Nicholas “Coal” Claus once adored Christmas—until his father turned it into a soulless PR stunt. Now, he’s desperate to escape, especially after a wild make-out session with a mysterious stranger behind a dive bar. Just as he thinks he’s free, duty calls: he’s to marry Iris, the Easter Princess and his brother’s crush. What could go wrong? Everything, apparently, when a rival swoops in to contest Coal’s claim—and guess who he bumps into again? Hex, the irresistibly charming Prince of Halloween. What unfolds is a chaotic showdown between two holiday princes, each trying to win a marriage they never wanted while their chemistry sparks like holiday fireworks.
Let’s be real for a moment: If this book ever becomes a movie, we will all watch it on repeat every Holiday season, I guarantee it. However, while I absolutely adored the premise of The Nightmare Before Kissmas, the execution left me wanting a bit. But let’s get into it.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas features some incredibly fleshed-out characters that give the story an almost movie-like quality. You have Coal, who is struggling with being the son who always messes up and lands his Holiday (Christmas) in trouble, yet also has the best of intentions. Coal just wants to get back to a time where the holiday meant more than just one single day of joy and rather filled people with the spirit of kindness and compassion—something his father is not on board with. Then you have Kris, Coal’s brother, who is a little bit of a showstealer. His pining for their mutual best friend Iris (from the Easter Holiday) is sweet, heartbreaking and also makes me really intrigued to see how his story is going to unfold. Iris, meanwhile, is headstrong but also chained to the duties that come with being the Princess of Easter, often bending to the will of her family because she doesn’t want to cause any trouble. Hex, the love interest and Prince of Halloween also graces the pages with flair, fancy and funny quips.
With such an amazing cast of characters that felt like they almost jumped off the page, I was very confused by how little agency any of them had. Coal and Kris’s father is just shy of a dictator who constantly wants more power and prestige—and will sell out (read: marry off) his own children to get it. The way the father just pulled all the strings with no one standing up to him felt very YA to me. I expect this in young adult fiction because it does this type of story so well (because, as we all know, every dictator in a dystopian fiction will find their rightful end), but in an adult romance it just did not make sense to me. Are there attempts to stand up to him? Of course. Do those drive the plot forward or serve as a lesson? No. That entire storyline made the first half filled with unnecessary repetitions of the status quo drag especially when none of the internal conflicts saw any sort of development.
What I will also say is that I struggled to find my footing in the book as the prose sometimes felt like it didn’t quite know what it wanted to be. While as mentioned above the plotline with Coal’s father and the lack of agency felt very YA, it sometimes gave me the ick to have a rather “younger” voice that sounded more like a teenager be followed up by overly sexual exclamations like Coal “still being able to taste” Hex. The discrepancy between the narrative voice during different scenes just didn’t quite work for me.
Now that we got the nagging out of the way, let’s get to some highlights from this book beside the characters: The politics. The politics of the different Holidays and their rulers’ attempts to make their Holiday the one with the most prestige and power was really intriguing. I enjoyed the way alliances were formed and nefarious plots were being set up by the parents and how every single move, whether it was hosting a feast or inviting people was basically playing a game of chess with your enemy. Of course, there’s also an overarching plot with Holidays and the power that comes from people believing in it and celebrating it that really worked for me (and lowkey reminded me of Monsters, Inc. but in a good way).
As this is set around the Christmas time, there are also a lot of seasonally themed activities that are so enjoyable to read! From sleigh riding (or, well, a bit more magical version of that) to the way the decorations and lavish feasts were described, this will definitely get you in the mood for Christmas.
And lastly, of course, is the romance between Coal and Hex. While the premise is a bit misleading (they’re never really enemies or rivals, mind you, they jump each others’ bones almost immediately), their interactions felt downright charged with tension. From their very first kiss to the both of them forming an alliance to set things right in the world of Holidays, their characters really fit well together and made for some kick-your-feet-while-giggling moments. All in all, I’m sure this seasonal romance will find a permanent spot on many a shelf.
A wholesome reminder of what the Christmas holiday is all about, The Nightmare Before Kissmas will enchant you with an intriguing political layout of Holidays fighting to be at the top, a romance that will warm your heart and some Hallmark vibes to get you in the festive mood!
The Nightmare Before Kissmas is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 8th 2024.
Will you be picking up The Nightmare Before Kissmas? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
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.
