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!

Re-post from my review of the e-arc!

This is one of my favorite holiday books of the year! Not only did it give cute and cozy vibes; it also had the perfect amount of social commentary regarding politics and capitalism.

I love Coal so much. The narrator, Ellis Evans, makes Coal come alive. His emotions bleed through the pages, making me feel the range of emotions he felt. The representation throughout the novel was also something I adored. For example, Hex is Latine, his mom represents Dia de los Muertos and he goes to university in Mexico. There is also wonderfully, chaotic bi-rep that had me squealing with delight. If you like spice with your romance, this is sprinkled throughout and is done with the utmost consent presented by both parties.

Overall, it's a fun and thought-provoking holiday read that will squeeze your heart in the best of ways!

I wanted to love this, I heard nothing but great things but I just couldn’t get into it. I tried several times but my interest was non existent.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

The Nightmare Before Kissmas had all of the Christmas magic and cute queer love that hooked me in this festive romance novel.
I was pleasantly surprised at how expansive the world building was in this book and it truly felt like it had very high stakes. I think fantasy romance is a bit out of place to classify this in but it certainly had more fantastical elements with stakes than pure romcom, which I commend it on. It is so easy to get lost in the plethora of holiday themed romances, but this truly sets itself apart from the others due to its world building focus.
The characters were adorable and so lovable, and the side characters felt flushed out and real, unlike the 2d occasional cameos that can be common with less stellar writing.
My biggest critique was that it felt a tad too long, but perhaps they cut down on the length for the published work.
I definitely recommend reading this for a festive romance and am interested in what the sequel holds.
4 stars

A delightful little story with more spice than I was expecting but it was most welcomed. The concept of Christmas and Halloween being rivals and their sons becoming romanticly involved was a cute holiday romcom that transcended one particular holiday. Also loved the aspect of Santa being a bad guy

I’m looking forward to the rest of this series. I love how it was laid out and the implications of what has happened in this one.
It did read a bit slow in the beginning but once it picked up it was really enjoyable.
The audio was enjoyable and the narrators added to the characters.