Member Reviews
In this follow-up to The Nightmare Before Kissmas we follow Coal’s brother Kris as he gets into a bit of a situation with St. Patrick’s Day’s Prince Lochlann. They have a bit of an enemies to lovers arc and lots of Irish hijinks happen along the way. This book is just as enjoyable as its predecessor and continues with the author’s impeccable knack for banter. Kris and Loch both discover a lot about themselves through each other and grow stronger because of it, which is a beautiful thing to read in a relationship.
Overall this book is full of heart and magic, and will appeal to most lovers of romance. The magic is so low-key that I think even non-fantasy lovers can enjoy this story.
I had such a fun time reading this book! I love Kris and Loch as a couple. They had a good mix of banter and romantic tension. I also really appreciate how slow burn this book was. It really made me root for them as a couple. There was no mention of a third book in this series at the end of this book, but I would definitely be interested in reading a third book in this series.
Go Luck Yourself is a fun followup to the Nightmare Before Kissmas, following the Prince of Christmas and St. Patrick's Day. Kris finds out someone from St. Patrick's Day is stealing Christmas' joy, the source of their magic. Kris goes to Ireland on a diplomatic mission to help Loch's public perception, while secretly investigating the theft. The two princes outwardly hate each other while hiding their true feelings.
This was an entertaining read that also touched on heavier themes of parental abandonment and healing, with some fun tidbits about the origin of St. Patrick's Day. I would have liked to see more time spent on the holiday itself, and I personally didn't like how Loch's accent was written phonetically. I look forward to reading what Raasch writes next. Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Twice this year I've been in a terrible reading slump and Sara Raasch and this series has fixed me. I stayed up until two am to finish this because I just couldn't stop. I had to see it through.
As much as I loved the first book, this one might be my favorite. There's just something about Kris and his quest to find somewhere he belongs and feel useful that REALLY hit home with me. Making sure everyone else in your life is taken care of and always putting yourself on the back burner is just. VERY relatable to me, so I was very excited to see him work things out.
ALSO. Can we talk about the burden of being the child that parents their parents? Because HOO BOY does Kris go through that, too. It made me tear up quite a few times, seeing him go through that guilt and learning to let his parents go and when to accept help and care from a sibling. Coal does such a great job of stepping up in so many ways in this book, but definitely when it comes to Kris.
I would be remiss, though, to not tell you how much I adore Loch. Like. SO much. He's a grumpy, secret softie, artist who just wants to do right by his holiday, and his sisters and I knew he would be a favorite as soon as he showed up on the page. He just effortlessly saw Kris and that just!! Gets me.
I hope this series never ends and Raasch just keeps inventing new holidays and their courts and keeps it going. They're just wonderful and charming and all the best things about the holidays wrapped up. and paperback bound.
Go Luck Yourself keeps the delightful vibes from The Nightmare Before Kissmas going- no sophomore slump in this series. I loved Kris is book 1 and having him anchor this book was a treat. His enemies to lovers relationship with Loch was so sweet to see develop. I loved seeing both of them grow and figure themselves out and make their relationship work. This book has a little magic and a lot of swoons and all the luck 🍀
Can’t wait to have this book on my bookshelf. Absolutely loved it. My first read from Sarah Raasch and won’t be my last. Thank you for the opportunity to review.
This book won me over to this series. It's an absolutely silly premise, but if you can get past that, the romance is great and I loved all of the characters.
Eventually had to DNF, I was very excited about this series but found this book to be too cliche in writing style for me but I can very much see a lot of readers who are fans of "Red, White, and Royal Blue" or YA readers would enjoy this book. I did like the fun element of royalty for each holiday.
I absolutely adored The Nightmare Before Kissmass and was ecstatic to receive an advanced copy of Go Luck Yourself. Go Luck Yourself follows Coal's younger brother, Kris. Kris is struggling to find his place as part of Christmas' royal family. Since Coal has begun taking on more responsibility he has subsequently been needing Kris' support less and less. And Kris is not sure how to cope with the loss. Enter Loch. Total jerk and study room stealer, but also the crown prince for the holiday of St. Patrick's Day. The two start off butting heads at every turn, they cannot stand one another, but slowly Kris begins to see that he and Loch may have more in common then they both originally realized.
I loved this story and it was the perfect addition into this world of holiday royalty. I loved getting to see Hex and Coal again and enjoyed getting to know Kris better and watch as he fumbles his way through his new reality. Go Luck Yourself is an enemies-to-lovers romance with lots of paint, some practical jokes, a greedy uncle, and a well-earned happily ever after. I cannot wait to read what Raasch releases next!
I have loved every single one of these and I just need a hundred more. LIKE HOW DID YOU CREATE THIS?
It’s fucking amazing, highly entertaining, made me want to kick my feet and giggle like this series needs more kudos.
Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! I rated this book 5 stars and 3.5 chili peppers for spice. I was so excited for Kris’s story and I was not disappointed! Kris is a really emotional and introspective character. I really liked the way he handled his past trauma and abuse with his mother. Can I also just say how much I really hate ex King Clause! I hated him in Kissmas and I really hate him now. It was super fun to get to read about all our favorite characters again. And omg I love Loch! I love his baby dom side that comes out in their sexual encounters. I also love his dynamic with his sisters. There were some amazingly romantic quotes in this book and I was here for it. That being said I do wish it had more events revolved around the holiday itself. We got a lot of holiday politics from the first book and I feel like that was missing here. I also sort of wish there was more involvement with Malachy, Loch’s evil uncle. He was talked about but only showed up really once. I wanted to hate him as much as I hated Kris’s dad, ex-King Clause but felt I didn’t get to know him that well. But honestly none of that affected my rating because I still seriously loved this book so so so much. I really do hope Iris and Finn get their own book eventually and we can get more of Easter and St. Patrick’s day. Another A++ from Sara Raasch!
I LOVED The Nightmare Before Kissmas, so when I saw the ARC for Go Luck Yourself, I was over the moon, and this book did not disappoint! It had all of the buildup and tenderness of the first in the series, and it was exciting to see more holiday worldbuilding. Kris and Lochlann got a love story that was all their own, and that flirting was to DIE for!! I desperately hope Raasch continues with this series...could Iris be up next?
After being pleasantly surprised with The Nightmare before Kissmass I decided to give this a try in the hopes it would be just as good. I was a bit let down. I don't think Loch was not as fleshed out as he should have been considering it was his holiday on the line and not Kris's. Also, for a book that takes place leading up to St. Patrick's Day and is about it's king, you would think there would be more about the actual holiday in it. There is not. There is a 5K race and pub hopping. Oh, and one very minor argument on the origin of the holiday. Mostly it's about art and emotional healing, which is fine, but I wanted more Irish lore. But that isn't my main complaint with the book. No, that would be the absolutely terrible sexy-time dialog. It is seriously bad. And the sex scenes are nowhere near as good as in Coal and Hex's book. I found the extremely mild psudo-sub/dom aspect boring as shit and not well written at all. If there ends up being a book 3 I don't know if I'll bother with it.
Loved!!! Everything in this book from the character development to the plot to the smut is a vast improvement from the first book!
Lochlann and Kris are both so loveable and funny! Their banter is much for organic. I was moved by each of their individual journeys and their evolution as a couple. Also, I have to admit all the side characters are so endearing. And the SMUTTTT!!!!
I also attribute the fact that I loved this one so much more to (a) the fact the book takes place in Ireland around St. Patrick's Day and (b) reading it digitally rather than audibly.
There were still a few pet peeves (how many times can one man use the endearment "boyo" in one book?) but overall I think this sequel is a home run. And if the third book is about who I think it is OH MAN am I excited.
that book was so good until it became the raunchiest thing ive ever read im still compartmentalizing pls respect my space in this time.
4 stars because Im still holding out for Iris' book
Loved the first book so I could not wait to dive into this one. The banter is even better in this! Loved that we got to see and evolve with Kris throughout the book. Love the setting again. Love the new characters. Just such a fun and heartfelt read.
I found this book cute, cozy, and at times humorous and sexy, just like the first in the series. For better or worse, supporting characters on Kris’s side are who they are and don’t have a lot of character growth, so I’m thankful he has people on his side who fiercely support him and encourage him to make choices that will make him happy. One thing that I just can’t get over is the timeline. Lust to love in a couple of days? Nah. At least in book one they fell in love over weeks, not hours. Enjoyable, but not believable.
This is the second in a series and in my mind, just as good as the first. It is an enemies to lovers mm romance that hits all the right notes. The characters have great chemistry, you get to learn more about the main protagonists from the first book (I love Coal and Hex an awful lot!) and the book is full of the clever wit that was in The Nightmare Before Kissmas. People are really going to enjoy this book.
I am obsessed with this book. I have nothing bad to say about it at all. It's in my top ten books of the entire year. I am so fully serious. I absolutely devoured it. I tore through it, I could not stop. This is my new favorite series.
I try to approach my Netgalley reviews with eloquence and professionalism, but let me tell you: I am absolutely foaming at the mouth for this series. I adore it. I have been handselling the heck out of Kissmas - we cannot keep enough copies in the store. I handed it to one of our regulars yesterday and he said immediately that he would buy it. And I know everyone who read and loved book one will read and love book two.
Ok, brains on. I loved the discussion about nationalism and the importance of St. Patrick's Day. This was so much more emotional than I thought it would be. I love how Raasch handles family issues and relationships, and I love how different Kris is from Coal, and how dependent and close the brothers are.
And I LOVED that I got to see more of Hex. I just. I love Hex so much. I LOVE him. He is my book crush.
Netgalley, I will sell the HECK out of this book.
When the first book ended and I read the description for this one, I have to say I was really intrigued. I couldn't picture where the author was going with this, but it worked out for the best. It's one of those rare times where I think the sequel is better than the first entry.
The first book leaves us knowing that Kris is heartbroken after unknown events occur with Iris, his best friend and love interest for the first book. Fresh off of that, this book picks up only a few months later and we see both the winter holiday negotiations wrapping up and Kris trying to understand what his role in Christmas is now that his brother is in charge.
A lot of this book centers around self discovery and comes with many complex and raw emotions including anxiety, depression, self loathing, and panic attacks. The portrayal of mental illness is handled rather well and it was really relatable to my own college years.
Loch is introduced as the new romantic interest and there's an enemies to lovers plot going on here. I'm not going to lie, I ate that up. The romance, the angst, the conflict are all pretty juicy and up my alley. It's very Hallmark-esque in how smoothly things go throughout the book, but if you're here you know that from the first one anyway.
I will say, my biggest issue is that the main course of plot events takes place in less than a week. It's very rapid in terms of developing a connection and I wish it had been fleshed out across a longer period of time.
That being said, I enjoyed this so much. It was a nice guilty pleasure read and I hope the author revisits this world again. I love how creative it is and there's a lot of opportunities to expand on other holidays that I'd love to see.