When Prince Hex of Halloween shows up at the Christmas court, he and Prince Nicholas “Coal” Claus become entangled in a fake competition for the hand of the Easter Princess. What ensues is an irresistible romance between the two holiday princes, who break the rules to be together. When their secret is discovered, can their love survive?

This holiday fantasy rom-com has a serious and emotional story at its heart. The characters are brilliantly drawn, and the conflicts deep and relatable. I was drawn in from the beginning and loved the book from start to finish. I also enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

🎧 Book Review 🎧 Sara Raasch must have known that 90’s children would grow up and NEED and adult version of their beloved Halloween/Christmas crossover in their life and here it is! The Nightmare Before Kissmass is a hilarious holiday read that spans the breadth of some of the best ones! While the holidays can be so special, the older you get, the harder they seem to be; which is even the case for the Royal children- the Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween. Move over Romeo & Juliet because there is a new pair of star-crossed lovers to give them a run for their money who are a lot funnier, more relatable, and a heck of a lot less tragic.

The characters were pretty annoying. They tried to be witty and charming but I didn't find them either of those things. I didn't get invested in the story and didn't care what happened.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas was overall a fun and entertaining read. It was surprisingly much more involved in the politics between the kingdoms or whatever of the different holidays than I expected it to me. Like the romance almost felt secondary or equal to that plot. Also I would in no way compare this to TNBC, they both just have Christmas and Halloween in them. Don’t pick this up if you’re expecting that. But overall, I liked the book and had a good time! The narrator was excellent as well.

This was SUCH A GOOD BOOK! I don’t even really know where to categorize it! It is explained as a mix between Red, White & Royal Blue and The Nightmare Before Christmas and I’ll confirm that to be a great description!! The creativity in this book is unmatched! The names, the details, the magic and what it does / how it works?? Absolute perfection! I never could have come up with something so creative!!! Coal’s inner thoughts are often “LOL” funny, but the dialogue is really where this read shines! It feels so natural and really pulls you in! I cannot WAIT for the second book in this series!!!

First, Thank you Macmillan for this AMAZING ARC. I loved just about all of the book. It is hard for me to get right into a book but this one had me hooked from the start. I loved all the characters( minus Santa). It will make you feel every emotion in like 20 minutes. It made me ready for Christmas.

I loved this book, I am already excited for the next one to come out. This is one book of the year that I read that I will not accept criticism on. Although question for the author is, what did you put into this book? whatever it was keep doing it.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC of Sara Raasch's 'The Nightmare Before Kissmas'.

Sara Raasch's first foray into adult romance was an absolute joy to listen to(yes, that was a pun, but it is also true). You will fall in love with Coal and Hex in this enemies-to-lovers MM romance.

The narration by Ellis Evans captures the whimsy of the story, making it one I couldn't turn off.

Coal(Nicholas) Claus is the Prince of Christmas and next in line for the title of Santa, but there's no one in their holiday world that believes he is qualified for the job. His father(Santa) has given him little training and left him out of all the decision-making. Coal is seen as a joke and everyone knows that he makes a mess of anything serious he tries to do.
Before his final semester at Yale, Santa announces to the holiday world that Coal and Iris, Princess of Easter are to be married on Christmas Eve. When news of the engagement gets to Halloween, they send an envoy to the North Pole to protest the alliance out of fear that it will grant too much power to Christmas, which is already the most powerful and wealthy holiday.
As a concession, Santa offers Halloween their own chance to win over the princess.
Hex Hallow, the Prince of Halloween is Coal Claus' competition in vying for his best friend Iris, Princess of Easter's hand in marriage. The two suitors have until Christmas Eve to convince the princess to choose him as her groom. It's all politics and all a sham. Not one of the 3 actually wants to get married.
At the heart of this book is an unexpectedly tender love story between 2 the rival holiday princes. The dark and mysterious Prince of Halloween is a walking contradiction. The character is written with depth and insights that will endear him to the readers. Coal's character shows growth throughout the book and the entertaining journey to save Christmas and call off the wedding becomes a lesson in love.

CW: While The Nightmare Before Kissmas is a heartwarming story about joy and the true meaning of Christmas, this is an open door romance and the sex is written with detail.

𝓷𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓻(𝓼): Ellis Evans
𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓱: 12h 23m
𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓼: lgbtq+, romcom, forbidden
𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮: October 8, 2024
𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
𝓶𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼:

Nicholas “Coal” Claus is next in line to be in charge…and he doesn’t want it.
He feels that Christmas has become nothing but cheap gifts and when his dad forces him to pursue his best friend in marriage, the Halloween prince shows up to challenge him for her hand and it’s someone he knows, the hot guy he kissed in an alley behind a bar.
Bar guy is Prince Hex!

Both of these guys were pawns being used by their parents.
Alliances and profit and global reach was the game for all the holidays.
But despite being “rivals” from two completely opposite holidays, Coal and Hex just couldn’t deny their chemistry.

We have a sloooow burn that builds until we get a couple of steamy scenes.
Yes, y’all.
We also get a bit of heartache, BUT it worked with the story.
I was okay with it and y’all know I don’t like those 3rd act youknowwhats.

I adored Chris and Iris.
The plot was SO fun.
Ellis Evans was a fantastic narrator that brought every single character to life.
His performance was so good!
I was immersed in the story the entire time and I’m definitely a fan now.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

This title was given as an Advanced Listening Copy obtained through NetGalley and all thoughts are my own. Thank you to Sara Raasch, Bramble, MacMillan audio, and NetGalley for this opportunity.

If you are looking for a slow burn holiday romance this holiday season The Nightmare Before Kissmas should be a consideration. I had requested this based solely on the cover and a brief hook that I had seen the author give on Instagram. What I expected was a light and fluffy rom-com, but this delightful book packed a punch with the tough subject of trying to live up to a parents expectations and it's not going well.

I had an absolutely wonderful time.

❤️ This is a slow burning romance with lots of steam before any spice actually takes root. Though Coal and Hex have a very short time to get to know each other they still develop a very sweet relationship. Using the traditional pepper system this would get a quantitative earning of 3🌶, but I will not comment on the quality (though I enjoyed and got a good giggle out of the nursing side effects).

I can’t stop thinking about this book. I love every character. I would have loved more of Hex but I know it’s not his story. There was so much to relate to from the family dynamics queer experiences even the little bit of politics.
I relate so much to the MMC! Feeling like a black spot on your family. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the holidays come into the story

What a fun romcom! The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch is Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas. I wasn’t sold by the cover or blurb, but I kept hearing rave reviews from early readers so I gave it a try. And I’m so glad I did!

It’s a silly set up: In a world where each holiday acts as a sort of royal court, the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween compete for an arranged marriage that neither of them wants. Sparks fly and they might just fall in love along the way.

This was a romance with depth and character growth – my favorite kind. Each character had their own complicated backstory and traumas, but they went on a healing journey together as they fell in love. It was sweet (but also spicy!) and heartwarming and just what I was wanting in a rom com. Highly recommend this for the fall-to-Christmas season!

Huge thanks to mac.audio for the free audiobook – I really recommend this one with your ears. The narrator injects such a rich dynamic into the character of Coal – I can’t imagine reading it without his narration.

I'm so happy that this book is getting a sequel! I loved this world so so much. If you liked the Rise of the Guardians movie you'll absolutely love this.

It was so cool to see different holidays/the magic they each had. In this book we get to see magic from Christmas, Halloween, and Easter. The Halloween magic was definitely my fav especially the "curses".

The romance was so sweet and tender with just a splash of spice. These two Princes balanced eachother out so well. The mutual pining was EVERYTHING. <spoiler>Especiallywith teasing eachother in public.</spoiler>

I thought it was interesting that we had an <spoiler>evil Santa, which im glad he did better in the end because that tithe stuff was horrible.</spoiler> Cole really came into his own with being the Heir of Christmas!

Something I definitely related to was the mother wound/abandonment. I liked that the author showed grief manifesting in different ways for Cole, his brother, and his father.

Also shout out to the staff! They were so caring and truly so loyal throughout this story. All the decorations were gorgeous and the food sounded incredible.

I can't wait to see more in the sequel Go Luck Yourself ,which releases March 2025.

This was a sweet M/M fantasy/holiday romance. There is so much longing in these books, they are reminiscent of the Twilight series in terms of extreme love and longing. Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On series would love this book.

One thing really bothered me about the way this book ended. Although the main hero characters do get their HEA (which is satisfying), the two main secondary characters (the brother and best friend) are left completely hanging. There is mention of some event between them that has left them both shaken and the story abruptly ends before we learn what happened and I find that unsettling and unsatisfying. I understand wanting to set up a second book, but that could have easily been done without throwing in the specific mention of something happening between them and then abruptly ending the book.

The mythology is a little silly but a fun premise for a holiday story anyway.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for providing me a free advanced review copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

First of all, Ellis Evans, was a fantastic narrator for this audiobook. He did a wonderful job delivering both sarcasm and emotion, and everything in between.

As for the book itself, I’m afraid I was definitely underwhelmed.

I was so excited to listen to this audiobook, as the premise seemed so fun, and there were such great advanced reviews, but unfortunately I just didn’t vibe with the material.

Coal is the Christmas Prince. Hex is the Halloween Prince. And they are both fake vying for the hand of the Easter Princess…for political reasons that I don’t care to get into.

The relationship is billed as rivals to lovers, but…they weren’t ever really rivals?

Also, the politics between the holiday courts was a large emphasis of the plot, and I just found I didn’t really care about any of it. 🤷‍♀️

What I did enjoy were the side characters of Coal’s brother, Kris, and their best friend Iris (the aforementioned Princess of Easter). I was enjoying them so much, that I was actually thinking of reading the next book after all the heavy hinting at what they might have been up to at the end of this one, but then I went and looked at the synopsis for book 2, and yeah, that is not at ALL what was hinted at? Ah well. 😔

Overall, it was a cute enough story, but not something I will be highly recommending.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
🌶️🌶️ / 5

3.5 stars - rounded up bc of Christmas magic

I really loved the concept of this book. I have been putting off reading it because the weather has been so hot in my area and a Halloween/Christmas book just didn't really feel right yet. This week, the weather started to cool down and I knew it was time.

This book was so delightful!!! The Prince of Christmas, Coal, and the Prince of Halloween, Hex, were both so damn charismatic. They were both complex leads with well rounded intentions and traits. The entire book is from Coal's POV and he is absolutely self deprecating yet so deviously funny. It is definitely Red, White, and Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas. It gave me all of the cold weather, Christmas vibes that I have been wanting to jump into with really likeable characters. There were also some spicy scenes that had me blushingggggg! I just really enjoyed the way the book was written and how much humor played a part, truly a romcom.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting to get into the cozy, cold weather feeling. Even though it leans more towards Christmas, there is just enough Halloween sprinkled in that I think it's perfect for fall. Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook and the narrator. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this arc!

The cover drew me in because of how cute it was, and it didn’t disappoint! In fact, I ended up getting even more than I had expected out of this 5 star read.

The world was fantastical enough to be fun and magical, but not so ridiculous that the power structures and political ploys weren’t genuinely engaging. There aren’t going to be any dissertations written on the politics or magic system, but for what the story is about, I think it’s worth suspending the critical eye. The characters had great chemistry: in family, in friendship, and in romance.

I was rooting for Coal from the beginning, loving his wit and humor and good intentions. And boy, was Hex worth crushing on! But beyond the cute couple, there was a great story about serious family dynamics, grief, and building joy one small thing at a time.

Ellis Evans was delightful in narrating the audio version! The characters were distinct and personable, without being distracting. He handled the somber, the silly, and the erotic with a feel of authenticity and immersion.

Wow!! Wow wow wow!! I laughed out loud a lot, I swooned, and I cried. Literally weeping. I probably looked like such a weirdo on my morning walks listening to this.

This was such a funny and touching and magical story!! Coal & Hex are relationship goals!!

I loved the magic, I loved the personal growth and the problems, personally and professionally, the characters had to work through.

At its core this is a story about coming of age, learning about yourself, being a kid of divorce, uncertainty, mistakes, sibling love and of course Falling in Love.

This book takes a hard look at what makes a holiday a holiday and what’s truly important too. And how we deal with grief.

This was such a warm hug of read. I was able to listen to the Audiobook through NetGalley as an ARC and oh my gods it was wonderful. The Narrator did an amazing job of bringing this story to life.

The spice was delicious and also wow the tension created without ever saying the words c*ck or d*ck. Very impressive. I was totally swooning over these two.

I also very much loved the side characters, Chris and Iris. They were so funny and such amazing people too!

I cannot wait for Chris’s story in book two!!

This is the perfect read for your Fall and Winter TBR!

Also can we have huge high fives for disaster bisexuals everywhere!!!! 💕💕

Prince Nicholas "Coal" Claus is trapped in his duty to Christmas, which has become a corporate spectacle, and a marriage of convenience to Easter Princess Iris, while his heart belongs to Hex, the Prince of Halloween. As Coal navigates this love triangle and a battle for control, the romance between him and Hex flourishes amidst the chaos of holiday politics.
The world-building in this book is creative and fun, mixing holiday traditions with deeper themes like the commercialization of Christmas and family pressure. While some parts were predictable, the romance was heartfelt, and the blend of humor and serious undertones made it more impactful than expected.
The narrator also did a good job of highlighting each character and didn’t distract from the story.
Recommend to those who enjoy festive rom-coms with a twist or anyone who loves holiday-themed stories with depth and humor.

This book is a warm Christmas hug full of new but familiar characters and beautiful relationships. The love that is shared by the leads is so beautiful, and this book emphasises the importance of standing up not just for who you love but also for the things that matter to you. A great holiday romance read.

It took itself too seriously while not being serious at all. I wanted it to lean into the silly because at the end of the day it is a romcom. But I think it focuses too much on not well fleshed out politics and the romance suffered and felt insta lovey. I still think people could enjoy this though!