The Nightmare Before Kissmas is the perfect fun and spicy Christmas audiobook! Loved this peek behind the curtain into holiday royal family’s lives!

I would rate this somewhere around 2.75/3 stars. A cute read for the holidays but was unfortunately not my favorite, but unfortunately I think this is a personal problem as I have not been able to enjoy romance books for the last few books so take my review with a grain of salt. I liked how they kind of made Santa seem sort of bad in this story, and how they tried to focus the holidays being more about joy and connections rather than things. Overall had some good themes and a decent romance. Would still recommend for a holiday read!

This was not the book for me. I just could not get into it. Loved the idea behind the story, but just didn't get into it.

Fun holiday story. I loved the LGBTQ rep, and looked forward to including this in my holiday book recommendations. Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC!

This is quite the divisive book, but I personally fell head over heels for these disaster MCs. It was honestly so cute it gave me heart palpitations.

I read this in the bowels of newborn life - mostly around 1am - and it was a lifesaver. It also means I haven't really kept up with or heard why it's polarizing. But I found it to be delightfully dramatic yet low stakes, hilariously messy, and full of tension & chemistry.

It's definitely not a book that takes itself too seriously. And it really leans into the quirky holiday themes. And I literally never get tired of following a disaster bisexual MC.

The audiobook was fantastically narrated. This is my 3rd audiobook by this narrator (although this may be a pseudonym?) and I find his voice to be so easy to listen to and follow. Was definitely great company while I up feeding/rocking baby at all hours of the night.

In a time where we're bombarded with emotional, heavy stories - this romance is a perfect reprieve. And I can't wait to devour as many books in this series that Sara Raasch gifts us.

Thank you net galley for this audio arc.
The Nightmare before Kissmas is suppose to be an adorable queer romcom between the Christmas prince and halloween prince. Instead it was a slow pace romance (which is fine that was the good part) that was heavy handed with political discussion on capitalism through the lens of Christmas. The book seemed to be doing way too much for its premise. I will say the romance between the Christmas prince and halloween prince was cute.

A delight of a holiday novel that absolutely had me laughing and bushing and feeling all the feels. I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the narration.

This book is a bit of a mixed review for me. I enjoyed the fact that this book is more of a political drama than a romance. I usually get bored with rom-coms because they don't have enough drama. However, I think the author probably needs to work on her political intrigue plotting. Most of the actual in depth parts of the political intrigue fell apart under any sort of scrutiny. The holidays needed to addressed based on their months not their seasons because Northern and Southern hemisphere have directly opposite seasons. This seems a basic oversight. Also the line between Fall and Winter was basically nonexistent in this book which again, seems weird. Thanksgiving was referred to as a Winter holiday but that's just not correct. The politics in general were not very political intrigue because Coal was not calculating enough to actually do anything well. If the book had been Hex's POV as he tricked Coal and the others to help him gain political favor and then along the way maybe he grew to care for them or something that would have been a better book. But we basically have someone with all of the easy resources and backing be confused about how he was ever going to win politically when he was already winning public favor and noble favor. It was just annoying and frustrating to watch them twiddle their thumbs and not scheme. The romance was both fun and annoying. Due to a lack of communication drama occurred which always annoys me. It also had a third act breakup for pretty much no reason except to stirr up drama. Also annoying. Now, my review is coming off quite negative. I say all of that to say that Sara has great potential. I just saw it put not to the best use in this book. I would love to see future works by her to see if she realizes her potential. This book was just not hitting the mark for me, but I could see with some minor tweaks how we could turn a plot full of holes and unnecessary drama into a very interesting political intrigue with some betrayal in love if we had just played our cards right. Always pains me to see potential wasted, but alas.

I loved this book so much, I read it twice! I really loved the characters of this book, they each captivated the spirit of their holiday! The Nightmare Before Kissmas was the equivalent of a cute holiday movie that I would absolutely watch on repeat all year long. I would have liked to see a Hex POV, but it didn't take away from the story or my rating so it wasn't a make or break deal. Also, I never thought I would be so mad at Santa Claus! Overall, this book was a cozy holiday romance, and I absolutely adored it!

This was a cute holiday palate cleanser. The shop was perfect! The romcom vibes were 10 out of 10. Only reason I didn’t give it. Five stars is because it was a little cliché.

DNF

I went into this expecting some resemblance to The Nightmare Before Christmas, but I was disappointed. Instead, it focused heavily on goofy holiday politics and a romance that focused more on physical attraction than I typically prefer. Ultimately, I decided not to finish it and dnf’d pretty early.

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.

Honestly, what kept me going was the narrator. Personally, I feel like I probably would have DNFd this book if I was only reading a physical copy instead of listening to the audiobook.

I truly had the lowest expectations, and I was blown out of the water. I was pleasantly surprised by the world building and the political plotlines. I think that it being a romcom is honestly second to the actual plot of the book which was about Joy and like family. I think that overall it was incredibly fun and fresh while still feeling familiar.

Thank you for the audio ARC. This book wasn’t for me. It wasn’t what I expected and seemed like it would be more interesting for a young adult audience.

This book has a truly unique and fun concept and was surprisingly more layered than I anticipated. I particularly enjoyed the narrator and thought his performance added a lot of humor and depth I would have otherwise missed in written format. I’m looking forward to the next book!

This was an interesting take on there being a holiday world where there is a royal over each of the holidays. This book has the royals from Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. The story takes place in the Christmas kingdom, where some shady stuff is going down. You get to see these characters grow and their flaws. The interactions between all of the characters were great to see, I just loved this story.

*The Nightmare Before Kissmas* introduces us to Coal, the reluctant heir to Christmas, who has never quite found his place in the holiday tradition. In his attempts to spread Christmas joy, things go hilariously wrong, earning the disapproval of his father, the current Santa. While grappling with the fallout, Coal meets a mysterious stranger at a bar who lingers in his thoughts. Years later, just as Santa announces plans to involve Coal in the family business in an unexpected—and unwelcome—way, the stranger reappears, complicating Coal’s life amid new family drama.

The sibling and friend dynamics in this story are a highlight, adding warmth and humor, while the romance between Coal and Hex is adorably endearing. Coal’s "down bad" energy is a delight!

The audiobook narration truly elevates the experience, with a voice perfectly suited to the main POV character and distinct adjustments for others. The narration’s clarity and flexibility in pacing made it a joy to listen to—even at higher speeds, which is a must for me.

I received The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch from @Macmillan.Audio through #Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.

Everything about this book is creative. I love the names, and the whole set up of the holidays and how they all work. We even get to see a different side of Santa! The book is light, humorous, and as the author says, “zany”, but there are heavier topics as well.

Twenty-two-year-old Nicholas “Coal” Claus, the Prince of Christmas, has a wonderful relationship with his brother Kris and his friends. He doesn’t have the best relationship with his father, and in my opinion the book is mostly about that. There is little romance in the first half of the book, but in the second half we get to know Hex, the Prince of Halloween better and the romance kicks up a notch or two. They have a nice relationship for people so young, and they are very mature with their communication and consent.

Narrator Ellis Evans is INCREDIBLE. He is so talented; you’d think he’d be performing every other book by now. I love his voice, his expressiveness, the difference between his characters, and how he perfectly captures the humor, the serious moments, and everything in between in this book.

I really enjoyed the NetGalley The Nightmare Before Kissmas book club packet and I would do anything to have more, more, more of these book club packets! The packet starts by warning us that there are spoilers within. It goes over content warnings, a note to the readers, an author interview, discussion questions, PRINTABLE BOOKMARKS, “Bites & Sips” for your book club meeting, including RECIPES. There is e a playlist curated by the author, activities, “Kiss, Marry, Banish” match-ups and more. As a member of a monthly book club, I truly hope these book club packets are the wave of the future. Thank you #WeAreBookish !

The next book in the Royals & Romance series, Go Luck Yourself, publishes March 11, 2025 and I will be reading it!

4/5 stars
12 hours 23 minutes at 1x on audio
Open door

The Prince of Christmas, Cole, is in trouble that for once he didn't cause: his dad has decided he's getting married to Iris, the Princess of Easter while pretending to be in a competition for her hand with Hex, the Prince of Halloween.

The holiday royalty's politics played a much larger role in this book than I originally anticipated, but it was a different twist on a holiday romance that I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the growth both Cole and Hex made to learn to balance what they want with what they're capable of doing for their holiday.

This was beyond cute!! The prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween end up meeting each other under sketchy circumstances and fall into instant like. I loved all the holiday characters we met, but especially loved the interactions between Coal (prince of Christmas) and his brother). This was such a fun, cute holiday read and I could not stop listening!