The Kingdom of Sweets presents a rare gem among retellings, offering an enchanting Nutcracker adaptation that veers into uncharted territory. Departing from the original, this fantasy gothic tale introduces flaw-ridden characters in a darkly twisted narrative that still carries echoes of the classic.

Twins Clara and Natasha, cursed by sorcerer Drosselmeyer, lead contrasting lives—Clara basks in beauty while Natasha resides in shadows. A gift of a nutcracker propels them into the decaying Kingdom of Sweets, where saccharine surfaces hide underlying decay. Johansen's lyrical prose constructs an immersive world, while the narrative's self-contained brilliance provides a gratifying ending that lingers in thought.

This book stands as a testament to Johansen's talent for crafting something entirely new and fresh from a well known classic tale. A must-read for those seeking an unexpected twist on a beloved tale.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Net gallery for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wonderful fairy tale remake of The Nutcracker. The writing is excellent, I was drawn into the story line from the very beginning. I love the gritty, dark atmospheric tone of the plot. Although the twins are light and dark, darkness is strong in this book, focusing on the "dark" twin, her dark outlook on life, and the darkness in her world. I have been aware of this author, and will be reading her other books.

Unfortunately, I am not the correct audience for this book.

I could never connect with any of the characters. Readers are not meant to be fond of all of them, but I didn't care about their stories. The plot itself didn't capture my interest either. It was slow and went down to many rabbit holes. Even the addition of real historical events annoyed me. This was just an unengaging read.

Honestly, I am tired of these dark, twisted fairytale retellings in general now. They are no longer fun to read, but expected. Johansen's Queen of the Tearling series gets much love and I thought it would be worth it to give this new to me author a try, but alas! The trend has been beaten to death.

We’re all familiar with the beautiful, beloved Clara- but what of her dark twin, Natasha?
I was thoroughly entranced by this retelling of The Nutcracker; Erika Johansen weaved dark and twisted notes into this classic tale that swept me off my feet and into the Kingdom of Sweets itself. I found myself stepping into Natasha’s world with ease as the author did a phenomenal job at building the world around these characters. Erika’s writing is detailed, precise, with consistent voice and tone aligned with the setting and characters. There were many twists and turns that had my jaw on the floor, hand over my heart, and the way she tied it all together left me shedding some tears. I love this book, and I cannot wait to add it to my shelves.

This was a much darker book than I had anticipated. I enjoyed the Queen of the Tearling series and this book definitely has Johansen's flare. The vibes really reminded me of the Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market" with the dark underlying message and imagery. This was intriguing and addictive.

I think I missed the meaning of this story. Greed? Gluttony? Random Christian propaganda?

My main thoughts:
I distinctly remember a strong emphasis on beauty in the Tearling trilogy, but not in a good way. Like Johansen's former books, Kingdom of Sweets is deeply rooted in the outdated and harmful beliefs of slut-shaming. This goes past the MC thinking women in non-traditional relationships are sinful whores, and transcends into the belief that all conventionally attractive women are inherently evil, including her own sister.

I would include a direct quote, but I am not allowed to do so. However, within the first 10% of the book, Johansen writes that all sex workers are evil and married women are good. I could write a novel on how harmful this is, but I would like to think that any reader of this review has the social competence to dissect this viewpoint on their own.

This continues into Natasha as a character. She is the absolute most insufferable I'm Not Like Other Girls girl. She constantly degrades femininity, and thinks her own niche interests such a the unbelievable READING is so much more productive than that bimbo Clara's blasphemous doll collecting or, dare I even write this, partying!

(Dear Natasha, the reason your parents like Clara more than you is because she isn't drowning in self pity and loathing! It's not because she's prettier than you!)

On top of all of this, the main tension revolves around a man, and a boring one at that. Every single plot point goes back to him, and Natasha has barely any personality outside of him.

Overall, this book has a huge superiority complex and reinforces girl-on-girl hate. What happened to women supporting women? I think Erika Johansen should read Little Women and learn a thing or two.

(I think the ending is supposed to subvert the anti-feminism of the first 70%, but it did not work for me.)

Adjacently, Natasha refers to Mikhail as "the scarred boy" for most of this book rather than by his name, which she learned early on. Just no.

What I will give to Johansen is that she is a very vivid writer. Her visuals are amazing. Unfortunately, that is the only redeeming quality in an otherwise thematically frustrating book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. This book was DARK, and I loved absolutely every minute of it. I was expecting a light retelling of the nutcracker (and living out my dreams of being in the barbie nutcracker movie of my childhood) and instead I found myself immersed in something deep, creepy and oh so delicious. I absolutely LOVED the ride that this book took me on, and will be looking for more of Ms. Johansen's work!A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

This book was nothing like what I was expecting at all, in a good way. I love the story of the nutcracker and this dark version has everything I love about a re-telling. The addition Clara's twin sister who is the "dark" side to her light and how these twins were "blessed" by Drosselmeyer at their birth adds depth to the story and the Sugar Plum Fairy turning out to be evil was delightful. The atmosphere of this book and how the author paints vivid scenes makes you feel like you are with Clara and Natasha as the navigate The Kingdom of Sweets, the castle, the dark forest, and their home city. I really could not stop reading this because I had to know how it all ended. It is the right amount of creepy that makes you feel chills as you read. I also thought this was a great standalone and the story wrapped up perfectly, which with so many series these days I feel is hard to do.

This book was not what I expected at all, but not in a bad way. More so a gothic horror retelling as opposed to fantasy world building. The closest comparison I can think of would be What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher. But this book goes above and beyond with its world building. While the Nutcracker is obviously a classic piece of art that everyone is familiar with, the Kingdom of Sweets puts an entirely unexpected twist on the familiar tale. The novel does an excellent job of making you feel the emotions of the moment - angry on behalf of the protagonist, scared when a certain terrifying event is occurring, and even feeling bittersweet throughout it all (pun not intended). All in all, really enjoyed a chance to read this book. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity.

Well this was a lovely surprise! I had my reservations. Since I was a small child I have loved the Nutcracker - loved everything about it. I was very intrigued by this book's premise and I was not disappointed. What a fantastic job Ms. Johansen did in bringing the Nutcracker's world to life! I felt she did a very good job at keeping this story fresh, interesting, original - while honoring the traditional Nutcracker story. She did an excellent job at world-building, and I could imagine myself there with the characters. A wonderful addition to an old childhood favorite, I heartily recommend this. I think you will be enchanted too.

This was so dark and twisty. I loved the retelling of The Nutcracker and Natasha’s character was so well written.

We all know the classic story of The Nutcracker, but I can say you will not see this one coming. Keep in tradition of tue classic moments this is anything but normal!

I really enjoyed this book. Having read Johansen's other books and loved them I wasn't sure about this new title but it was great. It will be super easy to get people interested in this title.

I found Kingdom of Sweets to be delightfully dark and bizarre, but I don't know if it's just been years since I've watched The Nutcracker or what, I had a hard time following the plot. Natasha and Clara are twins, deemed dark and light by their godfather, Drosselmeyer. Natasha is tired of playing second fiddle to Clara, who always gets what she wants. They end up in a magical land where Natasha is given a choice to take control of her life.

The Sugarplum Fairy is delightfully eerie, and the Kingdom of Sweets is well fleshed out with wonderful description. However I feel like the story took me down a lot of different rabbit holes unnecessarily. I did like how it wrapped up in the end, but it felt chaotic. Also WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CLOWN?

A good dark take on The Nutcracker. Our MC is Clara's twin and has lived her whole life as the "dark" twin as deemed by Drosselmeyer. When the magic of the nutcracker transports her and Clara to the Kingdom of Sweets, she discovers the seedy underbelly of the magical land. Leaning into the dark, she takes the chance to claim the life she's always wanted, but as with everything, it comes at a price.
The best part of this was probably how it took such an unexpected twist about halfway through. The magic was unique as was a decent amount of the story compared to other works that have come out recently.
I do wish some of the magical bits were more fleshed out, so I could more easily visualize what was going on. Overall, fun read.

The story was weird, exciting, strange, and I loved it.
I honestly struggled between rating this book 5 stars or 4 stars, ultimately I went with 5 stars, because I did read it in one sitting, and the story kept me inthralled the whole time. The only reason I considered rating it 4 stars instead of 5 was because of how weird the plot was, it jumped all over the place, and a lot of the times I found myself asking “what the hell is going on?” But as I think back, that is what kept me reading, I really did want to know what the hell was going on lol. The story was weird, exciting, strange, and I loved it. The book also had a very cozy and content ending. I highly recommend this book!!

Pretty good book! Very entertaining and I liked the theme of the story. The characters are great and I really enjoyed the dialogue. Definitely want to read more by this author.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥4/5 stars

read if you like:
♡ nutcracker retelling
♡ gothic fairy tales
♡ twisted, imperfect characters
♡ perfect for christina henry, tim burton and erin a. craig lovers

➸ cursed from birth by their godfather, the cunning sorceror drosselmeyer, twins clara and natasha have lead entirely different lives. clara, who was blessed with light, has floated through life with an ease only the beautiful can ever know while plain natasha, the dark twin, has been relegated to the shadow cast by her sister. all this changes when on christmas eve, a nutcracker gifted to them by drosselmeyer whips the two of them away to the kingdom of sweets. a sugar-frosted land where not even all the sugar in the world can conceal its terrible air of decay.

➸ the kingdom of sweets is not nearly as sweet as its title would have you believe. rather, erika johansen’s nutcracker retelling echoes all the pretty frosted sugar plum trappings of the holiday classic and recasts them for a macabre, gothic fairy tale riddled with twisted, viciously imperfect characters. it is a reckoning between two sisters whose relationship pulses with the aching wounds of jealousy, betrayal, love, hate and vengeance. the complexity and moral failings of natasha and clara render them no damsels or fairytale heroines. they are women working within the stifling confines of what they’ve been born into, trying to resist desires which hang like forbidden fruit in their line of sight. a dark perversion of a beloved childhood story, johansen’s hauntingly lyrical prose promises that just as too much sugar decays your teeth, so too do long-held dreams, once realised, turn to rot and disappointment. this fairytale is enchantingly bitter, tangy and grim and i’m still finding my feet after being feverishly swept away for its entirety.

thank you netgalley for the arc !

The Kingdom of Sweets takes the classic tale of The Nutcracker and reimagines it as a dark, gothic fantasy with a sprinkle of creeping horror. Clara has a twin, Natasha, and they are given a blessing by their Godfather, Drosselmeyer after they are born on Christmas. A blessing that turns out to have far-reaching implications for how the lives of both sisters play out in the years to come.

I loved the world-building and how it made you feel as if you were there, seeing every polished surface and every decaying foundation that lay underneath. As I read, I could see threads of movies from my childhood - Labyrinth, Babes in Toyland, the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka, and Anastasia (specifically Rasputin) - woven throughout the world that Nat and Clara lived in.

Nat and Clara have to battle their own perceptions and grievances against each other as they are ensnared in the world that the Sugar Plum Fairy spins for them. At its core, this story is one of coveting what your sister has, feeling as if life were not fair to you, and that you deserved more than you were initially handed. No one is without darkness. The Kingdom of Sweets is a slow dance with madness, leading the reader to see how quickly the sweet can turn bitter.

From the title alone "The Kingdom of Sweets" sounds like your typical Fairytale but in this Nutcracker re-telling everything is far more sinister, twisted and dark.

This tale follows twin girls who were cursed at their christening by their sorcerer Godfather Drosselmeyer. Clara was gifted "light" and would go on to live a life of ease and privilege. Her sister Natasha was given "dark" forcing her into life where she is considered both unlucky and unattractive always living in her sister's shadow.

The dynamic between these two sisters is anything but loving. Jealousy, greed and selfishness guide their decisions and quite honestly I found both of them rather unlikeable with small redeeming moments.

I think it's best to go into this story without much information. The world building was complex and atmospheric, I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you Erika Johansen, Penguin Group Dutton and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.