I made it about 10% into this one and just couldn’t get into it. I just wasn’t a fan of the writing style. I love the cover though and the audiobook was well done!

UGH—this one had me hooked until about 60% in, and then... well, things took a turn.

The first half? I absolutely loved it. The world-building was rich, the characters were wonderfully developed, and their relationships felt deep and meaningful. I especially loved the creative take on the holidays, with Santa as this mob-boss figure—so unique and fun!

But after that, the story really started to drag. It felt like not much was happening, and I found myself losing interest. I'm honestly disappointed because this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and I had already preordered the next book in the series. Now, I'm not sure if I want to continue.

The concept was fantastic, but the plot just didn’t deliver in the end. Still, I'm grateful to NetGalley for the ARC.

Coal is the heir to the Christmas kingdom who is being forced into an arranged marriage with his best friend Iris from Easter. But when Prince Hex of Halloween shows up to court Iris too, Coal realizes he’s met him before – when they made out at a bar a year ago.

Determined to get to the bottom of what is going on between the Holiday Courts, Coal tries to avoid Hex and keep up the ruse of the arrangement. Except these princes can’t seem to stay away from each other for long…

Why Kirsten loves it
This was filled with chaotic energy, a fun new fantasy world, and all kinds of holiday lore. It was billed as Red, White, and Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas. Seems like an odd pairing, but I went in with a totally open mind and was rewarded with a unique, charming holiday story.

The audio is splendid! The story is so fun, I truly can't wait to receive my copy of the book and listen to the audio while reading the book. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did! Everything about this story was very fun, from the cover, to the story, to the audio! Even the title is so eye catching, I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I laughed out loud and had so many feels while listening to this book! What originally attracted me was the silliness of it. The Prince of Christmas and the Prince of Halloween falling for each other amidst questionable politics in countries which are actually holidays told as a mashup between Red, White, and Royal Blue and The Nightmare Before Kissmas? Yes, absolutely yes.

Coal and Hex (bet you can guess to which holiday each of them hails from) go on hilarious, heartwarming, and spicy journey to find themselves and save Christmas. The audiobook is read masterfully by Ellis Evans who does all the characters justice through both the sweet and steamy moments.

My only criticism is the lack of diversity. In the many mentions of "other winter holidays" it's never clarified what's meant by that. There's also a mention of Coal's Frost cousins. I'm assuming that means Jack Frost, but what about the other winter holidays not based on European tradition? I wanted a little more out of the worldbuilding..

However, The Nightmare Before Kissmas is a top tier diversion from real life that pulled me into its wonderful world and made me care about its characters. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review it.

This book was so freaking cute! The mashup of comp titles definitely fits. I liked the larger plot and Hex was just… I LOVE HIM. This was such a cool book and I would definitely continue to read in this world.

I loved this book so much, easily 5 stars and immediately going on my go-to rereads list. The holiday kingdoms are done so well and in such a fun way. I already can’t wait to read more books in this universe and hopefully see many more of the different holiday kingdoms/lands. While yes it is a very funny and charming book, it also covers some tougher topics with poignant perspective.

The audiobook narration was wonderful and made it so easy to feel immersed in the story right away.

The characters are interesting and multifaceted. I really loved both main characters, but the supporting characters were great as well! Hopefully we will get to know some of the supporting characters even better in future books.

I have already recommended this book to multiple friends and will most likely continue to recommend it to pretty much anyone who will listen to me for the next several months.

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

Very red white and royal blue. Cute story. I wish it was spicier just because I am a slut for spice but all in all it's a cute story. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Sara Raasch’s new book is a majestic blend of fantasy, holiday themes, and LGBTQ+ romance. It is an elegant equation — The Nightmare Before Christmas + Rise of the Guardians + Casey McQuiston = THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE KISSMAS, a.k.a. The holiday LGBTQ+ romance of your dreams.

Raasch accomplishes 2 feats with this novel — she challenges the Disney-fication of Santa Claus, with its excessive Tim Allen projects, making the mythical figure and his family more human, more real. Second, Raasch was clearly just having a lot of fun when writing. And that really comes through the prose. A lot of writers seem to have forgotten that it’s okay to have fun when telling a story. Thank goodness Raasch hasn’t. That’s why I am already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Brava, Ms. Raasch.

I never knew what people meant when they said they were "giggling and kicking their little feet while reading a book". Now I 1000% understand since that was my whole time listening to this book! There was a lot more of a plot that I anticipated and I really thought it was a wonderful story. We get to watch Coal figure out what he wants in life. And Hex is the sweetest most supportive boy. I seriously loved this book and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book! The narrator was so good! He didn't change his voice a lot for different characters but he was so passionate. He was acting more than just reading off a page and that was defiantly a bonus! If you want a fun holiday romance about the holiday's royal families I HIGHLY recommend!

Rating: Loved It, 4.5 stars

I had such a good time with this book! It was fun and had me cracking up at times! I heard about this book and knew I absolutely had to read it! In this, the crown prince of Christmas falls for the crown prince of Halloween while they are both pretending to compete for the hand of the princess of Easter.

I really enjoyed Coal's antics and being in his head. His narration had me laughing out loud as I read, and I just had so much fun learning about this secret world of holiday royals. I loved the depth to this one too. Coal was so sincere and earnest, which was just lovely. I was rooting for him and Hex, but also for him and his brother as they plotted a way to make Christmas great again.

Overall, such a fun time, and the audiobook really emphasized how much heart the story has to it.

Thanks to Bramble and Netgalley for an advance audiobook copy. The Nightmare Before Kissmas releases on October 8, 2024. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book, while not perfect, was such a stupid fun time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve also already recommended it to other people.

I was originally interested in this book due to the comparisons to Red, White & Royal Blue (a book/movie I loved) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (a movie I’ve heard a lot about, but never seen), but I think the characters are the true selling point. Due to Raasch’s great characterization, and an EXCELLENT performance by Ellis Evans, Coal really seemed to leap off the page and felt like an actual person.

While I loved the characters, I felt as though the plot ended up being a little underwhelming. The romance felt a little insta-love, and I almost would have preferred a dual POV so we could get some more insight into Hex. Where Coal felt fully realized, I think Hex could have benefited from a bit more characterization. The other issue I had was the choice to only focus on holidays that are big in the United States. I think including other holidays (like Eid, Diwali, Holi, Rosh Hashanah, etc) would have made this fantastical world where Holidays are magical places feel even more cemented in reality.

With other books coming in the Royals and Romance series, I’m hopeful that there’s time for these other holidays to be brought into the fold and given a place among the courts of Easter, Halloween and Christmas.

P.S. Not sure how to rework this into the review, but I also really loved what Sara Raasch had to say about joy and all the ways it affects us. One of my favorite lines was when Hex described Halloween as "finding joy in the terrifying" and "finding joy in what's gone".

The Nightmare Before Kissmas was still a great listening experience and I am actively looking forward to next year’s Go Luck Yourself.

Take two of my favorite holidays and squish them together! Yes, please! This was an adorable and sexy version of the Nightmare Before Christmas. Everything I read was saying it as Nightmare Before Christmas meets Red, White, and Royal Blue and that is exactly what we got. The banter was great the spice was sexy and very sweet at the same time. The tension in this book was wonderful. I loved all the characters and I can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series.

I was able to listen to alc, the narrator did a fanstic job pulling you in, however with any romance I do prefer for it to be dual pov narration. While the book started out great, and I was really sucked in at the beginning, it really lack luster at the end. I was fine with Santa being the actual villian in this story,but it just got to be too much at the end.

3.5 stars

This one was such an addicting listen! Narrated by Ellis Evans, I was completely hooked with these characters! I enjoyed Ellis tones and inflections used throughout the story. They were spot on.

I found myself very intrigued with this bad boy who gets in trouble by his dad all the time. I was also intrigued with Coal's backstory with their mom, and I adored his friendship with his friend and brother. Their group chats and headings always made me giggle. Hex is Halloween's hottie, and someone that Coal has been looking for. It's an adorable Halloween/Christmas story that will want you to curl up on the couch and read/listen all day.

Book Review 📖🍂✨

The Nightmare Before Kissmas
by Sara Raasch

Thank you so much partner @brambleromance @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy and audiobook!

About the book 👇🏽

Coal might be the Prince of Christmas but he’d honestly rather skip it this year. Wouldn’t you when your father, the reigning Santa, has turned it into nothing more than the family’s latest PR stunt?

But Coal has gotten into one scrape too many and there’s a surprise in store: a marriage to his best friend to unite their families in the perfect holiday photo moment.

Then a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’ hand and he’s suddenly face to face with a past mistake: Hex, the deliciously handsome Prince of Halloween.

Scuppering Santa's plans and falling for Christmas's biggest rival would be a complete disaster... wouldn't it?

🎄🎃 My thoughts:

Ugh I loved this holiday mash up!! There was no pause for this book, I was either reading it or listening to it, never coming up for air. Both versions were so good and held my attention until it was over. I have never read a romcom quite like this but man was it good! The magical aspects of each holiday made this book even more enticing and engaging for me. And I won’t even lie… when Coal and Kris (The Claus boys) had a deep conversation… I totally teared up. This story has so much heart and it a story about family, friends, joy, and the true magic of the holidays. What a gift to have been able to read this one early! I should mention that it’s also a little sexy, a lot quirky, and completely hexing. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop! The Nightmare Before Kissmas is out 10/8/24!!

Happy reading 📖 🎃✨🎄

#Macaudio2024

This was a really cute, but also surprisingly emotional read. Nick aka Coal (the Prince of Christmas) meets Hex (the Prince of Halloween) one drunken night at the bar, and then that’s all he can think about for the next year and a half. Coal and Hex reunite unexpectedly when their “courts” meet to arrange a marriage (not between he and Hex) and work some other things out. I loved getting to see Coal and Hex fight their attraction and really get to know each-other through talks about their lives and spending time together sleigh riding and other things. Although this is a romance read, there is quite a bit of conversation between Coal and his brother Kris about the damage their mother leaving caused and it really got me all in my feels. Kris is such a sweetheart and it’s heartbreaking at times to hear how desperate he still is for his mom to want to come back to them and actually be a caring mom. The further the book progressed the more meaningful and eye opening Coal and Hex’s interactions were and the narrator (I did audio and e-ARC) did a wonderful job of portraying both men’s emotions and hesitations to give in to their feelings.

I LOVED this listen it was super fun and I loved the union story line as well as the romance plot. I'm super excited for this series and can't wait for book 2!!

🎧Audio Review🎧

I am a such huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, so I was immediately sold after reading the blurb and knew I needed to request an ALC. Ellis Evans does a great job with the narration. I do wish there would have been multiple POVS, as I would have liked to know what Hex was thinking and feeling at times, but I still thought this story was quirky and adorable, and I liked the fact that the spice wasn’t overdone.

Look, this plot is absolutely banana-bonkers, like I don't even know how Sara Raasch came up with this craziness. But these characters are so delightfully EARNEST and charming that I could not put this book down- read it in one go. Coal is such a romantic sap and Hex!!!! He deserves that big romantic sap being absolutely obsessed with him.

I NEED the second book. Kris was silently put through it and I need to see him get his HEA with an Irish hottie, okay?

Ellis Evans CRUSHED this performance. 10/10 audiobook narration.