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A review by sparetimereader
The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
2.75
Short synopsis: A retelling of The Nutcracker featuring the beloved Clara and her twin sister Natasha, who are cursed by their godfather Drosselmeyer on Christmas.
My thoughts: When I heard of this retelling I was so excited to jump in. We go every year to the Nutcracker ballet, so the original story is very familiar to me. As someone else pointed out in our group chat “this is not your grandmas Nutcracker.” This story got dark really quick!
The first half was very strong, I loved how Clara became the spoiled little villain, and how she was favored above Natasha, and especially seeing Natashas side of things. The second half got a little bit repetitive and over worked in my opinion. I’d have liked it to have been a bit shorter.
Read if you love:
- Light and Dark
- Curses and forgiveness
- Sugar Plum Fairy’s and Gum drop houses
- unique spin on classic tales
- family drama
My thoughts: When I heard of this retelling I was so excited to jump in. We go every year to the Nutcracker ballet, so the original story is very familiar to me. As someone else pointed out in our group chat “this is not your grandmas Nutcracker.” This story got dark really quick!
The first half was very strong, I loved how Clara became the spoiled little villain, and how she was favored above Natasha, and especially seeing Natashas side of things. The second half got a little bit repetitive and over worked in my opinion. I’d have liked it to have been a bit shorter.
Read if you love:
- Light and Dark
- Curses and forgiveness
- Sugar Plum Fairy’s and Gum drop houses
- unique spin on classic tales
- family drama