I felt for the main character because he tried so hard but always failed. The romance was 🔥. The banter was good. But at times I found the story annoying and repetitive. Still an enjoyable read and I liked the narration. The fun spooky season read I didn’t know I needed.

Were some of the jokes a little cringy? Yes. Was this actually an enemies-to-lovers romance? No. Do I care? Definitely not.
The Prince of Christmas (Coal) has always wanted to spread as much joy as possible. After a big screwup trying to help out one Christmas causes an international incident, Coal has stayed far away from the family business. While his mistake haunts him, he is also plagued by the memory of a mysterious man he met that night who disappeared after a drunken kiss. When Coal is called home for Christmas two years later, he is furious when his dad announces Coal’s own engagement to his best friend Iris, the Princess of Easter. To avoid angering another holiday, Santa invites the Prince of Halloween to the North Pole to engage in a fake competition to win her hand. No one is more surprised than Coal to find out that Hex—the Prince of Halloween—is the same hot guy from two years ago that he hasn’t stopped thinking about. What could go wrong?
❤️ What I loved: Fun characters, great chemistry between our romantic leads, and a whimsical world made this book a delight. Despite being a generally lighthearted book, I appreciated that they touched on the imperialist/colonialist nature of global power relations and how that intersects with issues of consumerism and culture.
This is an easy recommendation for fans of queer romantic comedy—it’s a must-read for the season! Looking forward to the next book in our series about our other Christmas Prince.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4-4.5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Enjoyed this SO MUCH! Even though I had the audio-arc and was more than halfway through on release day, I was at the bookstore when the opened on pub day to buy a physical copy! It’s SO FUN - witty and spicy with a bit of magic mixed in. I’m not sure who I have a bigger crush on - Coal, Hex, or Iris! Strong 4.5 stars

(4.25/5 stars)

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch is a fun queer holiday romance with a lot of heart and the author's adult debut.

I initially picked this up because it was comped to Red, White, and Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas and I was completely sold. I really enjoyed reading the former and the latter is one of my top ten favorite movies. Also the cover is AMAZING and the paperback has red sprayed edges! I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed listening to Ellis Evans narrate.

I always have fun when books have mixed media elements, and in these books there are text chains between various characters. It was a little easy for me to tell that this was an adult debut; it felt like it leaned a little YA, especially at the beginning. But it's definitely an adult book, even if it leans on the New Adult side for me.

Overall this was very cute and there was great chemistry between both our MCs but also throughout their friend group. I loved the emphasis on the importance of communication in both romantic and platonic relationships, too. It's always great to see clear, explicit consent being sought for steamy reasons. I liked the worldbuilding and want to learn more about the different holiday kingdoms.

You might be asking yourself if this is a spoopy season book or if it is a winter holiday season book. It is absolutely the latter, but I think you could have a fun time reading this at any time of year. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

Tropes in this book include: forced proximity, forbidden, disaster bisexual

CW: toxic parent, absent parent, death of sibling (prior to book), processing grief

I was a bit disappointed by this book. The pacing of the first half was too slow for me and there was too much politics for my taste. I enjoyed the storyline, character banter, and vibes of the second half of the book much more. I wish the beginning of the book had a little less politics, as it seemed to be discussed repetitively, and focused more on progression on the relationship, I would have enjoyed it more. However, I did enjoy the second half of the book enough to continue on with the series and hope I will enjoy the next book better.

I want to make sure to include that the audiobook narrator did a great job and would recommend the audiobook to others who are interested in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay. Listen. I expected to love this book and I was NOT let down. My only regret was getting this book early so I wanted to get it read before December. But this book would have been PERFECT for December, close to Christmas. I loved that this book was so much more than just a cute romance, though it definitely was that as well. I knew I wanted to read it going in (obviously), but I didn't know what to expect from it and I was blown away. I felt like the balance between the romance and the overall plot of the story was pretty well done. It did feel a bit like insta-love to me, but I think that it still managed to make me love the couple and feel their romance blossom. The family dynamics. The friendships. It all just worked so well for me and I definitely recommend this one for the holiday season.

When I picked this up, I assumed it would be a bit cheesy, but it was such a sweet/tender story with the perfect amount of festive holiday elements.

The perfect read for Halloween or Christmas! I loved this book so much and the audio was *chef's kiss* The Nightmare Before Kissmas takes place in a world where the holidays are ruled by their respective royal families. I found the setting and world building magical. I have so many questions about how the different holidays work and can't wait to read future books and learn more! The book starts when the Prince of Christmas, Nicholas “Coal” Claus, tries to do something to help people by using his holiday's Joy, this backfires, and he finds himself kissing a handsome stranger outside of a seedy bar. Fast forward and you have the Coal and the Halloween Prince, Hex, competing to marry the Easter Princess. Something none of them wants. I loved Hex from the first moment you meet him. I can see why Coal couldn't resist! These two had off the charts chemistry and their banter had me giggling and kicking my feet. I recommend this to anyone wanting to get into the holiday spirit or that wants a fun rom com. This would be adorable any time of year!

Loooooved this book and I cannot wait for the next one!! I need fifteen more of this serious because it was just so good! I devoured it so quickly because I didn’t want to stop reading.

✨ Review ✨ The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch; Narrated by Ellis Evans

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, Tor/Bramble, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copies of this book!

This promised Red, White & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas and it totally delivered on that (though maybe with more Christmas vibes than Halloween ones).

This book throws together Nicholas “Coal” Claus, son of Santa and Prince of Christmas, with Hex, the Prince of Halloween, in a staged battle for the princess of Easter (who is also Coal's bff). The tension between Coal and Hex sizzles as they compete in a reindeer race, drink hot cocoa, and show up to a variety of holiday activities.

In addition to the holiday vibes and super silly details (e.g. when Hex swears, Halloween-themed items appear near him lol), this book is filled with fun hijinks and serious reflection about the meaning and importance of holidays. When Coal realizes his dad is selling out the good things about Christmas to gain power, he digs deep in critiquing the capitalism and lack of authenticity in the holiday.

The book exists in a world split between a real world we'd recognize and a fantasy world populated by the holidays of the world, which admittedly was a little jarring sometimes. Coal's inner monologue also felt a bit repetitive, but in a way that's probably consistent with a lot of new adult books. Overall though this was tons of fun and perfect for the fall or winter seasons!

🎧 I loved the audio narration - he did distinctly different voices with very different feels for each of the main characters (so much so I didn't realize it wasn't two narrators!). It was the perfect sort of audiobook to lose yourself in!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.25)
Genre: m/m contemporary and fantasy romance; new adult
Setting: New Haven and the North Pole
Length: 12 hours 23 minutes
Reminds me of: Red White and Royal Blue
Pub Date: October 8, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ Christmas and Halloween
⭕️ angsty 20-somethings
⭕️ prince + prince romance
⭕️ pumpkins and reindeer

4.5 🌟

Sara..... SARA!!!! this was brillant. I almost died laughing a few times "once while i was cooking" had to message my friend about it. I am so happy to have read/listened to this. Here i was listening thinking "awe this is so CUTE" and then BAM!! a spicy bit (WHICH I ABSOLUTELY DEVOURED) i can not wait to read/listen to the next one.

I give praise to Ellis Evans for voicing this beauty, you did amazing work and i am so happy this turned out really good.

Why was this not a 5 star, i felt like the part near the end (the part, the big O) kinda went a little to fast and felt a little rushed to me. Other than that it was a great read.

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was such a fun read. I enjoyed it a lot and I’m excited to read the next book.
I really enjoyed the storyline and the main characters.
I also loved the business like holidays and the politics of it all. It was fun and added drama to the story. the group chat and friends were chaotic and so fun.
I listened to the audiobook and really like it. The narration was well done and fit the character so well.
*thank you Macmillan audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately and fortunately this was just what I needed to pull me out of it!

I thought the concept of turning Christmas and all holidays into corporations with joy as the currency was a new spin on a holiday romance. The way author Sara Raasch’s wrote Cole’s dad as a greedy “Santa” was brilliant.

The romance between Cole and Hex was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, but it was the dynamic between Cole, Chris and Iris that really had my heart. I’m a sucker for hilarious text banter and The Nightmare Before Kissmas delivered.

The audio was an easy listen and Ellis Evans did a great job as narrator. The dialogue and story line were easy to follow and Ellis’ interpretation of each character was on point.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Macmillan Audio for an early listening copy. These are my honest thoughts.

Maybe there are people out there who don't want to read about a magical world of holiday royalty where the princes of Halloween and Christmas have a star-crossed romance; I am clearly not one of them. This is all to say that I went into this book sold on the premise and looking forward to a diverting and festive story.

Mostly, this delivers. It's fun to spend time with the chaos heir of Christmas, Coal Claus, and meditate on the true meaning of the holidays. I really liked Coal's relationship with his brother and the romance is sweet but a little slight. Unfortunately, this story is constantly bogged down in world-building and spends way too much time hand-wringing about the complicated politics of holidays, joy, and blackmail (?); it honestly was kind of hard to follow.

Thankfully, I listened to the audiobook, which is skillfully narrated Ellis Evans. He does such a fantastic job bringing Coal and all his anxious thoughts to life that I could still enjoy some of the slower sections of the book.

Overall, I would give the story 3 stars and the audiobook 4 due to the excellent narration. There is a 100% chance I read the sequel.

3.75 🌟 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I don’t normally do cute, but this book was CUTE AF. I will also say, I don’t normally do rom-coms but I am trying to be more open-minded. Sara Raasch did a great job of making me smile and giggle like a schoolgirl over Coal and Hex. This book definitely had its cheeky moments but I feel like it just WORKED.

My two major gripes and reasons for knocking this down from a 4 star read to 3.75 are that it was a bit immature for me and felt a little bored with the whole political conflict. It had potential to be include a lot more tension and building into the relationship. The attraction happened a bit fast in my opinion. This could wholly be a personal preference but if you’re someone who enjoys switching up your genres and trying something new then this is the perfect book for you. It was my first rom-com m/m read and I feel wholly satisfied with it. There are a couple of spicy scenes that will make you melt. Ellis Evans did an incredible job narrating the story and kept my attention and interest at all times. It was very pleasant listening to his voice.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of The Nightmare Before Kissmas in exchange for an honest review. This has not swayed my review in any way.

The concept is fun, and the political elements are intriguing but somewhat repetitive. I enjoyed the friendship and banter among Coal, Kris, and Iris, and the writing was mostly solid. However, the heavy insta-lovey surprised me, and it leans more toward sweet than steamy. While Coal’s journey toward self-worth was engaging, it occasionally felt melodramatic, which wasn’t what I anticipated.

This audiobook was exactly what I want in a cute holiday romcom, A great story and great narration. The story follows two Holiday, princes of Halloween and Christmas, who are both fake dating the princess of Easter. Although on the outside they appear as rivals, they begin fall for each other and the romance between these two is just so sweet! All of the characters are dealing with real grief, but the joy of their holidays, Love, and friendship helps them to overcome their sadness And find their role in this world of holidays. I literally could not stop smiling while listening to this!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch is about a broody goth prince of Halloween named Hex and a jokester prince of Christmas named Coal. When Coal is to marry his best friend Iris, the Easter princess, in "the betterment of Christmas", he instead falls in love with his "rival" who comes for the Easter Princesses hand. This book is one of the cutest romances I've read in a while!

I would definitely say this book has more of a Christmas feel than Halloween, so if you are a mood reader like I am, save this book for a cozy day in the middle of winter. I promise you won't regret it.

The plot was political but was the perfect amount and didn't overdo it. (I'm not a fan of political intrigue novels). I like the topic about holiday consumerism which is prominent to what's happening today.

There are modern references which I know some people dislike. I found it enjoyable. Some parts were purposely cringe but in such a funny way I couldn't help but smile and giggle while listening.

The spice was there and it was good and slow, but it didn't get too spicy. Like 🌶🌶/5.

It also has one of the best narrators I've heard in while.

Thank you Macmillian Audio and Net galley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I would highly recommend this book.

As someone who is very particular about my holiday books and my romances I loved it! I was giggling and kicking my little feet! This one is for the chaos bisexuals.

This book is so unbelievably delightful!! I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it (because I haven't traditionally loved a lot of Christmas romances), but I wanted to give it a shot because I had heard a lot of fantastic early buzz for it. It was so funny, and heartfelt, while also being just so goofy.

I loved Hex and Coal. Their relationship was so healthy, sweet, and HOT! This was something I mentioned to a friend who also read an early copy, there wasn't a lot of spice, but when there was it was so hot and sensual?? I don't know what Sara Raasch put in those scenes that I haven't seen before, but. they really made those scenes, in particular, pop.

The audiobook was also fantastic. I think the narrator really embodied Coal's voice.

I genuinely enjoyed this book so much and I cannot wait for the sequel.