A delightful book that is funny, thoughtful, and well written. I picked this book up for the Christmas and Halloween vibes,and it absolutely delivered, but it also gave me characters I cared about and an interesting plot. 10/10 may re-read next year in the last week of October for optimal holiday effect.

The Prince of Christmas falls for the Prince of Halloween in this holiday packed romcom. Unfortunately, the Halloween prince is supposed to be marrying someone else and it’s causing tension amongst all of the characters.

I wanted to LOVE this and I can’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t. I liked it and enjoyed the romance aspect, but I felt lost at times and just wasn’t invested in the characters like I’d hoped to be. It was a fun and cute read for the season.

This audiobook was narrated by Ellis Evans. He did great with the characters!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on October 8th.

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok to post before the pub date raving about this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the nightmare before Kissmas. The prince of Christmas, Coal’s night at the bar and drunken kiss turns out to be the prince of Halloween, Christmas rival. Now Coal is going head to head with the prince of Halloween to wed Iris, the princess of Easter, as a political tactic.

I loved the relationship between Coal, his brother, and Iris (his best friend). The characters had thorough development that you could really get into and overall was just a really good read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What to Expect:
🎃Red, White & Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas (YES)
🎅🏽punny Christmas group chats
🎃skull rings & goth corsets
🎅🏽ice skating & sleigh rides
🌶gradual spice throughout the story
🎧Audio 100% recommend
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This was such a fun read with each holiday having royalty, heirs & magic! The sense of humor & friends dynamics definitely reminded me of RWRB and it was a delight! I especially loved the ties of Dia de Los Muertos with Hallowee/fall holidays. This does revolve more around Christmas, but even Easter comes into play. It doesn’t necessarily end with a cliff hanger, but I MUST know what happened with Chris and Iris! Cannot wait to see more from this series!

2.5 Stars
This was a cute and cozy read and would be a fun and festive book to read for the holidays. I didn't entirely love the way this was executed and the romance between the MCs didn't really hit the way I needed/wanted it to and I wish we got more of the backstory (what ever happened between Kris and Iris?? Did we ever find out and I just wasn't paying attention lol or is this going to be a plot point in the next book?). I did enjoy the narrator and felt that he did a great job at portraying Nicholas/"Coal" authentically.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

I have heard such great things about this one, and for whatever reason, it just didn’t do it for me. Not sure if it was the narrator, or just in my head but I never connected with the characters. I liked the idea of the story, but I don’t always love the snarky banter. The plot was all over the place and there was a ton of spicy scenes. A lot of people are comparing this to Red White and Royal Blue. I didn’t really like that one either, so I’m not surprised at my reaction to this one.

For a book that seemed so light and fluffy in the synopsis, it sure turned into so much more. Family trauma, the consumerism of holidays, and so much more. But it was so worth reading. Coal and Hex were a great OTP and I was cheering for their love from chapter one. This book has such a unique premise and a great romance filled with oodles of narrative layers. So much more than a simple romance. Also, the narrator was top-notch and a new favorite. I give this book 4/5 stars.

This seems like it would be a really cute story, but I couldn’t get past how annoying the MMC is. The story was a little predictable, but it included a lot of holiday politics. This definitely is a holiday version of Red White and Royal Blue

Nicholas “Cole” Claus is the first son of Christmas and heir to the Santa namesake…. But a lifetime of messing up and causing scandal has put him on his father, Santa‘s naughty list!

He’s been sent home for the holidays and if he doesn’t find a solution, he’s going to find himself walking down the aisle on Christmas Eve with his best friend, the Easter Princess!

When things seem to not be able to get any worse… in comes the dark and handsome Halloween Prince to also vie for the Easter Princess’s hand!

Too bad for the Easter princess, but it looks like both the Christmas and Halloween princes only have eyes for each other!

This was such a fun and quirky YA romance! I love the ultimate world of the Holiday states, and they are political intrigue! as a fan of the movie, the nightmare before Christmas I definitely found myself singing. This is Halloween, every time Hex, the Halloween Prince entered a scene!

I love to seeing these characters grow and develop their own maturity and respect for their individual holiday states. It was nice seeing the aimless Cole, find his purpose and take charge of his life!

I listen to the audiobook narrated by Ellis Evans and really enjoyed their use of voice differentiation for the varied characters. With two male leads and other male side characters, I was impressed at the variety of voice work. It was a fun book to listen to and the narration really brought the story to life!

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my review copies.

4.5 stars

The Nightmare Before Kissmas follows Nicholas “Coal” Claus, the Prince of Christmas who is a little bit of a hot mess. Known for being a in the tabloids and reeling from an international disaster, he just wants to hide away and hang out with his brother Chris and their best friend Iris, the Princess of Easter. His father has other plans and to make up for the PR mess, declares that Coal and Iris will be married. Things take a turn for the worse when the royals from Halloween show up to also challenge for Iris’ hand, and it turns out Prince Hex of Halloween is a man from Coal’s past! But this love triangle and competition is all a sham to try to create good press, and the princes only have eyes for each other. What follows is a tale full of forbidden romance, royal shenanigans, and messy princes who can’t stay apart.

I absolutely adored this holiday romcom! Described as Red, White & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas, this was such a fun and quirky story! It is a holiday spin on a contemporary royalty romance and is the perfect mix of cute, funny, and spicy! Coal and Hex were such great foils of each other and I loved all of their interactions. The side story with Chris and Iris’ potential romance has me PRAYING that we get their story in book two!

I thought this book was such a perfect balance of humor, heart, and spice. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times, but also nearly tearing up at how emotional it could get and the journey’s these characters went through. We also got a nice dash of some spice with the princes and it made for the perfect spiced treat!

I listened to this on audio and really loved the narration as well! Ellis Evans did a really good job in making the MMCs distinct, and really conveying their emotions throughout the entire novel. I actually thought for a while there were two narrators, that is how good of a job Evans did in making the characters unique! I really enjoyed the pacing and tone as well, and overall just found it a well done audiobook!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the copy of this book!

Read if you like:
-Holiday Romance
-Forbidden Love
-Hot Mess MMC
-Marriage of Convenience (goes wrong)
-Found Family

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite Halloween/Christmas movies so I knew I needed to read this!! And I was NOT disappointed! It was so freaking cute. I love the parallel that was created between real feelings around the Holidays in real life and how they were portrayed in this book. And the Ellis Evans did an amazing job bringing this to life!

Love the audio narration.

I was obsessed upon seeing the concept for this one and then the execution? Fantastic

I absolutely adored this book. It was magical, sweet, and funny, with a little bit of spice (MM). While it first appears to be a Christmas story, it’s a story that crosses multiple holidays. This is so much different than your typical holiday romance, give it a chance.

I was provided with a review copy of the audiobook and this is my honest opinion. I gave this book 4.5 stars. (If I am unable to leave partial stars, I will always round up.) Narration was excellent as well!

I cannot wait to continue on with the series. I also plan to check out the author’s previous works.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Raasch!

Being a huge fan of Red, White, and Royal Blue and The Nightmare Before Christmas, I had to read this book! It did not disappoint. Having a crossover of Christmas and Halloween just works. I love how the main characters are princes, because of course they are! Who knew that Santa Claus could be so evil though; good thing these princes are better. Sometimes you got to leave it to the children to break the mishandling of their parents. I love stories where you just know that the characters are meant to be together and that is how I felt about Coal and Hex. I am so happy that there will be another book to this series because there are so many questions that need to be answered.

This was cute but ultimately not as charming as it needed to be to pull of the concept. I think if I had read this in high school it would've hit me more I think. So just an issue of not for me.

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me listen to the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was cute however one of the irks for me was the instalove. Coal was so annoying I almost couldn't stand him. I liked Hex, he was great but I wanted a dual POV it would have made the book even better. It was a cute story, with heavy trauma from the families. I wish they went into more detail with the families and why they made those choices.

Read if you like:
🔀 Opposites Attract
🤫 Secret Relationship
🏡 Forced Proximity
🎉 Holiday Romances
✨ Magical Realism
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ Romances

This book was so dang cute!!!! I really loved the way the opposites attract was done with the Prince of Christmas and Prince of Halloween and how they were brought together as part of a political move but they also have history when they met and made out n in a bar before being brought together over essentially a “which holiday will win” moment organized by Coal’s dad who is doing sus things to gain power for Christmas.

I loved how their romance grew while “competing” for the heart of the princess of Easter and while also trying to make things better for all holidays and fix the issues that they have uncovered with how Coal’s dad has gone about things with the other holidays.

All in all, it’s such a cute read and I truly can’t wait for the next installment and can’t wait to see Chris get his HEA too!

My one feedback is at times the pacing didn’t quite work, but reading via audio made this one thing easier to look past.

Thank you so so so much to Bramble for my ARC, finished copy, and Macmillan for my audiobook!

Thank you to Bramble Romance & Macmillan Audio for the review copies!

This Nightmare Before Kissmas has some definite Red, White and Royal Blue vibes - the characters are just out of college aged and both the children of Holiday royalty!

If you’re looking for a romance that builds a full world and spends a lot of time on plots besides the main romance, I think you’ll really love this one! The book builds out a world where each holiday has it’s own kingdom, and the royals of each kingdom have magic that relates to their holiday.

The romantic tension between Coal and Hex was super well done - I was rooting for these two from the very beginning! Coal’s brother Kris and best friend Iris were also wonderful, and I loved spending time with all of them!

I felt like the magic system was under-untilized, and I was confused about how there were kingdoms, but also regular countries. It was explained that Halloween had close ties with Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, for example. To me, it almost felt like this inclusion was diversity for diversity’s sake - NOT that I think that it shouldn’t have been included - but it made me want to see MORE non-Christian holidays included. Does Diwali have a kingdom? Jewish holidays? Or if the holiday doesn’t have a non-religious following, is that the only time it gets magic? I would have loved to see more diverse representation in the holidays discussed!

There was a lot of infodumping about what parts of Christmas was being included in this world and what wasn’t. It felt like the book couldn’t decide if it was more magical realism and set in the real world or if it was more magical. The magic itself was only ever used as kind of a parlor trick, so I really wanted to see magic utilized if it was going to be introduced.

I think if this book had been edited down a bit I would have loved it instead of just liking it - it felt like there was a lot going on, and at times it was repetitive. If you are looking for a fun romance book that features both Halloween and Christmas, I do recommend it!

🎧 Ellis Evans does a fantastic job bringing this world to life. His narration gives each character their own unique voice. The book translates well as an audiobook, so pick your favorite format with this one!

I did not expect to absolutely adore this book the way that i did. This was laugh out loud funny at time, but yet had a very real and very raw under story to it as well. I love Cole and the genuine goodness in his heart. The way that he tried to do what was right and good even if a little misguided at times was very enduring. Hex was an absolute gem and his moodiness and whole aura was very much what i would expect from the prince of Halloween. The banter between these two as well as Iris and Chris was so much fun. There are some tough subjects in this book such as death of a parent (off page) abandonment of children (off page), as well as slight mental and emotional abuse (some on page) . Although i didn't expect them in a book about the royalty of holidays, i found that the really gave depth and perception to the story and characters and i really appreciated that. I cannot wait for the second book in this series!

I loved the audio for this and think that the narrator did a fantastic job bringing it to life. I hope that he narrates the next one as well!

📚Review: The Nightmare Before Kissmas 🎃🎄

Thank you @brambleromance for the #gifted copy of this gem! 😍

By: Sara Raasch
Publishing: October 8, 2024

Nicolas “Coal” Christmas used to love Christmas. Well, that was before his dad, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR facade. Now, Coal does anything he can to escape the spectacle his dad’s made, including getting drunk and making out with mystery men behind bars. His father then commands Coal to marry his best friend and brother’s not-so-secret crush, Iris, Easter Princess. A rival prince shows up to challenge Coal for Iris’ hand and turns out to be the behind-the-bar mystery man…Hex, Halloween Prince. The two become part of a fake dating competition, but are far more concerned with finding every chance they can get to spend time alone together.

Happy pub day, @sara_raasch! 🥳

I cannot stop thinking about this fun, sexy, heartfelt book!

Truly, this is the perfect book to get anyone into the holiday spirit this season. My love for Halloween and Christmas runs deep, so this book felt perfect for me. It reminded me so much of the Rise of the Guardians movie that came out years ago, but this is a queer, romcom, sexy version I much prefer.

I adored our cast of characters and felt deeply for them so fast. The relationships between Coal, Iris, Kris—Coal’s brother, and Hex were really something special with their banter, support, and desire to bring joy to the world through kindness and support. This books deals with a lot of emotions brought on by the impact of familial expectations for the benefit of a well groomed public facade and it does it so heartbreakingly well.

There’s so much more I could say, but you’ll just have to read it yourself! And, book two has already been revealed, so we know the fun will continue soon…with Kris as our MC! I’ll be impatiently counting down the days until it gets released.

Verdict: Really Loved 😍