The premise of Nightmare Before Kissmas initially drew me in, and for the first half I thought it was delivering on its promise. As the story progressed, my interest faded.

The biggest issue for me was that I just didn’t feel anything. The author seemed to expect me to be invested in the characters and their relationships, but there wasn’t enough depth or development to make me care. The political intrigue also didn’t hold my attention-making the plot feel unengaging.

It’s a shame because the world-building had real potential—I just wish the story had done more to bring it to life.

Look, I’m always down for a fun, silly time—but this? This felt more cringe than cute, and I just couldn’t push through. I made it about 10% in before tapping out because every line had me secondhand embarrassed instead of entertained.

I know holiday rom-coms are meant to be over-the-top, but there’s a fine line between charmingly ridiculous and too much, and for me, this one landed squarely in the latter. Maybe it gets better, but I just didn’t have the patience to stick around and find out.

Genre: Holiday Romance

Format: Audio

4.25🌟 - I enjoyed it!

This book is pitched as RW&RB meets The Nightmare Before Christmas and it’s such a good comparison! This was such a fun and unique little world to get swept away in, and I really enjoyed the romance between Hex and Coal 🎅🏼🎃🖤! There’s a bit of mystery, royal politics, forbidden romance, and truly entertaining! Loved the audio!

This is a MM holiday romance and I loved it. It's a mash up with Christmas and Halloween. My two faves. It's like Nightmare before Christmas with lifetime Christmas mixed in. It was cute, funny, and steamy. I highly recommend.

This was a cute fun fantastical holiday romance. I loved the story and holiday elements. The characters are so well thought out and I loved the passion. It’s fun perfect holiday read.

I am sorry, but I just could not get into this book. Thank you NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Bramble for my advanced copy.

3.75 Stars

In order to enjoy what this book has to offer, you have to align your expectations appropriately. If you go into this hoping for an easy breezy, fluffy holiday rom-com, you’ll most likely be disappointed. It does definitely have humor, romance, steam, and light-hearted moments, but it’s also really heavy on the world-building of these holiday fantasy worlds and also their corresponding politics.

The part about Coal really resenting his father for turning Christmas into a capitalistic, commodified holiday nightmare is a major piece of the story. And don’t get me wrong, all of the political angling and machinations in the story are wildly over-convoluted, but at the same time, I also respect this rom-com for really going in and having complex conversations about what holiday joy really means.

This book could’ve very easily been a fluffy, surface-level holiday royal romance, but I kind of like that it takes itself seriously. I like that these characters are not just princes in name and that their royalty isn’t romanticized, but that they’re actually grappling with what it means to have global power and influence.

In a weird way, it’s kind of pushing back against this dominant narrative that Christmas, especially, is this magical, feel-good holiday where everyone is kind to each other, miracles happen, and the world temporarily knows peace. There’s also a lot of hard stuff and baggage that comes along with holidays and the existence of holidays doesn’t negate all the horrible things happening in the world that don’t just cease to exist because of the date on the calendar. Again, I respect the story for really grappling with those things. And for having this main character who isn’t critical simply for the sake of criticizing but who’s actually determined to use his strong feelings as fuel to make the entire system better somehow.

I will say that while the physical attraction and chemistry between the two main characters is undeniable, there were moments where I felt like I was missing the romantic attraction and the emotional intimacy between them. But I do still think they make a cute pairing and it was fun to read about their interactions and the way they flirt with each other in these forced proximity situations, how their personalities and aesthetics are so wildly different.

A very minor thing that got on my nerves, though, was that Hex talks about Dia de Muertos as being part of Halloween’s dominion as a holiday, when they’re actually two distinct and unrelated holidays that have nothing to do with each other even though they happen around the same time of year. I understand why they get conflated, and honestly that’s a discrepancy I don’t think a lot of readers will pick up on on even care about. But as a Mexican-American person, I definitely did feel things about that choice.

All that said, I know there’s a sequel/companion already slated for early 2025 that centers around St. Patrick’s Day and I can confidently say I would still check that out. This was definitely a fun spin on a "holiday" romance with a lot of fun fantasy twists!

A very charming twist on the holiday romance, this book following a romance between the prince of Christamas and prince of Halloween is emotionally resonant, charming, sultry, and a perfect holiday read. The book does seem to bite off a bit more than it can chew, building a whole holiday-based aristocracy with complex politics and a larger-than-life big-bad who is nonetheless easy enough to take down with some reason and a bit of a push. There is more in here that I would have liked to see developed - the interactions with grief in particular, as they shape much of the emotional resonance of the novel. But the romance is charming and the magical-realism of it all brings a nice touch to the story

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for this advanced copy.

This story was so much more than I expected it to be, and there were so many little things I loved!
- The fantastical element that the holidays are royal families!
- The text group chat names between Iris (the Easter princess) and the Claus boys!
- An extremely funny Marvel reference — a conversation about Loki, Chris Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett (aka: the sexuality equalizer) from “Thor: Ragnarok.” #iykyk
- The description of the library in Claus Palace! I’d die to see that in real life!
- There is an Elf on the Shelf prank situation that made me LOL!
- The chemistry between Coal and Hex! 🥵

Read this if:
- You love Christmas and Halloween
- You love love
- You enjoy sarcastic, witty banter with LOTS of steam.

I did feel like the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly, with some major unresolved situations. I know this is a series, so I’m hopeful the sequel provides the clarity we need.

I had so much fun reading this book! It was really funny, and a great seasonal read. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

A fun holiday book, with a unique setting and a cute romance! I loved the intricacies of the plot, with the two main characters as ‘holiday royals’. The main character was funny and sweet, and seeing the two MC’s fall for each other was a delight. A nice book to read in the winter!

🌈Queer rep: MM main couple, bi male main character, bi female and male secondary characters.

4.75 stars - knocking off that .25 because honestly the ending felt unresolved. Or did I miss it? There was such a build up with the other holidays and the wedding and the coup and the father's anger...but then (view spoiler) Maybe that's why there's going to be a book 2 and it will pick up right where this left off.....?

Anyway, I really enjoyed this. I loved that each of the characters was so well fleshed out and we really saw each of their personalities. I loved that we really saw that world and the magic and a bit of how the holidays really work, both with the 'royal families' and down to the citizens. Coal and Chris' relationship as brothers was so sweet and I loved that they weren't the perfect family. We actually saw what was driving 'Santa' to have issues and with these issues, there are real people who are affected by them, real reactions. I just thought this was so well-done!

This story is told in first person by Coal, the prince and heir to the current Santa. Coal remembers a time when he learned about the joy of Christmas at his father’s knee, but since his mother left them, his father has changed. Coal wants to impress his father and bring joy and giving back to the holiday instead of commercialism and acquisition, but his attempts so far have been embarrassing failures, the last of which ended in his confiding in a stranger in an alley behind a bar and experiencing the most exciting kiss of his life.

Coal’s first-person narrative is broken up with the occasional text chain with his brother, Kris and their friend, Iris, the princess of Easter. This all culminates when Santa expects Coal to do his duty and marry Iris to join the holidays and powers together for the good of the Christmas kingdom. Unfortunately, Coal is still hung up on his alley-crush and Kris is in love with Iris who may or may not return those feelings. Then a rival from the Halloween kingdom arrives and Coal is expected to compete for Easter’s hand with Hex, the guy from the alley behind the bar.

I really enjoyed the characters in this story. Coal, Kris, Iris and Hex are caught up in a political quagmire of court manipulation and power plays. I loved the sibling bond between Coal and Kris. They both reacted differently to the loss of their mother but support each other in their own way. I also enjoyed Coal’s friendship with Iris. They are caught between being friends, reconciling themselves to their parents’ wishes, and wanting to rebel against them. At times one more than the other, and it flips occasionally as the story progresses. Adding in newcomer, Hex, gives the group an interesting dynamic, showing their strengths and fun sides.

I enjoyed the comradery of this group just as much as the romance. I found the story creative and entertaining. I look forward to more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bramble for a copy provided for an honest review.

Loved it! Laughed, cried, celebrated the morons, could not be more excited for this series to continue. I think the world that was built here has so many paths it could take. It's got the vibes of The Tarot Sequence, very high praise, but a much lighter version. Hex was a really fun counterpoint to Coal, and the ways they both encouraged each other to grow and learn to trust each other was so sweet.

WITH THAT SAID, this book was marketed horribly IMO. "Red White and Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas" was obviously there, but so much more of this book was devoted to Coal's relationship with his father, the reigning Santa, and the commodification and cheapening of their Holiday, along with all kinds of underhanded political machinations. There were really uncomfortable points where Santa felt super similar to Trump in terms of the level of worship for him from the general citizens, like they were propagandized enough to never see any negative about him. And I'm not saying any of this because it was bad, because it wasn't, I think it was honestly done really well. But it did the book and the readers a massive disservice by marketing this as a cute holiday romance and nothing more.

I’ve always loved the idea of the personifications of different holidays meeting (perhaps clashing and then teaming up, perhaps getting right to the teaming up part). Through in a little gay romance to move the plot along and all the better. The Nightmare Before Kissmas, the first entry in Sara Raasch’s “Royals and Romance” series (the sequel, Go Luck Yourself, comes out in March) is silly, giddy fun from start to stop. This does not mean that the emotional stakes aren’t real – they are, and range from living up to your parents’ expectations to realizing your parents are not as infallible as child-you thought, to making amends to people you didn’t realize you were hurting – but those stakes are surrounded by a comedy of errors. And all the main characters, male and female, are hot and very human. This is less Nightmare Before Christmas and more Red, White & Royal Blue for the soon-to-be monarchs of the holidays. I liked that we meet Nicholas “Coal” Claus, prince of Christmas, at essentially rock-bottom and slowly get to see why his brother Kris and best friend Iris (the princess of Easter) support him and love him despite all the ways he self-sabotages himself under the weight of the family legacy (and a decent helping of generational trauma). I enjoyed meeting Hex, the prince of Halloween, before we really know who he is, and learning about his own family pressures. These four main characters are the core of the book, although it is narrated in the first person by Coal so most of our views of the other holidays are from his (sometimes skewed) perspective. I also like that most of the drama stems from Christmas’ ongoing, ever-quickening, encroachment of the other holiday. Raasch is not afraid to make that a clear point of contention in this fictional world, as it is for many people in the real world. (If you know me, you know how much I love Christmas – but not to the point that we’re putting Christmas trees up in October and taking them down in March.) While very few are mentioned by name, the author acknowledges that there are a lot of holidays observed and celebrated during the winter months.

I enjoyed this enough that I’m intrigued to see where the sequel, focused on younger brother Kris, will go in exploring holidays other than Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.

I think this book is definitely meant for a certain demographic of readers: romance, sci-fi, slow-build. However, I found this story pretty boring and I had a difficult time staying engaged. I feel like there was a lot of political discourse between the holidays and the romance was lacking. Perhaps if this story had multiple points of views instead of just Coal’s, it would have been more engaging.

I'm always up for something new from Sara Raasch so I was excited to see she was branching out into a holiday fantasy romance and the premise was intriguing and despite the 3 stars I did kind of like it but for me the characters just didn't grab me the way I like them to in romance. I'm totally intrigued by Coal's brother Kris though that is appearing in book 2.

The play on names was a bit too cutesy for me ( Coal, Kris for xmas / Lily & Iris for Easter / Hex for Halloween) but this was an enjoyable, lighthearted read that fit my holiday reading mood.

Thanks for the chance to read this early!

I really wish I would have read this one sooner because THIS WAS SO CUTE. I am already planning a reread for next October because I can't think of a better time to read this!

I really liked the concept of holidays almost like sovereign nations with their own royalty, and the currency and what fueled them was joy. Like to create political turmoil over that was pretty clever.
Coal (Nicholas) is a Prince of Christmas, and is arranged to marry the Princess of Easter. Neither of them want this. They’re best friends, but that’s as much as they love each other. Prince Hex of Halloween shows up to court for Princess Iris’ hand, though he also doesn’t want to actually marry her. It’s all political.
Many moons ago, Coal made out with an intriguing stranger in a back alley. Surprise! It was Hex. So while the two are supposed to be battling it out for Iris’ hand, they’re actually into each other. So we’ve got a bit of forbidden romance going on here.
So while that is going on, turns out Santa is being a grump and trying to ruin Christmas. So there’s a lot of trauma and healing in that area, that does become a big point of contention. I never thought I’d hate Santa!
It also gets spicy between Hex and Coal. They both also have powers that deal with their holiday so that was pretty nifty. Overall, I did like this book.
I found Coal a little bit annoying, but that could have just been the voice the narrator used for him and/or part of his growth arc. I loved Hex though, and I thought their opposites attract worked. They both mean well, and just went about things differently. Coal has a really good heart, but also just constantly gets rejected and is labeled a screw up. So a lot of the novel is also him learning to make a difference, his way, which is a change for the better.

I can’t wait to read how Kris’ story goes in the next book!

Thank you Bramble for the physical copy!

Although I initially thought this was just going to be a fluffy, light romance, I didn't actually mind the shift into a more political storyline between Christmas and the other holidays. There was a lot of great dialogue, lovely scenes, and lore that was built in this world, and for the most part, I was intrigued.

This was just short of four stars for me, and I think what was missing was more of the initial "Holiday magic" that is sort of introduced near the beginning (with the way the Christmas prince brothers can travel, and a little bit of conjuring), but there's a severe lack of it in the middle. There's bits and bobs here and there but I really wanted more in that regard.

The other part is just wanting a little more romancing. It did feel a little "insta-love" in a sense, which is ok, but again, I just needed a little more.

I'm super excited to start the next one as I really liked Kris' character and curious to see where it goes! Hoping for more romance and more "holiday magic" by the characters in the second book.