Welcome to Litsy!

Coal is the Christmas heir but also the family fuck-up, no matter how much he tries to clean up his act. When Santa forces him into an arranged engagement with his BFF, the Easter princess, he didn‘t expect his rival would be his drunken mystery kiss from years earlier, who is also Hex, the Halloween prince.

Way more political than I was expecting but it was cute. Very Hallmark Christmas movie meets Red White & Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material.

While this was definitely a cute, sometimes cheesy romance, it had some surprising raw, emotional moments. I didn't have corrupt Santa on my Bingo card, but I enjoyed the change of pace.

Did I really, really love this book? Yes.
Did I go and buy myself a copy for my bookshelf? Also yes.
Did I wait several extra weeks to get the cover I prefer? Obviously.
Am I excited to hold the book in my hands? Littens know the answer 😸

Stats for December 2024, including my #bookofthemonth for both, fiction and non-fiction. It was a good reading month and a good way to end the year.

#botm

I loved this book so much. The prince of Christmas has been ordered into a fake competition with the prince of Halloween for the hand of the princess of Easter. But Christmas and Easter are best friends, and Christmas is starting to fall for Halloween 🖤❤️🖤
#WinterGames2024 #HolidayBookDragons #WGWordsearch @LiseWorks #WinterClearDown #SeasonalMonsterSmash @PuddleJumper #AVeryMerryBingo #AVeryScaryChristmas @Jadams89 #Adventathon @BookmarkTavern

Loved this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great character‘s with amazing chemistry 🎄🎄 #HolidayBookDragons #WinterGames24

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

For PR damage control, Prince Coal of Christmas finds himself engaged to his best friend, a Princess of Easter. A wrench in the works appears in the visiting Halloween Prince who is distractingly hot.

Was this cheesy & campy? Yes. But it was also very sweet. I did feel like it tried to do too much in such a short time w/ the romance & holiday Game of Thrones level politics, but the characters were all
engaging. Even a misguided Santa.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

#readouttheold read the entire stack of library books I‘ve neglected all month.

Book 7 read this month. Unpopular opinion. There were parts I really liked in this story, friendship and the relationship between Nicholas and Kris. The romance was cute but I think Nicholas was too dramatic in some parts. Didn‘t like much the plot. Maybe I was expecting too much from this novel. Didn‘t like much as I expected. But maybe I will try book 2?🤷🏽‍♀️2.5/3⭐️

4/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

“His smile makes me want to swear my soul to whatever god created him.”

#fantasy #romance #christmas

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The positives for me: lots of personality, creative world building, and a great audio performance! I just grew tired of the imagined politics. 🎧

If you want to get a little boozy here are cocktails that pair nicely with the tagged book

#QueerBC

@ElizaMarie @BookmarkTavern @Read4life @peanutnine @Jari-chan @lil1inblue @willaful @GirlNamedJesse @maich @WJCintron @CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian @jenniferw88 @Zuhkeeyah @rwmg @JenlovesJT47 @Catsandbooks @JudeCC @AbigailJaneBlog

Thank you so much @LibrarianRyan for the wonderful #stuffedstockingswap package!! The books are perfect! I love the jewelry and am going to put the pin on my coat! I laughed when I saw the reindeer treat bag because my pets do the same thing! I love that your pup helped with the package! 😂 Happy Holidays! ❤️

This was a lovely read. Just the mood I needed.

#queerbc #wintergames2024 #xmaschacha

I was really enjoying this: the world with the holidays as kingdoms/ businesses is great; Coal is great, Hex is great, Iris is great, Kris is super great; the intrigue and the way Christmas was becoming corrupted was interesting; and the way Coal was trying to course correct was really interesting. Then it was just...over. Step 1 of his plan didn't blow up in his face- and Hex loves him back- so BOOM! The end. I wanted more of the resolution. ⬇️

This is easily my favorite book of this month. You sure know the feeling when you have to put your book down and do something dull like working, always longing to dive back into the story? This was this kind of book for me. Exactly what I needed and wanted.
So, where do I drop my vote for reading the next volume in the series with #queerbc ? 😉

@Puddlejumper

Tonight I'm starting the tagged book and enjoying the heck out of my Christmas tree. I 🩷 Christmas 😊

#wintergames2024 #holidaybookdragons so many #wgwordsearch words, but Christmas only popped up once! 😳

A M/M spicy rom-com that plays on the mythos of the holiday themed season. Rebellious 'Cole' Claus refuses to bow down to the old ways of a corporate, elitist Christmas tradition that is being instilled by the reigning Santa Claus, his father. With an arranged marriage to his BFF, an Easter royal, and all these PR nonsense, he finds a growing connection to his rival, Hex, the prince of Halloween. Think Red, White & Royal Blue but holiday themed!

I‘m not big into holiday themed books but this one was an absolute joy (😉) to read. Hex was a lovely pumpkin spice roll of a book boyfriend. Coal wasn‘t perfect and somehow that is what made this book lovely. He acknowledged his faults, tried to make amends, and never lost sight of what Christmas means to so many.

#queerbc

Second set of bookmarks for the #QueerBC buddy read

If you want better quality email me at eommods@gmail.com

These are all from the publicity/book club pack which I got from #Netgalley

Printable bookmarks are next! There is another set that I'll post under the #QueerBC tag

I love bookmarks. I never use bookmarks because receipts, leaves, random bits of wool work really well ... All my pretty bookmarks stay in a drawer 😅

If you want better quality pictures email me at eommods@gmail.com and I'll send them. I'm getting them from a publicity pack

My #nlhs box arrived!! #naughtylistholidayswap @WildAlaskaBibliophile

This is a new series and it is so adorable! I love Coal and Hex! They are total relationship goals, and their chemistry in the book leaps off the page. With plenty of steam, banter, and adventures, readers will find this to be a fun take on holiday traditions with new festive friends!

Okay, I went in not expecting a whole lot from this one except some holiday cuteness, but I ended up absolutely LOVING it! It is definitely sweet, but also really fun and hilarious as well! There are so many silly Christmas puns! 🤭❤️💚❤️💚

If you want to get the full experience reading the book, then here is a playlist curated by the author!

Do you tend to listen to playlists for books? I'm picky about my music so it's not something I go for myself

#QueerBC

Started this for book club, and a buddy read. The first chapter was a lot of fun, this is very promising!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#SeriesLove24 @Andrew65 @TheSpineview
#ShananigansReads24

It's always risky to make me think of another book. 🤨 This seemed to really want to be Red, White & Royal Blue plus holiday Green. And in some ways it worked; the prose is sparkling and engaging.

But the worldbuilding was both nonsensical and alienating for me, which made it hard to fully commit to and enjoy the story -- especially a queer story that's supposed to be about joy. True queer joy felt lacking. A fun read but I wanted more.

#QueerBC

Repost for @PuddleJumper

This was a runaway winner for #QueerBC December buddy read.

As this is a new publication, the next books with the highest points are alternatives/extras. They are:

Amor Actually: A Holiday Romance Anthology
A Gift of Time by Jaclyn Osborn

This was a runaway winner for #QueerBC December buddy read!

I got the publicity pack thing so I‘ll try to remember to share some related goodies throughout December

I‘ve seen this around, looks like it was published in October which would fit with seeing it all over the place!

Has anyone read this? Thoughts?

When Coal, heir to the Christmas throne, is forced into an engagement with his best friend, the Easter Princess, he doesn't see any option other than to go along with it. Then he meets the Halloween Prince. What an adorable fantasy holiday romance. I love an ovwrdramatic king, and Coal is that on steroids. Obsessed with this book and the whole premise of holiday royals so much that I'm already reading the sequel.

I'm about 34% in and I'm loving it so far. Such an interesting take on the Holidays and how they play out in the real world. I love fun reads like this!

Another preorder is here!

Adding this one to my Christmas TBR!

The second contestant in my winter holiday reading season is another magical rom-com. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#the-nightmare-before-kissmas

Publication is expected October 8.

#NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #TheNightmareBeforeKissmas

Just got approved for this on #NetGalley, and it looks SO fun! 🎃🎄

I am obsessed! This is entirely too delightful and it slayed me (sleighed me?)! I need only tell you that the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween fall in love. This is a world of holidays with lands and lore, ruling families and political intrigue. Sara Raasch has got me in her pocket and I have never felt more giddy while reading a novel. The holiday highjinks a high key and the foundational friendships had my whole heart.