Red, White & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas in a sexy, quirky romcom where the golden-hearted Prince of Christmas falls for the totally off-limits Prince of Halloween.
Featuring beautiful ruby sprayed edges!
Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make- out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night.
But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it.
Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.
It’s a fake competition between two holiday princes who can’t keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unforgettable love stories of the year.
Featuring beautiful ruby sprayed edges!
Nicholas “Coal” Claus used to love Christmas. Until his father, the reigning Santa, turned the holiday into a PR façade. Coal will do anything to escape the spectacle, including getting tangled in a drunken, supremely hot make- out session with a beautiful man behind a seedy bar one night.
But the heir to Christmas is soon commanded to do his duty: he will marry his best friend, Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s not-so-secret crush. A situation that has disaster written all over it.
Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge Coal for the princess’s hand…and Coal comes face-to-face with his mysterious behind-the-bar hottie: Hex, the Prince of Halloween.
It’s a fake competition between two holiday princes who can’t keep their hands off each other over a marriage of convenience that no one wants. And it all leads to one of the sweetest, sexiest, messiest, most delightfully unforgettable love stories of the year.
Title: The Nightmare Before Kissmas (Royals and Romance #1)
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Bramble
Expected Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Review:
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audio galley of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This book was so much fun. Not only was a cute and cozy fantasy read but it was quirky with tons of banter and just the right amount of sexy!
I had not ever listened to books by this narrator before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Let me tell you, Ellis Evans had the perfect voice for this story. If I didn't want to give the story 5 stars before, Evans's narration would have pushed it there. He has just the right amount of tension to make you fall in love with the main character, Nicholas "Coal" Kringle. I also enjoyed how he changed his voice for the other characters in the story but it wasn't cheesey.
The premise of the book with it's roots in holidays is truly unique. I loved the idea of holidays being courts ruled by royalty. It reminded me a bit of fae courts. Even the magic the characters exhibited by the characters had a sort of fairy quality to it. I will say I would have liked to see this idea explored a bit more. While the story line was good, I feel like the world building needed to be tightened up a bit. The idea of Santa being a king and Christmas ruling all the other holidays was nothing like any other book I've read. But a background of the courts and how they came to be would have been a nice edition to the storyline.
I enjoyed the LBGTQ+ representation in this one, as well. The characters were very fluid. And I didn't feel like their sexuality defined them but was just a part of who they were.
The interesting part of this book for me was the fact that Raasch grounded a lot of the story in reality by including things like college and majors and what life will look like after graduation. It really cinched the coming of age portion of the book by showing these young adults who are still trying to find their place in the world. The depiction of their confusing emotions as they try to navigate adulthood is spot on.
Raasch fleshes out her characters very well. Coal is the "screw up" of the family who is set to inherit the position of Santa. But he's not sure what that entails as he's really been kept out of the loop by his dad. His brother, Chris, is truly his best friend. The tenderness and bond in their relationship is palpable throughout the story. Iris I liked but wish I could have seen more from her. While she's also Coal's best friend, I feel like she was more of a background character in this book. Her character is not as fleshed out as the others. Almost like Raasch is saving that for the next story. And Hex, my goodness, talk about swoon worthy. He knows all the right things to say but is also just shy enough to keep you wondering where he'll go next when he speaks.
The pacing of this story if fairly fast. Each chapter moved along at a good clip and I was never bored. Raasch gave us drama and mystery and humor all rolled into a cozy blanket of fun holiday fantasy.
I think one of the best parts of this book was how detailed the author was with her descriptions. When the characters were in the Christmas palace, it was so easy to picture it in my mind. When they were outside in the cold with snow falling, I could feel that chill. She did a wonderful job with putting me in the thick of things as the reader.
The romance was tender and sweet but also there's a quite a bit of spicy to it that had me squirming a bit. I think I may have even blushed! But the connection between Hex and Coal is very solid so their experiences together are all the more heightened for it.
There is a lot of hope in this book. Hope that Coal and Chris will be happy. Hope that Hex and Coal will work out. Hope that Coal can change the climate of his holiday by standing up and enacting change.
The story is fun with a lot of humor, a bit of drama and mystery, plus a whole lot of fun sexy times. It blends the spooky season of Halloween with the joyful season of Christmas in a way that me want to experience all the joys those holidays bring right now! I'm really looking forward to more installments in this series; there have to be some, right? because the ending of this book totally leaves you hanging for what other characters might experience in the future! If you're looking for a cozy fantasy with some spice, this one is a great pick!
Author:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.
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