The Nightmare Before Kissmas

Every single one of those instances when I thought I was hypnotized by seeing joy on other people, I’d been searching, searching specifically for his joy. Because now that I’ve experienced it, it renders all past joy obsolete.

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Story: 4/5
Spice: Medium (THE FUCKING YEARNING should have made this high but it didn't)
Characters: 5/5
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Overall reco:
So, first, this book and all of Sara Raasch's books are wordy motherfuckers. It's like they wrote a book and then sat down with the magic writing pixies and asked them to add more, and then did that like 5 times. I say this, not out of hate, but as an awareness. I know that in some authors, this behavior drives me bonkers. But, for some reason, not here.
I feel like show more Sara Raasch is a fanfic and tumblr writer that grew up (like many of us) writing on fanfic.net and just refining their palet on yearning because holy fucking damn. The emotion hits rolled in so nicely, bombs dropping, revelations happening. I loved how impossible everything felt and how the ending wasn't magic for all the parts but it still felt good.
The pages are dense, and full of thick paragraphs. There is trauma, emotional backlash, drama, and yearning. So much yearning. It's also single POV, which I go back and forth on the fence about it. I like seeing the story from all angles and there were plenty of times I would have LOVED to have seen's Hex's POV, to know what he's thinking. It did help the yearning though.
Coal was adorable. Really, they all were, but Coal felt especially close to the heart. His change over the book felt so good. Watching his thought processes change and evolve was interesting. It definitely tugged at my heart strings a lot, but it was so worth it for those super sweet and gushy Hex/Coal moments.
Overall, I recommend highly, but you should be aware that if you are not in the mood for dense heavy pages then I don't think you will enjoy it. show less

Oh wow, this is not my thing normally and during the first quarter - it's a long audio, 12 hours - I kept thinking that I'll listen for this car journey only, and that sample will be enough because it's not my thing ... a bit too fantasy, too silly, too self-indulgent ... and too drawn out.

But after awhile, the snarkiness, the wisdom, the cynicism, the charm, the quirkiness ... the excellent reading by Ellis Evans ... cast their spell and I am now keen to see this book to the end. The hot messiness of Coal and Hex was always going to win me over.

Unfortunately, I'm on a long wait to have the audiobook again from the library - 13 weeks - it's rare that I read a book that is in such demand! Obviously, the word has been out there that this show more is worth reading! Intriguing.

According to Amazon Australia, it was released in paperback on 15 October 2024, barely 6 weeks ago, and there are already 6 reviews here!

I don't know Sara Raasch, and checking through her books in the library I see that her other books are more fantasy. Please write some straight romance/romcom - don't mind artistic licence, which is how I'm categorising the approach in this novel. show less

I see this in a lot of reviews, but it is astonishingly accurate: This book is very reminiscent of Red, White, and Royal Blue except with a Christmas twist. (Imagine the worldbuilding being that scene in Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas with all the trees that lead to holiday kingdoms which sort of exist in the real world but also kind of don't)
Kind of a political drama, mostly romantic absolute trash. I love it so much.
I love the ginger bisexual disaster that is the crown prince of Christmas, because as a fellow red-headed bisexual disaster....same.
I found the UK cover art aesthetically unappealing, so I specifically sought out the American cover for my own collection. Money well spent.
Will be rereading at Christmas

2025 show more Advent, Day 5 (a reread): I hold this book personally responsible for my feral disent into the hellhole that is fanfiction. When I first read it there were only 3 fics posted and now there are 33- it's better than some fandoms in now in, but not enough. And if I don't get a 3rd book were Iris gets to be happy I will riot.
This book is (still) absolute complete trash. 4 stars. Maybe 5... Maybe 1... trash. I love it. show less

My most unexpected read this year!

New, exciting, romantic, funny, snarky, and just plain delightfully fun, this book was a true holiday gift, no matter which holiday you are closest to.

I began this book expecting a cute, quick, fun holiday read that would entertain me and get me into the Spooky Season Spirit. I was not expecting a book that would captivate me with so many emotions and have every character in it, primary, secondary and background, all tug on my heart and make an impression on me. That is writing that is power and a writer that has skills! I literally was grinning ear to ear as I rooted for Coal and Hex to get their romantic happy ending, and cheered for them to step out of the shadows and claim their own futures as a show more couple and for their holidays. But do not worry that this is a drama of finding ones love in the face of family and duty, or the conflict of learning to embrace ones truest self, this was a perfect blend of that with all the snarky humour and banter between two amazing brothers and their very best friend in the face of unexpected news, complications and love, the discovery of new friends, lovers, and allies, and best of all a true happiness that only come from the truest love.

Beautifully written, vivid and comic, Sara Raasch has written an all encompassing romantic comedy with the perfect blend of pumpkin spice and gingerbread that will make any rom com lover swoon and giggle.

Coal and Hex will have me toasting Halloween with a hot cocoa and leaving a bat shaped cookies out for Santa this year! 😉

Thank you NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor Publishing Group for sharing the ARC with me. This review are my own thoughts after reading. show less

Nicholas “Coal” Claus tried to get involved in his father’s (Santa’s) business once before but it went poorly, so now he just does what he’s told. Unfortunately, what he’s told to do is marry his platonic best friend Iris, princess of Easter, against both their wills, to merge their holidays together forever into one super-holiday. This plan has pissed off Halloween who send an envoy, Prince Hex, to woo Iris himself. In theory Iris will choose between them, but in reality Christmas is too powerful and Santa always gets his own way. Also in reality, Coal and Hex shared a kiss in a vulnerable moment years ago and haven’t stopped thinking about each other since.

I didn’t expect this to be great, but even so it was kind of show more boring. I enjoyed the ending plot where Coal goes behind Santa’s back to unionize the minor holidays and I liked that the book was not afraid to make Santa the villain! But that was after like 200 pages of Coal doing nothing but whine. There’s too much detail about the holidays and it doesn’t really make much sense - you could exchange the “holiday” kingdoms for any other fake royalty and it would affect nothing about the story. There are people who live in the “town” of Christmas but are they….humans? Is this on Earth? Coal went to earth-Yale so … can the people who live in Christmas town travel? Did they immigrate here? Do they import food? Christmas occurs at a particular time of year here so do they celebrate other holidays at other times of year? There’s also a robust “holiday” media environment, with everything Santa does being to get good press including allowing reporters to wander his home at all times of the day and night. Who is reading this press? There are too many questions that don’t have answers and should never have been raised in the first place. And don’t get me started on the passing mention that these holidays are “not religious”. Give me a break! The romance was too shallow and too overshadowed. show less

 The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3⭐️
Length: 12 hours
Narrator: Ellis Evans
Release Date: February 27, 2024
Queer rep: Bi 

Red, White and Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas in a sexy, quirky rom-com where the golden hearted Prince of Christmas falls for the totally off-limits Prince of Halloween.

"Grief demands to be felt, even if it is buried"

 About the Narration:I really enjoyed the audio narration on this one, I was questioning myself whether this a single audio narrator or not because the voices were so distinct. The narration made the book fly by, I read it in less than 24 hours, it was a quick and cute book. 
Thoughts:Coal's father makes a surprise announcement one day in front of the show more kingdom that he will be courting Iris, who is the Easter princess and Coal's best friend. Much to the shock of Iris, Coal and Chris (Coal's brother) surprise. Not only are Coal and Iris best friends, but Chris has been in love with her for many years. No one seems happy with this announcement but they are loyal to their fathers and their courts so they outwardly go along with this. 

The majority of the story focuses on the budding relationship between Coal and Hex. Coal (who's name is Nicholas) is the son of Santa aka Christmas and Hex is the Prince of Halloween. The two shared a passionate kiss (who doesn't love a bi awakening) in the past and they are confronted with their feelings for one another during the course of the story. Coal learns of his father's rather devious plans to black mail all of the other holidays to attain "joy" which seems akin to power in the kingdoms. The romance was front and center in the story, but I did enjoy the drama of the subplot where Santa is the villain. I know so many people loved this one but it was just 'good' to me. I think it was a good quick, cute holiday read. I liked it, but it wasn't a love for me. Some of the dialogue screamed insta-love and I wish we had more yearning. There is spice in this one so I expected more from the characters in terms of growth and dialogue. There was a disconnect between the dialogue that felt very YA to me and then we have open door scenes. While I understand this is a new adult novel, the writing read very YA to me and I found myself rolling my eyes at quite a few lines. show less

This was absolutely delightful. I haven’t giggles this much while reading a book in quite some time. The Heir to Christmas, Prince Coal and his brother Kris were hilarious and loving. They are the type of siblings that everyone wants. Hex, the Halloween Prince was sweet and snarky.

The romance in this is sparky and joyful - and so well written. There's also a sub plot of intrigue as the holidays posture and try to beat each other out in the joy department. Coal remembers what made Christmas great once upon a time... but so much has happened since he was young and optimistic. Can he change anything?

What happens if the Prince of Halloween and the Prince of Christmas are attracted to one another? An absolute gem of a book is what happens.