Sara Raasch has once again made me fangirl to death! Five stars for the banter, the angst and the love. A must read and reread.

I love the world Sara has created with the Royals and Romance series. It's such unique and captivating story telling to explore holiday royalty!

I was hopeful at the end of the first book about who the love interest would be for Kris and was pleasantly surprised the direction it took AND how well it was explained! While brothers, Kris and Coal could not be any more different. The journey of self discovery for Kris was incredible to read.

The banter between Kris and Loch was epic, they had me laughing and on the verge of tears. This book was relatable on so many levels and I am so thankful to Sara for bringing us this world!

This was an ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) and sequel to The Nightmare Before Kissmass, which I read at the end of last year. I enjoyed this way more than the first, but it must be noted that the first established some essential ground rules and a great base from which this sequel builds off from, whilst also being it’s own story. 

I really loved exploring Kris’ story and learning about a new “Holiday Royal Court” with Saint Patrick’s Day. Loch may be one of my newest book boyfriend crushes, and although rough, I can see the appeal.

There were many moments in this book where it felt a little too repetitive, in which we’re recounted certain thoughts and ideas by characters more than a few times (to the point that I’m even thinking about it so much!). One other down is the thoughts/reactions of one character that didn’t make the sense to me. The explanations and positioning is there, but I just didn’t buy it. I know that it’s there to create the “third act” trope that many romance readers would know about, but I don’t think it was necessary and would have been better without.

Honestly though, I really had a fun time with this book and I’m starting to become attached to these characters. Coal’s, Kris’, and Iris’ friendship is truly one of my fave trios. These books have such fun wit and charm, and make me smile and giggle at the most unexpected times. I’m super excited to see what is next in this series as I will one HUNDRED continue to read and dive into this universe at any point.

Thanks to NetGalley and TOR for the chance to read this early!

The Nightmare Before Kissmas was one of the biggest surprises of 2024 for me. I’ve never had so much fun reading a holiday romance before! So, I knew I had to read the follow-up as soon as possible and I had high expectations! Thankfully, Go Luck Yourself is just as amazing as its predecessor!

The first thing I love about Go Luck Yourself is that it is a direct sequel to The Nightmare Before Kissmas. I expected this to be like many rom-com series where the books can be read in any order since the only thing in common is a few shared characters. This book, however, should not be read without reading The Nightmare Before Kissmas first since major plot, character, and relationship details from the first book are followed up on (yes, this means we get more Coal/Hex and Iris).

Go Luck Yourself picks up shortly after the events of the previous books. Kris and Loch meet in the library at Cambridge and get off on the wrong foot immediately. Kris channels a little of his brother’s chaotic energy on a revenge prank that has bigger tabloid consequences for Loch than Kris intended. Shortly after, a possible plot against Christmas has Kris visiting Loch to soothe over the debacle with the Holiday press while also investigating who in St. Patrick’s Day is stealing Christmas joy.

Kris and Loch are an incredibly fun pair. The two are attracted to each other but their hostility makes it impossible for the two to see their interest as mutual at first. Kris, especially, is so hilariously and stubbornly oblivious that I laughed out loud at several points. They do, of course, figure it out eventually but the journey, full of ups and downs, is so very enjoyable. I ended up loving them together just as much as I did Coal and Hex! Maybe even more (which I did not think would be possible)!

Kris, who was very likable in The Nightmare Before Kissmas, grows into an even better and more interesting character in this. He was the responsible brother in the first book, so it was fun to see these other sides of him. He has a great character arc in this that makes him feel relatable and real. I loved his growth by the end!

Loch is a great love interest and is one of my new favorite characters in this series. He’s brash at first but there is, of course, a lot more depth to him. He and his sisters are all great additions to the series.

This series, “Royals and Romance”, should not be missed, if you like funny and queer romances. These books are filled with laugh-out-loud moments and have wonderful characters and relationships. I love both immensely and I hope we get more in the future! These two books have cemented Sara Raasch as a must-read author for me and I am eagerly awaiting everything she writes in the future!

Thank you Bramble and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I love these holiday royalty stories! And I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers! Kris feels out of place, unsure where he fits in now that Coal has begun to take over Christmas. He’s trying to keep it together but some guy, admittedly hot, takes his study carrel time, he’ll use his magic to get his revenge. Then they find out someone has been stealing Christmas’s magic, the possible thief St Patrick’s Day whether it’s their King or their Prince, who surprisingly turns out to be the same guy from school. And Kris’ little revenge has all the holiday papers calling Prince Lochlann a screw up. That wasn’t his intention so he figures out he can find out who’s stealing their magic and make a public apology to the Prince. With the disdain they have for each other it will not be easy to convince the press. The two can’t seem to get along but is there disdain hiding something more? Can Kris find out who’s stealing their magic? Heartfelt, swoon worthy, hilarious, and full of spice! Plus the whimsy of the holidays! Entertaining and sweet, great for lovers of enemies to friends romance!

I was so excited to get the opportunity to read this one! I liked the first book, but I LOVED this one. It was simply perfect. Sarah Raasch does such an amazing job writing characters that readers can truly care about. I really hope there are more in this series.

Sarah Raasch’s follow-up to the Nightmare Before Kissmas has everything I liked about the first in the series: complicated characters, holiday politics, and a charming romance. Go Luck Yourself follows Kris, whose cool demeanor we saw from Coal’s perspective is thoroughly undermined by his anxious inner voice. Despite the whimsical premise, this book is not pure fluff- it deals with anxiety, toxic familial relationships, and difficult feelings, intertwined with the banter and chemistry sparkling between Kris and Loch, the crown prince of St. Patrick’s Day. At its heart, Go Luck Yourself is about realizing that luck is not an inevitable outside force but a conscious effort to choose your own path and the person who will walk it with you. Luck yourself, indeed.

I think this is a fun series, I'm really sad it's over. I could read a ton more about every holiday ever and be totally happy with that. I wish it would just go on and explore more tropes., why not.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an advance reader copy of my most anticipated book of next year! I loved Go Luck Yourself as much as The Nightmare Before Kissmas. While the NBK focused on passion and the excitement of new love, GLY was a love letter to those who struggle with anxiety, depression, and low self-worth. Where Coal was chaotic and hid his trauma in sarcasm, Kris is soft and hides his trauma in his need to be needed. I love that the bad guy is not some distant powerful entity, but the people at home who are supposed to love us. It feels more real which coming from a fantasy says something. 10/10 would recommend.

This book is the absolute perfect sequel to the Nightmare before Kissmas!! I love that both characters had realistic hurdles AND that the choices they made were believable. I also love the fact that not everything got wrapped up in a perfect bow and that just like IRL family can be messy.

10000/10 read, and a definite reread!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of 'Go Luck Yourself'! This review is my full, honest opinion.

What is a better way of spending the holidays than by reading holiday-themed books? I spent my Christmas reading the Royals and Romance series and devoured these two books in four days! After having such fun following Coal and Hex in Book One: The Nightmare Before Kissmas, I had an even better time reading about Kris and Loch in this book. ‘Go Luck Yourself’ is a great (academic) haters-to-lovers story with a Holiday mystery mixed in and plot twists and turns that had me gasping for air and the chair I was sitting in.

Kris and Loch are such a great pairing. Their dynamic with and against each other makes a reader want to scream at them with every interaction they have. I didn’t think we’d get this version of a spin-off coming off of Kissmas but I loved how it turned out and how it developed the world-building, the characters, and their relationships in unexpected ways. Our original bunch of Coal, Hex, and Iris are still incredible characters in this book, even in the supporting role of Kris’ story.

If you’ve started this series, you will not be disappointed with this sequel. You’ll be thoroughly entertained throughout following the buffoonery of the main pair and their characters who already know and love. You’ll probably cry from intense emotion, and bite your knuckle with how hot Kris and Loch are — just pick up and read this book! It will not let you down.

As someone who is not a huge fan of romance or comedy, The Nightmare Before Kissmas was kind of a miracle for me. I went into Go Luck Yourself hoping for more of the same, but knowing deep down I probably would not have those same feelings, and unfortunately I was right. That being said, I am glad I read it and will likely give a third installment a try, if it happens. I will also definitely be recommending this to romance readers in my life!

What a fun new edition to this imaginative and fun series that centers queer joy and romance in the most beautiful way!

I knew I needed a romance between the Christmas Prince and the Halloween Prince, but I did not know I needed a romance between the other Christmas Prince and the St. Patrick's Day Prince. Sarah does a wonderful job writing engaging banter and it wasn't hard to ship Kris and Loch.

The most delightful thing about this series from Sara Raasch is that it shouldn't work. The commitment to some of the holiday puns should be too corny, the characters too predictable, the plots too straightforward. That's at least how it would feel on paper. But anyone smart enough to open one of these books knows it's exactly the opposite—Go Luck Yourself carries that mantle from its predecessor in such an incredibly joyful way.

In the follow-up to Nightmare Before Kissmas, Kris, the second born prince of Christmas, is struggling. With what? Telling his best friend he was in love with her while simultaneously realizing he wasn't. The familial repercussions of his older brother trying to repair Christmas' relations with other winter holidays. An abusive mother and a clueless to the point of harm father. Oh, and an asshole at his university who keeps using his study room. Only it turns out that asshole is the Prince of Saint Patrick's Day—Loch—and after a prank gone public, Kris has to visit Loch's kingdom on a PR tour for them both that'll make fans of Red, White and Royal Blue thrilled. Pretend like you're getting along. There's no animosity. This is exactly how bros act with each other.

Just bros.

Where Kissmas was romance novel wrapping paper covering the ultimate present about the obfuscation of Christmas, Go Luck Yourself focuses more specifically on Kris and his mental health issues. The book touches on similar themes to the first, talking about how Saint Patrick's Day has devolved over time into a holiday about drinking and most folks have forgotten the core of the day and its importance to the Irish people, what was really most compelling and central to the narrative of this book was Kris. He's the younger sibling who was always taking care of his older sibling. He receives the brunt of his mother's wrath—she'd left years prior, the ramifications of which were briefly touched upon with his minor character arc in the previous novel. So getting to see that more delved into in this book, touching on the fact that Kris allows these things to happen to him because of a lack of self-worth, allows himself to be treated certain ways or expect (or rather, not expect) good things for himself... It was so exciting getting to explore that with his character and I felt it was an extremely touching and relatable plot. It was also refreshing and allowed this book to stand apart from the predecessor.

Sure the two books share a formula of sorts—a couple with a misunderstood meeting, major bumps along the way, the attempts at resisting the connection, the overthrown plot, the 11th hour Hail Mary for the relationship. But with these I can't help but think if it's not broken, I certainly have no care to fix it.

The romance between Loch and Kris was fun—they're both extremely emotionally unintelligent characters, and I say this as a person who has an extremely hard time with emotions. It was interesting trying to see the way they navigated around each other, though every so often Loch's actions became a little too frustrating and repetitive. Still, I enjoyed getting to see the way they interacted with each other and the way they fell into each other's lives. I would have loved a little more point of view from Kris's internal monologue, or from Loch's speeches discussing how long he'd had feelings for Kris, what exactly pulled them together in the first place. (Perhaps sometimes it's just that the person is hot and then you fall for their personality later! Honestly maybe I just want more content with these characters.)

Speaking of I think the way the characters from the previous book who were a little more central were woven into this just enough without taking away from the main story was extremely well paced. There was another plot going on in the background but it never seemed to take away from what was most important to our main couple. I think this was extremely important to me especially considering the close relationship between the brothers—Kris and Coal—in the last book. Without revealing additional spoilers, the author also seemed to lay the groundwork for a new book in the series and I can't wait to see where it goes.

There's definitely a few things I would have loved to see resolved a little more at the end (both their art hobbies, most of all!)—but it's a series and perhaps these are things that I will see continued on through the rest of Raasch's writing. I'm particularly interested to start seeing how the dynamics between all of the holiday kingdoms are working if everyone is marrying each other and the ramifications that might have on the universe—and I'm usually more of a character person than a world building person, but the author's done such a great job with this universe that I'm constantly curious about it.

If there's one thing I know it's that as long as the author keeps working on these books I will continue to pick them up, giggle and kick my feet, and read along.

This book was so sweet and heartfelt, with a raw look at anxiety and dysfunctional family relationships. I loved the main couple, the banter was bantering, the heat was hot! I'm excited to share this book with all my friends because it was a great read!

Sara Raasch is one power house of a writer. I fell in love with the universe in the first book, and melted into a puddle with this second book.

Go Luck Yourself can be seen as the perfect sequel to The Nightmare before Kissmas. Where the first book had the world building and fast paced plot. This book was spaced with a softer plot and it works wonderfully in tandem. Sara Raasch knows who her characters are as we see this book bring Kristophers personality and I think with the plot being less hectic of world building it fits the character wonderfully.

I love that we still got our fav characters like Hex, Coal, and Iris but I am happy that Sara did not stray from this being Kris’ storyline and having it overshadowed by too much.

Readers will find a lot to relate with in Kris and I think Sara has done some of the best panic attack representation I’ve seen in romantic literature. The effort is noticed and appreciated.

Overall, Sara Raasch has made me fall in love with romance, a genre that isn’t one of my top favorites. This series has quickly made its way into my heart and I look forward to Sara’s work that is to come!

Ok, this is adorable and hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing and I'm so glad to continue in this world.

Go Luck Yourself was such a wonderful follow up to The Nightmare Before Kissmas. Something I really dislike about a lot of romance series is the original books characters are not in the book to the degree that you'd want them to be, but this was not the case with Go Luck Yourself. Coal, Hex, and Iris, were still the lovable companions we know them to be helping Kris along his way. I really related to Kris's perfectionism. The author's character work is impeccable. She really knows how to flesh out a well rounded and believable character. I really enjoyed watching Kris come to terms with the things weighing him down in life and coming back into who he wants to be, and not what he thinks he should be.

For me this book is only 4 and not a 5 for two reasons:

First is: No one could ever beat Coal. He's my absolute new favorite book character and I just simply can not bring myself to rate another book higher than his as I just love him so much.

Second: The romance on Loch's side felt out of place at first. When he first held Kirs's hand, and kissed Kris I was genuinely surprised. I love banter as much as the next girl but it didn't feel like there was a sense at all that Loch was flirting with Kris. SO when the romance first started it felt a bit clunky.

Otherwise this book was absolutely adorable, I love these two hotheads so much, and I am so grateful to have been able to read the book. I love this series so infinitely and I truly deeply hope there's more to come because I am just not ready to part with this crew at all.

This book surprised me. It was much more emotional than I expected. Kris struggles with his identity this entire book, and it was such a heartfelt expression of growth. But, it was also so HOOOOT! Like damn, these boys took banter to a whole new level and I was hooked from the start. I went in expecting a cute little holiday rom-com, and it punched me right in the feels too.