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A review by blewballoon
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I'd recommend this to fans of Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, there are a lot of similarities in the setup and tone, but in this case the fantasy element is that Holidays have real magic and are run by royal families rather than the US having a female president. 😅 I was expecting a fun and silly romance, which was definitely delivered, but was pleasantly surprised by the political plots and world building for how the holidays worked. There are several spicy scenes and a lot of sexual tension, arguably a case of insta-love and insta-lust, but the scenes are not particularly graphic. The insta-elements were done pretty well, considering those are tropes I usually don't like. Part of the book takes place in the normal world away from the holiday magic, but most of the book takes place in Christmas land. The entire book is told from the Christmas Prince's perspective. I did wish we got more time exploring how Halloween worked, and it would have been cool to have the prince of Halloween's perspective, but that's a small criticism. If you're the kind of person who is a little annoyed to see the Halloween decorations in stores come down before Halloween is even over and frustrated with how commodified the Christmas season has become, you might get a little smug satisfaction from this book as well.
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol