So this was a bit of a mess for me. Did I have a lot of fun reading it? Yes but I think a large chunk of that came from the fact that my friends had before and we could talk about all the bonkers plot developments. I appreciate how hard Raasch commits to the bit (even if the humor sometimes overstayed its welcome and undercut some of the more serious beats (the Oh Yes Daddy fingerguns incident just during a Plot Conversation. WHY!)). Also I actually really enjoyed the political plot (and the worldbuilding in general, though the marked dancing-around-religion of it all is weird to me. Like, it’s Christmas. It’s not religion-neutral and never has been, as anyone who doesn’t come from a Christian background will tell you. Like I’m saying this as a Muslim who really likes Christmas (well, the aesthetics of it - we celebrate on New Years Eve), it’s objectively weirder to ignore it completely than have a quick “we used to do mass but one of Dad’s first initiatives as Santa was to make the holiday more inclusive, it’s still there it’s just optional, because for some people joy comes from their faith and that’s cool!” Like let’s go into the history of how these holidays came to be like this please??). AND I liked Coal & Hex’s relationship when they were more Together, but it was suuuuuuuch a mess getting there. Very underdeveloped and lacking any tension (which again is why I appreciated the political plot). They’re cute together but the thing I (and I think many romance readers) like in romance novels is the How - not What will they be like when they get together but How will they get together, especially since these two guys had so many obstacles! But they felt a bit irrelevant and not in a romantic way! I also fear my boy Hex might be a bit underdeveloped though I think that might be coming from the single-pov and just how In Coal’s Head we are — Hex comes off very Book Boyfriend who just strolls in and sets everything right and it doesn’t necessarily feel like Coal is doing all that for him. I would have loved a slower burn, or maybe even more history between the two of them (not romantic but like a “oh that’s a fellow royal i sometimes saw as a kid, ive always been a bit scared of his family, when did he get hot?). I have more technical complaints w the writing style too but that was more of a case-by-case basis.

 Overall: I think this could have been a delightful first draft to a book that’s both really fun and good but as is it’s like… “weirdly better than what you’d expect and pretty endearing but still kind of mid”. Truly the Literary Hot Frosty. I understand every 1-star and 5-star review equally.