BWS Review: Nightmare Before Kissmas

Nightmare Before Kissmas is written by Sara Raasch. The photo provided by Amazon.

Quick Overview

Title: Nightmare Before Kissmas

Author/Publisher: Sara Raasch/Bramble

Story: The scandalous Christmas Prince is forced to be engaged to his best friend and Easter Princess, Iris. Dealing with that would be hard enough if the man he was attracted to wasn’t the Halloween Prince, Hex, who is also courting Iris for her hand. 

Published Date: October 2024

Genre: LGBTQ Romance, Political Drama, Fiction, Rom-com, Holiday, Christmas

Where to read it: Sitting on your love seat eating candy canes right before Christmas

Pages: 352 pages

When you are “courting” your best friend, the lack of romantic love should be the hardest part, not your intense feelings for the rival prince after her hand. Nightmare Before Kissmas is a romance and political drama where Christmas Prince, Nicholas falls for the Halloween Prince as he tries to fulfill their duties to their holidays and win the alliance with Easter. Nightmare Before Kissmas is written by Sara Raasch and published by Bramble in October 2024. The novel is the first in the series of Royals and Romance, with the sequel, Go Luck Yourself already been published. Raasch also wrote the historical romantsy duology, Witch and Hunter. Time for jingle bells and Christmas puns and some holiday romance!

The Summary

Still dreaming about the mysterious man he drunkenly kissed behind a seedy bar years ago, Nicholas “Coal” Claus, first born son of the reigning Santa is commanded to marry the Easter Princess, Iris (his best friend). Things go from bad to worse when a rival arrives to challenge for the princess’s hand…and it's the hottie from behind the bar, Hex, the Halloween Prince. They have to struggle to keep their hands off each other as they fake compete for the marriage of convenience that they don't want in a sweet and quirky Christmas love story. 

Content Warning: Parental Abuse [Emotional, Neglect, Abandonment, and (very minor) Physical]. Sexual Content too. 

Warning! Slight Spoilers Below

The Evaluation

I was reserved about reading this book at first, thinking it would be like a Hallmark movie without any depth, but this love story blew me away. Nightmare Before Kissmas is a fantasy romance novel in a “sexy, quirky rom-com” similar to Red, White & Royal Blue. The book’s political drama makes the book unique as the holiday kingdoms run their holidays like a business facing moral ethics to be questioned. The humor and romance in the book even out the emotional moments in the book. I was pulled in by the emotions of the characters, especially Coal, and fell in love with the story as he realizes not everything is as it seems. 

The theme of Nightmare Before Kissmas is believing in yourself. Coal has been running from his responsibilities to Christmas for a long time and causing scandal after scandal. “Iris laughs, but the sound of it, the feel of it, rings hollow, tapping on the insecurity that’s always camped deep inside of me: that nothing I do has any real impact. That everything I’m capable of is so far short of enough that I’ll never be able to help when it’s most needed, never be able to support those I love in any way that matters,” (103 pg).  After he learns the truth about Christmas and his marriage for convenience, he must face his insecurities and become the person Christmas (and the rest of the holidays) need him to be. 

Strengths

• The world-building is well done.

Raasch took a concept of holidays having their magic and secret kingdoms and added depths and layers to it. “We may all be based in joy, but at the core, each Holiday is a business. And those businesses run, sometimes, on things like information,” (142 pg). Instead of a vague and happy kingdom, Raasch created complex politics for the holidays where their leaders treat their special days more like a business than a duty to spread joy.

• The characters are well-rounded.

Raasch is a master of creating characters as even the side characters and antagonist are enjoyable. They have personality, hopes, goals, and fears; Coal most of all. “Would anyone believe me if I said I’d been trying to make things better? Prince Nicholas, headline darling, was trying to do something good for once, and in truly poetic fashion managed to fuck up worse than usual?” (5 pg). The reader will not grow bored with this set of characters. I know Coal’s brother, Kris, will be the main character of the sequel, Go Luck Yourself, and I hope everyone else will get a book too. All the characters have potential for a great story.

• There was great chemistry in the romance.

There is romance, yearning, spice, and, most importantly, chemistry between the two, which makes the story better. “I make a completely unselfconscious whine of greed and with it almost comes a tidal wave of stuff that’s theatrically poetic but batshit to say to someone I hardly know. Things like, I’ve missed you, I know that’s insane, we’re barely friends and tell me you’ve thought about me a fraction as often as I’ve thought about you, even just once and Please, please, begging for way more than I have any right to,” (135 pg). The devotion between the two is sweet. 

• An emotional story on surviving parental abuse.

Coal and Kris are emotional abuse and neglect and it has a harmful effect on their mentality.

"Do not disappoint our family," he says.

The words sink into the ache in my chest. They're the source of that ache, the ever-present knot fueling my rigidity these past years. Don't be a disappointment. Don't hurt anyone," (146 pg).

As Coal struggles to believe he can make a change, he starts to confront why he is filled with self doubt. Moments where he interracts with his family and is self destructing show the effects abuse has on someone.

Weaknesses

No book is totally perfect. Here is a point from the book that didn’t work for me. 

• The story wrapped up quickly.

There is no explanation of the aftermath in this book. Once Coal has saved Christmas and meets with Hex, the book is over. This leaves the audience wondering what is happening with Coal as he takes a bigger role in Christmas and meets with other winter holidays. It made the political drama storyline feel unfinished. However, the sequel to this book, Go Luck Yourself, takes place two months after Nightmare Before Kissmas so the answers may be in the next book. 

Go Luck Yourself is written by Sara Raasch. Photo provided by Amazon.

The Rating

The Bookworm’s Snack rates Nightmare Before Kissmas Five out of Five Stars.

Nightmare Before Kissmas is an emotional and heart-tugging book full of romance, comedy, political drama, and lots of Christmas puns. I was pulled into the book by the vibrant emotions of the characters and fell in love with the story. The story did wrap up quickly leaving the political drama storyline feel unfinished. However, it may be picked up and answered in the sequel, Go Luck Yourself. The Bookworm’s Snack rates Nightmare Before Kissmas Five out of Five Stars. I will reread this book and I bet you will too. I’m feeling lucky so I am off to read Go Luck Yourself. 

Comment your thoughts on the Nightmare Before Kissmas and Go Luck Yourself. Have any other holiday romance books you enjoy?