Sometimes a 5-star review means this book was a literary masterpiece. Other times, it just means I enjoyed the hell out of a book. And let me tell you, I enjoyed THE HELL out of this book!!!

The premise seemed silly at first. The holidays are actually kingdoms, and the Prince of Christmas, Coal, is being forced into an arranged marriage with the Princess of Easter, Iris. They’re best friends and don’t actually want to marry each other. But don’t worry, Halloween is here to contest the engagement! Oh and by the way, Prince Hex of Halloween just so happens to be the hot stranger that Coal made out with in the alley behind a bar a couple years ago.

This book was super fun, funny, heartwarming, and spicy all rolled in to one! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was excellent, really bringing the characters and their chemistry to life. I’m so happy to see that this is the first in a series, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this book!

This book was great! I loved this as my first adult read from Sara. Coal was such an interesting character. I loved seeing him grow throughout the book. I loved that this was a romance between the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween. I loved seeing their relationship develop. I also loved that this was so much more than just a romance. I loved that there was commentary on Christmas taking over all of the other holidays. I totally feel like Christmas overshadows everything else and the depiction of Christmas in this book really matched that. I really hope that there's a sequel to this!

I loved everything about The Nightmare Before Kissmas. This is described as Red, White and Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas and I cannot think of a better description. I fell in love with this book from the very beginning and the narrator does a phenomenal job in being the voice for the characters, especially for Coal. I have never listened to a book narrated by Ellis Evans, but it definitely will not be my last. Coal and Hex was such a fun couple, and their chemistry (and spice) was spot on. I am hoping that this is not the last time we see Coal and Hex in this series because I am obsessed with these characters. The book does leave a couple of questions for the readers that leads to the next book in the series. I will be immediately pre-ordering the next book when it is announced.

This is a must have for your Fall TBR!

The Nightmare Before Kissmas is out October 8th!

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review The Nightmare Before Kissmas. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC!

This book was just the cutest and sweetest! It was marketed as RW&RB meets the Nightmare Before Christmas and I couldn't have said it better. I found this enthralling and found the MMC super likable! I enjoyed the LGBTQ+ cast and all of the characters seemed super real and fleshed out. The romance was romancing and I couldn't have asked for more! Perfect fall/Christmas read ❤️

✨ALC Review✨
Another fun one! This is the story of two holiday princes who are sort of rivals, but end up lovers. Swoony.

Nicholas, or Coal as he prefers, is the heir of Christmas. He’s famously kind of a mess. We start our story where he tried to do something kind and Christmas-y and took down the economy of a small country. So, he’s in a bit of a sad, drunken state when he meets a gorgeous man outside of a bar and they share a meltingly hot kiss.

He thinks about this man often and how he unloaded his soul to him and then kissed the everloving fvck out of him.

Almost two years have passed and Coal’s father (yes, Santa or King of Christmas) wants Coal to get married to his ex-girlfriend’s sister, a Princess of Easter. They’ve been besties forever and do NOT want to be married to each other, but they’re resigned to do what is best for their holidays.

Enter Hex Hallow, the Halloween princess, set to vie for Iris’s (the Easter princess bestie) hand. Again, it’s considered what’s best for his holiday. Well, who is Hex Hallow? Only the hot, kissable guy from two years ago.

Oh y’all. The sexual tension is real. The way Coal loses his shit over seeing Hex in a corset vest? Hex seeing Coal’s fingernails painted in Halloween colors? 🤯🤯🤯

There’s fun banter amongst all these new adults and all the Christmas-y goodness you could ask for. This book is a freaking treat!

And the narration is fantastic! #ellisevans does an amazing job as the solo narrator and having distinctive voices for all the characters. His voice for Coal is perfection.

I received this ALC from #netgalley and @macmillan.audio. All thoughts are mine alone. It releases 10/8/24 and you need it. Preorder, add it to Goodreads, tag it at your library. ❤️

#romance #romancebooks #contemporaryromance #mmromance #lgbtqia+ #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram #audiobooks #narrators

I absolutely loved this book! The reader was wonderful, and really got into the story. His voice fit Prince Coal perfectly! The story was quick, sweet, and so adorable. I loved that it flipped the love triangle on its head and didn't make that the focus of the story. I think the tag line of "red white and royal blue meets the nightmare before Christmas" fits perfectly. 10/10 would recommend!

Oh, I really enjoyed this one!

The premise is basically that each holiday is it’s own kingdom, with Christmas being the biggest and most powerful, and Santa is running is like the mafia, blackmailing the other holidays into giving them a percentage of their joy.

I’m not usually a fan of holiday themed books, but this one worked really well.

Coal is the prince of Christmas and Hex is the prince of Halloween and I just loved everything about both of them. Coal tried to do something good, tried to spread joy, and it was a disaster, so he’s stepped back from anything related to the holiday. But when his dad, Santa, starts making wild moves in an attempt to grab more power, Coal, his brother Chris, their friend Iris, and Hex, work together to come up with a better, and more equitable, option.

The relationship between Coal and Hex was great. I absolutely loved the level of consent that was happening in all of the sex scenes, how Coal was getting enthusiastic consent for everything, and explaining why, but in a sexy way that just added to the scene. I am always here for a well-written consent discussion during a sex scene.

There were also some really funny parts, especially what happens when Hex swears. 😂

Overall a really great read!

I was not ready to feel all these feels.
This book surprised me again and again. I thought it would be a bit cozier, but there was a little more heaviness than I anticipated. Not in a bad way by any means. But in a "this isn't quite just a holiday rom-com" way.

I truly loved every character, and the narrator did a great job with the women and men. No voice made me uncomfortable.

Each character ended up being so different than I originally thought they would be. Prince Hex, the Halloween prince, was so different than what you'd expect. And Coal genuinely had me laughing.

Please don't sleep on this holiday book. Pick it up as soon as possible.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillian Audio for the AAC for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed listening to the book. Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween (Hex) have a passionate kiss one night when Prince Nicholas (Coal) is fearing the worst for his wish granting antics his Father didn’t care for! Called it a waste of magic.

Two years later and Father Christmas (Santa) is holding Prince Hex hostage until the Autumn holidays bend to his wants and needs to be the strongest holiday!

Prince Coal is to take to be the next Santa but would rather not take the lead. He finds out what his father is doing and tries to save all the holidays. Easter (Princess Lily and Iris) Prince Kristopher has been in love with Lily for years and when it’s brought to light that Father Christmas has publicly stated that Coal is courting Lily feelings aww hurt. Prince Coal has insta love when he see Prince Hex again realizing he was the stranger behind the bar he shared a very passionate kiss with.

It’s a very face paced romcom with a few well paced hot and heavy love scenes.

The book ends Prince Coal and Prince Hex confessing their love for each other. You end wondering if Kristopher and Lily get the chance to be together….hopefully book two!

Nicholas “Coal” Claus was the highlight of this book I lost count of how many times I genuinely laughed out loud. He was also very relatable meaning no matter how much you try to prove you are worth something the person you love the most when never see it. Coal truly had the spirit of Christmas in his best interest but no matter how much good he tried to do it just went all bad.

I loved how if Hex cussed an animated object appears lol I would be that friend that does everything in my power to make him cussed to see what pops up.

I throughly enjoyed the audiobook and can’t wait to get the physical copy. You can’t go wrong with a book about Halloween and Christmas I highly recommend this book.

I'll me honest, at the 10% mark, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this, but by the time I finished the audiobook, this was a 4.75 Star read for me. The basic premise is that the prince of Christmas is in an arranged marriage with his very platonic friend, the princess of Easter and isn't happy about it. He also starts to uncover some seedy things Santa has been up to.

I found some of the early world building to be be a bit confusing, but the political intrigue and MM romance really took this book to some great places. Based on the cover, I never would have expected it, but this is a really similar read to Red, White and Royal Blue.

I was very fortunate to be able to access an audio ARC and I am so glad I was able to read it this way! A lot of the scenes felt like listening to a friend debrief a really crazy adventure- I loved it!

I wanted the ARC of the e-book so badly, but I'm glad I waited until I could get the audiobook. The personalities in this one were great, as was the audio.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All comments are my own.

A very fun, funny romance with more political backing than expected—but welcomed! The concept of the holidays being treated like kingdoms with their own hierarchies and heirs and issues was a great backdrop for this book, alongside the super sweet romance and strained family relationships. I adored both MC’s, especially Hex, and would be very eager for a sequel set in Halloween. Also, very into Santa as a villain.

f you love Red, White, and Royal Blue then you will love this! The humor in this was amazing and I instantly fell in love with the characters. Ellis Evans did a fantastic job narrating and brought so much life to the characters. I honestly felt like I was listening to a friend rant about their life. I think this is a great read for either spooky season or Christmas! It was so fun having both of my favorite holidays in one book.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC!

A queer romance full of vibes and good intentions.

You won't know which is sweeter, the mexican hot chocolate you're drinking or the love story between our two holiday princes. Words that come to mind with this book are adorable, earnest and cozy.

This book is Red, White and Royal Blue wearing a toque and drinking a pumpkin spice latte. So if you resonated with RWRB, this book is definitely for you!

I agreed with the connection between this story and The Nightmare Before Christmas, however, when I think of the 90s film, there is some bite there. A little bit of horror behind the good intentions. I was hoping for a little more edge with our Halloween prince.

I loved bringing in other holidays and having our Halloween prince represent his heritage through his patronage of dia de los muertos.

Tropes you'll love
🎃 MM queer love
🎃 Rivals to lovers
🎃 Royal balls (innuendo intended)
🎃 Great side characters
🎃 Cozy/low stakes
🎃 Sleigh racing
🎃 Great audiobook

Let's take moment to recognize the amazing narration of Ellis Evans. He did a great job alternating between our two male main characters without confusing me between who was speaking. His comedic and sarcastic timing was spot on. This is my first time hearing his narration, but he's on my 100% automatic listen list now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced listener copy.

This book is best listened to while racing in a sleigh. Hold on tight to your rival, you wouldn't want to fall (in love).

I am so glad I listened to this book! The audio performance was highly engaging and entertaining. It was the perfect holiday romcom, and the audio performance made it even better. In this world, the holidays all have royalty and gain their magic from the joy they provide the world. I loved the unique twist on holiday lore and this world was delightful.

Coal is the disaster prince of Christmas. As he gets closer to needing to assume responsibilities for his season his disillusions for his holiday are shattered. At the same time he meets the Halloween prince and is instantly enchanted. He has to decide if he will fall in line with his father or do what is morally right.

The world, characters, and magic of this book are a perfect holiday read that I would read any time of the year.

𝐀𝐑𝐂: Thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - OH MY GODS…one of my new favorites 🫶🏼
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 🌶🌶 - There wasn’t a lot but when they did the emotional connection was super hot!
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: October 8, 2024

I don't reread books often but I think this book will be one of the very few that I will reread 🥹. The banter and emotional connection that the characters had during the book were amazing! I felt so many things while reading this.

Sara Raasch outdid herself with this cute seasonal read that does take place during Christmas time but I low-key am thinking of doing a reread come October so that I can experience these characters again.

I hope that there is another book in the series with the other brother and his crush which would just be adorable… who doesn’t love a good brother's best friend romance 🤞🏼

I was able to listen to the audible book and the audio was amazing! A great and easy read and the narrator was on point with all conversation and smut scenes; which I normally have an issue with but this narrator was great.

This book has:
🌑 Cozy romance/fantasy
🌑 Rivals to lovers
🌑 Amazing Christmas puns
🌑 Amazing consent

Thank you NetGalley and publish for this arc!

What a great book!! I was hooked from page one! Nightmare Before Christmas vibes. This was such a great book I listened to it in 1 sitting.

Red White and Royal Blue is a tough comparison to live up to but A Nightmare Before Kissmass definitely did. I adored this book!! Oh my gosh I've found a new favorite holiday romcom. I love books with goofy premises that suspend disbelief that are grounded in genuine, relatable emotions and themes and whoooo boy is that what we have here. It is horny, heartfelt and hilarious which is my favorite combo for a romance book. I adored this book and everything it was trying to do. Loved the characters, the worldbuilding made sense and served the story beautifully. I was lucky enough to receive an ALC and I am so glad I did because the audio really added to the story. Ellis Evans' narration brought out the vulnerability and yearning Coal is feeling while also creating an immersive experience by giving each side character a distinctive voice. I definitely recommend picking up the audio when picking up this book!

this was absolutely everything I wanted and more! Fun fact about me I adore The Nightmare Before Christmas and I will read pretty much any book about it. So OBVIOUSLY when my lovely friend told me about this book I knew I just HAD to have it, so I was so insanely happy when I found the audiobook on Netgalley!

I adored the plot, the romance was just kick my feet perfection. I really enjoyed my time with the book! It reads so quick since there's always something happening in the book which I always appreciate. I think this is gonna be turn into a bit of a series where we hopefully see the other character's in the book fall in love which I am SOOOO excited for!

Can't wait for this to release so I can buy the pretty sprayed edge copy and re-read it hehe.