Thank you Netgalley and Erika Johansen for gifting me with this incredible ARC.

Wow, this was not I had expected at all by the end--and in a good way! This book had been on my shelf for months, and I'm glad I finally got the perfect opportunity to read, as I think that with the holiday season among us, this is perfect. Do not be fooled by the title or Christmassy themes here, (it is a reimagining of the Nutcracker after all) this book is actually pretty scary and more suited for Halloween, so I'm glad I read it this month.
This is a dark tale, and in many ways, a cautionary tale. We have twin sisters, Clara and Natasha, who were cursed by Dosseldorf, who will be their godfather. One was gifted with beauty and light (Clara) the other one cursed with ugliness and dark (Natasha, our protagonist). Different as night and day, they have a commonality being twins regardless, and for the most part, coexist in harmony.
Well, one Christmas Eve is different from all the rest as one day, It starts awful enough when Clara is announced to be engaged with Conrad, Natasha's own crush for a long time. She has slept with him, but he has never professed love to her, and it was revealed that he never, ever will. Apparently, Clara is pregnant and by marrying, she is trying to save her reputation. Dosseldorf then bestows special gifts to Clara and Natasha. But there's a catch. While Clara's is an unremarkable Nutcracker, Natasha's is a killer clown that tries to murder her (scary, huh?) in the middle of the night. Nobody sees or knows of this except for Clara, and then Natasha picks up Clara's toy, which sets of a chain reaction and transports them to The Kingdom of Sweets, a magical land of Clara's imagination where the world is full of candy and sweet things. This is where the comparison ends with The Nutcracker comparison and the REAL horror story begins.
You see, Natasha is accidentally transported into this world too, and follows Clara through the trail to a castle where there is a feast hosted by The Sugar Plum fairy. Ah, but you see, it is HERE where Natasha realizes the true extent of Clara's betrayal, along with just how badly Natasha had been wronged, how unfairly she had been treated her entire life in comparison to Clara, and it is clear a price must be paid, which will lead Natasha to commit an unspeakable act.
This story resonated with me so much personally for so many reasons. I definitely see myself so much in Natasha and can relate to her. For one, I am a twin, and second, I'm not one of the pretty people either and had to get by in the world with my brains. I enjoy reading books, and I too understand the feeling of being passed up, ignored, dismissed. All these things caused so much resentment in Natasha which turns into hatred toward her twin and reveals Clara's selfishness, the catalyst being that they are involved with the same man in one form or another. Natasha covets everything Clara has, but most of all, Conrad, which would push her over the edge. She ends up creating a bargain with the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is not, in fact, at all what she seems.
Natasha is given everything she wants--or at least everything she thought she wanted, but that ends up disappointing her in the end.
This has been a great, unique story, and I enjoyed the twists and turns, not knowing where the story would go, and what to expect next. The ending had me crying and made me think of my own twin, who, let's face it, at one time or another had something I coveted, and who I had at times had disagreements with, so I could totally understand where Natasha and Clara are coming from on a deep level, making this book very personal for me, and I"m grateful to have read this.

Twin sisters divided by jealousy, betrayal, and vengeance confront the magical circumstances surrounding their birth in Erika Johansen's "The Kingdom of Sweets." In this unique retelling of the "Nutcracker," sibling rivalry leads to a reckless act of vengeance. By wanting not only to be her sister but acquire everything that Clara holds dear, Natasha enters a world that is shallow, vapid, and self-serving. The very world she abhorred. Realizing that beauty and vapid charm is not all it's cracked up to becomes a long, arduous, and dangerous road for Natasha. Set amid the growing unrest of the lower classes in Russia, "The Kingdom of Sweets" is reminder that everyone deserves to be noticed and heard.

I gave this 3 stars, I thought it had some objectively good qualities, but I wouldn't say that I enjoyed it. I really liked the Queen of the Tearling trilogy, so I requested this book immediately just based on the fact that it was written by Erika Johansen. I put off reading it for quite a while, because honestly it really isn't my type of book. Which is my fault alone for requesting it, but still makes it difficult to review.

This is a Nutcracker retelling, and even though the description said it was dark, I was not expecting it to be THAT dark. I really enjoyed the writing, but the content was borderline crossing into the horror genre (in my opinion) which isn't normally my cup of tea. It just felt heavy. And bleak. And we are stuck in one POV the whole time, and there are like no characters with any redeeming qualities really. If that sounds fantastic to you, then you will probably love this one! It was written well enough for me to finish it, and it was really unique so part of me is glad that I had the chance to read it, but I was definitely just not the right audience for this story.

I received an e-Arc from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you!

Whoah...this took me an adventure of the ballet of the Nutcracker and the movie : The Nutcracker and the Four Realms! I loved it. A dark adventure! It is dark.

This takes you down the road of a retelling of a the Nutcracker. I found it to be suspenseful and had me gasping at quite a few moments! The story did focused on the twins - Clara and Natasha. I will say it felt more like a journey for Natasha to figure it all out.

Bad decisions come back to haunt Natasha and yet do they get resolved? What exactly happens?

It's a dark, dark retelling. The world was amazing. I could picture it in my head. The good parts and then the darker parts...the darker parts did get to me. I was like "ooh!" My imagination did run wild. I will say this story did take me a while to read because it was different but overall I simply liked it. The story did keep me entertained and I wanted to know what was going to happen. It wasn't an awful book, just different in my opinion!

So if you like dark retellings..then this book is for you! The cover is awesome.

Rating: 4/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: gothic fairytale retelling; this pulled no punches; atmospheric, gorgeous writing; the world came to life; the characters were slightly flat

HUGE thank you to Erika Johansen, Dutton Books, and Penguin Random House Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this title! This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this book.

This read was GORGEOUS--atmospheric, dark, sometimes cruel to the point of horrific. Erika Johansen went to great lengths to establish and build a world set around the lore of The Nutcracker, while still making it wholly her own universe. This story really pops off the page, leaving little room for questions or confusion.

The relationship between the characters is both toxic and complex--totally believable in the way that sibling rivalries sometimes are. While the story pulled elements and inspiration from the source material, Erika Johansen did a fabulous job of crafting and creating her own unique twists and turns, examining the ways jealousy, fear, and hatred scar and morph and mutilate the soul.

While the world itself was vibrant (dark, but vibrant in its painting across my mind), the characters felt just a little flat. We got an abundance of detail regarding Clara's ballet body and lithe movements, Nat's dark eyes and moody disposition...but I could not FULLY or CLEARLY see many of the characters described in the same vivid light as the world itself. The ending, as well, seemed a bit "quick" to close. Where I expected a fight to the very end, at a certain point it felt more as if the fire had burned out too soon.

Regardless, I REALLY enjoyed this gothic retelling of a well-known and well-loved holiday tale. The world was lush with details and delights, the rivalries were both believable and cruelly human, and I was swept easily into the whirlwind this read was. I highly recommend picking this up around the holiday season, if you aren't afraid of a little rot with your sweets.

I *LOVE* the Queen of the Tearling series, like so much that I re-read it regularly, so I was really excited to see a new book from Erika Johansen. I liked the Tearling prequel novel that came out a few years ago, though it was certainly dark and intense, and I was expecting to like this one but... I don't think I did. It was beautifully written, a very eerie, surreal reimagining of the Nutcracker set in the early 20th century, but it was so bleak that I found it hard to read. I think I would have liked this if I'd been in a different mood, but there's a lot of heavy stuff going on in the world right now, and I'm mostly focused on reading to escape that. I may try this again another time, when I'm feeling a little more settled and even-keeled. I do think this would be great for anyone who is a fan of Erin A. Craig, because the fairy tale retelling element is there, and it doesn't shy away from the darkness that actually comes with most traditional fairy tales. It's hard to rate this because, as I said, the writing was beautiful and the story was very inventive and fresh, but I just wasn't in the right headspace.

I wanted to love this book, the dark whimsical elements are fantastic, the plot does move well but the main characters just kinda fell flat to me.

Such a bizarre and delightful read - a story almost universally known subverted with romantic intrigue, sibling rivalry, wicked fairies, and morally grey situations.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was really good! I loved Erika's voice and I was pulled in from the very beginning. I couldn't put this down. I love the development of the story and characters. I haven't read any Nutcracker retellings, but from my knowledge of the story, this was such an interesting, well-developed take. I loved the magic and both sisters and how it all just worked. It felt seamless and this was such a delightful read! If you're a fan of retellings or fantasy/sci-fi, check this one out!

The Kingdom of Sweets is a retelling of The Nutcracker, but not your traditional kind. It is dark and gruesome, exploring the twisted tale between twin sisters, and what truly defines light and dark.

One fateful Christmas, Clara and Natasha were born. Cursed by their godfather Drosselmeyer, Clara is all things good and light, while Natasha is forced to stand in her sister's shadow. When Clara steals the one thing that Natasha desperately wants, Natasha's hatred for her sister grows darker, taking on sharp edges. Sent to the Kingdom of Sweets, Natasha makes a bargain with the Sugar Plum Fairy to get her revenge and take back what she sees as hers.

The Kingdom of Sweets is a standout retelling. It exposes the shadowy corners of the Nutcracker, weaving a gothic story filled with brutal magic. I loved the focus on twins and the complexities that come with siblings. Their relationship is a tangled mess of love and hate, jealousy and bitterness. Both sisters can't see past their own problems, so their decisions are self-serving and made without concern for the other. Neither of them is likable, too concerned with what's in front of them to consider the disastrous repercussions of their actions.

The plot was fairly complex, made of smaller subplots. As things got resolved, the overall picture would fall apart even more. Natasha's brash decisions and oversights caused more issues than she could have imagined. It truly is a character study, showing how Natasha's bad actions have ways of coming back to haunt her.

The Kingdom of Sweets is a gruesome tale, filled with rotten characters and evil decisions. It stays true to the source material, with a focus on Christmas Eve and the Sugar Plum Fairy, while also being an original and inspired take. If you prefer your characters more bitter than sweet, and to see the ugly underside of magic, this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the advance copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

A retelling of the Nutcracker, Erika Johansen takes us into a horror filled gothic story. Clara and Natasha are twins that have been cursed by the powerful and potentially magically evil godfather Drosselmeyer. Clara, is charged with "Light" and lives a fairly carefree life while Nat, is dark, and ignored and generally unloved.

A complicated story is unveiled when the twins are gifted a nutcracker, but the Queen of the Tearling author has created a world that you may want to visit or at least read about.

A place where the sugar plum fairy is not to be trusted and the gingerbread man may mean you harm the Kingdom of Sweets is a novel not far from a true Grimm's fairy tale - creepy, scary and filled with morals.
#Penguingroup #ErikaJohansen #TheKingdomofsweets

From author Erika Johansen, comes a luscious and deliciously sinister retelling of a holiday classic tale. The Kingdom of Sweets follows twins Natasha and Clara born on Christmas Eve and subsequently ill-fated by their crafty and corrupt Godfather Drosselmeyer as infants. One twin magically christened “Light” and the other “Dark,” both children have grown into their identities bestowed upon them. Until their sixteenth birthday, when the one twin makes a chilling bargain with the Sugar Plum Fairy in hopes of changing her destiny.

The Kingdom of Sweets is creepy, haunting, and full of deeply disappointing characters. It is nearly impossible to root for a hero, when every character is severely flawed and all act in selfish interests. However, Johansen does a masterful job of creating characters that are unlikable while keeping the reader emotionally invested in their fates. The story was gloomy and thoroughly tragic, yet exciting and profoundly stirring.

Although the writing was a unique combination of gothic and whimsy, it was also hard to follow at times; especially when the characters were in the parallel world, the Kingdom of Sweets. Scenes and thoughts would change in the middle of long sentences and at times felt rambling. During these times, I switched to listening with ‘voice-read' on my electronic reader, it was a much more enjoyable experience. I think that the audiobook might be a better option for any readers who might feel side-tracked or lost by this type of writing.

Overall, I think that if you can ignore some dizzy story-telling, this creative interpretation of the Nutcracker is well worth it. I would recommend this book to lovers of gothic fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, and holiday settings. Go pick up The Kingdom of Sweets for a moody Christmas treat!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

Ok, I'm honestly not sure what to say. I liked it and became invested, but at the same time, I have no idea what I just read.
I'm a huge fan of The Nutcracker and had high hopes for a magical read. Well, I wasn't disappointed in the magic, it just happened to be really dark. I have a feeling there is a deeper meaning to the characters and the part they played, but it went right over my head. Nothing seemed to resolve and then the pacing would speed way up so you'd be months if not years ahead in the storyline.
I'm interested to see what other readers make of this story and what messages I missed. I'm more confused than anything; I wasn't sure if Nat was good, bad or just confused herself.
The writing itself is fantastic, I just needed more of a plot to follow.

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for my eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to mevia NetGalley. This book was just amazing. I just lost myself in this story anddidn’t want it to end. It was really well written and just drew in you intothese characters lives. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

Thank you so much to Netgalley.com for the ARC of this wonderful Nutcracker retelling. I absolutely loved how a very well-known story was tied into real life events. My only complaint would be the ending and how I wish that Nat would have been able to live her life outside the influence of others.

Three stars for the writing and beautiful tie-ins to The Nutcracker. It's only three stars because the plot and characters were horrible. The plot comes across as being about a boy - which is stupid, but it's really about the trauma inflicted on Natasha for being the unfavored twin. None of that is really resolved other than Natasha kinda liking herself at the end.

A surprisingly gruesome telling of the Nutcracker Suite that bore graphic depictions of death, gore, and decay. Having read Erika Johansen's Tearling series, I should have expected the tale to be dark, but the juxtaposition of the title and candy based world at the beginning of the story and its transformation into a realm of nightmares was unexpected. I found the narrative compelling even with the characters all being irredeemably hatable throughout, with only a smattering of actions to make up for their choices. And yet, I couldn't stop reading for the mystery interwoven with the dark magic, and familiar tidbits from the Nutcracker.

I might recommend this to fans of fantasy horror with a strong stomach for the disturbing.

I gave this 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

I think the concept of the book was great. I loved the Coraline vibes, I loved the idea, the worldbuilding, I enjoyed that aspect. I also appreciated the passage of time, except for the ending which felt too far into the future for me, and how the author both used it as a plot point and kept track (didn't forget that they jumped 5-8 years into the future).

This book just wasn't personally for me because I felt the resolution didn't leave me satisfied. I understand the importance and why it was the way it was, I just felt that it could have been better.

For those looking for a Nutcracker retelling, this isn't it. The only thing that's been brought over from the Nutcracker is the setting, but only at the very beginning of the story, and the names and character descriptions of 2 of the characters. For example: the Mouse King is only mentioned twice, Clara is not the protagonist, but the Sugar Plum Fairy is the main antagonist in the story.

This is a dark and twisted tale with a unique perspective. It kept me intrigued. It was a story about loyalty, family, relationships, and revenge. I really enjoyed it.

✨ thank you to NetGalley and Penguin RandomHouse for the opportunity to read this ❄️ 🩰 ARC!! ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5? Rounded up for GoodReads!
This story was very hard to review. I wish sooo badly that I hadn’t seen the Nutcracker 2x a year, every year from age 5 to 18 (this is a true fact 😵‍💫) because had I read this without any prior knowledge I would have loved it so much more. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a spooky retelling, historical fiction, sisterly relationships (even bad ones) and someone who doesn’t quite remember every detail of The Nutcracker 😆. I’d be interested to read the authors other works though!