I loved this book! I enjoyed the premise of the two princes coming together and that the princess Coal had to marry was one of his best friends. I rooted for him from the beginning because it was so easy to see that beneath that exterior of the jokester, he had a heart of gold. I also love that Hex is the prince of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, so there's a tiny bit more representation in the book with him. I hope we see more of Hex's side of things in future books because I'm intrigued to see how the other holidays work and do things (hell, I'd love to see more of that for Christmas, too). I think the narrator did a fantastic job; he expressed so much emotion that I felt what the characters felt, and each character felt different. I enjoyed listening to his narration. Overall, I enjoyed this and highly recommend it!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the 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 by holding its prince hostage??? 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 such a cute and fun book with some
Spicy! I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next book in the series. Thanks NetGallery!

This is such a cute story! It imagines that all of the holidays secretly have royal families, who are responsible for bringing joy to the world, which fuels their magic. Santa is the king of Christmas and the main character Coal is his son and heir. On his worst day, Coal meets and fells a strong connection with a stranger behind a bar, but didn't get his name or contact info before he disappeared. After searching in vain for two years, they meet again as "enemies." It turns out the mystery guy is Hex, the heir of the Halloween court, rival of the Christmas Court.

I love the world building and the characters. It's amazing to see them develop and work out their issues, both among themselves and with their parents. There were parts that made me tear up and pats that made me laugh out loud. The story also hints at possible pairings for future books and I can't wait to read those too!

LOVED this audiobook!! I adored everyone, but Hex was my absolute favorite. He and Coal have my heart. I was also excited to see Día de Muertos included in the holidays!

4.5 stars rounded up. This was such an adorable listen, I really enjoyed the narrator along with the festiveness. The concept alone was a blast. The prince of Christmas, Coal, and the prince of Halloween, Hex, have feelings for each other but Coal has to honor his royal duty of an arranged marriage with the princess of Easter, Iris. I loved of all of the characters and am hopeful the next book will be about Coal's brother and Iris. This book was cozy, laugh out loud funny, and spicy. All of the perfect ingredients to make a Christmas/Halloween romance so good! I'd love to learn more about this world and these holiday kingdoms. If you love holiday romcoms, insta-love, and Red, White & Royal Blue, you will definitely want to keep your eye out for this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Santa is a tyrant and his sons Chris and Cole are pawns in his schemes. Every holiday is a kingdom that runs off the amount of joy and recognition it receives. Cole is know for being the jokester and the mess up, Chris is the caretaker and forgotten son, after a massive mess-up Cole goes to a bar and wallows in his self doubt. There he ends up making out with an extremely hot guy before he literally poofs and disappears, his best friend and brother thinks he imagined it all. A year later Santa, in his goal of complete holiday domination, arranged marriage between the Easter princess and Cole (even though its Chris who is in love with her). Halloween sees the ploy for what it is, before they can complain Santa makes a back handed deal that the prince of Halloween can also fawn for the hand of Easter. But Santa cant be trusted and is one sighted. When the Prince of Halloween arrives, it is the guy from the bar. Cole is still yearning for what he experienced that night with him but now they both have to "try to win the hand of Easter" for their holidays sake. Cole also starts to see exactly what his tyrant father has been up to.

This book had me feeling all the feels. It was a blend of Red, white, and royal blue and a backwards Nightmare before Christmas. I was so mad watching the characters get manipulated by Santa, so giddy when they see each other, and so damn sad at the 80% mark. I've also never wanted a book 2 so immediately. when it cut off a gasped and said you cant do this to me. A great holiday read and feel good read.

This was a fun read. I love, love, love Coal and his ‘dick joke locked and loaded at all times’ mentality. This book has a super fresh take on fantasy compared to everything else I’ve been reading lately. I also think this book lives up to the references the blurb gives (I still loath those but at least this one is accurate). Coal and Kris’s sibling relationship is lovely. I love how much they deeply love each other. Hex and Iris are amazing as well. Coal’s attraction to Hex and Coal’s frustration with Hex’s mysteriousness had me drooling over Hex too. So fun! This is clearly planned to be a series. We get a lot of resolve in this book but a major aspect is left for continuation. The narration of this audiobook was astounding as far as I’m concerned. I absolutely loved it - this one audiobook made me an instant Ellis Evans fan. I’ll look for their narrations intentionally for more. I absolutely recommend the audio for this one. I loved this read and am excited for others to get into it so we can chat!

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook ARC.

Everything about the premise of this book is bonkers, but that doesn't stop it from being an absolute delight. This book hints at being rivals/enemies to lovers which it's absolutely not. As someone who has spent much of the year complaining about instalove, this book went and made a hypocrite out of me. The reason I think the instant attraction works in this novel is that the hold up to the romance comes from outside forces and not the denial/stubbornness of one character. It's fun to see the friendship and love develop throughout the novel, alongside the attraction.

I also want to point out this novel has developed side characters that add to the plot and don't take away from the main romance.

You have humor, heart, sexual tension AND unionizing holidays. What more could you want? (More time in Halloween and Hex's POV, but that may just be me).

I had such a great time with this ridiculously out of left field novel. A special shoutout goes to Ellis Evan whose narration brought such joy and charm to this tale.

If you loved "Red White and Royal Blue" then this book is for you! There was a smile on my face the whole time I was listening to this book and a lot of kicking of my feet and giggling <3.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy! The description of this book is very accurate as I was definitely getting Red, White, and Royal Blue vibes, along with the Nightmare Before Christmas fantasy aspect. I really liked the ideas of families as holidays and the almost Monsters Inc. way they talk about joy (rather than screams). This was fun and clever and I enjoyed the Halloween x Christmas crossover.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. This started off slow but 20% in it took off and I was enraptured. I love this audio I love the story I love the message. What absolute perfectionof a book. Coziest romance I've ever listened to I wanna live where these characters are.

5/5☆ obsessed highly recommend

Fair warning, The Nightmare Before Kissmas will result in premature holiday decorating if read outside the Halloween/Christmas season. You will fall in love with the Princes of Christmas and Halloween as well as their love for their holidays. Quite simply, this book is an absolute delight. I don’t know the last time I smiled or giggled as much as I did while reading this book. I have to say bravo Raasch - you’ve simultaneously given me a new favorite romance book and new favorite comfort holiday read. I challenge anyone to read this and not adore Cole’s character. In general, this book really shines with the characters. I loved the friendship trio of Cole, Kris, and Iris. Hex is a Halloween delight, and I am obsessed with how he uses his holiday to mess with Kris. Be prepared for one liners that absolutely sleigh and great pop culture references. Despite the cozy nature of the read, it deals with some surprisingly heavy topics surrounding abandonment and grief. I both eyeball and audiobook read this and hands down can’t recommend the audiobook enough. Ellis Evans nails the narration. You can fully feel Coal’s anxiety, stress, excitement, and every other emotion experienced throughout the book with Evan’s excellent narration. I also felt that it made the story really come to life and added an extra level to some of the truly fantastic puns. Again, I can’t recommend this story and especially the audiobook enough.

This was utterly delightful and I binged the audio in a day with a huge smile on my face the whole time. It definitely has Red White & Royal Blue vibes, and since I loved that one, I was bound to love this one. But the twist of having the kingdoms be holidays with associated magic was so cool.

Coal and Hex are so endearing and they just sparkle whenever they're together. All the characters really jump off the page and feel so real and 3D and I loved the found family vibes. I loved the political intrigue side of it too. It was a perfect blend of romance and plot and Christmas meets Halloween goodness. Like the magical side effect when Hex curses? brilliant, adorable, delightful.

I desperately hope that Sara Raasch writes more books about these characters because I can't cope with having the story be over.

The narrator was incredible and really brought the characters to life. I was completely transported while I listened.

*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

if you're somehow put-off by the cheesy title or the cover art, please don't let either fool you. this was so so fun. i hesitate to compare this to anything because i'm not sure if i've read anything exactly like this, but i think if you threw christmas and halloween magic into a blender with red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston, you'd have something like this book.

so, what is it: a prince of christmas (and successor to the one, the only santa claus) named coal is kind of a fuck-up. he reads a letter from a kid making a plea about a parent's lost job, then grants the wishes for a LOT of kids at once which caused problems - overinflation in that country but also the loss of a big chunk of christmas magic. as a result, his dominating, controlling father arranges for him to marry a daughter of easter without his consent and puts on a sham public "competition" for her hand with the son of halloween, hex, who... once kissed coal outside of a bar and has been on coal's mind ever since.

what you will get from this without expecting it: a large chunk of this book is a commentary on capitalism. there's a lot of discussion of christmas becoming expansive and how ultimately it cheapens the meaning of the holiday. christmas also manipulates and is funded by the holiday joy of others and plans to steal more power, a replication of corporate greed.

for me, i think it was really interesting that this was included but... it was written with no commentary about religion at all, which seems strange given christian imperialism is to blame for the expansiveness of christmas and when two of the three main holidays discussed within this book are christmas and easter vying for global power, the exclusion seems strange. but i also realize that, at its crux, this is supposed to be a romcom. i just don't think you can have nuanced conversations about capitalist holidays without also discussing the toxic religious push. and, as other reviews have mentioned, non-western holidays weren't mentioned at ALL. which felt weird.

since this seems (according to goodreads) to be book one in a series, i'm interested to see where the plot will go from here. i think this is a fun read with a cute romance, just some of the political commentary didn't work for me.

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!