first chapter from its immense levels of cuteness. I loved the lore of this world. I thought it was interesting how each holiday has a kingdom in this universe. The princes of Christmas and Halloween, Coal and Hex, are fabulous characters! They are lovable, messy, intriguing, have many layers, and are *~perfect~* for each other. Their forbidden love makes this all the more wonderful. There is even a little bit of spice where their story is concerned. Add in a slight mystery, some political posturing, and a host of fantastic side characters, and you've got the recipe for a new holiday favorite. Ellis Evans' audiobook narration is absolutely incredible. Grab some cocoa and sit by the fire with this book. You're not going to regret adding it to your holiday TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This is a tough review for me because I wanted to love a book that merged Halloween and Christmas and had steamy scenes, but I couldn't get there. The characters were adorable, used puns, and spoke in fun quips, but at the same time, they didn't seem real enough to me. Yes, I know they are fictional characters, and there is a fantasy element to this whole concept, but they didn't have enough depth. I suppose that much of this book is a set up for the next book, but I wanted more standalone-ness in this one. The audiobook version did give the characters great voices and I loved the acting and intonation. The pacing and timing worked for me, even in the steamy scenes.

This book was just absolutely delightful! The representation of all of the holidays and families. The romance. The humor. The politics among the holidays.

The narration was spot on.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook was so cute and fun! Definitely read between Halloween and Christmas. It gave me Red, White and Royal Blue vibes mixed with a great Christmas story, that Santa has a son. It’s cheesy and cute, but also has some family rifts, and politics of the Holiday world.
3.75 ⭐️ rounded up

I love this author and this concept, it was just a tad too cheesy for me. I appreciate the copy of the audio!

This audiobook was wonderful. The narrators had the perfect cadence and tone for the book, it felt whimsical without being juvenile, and each dialogue get personal and heartfelt.

*4.5/5*

This was such a fun book! It really helped me get into the holiday spirit, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I loved the idea of all of the holidays having their royal families that kept the holiday going. It seems like most of the time, it's Christmas that always has the family, where all the other holidays may have more of a mascot of sorts, so this was a nice change. The relationships between most of the characters felt healthy and believable.

I also really liked the plotline of Christmas becoming a big PR stunt, the marriage of convenience, and how the two suitors were obsessed with each other. Cole and Hex were one of my favorite couples of the year, and I loved how Chris and Iris were so supportive and encouraging.

I had two minor issues with the ending, so the spoilers are about to happen. If you don't want them, LOOK AWAY!

The issues I had were when Cole finally confronted his father, and his father had a realization moment and then disappeared for the rest of the story. No word on if he fulfilled his Christmas Eve duties or if anyone even saw him after their interaction. And it left on such a weird note with Chris and Iris. I get the implication that Chris confessed his feelings for Iris, and she didn't reciprocate, but I wanted a little more resolution. I know that there is a second book coming, so I'm sure it's probably going to pick up pretty much where the first one left off, but it felt a little unfinished to me.

I will definitely be continuing this series, and I hope it continues and follows other holidays after because I think that would be really fun.

If you enjoy the holidays, rom-coms, banter, and steamy men, you'll enjoy this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this Audio ARC Copy!

This was a cute story that follows the prince and heir of Christmas who is always up to some mischief and the price of Halloween who is competing with Christmas for the hand of Easter.
The different holiday courts and politics brought a cute little aspect to the story and I really enjoyed the world, but I really had a hard time connecting with the characters. All in all I think it was a fun little holiday read that is perfect any time between Halloween and Christmas.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced audiobook copy.
What a book!! I thought it was supposed to be all fun read, but here, I got many layers of many characters not to mention some political issue. The narrator also did it so well

This was a unique book and i'm not usually into worldbuilding or fantasy but I liked the idea of kingdoms based on holidays. I will def try the next one.

Although the premise is light. Sara Raasch dives into many themes about love, acceptance, and finding your place in life. I loved that Coal's friend and family surrounded him and supported him in finding his place after really struggling for a long period. Hex and Coal find the special love we all dream of.

10/05/2024 || Royals and Romance #1 - The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch ||#TheNightmareBeforeKissmas #NetGalley #QueerReads #RoyalsandRomance #HolidayRomance

Thank you NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio for making this ALC available!

Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~

5 Stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Quick Review:
This book was an absolute stunner for me! From the details to the world building to the friends to the steamy passionate insta-love/lust Hex and Coal experienced was just chef kiss for me!

My only complaint was I felt there was no heads up to the heavy themes consistently present through out this book from the very start and until the very end (HEA). I feel like this book was marketed as fluffy and cute, and while it had its moments of fluffy cuteness, it had not so cute and fluffy moments like getting drunk to mask emotions, neglectful and emotionally abusive parents, familial deaths, exploitation, corporate greed, and a hostage situation of a sorts tied to extortion and blackmail.

Longer Review:

What Worked for Me:
Everything, especially Hex and how adoring Coal is despite all that has happened to him. I liked Kris as well, and basically all the supporting cast of friends and loved ones. I feel like I'll have to wait for Go Luck Yourself to get to know Kris more but that's a subject for another time. The world building and magic system is SUPERB in this book! I imaged a world akin the the Christmas and Nightmare town in Nightmare Before Christmas and how Kingdom Hearts, the game series, explored these two holiday worlds. There was such vivid and lush details of not just the buildings and rooms they were in, but also their outfits and the foods-I don't think a single thing was left without the correct, and balanced description (in my humble opinion). I was transported to every scene in my imagination and I was left spellbound wanting more and more of how the holiday world worked in Kissmas!

I adored the group chat name changes, the Christmas sweaters, the decor, and while the themes were super heavy and hard to navigate personally, I felt it was done rather well. I didn't expect neglectful and absent parents and deaths in the family to corporate greed and blackmailing/extortion, but oddly enough these heavy topics worked well in this holiday themed romance. I usually don't like the trope found here: flirt and have sex and be intimate first, and touch on real, deep feelings later- this book surprised me because I understood where both guys came from and where they were with these reactions.

I didn't see a single point where the plot suffered anywhere or felt anything was rushed or glossed over or was too much neither. This is a rare, truly worked perfectly for me book!

What Did Not Work for Me:
Very little disappointed me about this book - I truly loved it from start to finish and inhaled it quickly! I think the only thing I was bothered by is that the marketing for this book was all about how wholesome and silly it was and how from jump it is heavy with traumatic themes and parental neglect issues. There is also talks of both parental death and sibling death and none of these heavier themes were warned or talked about in the marketing or description of this book. So please, check out every last CW/TW there is for this one, and probably the other books that will follow in this series, because it fully took me a day to get over the whiplash of what the book opened up with vs. how it was marketed. There are wholesome and silly moments, but they are very rare and it takes nearly til the end (HEA) to get to a place of peace for the cast of characters.

This was so fun - cue me kicking my feetsies like a dork while swooning over the MMCs falling in love.

Coal is initially a hot mess, despite his intentions being good, and honestly there's nothing that I love more than watching a character grow and stand up for what they believe in. His dad, the reigning Santa, is a real piece of work and has lost sight of what Christmas should be. I hate that he puts Coal and his brother through a bunch of hurt. That being said, Coal has a beautiful relationship with his brother, they're besties, they have each other's back and I'm here for that kind of sibling relationship!

My favourite character, however, is, not so surprisingly, the prince of Halloween, Hex! I know he's supposed to be this broody goth but he is so endearing! I absolutely love what happens when he swears! Talk about giving my heart pure joy 😂.

I'm so happy that this book actually lives up to the comparison to Red, White and Royal blue! It definitely gave me the same fuzzy feelings and I just love the holiday theme in this book! I listened to the audio and the narration was excellent! Absolutely recommend!

CW: sexual content, abandonment, emotional abuse, grief.

A huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

This book was fabulous! The holidays are actual kingdoms, there is forbidden love (H.alloween and Christmas princes?!), cherished friendships
family dynamics drama, And spiiiiiiiiiiice (not just the kind in your mulled wine)

I am obsessed with Hex and Coal! (Also Coals running anxious inner dialogue is SO RELATABLE). I love them. I love his besite Iris and his brother Kris. I am THRILLED this is going to be a series!

I’m a Halloween and Christmas lover, so this was a must read for me this year! This book gave me Red, White, & Royal Blue vibes (a favorite of mine), made me laugh out loud multiple times, and had great spice. The audiobook was a 10/10 as well! I can’t wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5