The narrative follows two lines, which are the poem The Waste Land, by T.S. Elliot, whose verses are in the exergue to the sections of the volume, almost as an omen of the tragic destiny to which the story tends, and The Nutcracker, whose events and characters are present, and in whose plot the title of the novel is hidden. Behind this magical, fantasy narrative lies a story in which the real protagonists are Tsarist Russia and the beginning of the Bolshevik empire. Nemesis is the force that sets events in motion, at first disguised as the Sugarplum Fairy and then in her true, destructive form. And no matter how much Natasha, the dark twin sister of Clara, the protagonist of The Nutcracker, does everything in her power to stop the madness that will lead to the massacre she has dreamed of, destiny will only take its course.
Although the novel is beautiful and decidedly well-written, it is, in my opinion, overloaded with symbolism, capable of disorienting the reader who approaches it only because of the seemingly fantasy plot.

Would recommend for fans of…
🍬 The Nutcracker (duh)
🍬 Dark fairytales
🍬 Frozen

Christmas/holiday books are not typically my favorite (although my reading habits this month would say otherwise), so I’m always on the lookout for seasonal books that offer an interesting twist rather than the typical Hallmark love story.

The dark, twisted premise of The Kingdom of Sweets is what drew me in, and while the vibes were next level, the actual story felt a little lackluster. It started strong, but about halfway through the story lost steam and I started to get a little bored. I was interested enough to want to find out how everything wrapped up though.

The only version of The Nutcracker I have seen is the animated Barbie version, so I’m guessing many of the allusions and references to the original story went over my head which might have made it harder for me to enjoy this one (I honestly kept picturing Anna and Elsa from Frozen while reading about Clara and Natasha).

If you’re a big fantasy reader or enjoy dark takes on traditionally sunny stories, this might be a good fit. Otherwise, I’d suggest passing on this one.

The Kingdom of Sweets is out now. Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok…..I love the Nutcracker. It’s one of my favorite holiday traditions. The story isn’t exactly all love and light, and sometimes it’s dark. This reimagining leans into the darkness, which isn’t necessarily bad, but I really wish there was a bit more of light. The writing was gorgeous, loved that, but it didn’t save this for me.
** Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read an ARC of this story.**

Having the bare knowledge of The Nutcracker, I am sorry to say that the allusion was a miss with me. So, as a retelling, I cannot comment. However, as a hybrid genre, magic realism historical fiction, it is something to behold. It is definitely what one would call atmospheric. A wild, brutal, and cold world serves as a poignant metaphor for socioeconomic woes that plague the underpinnings of nations and the people who live in them. The idea of equity and justice was not to be ignored either in this tale. However, ultimately, it is a tale of forgiveness and familial ties.
I did not love this novel, but I can easily see why others would. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The Kingdom of Sweets starts out as an enchanting retelling using a plot line we're all familiar with: twins who couldn't be more different from one another. But the classic tale of Clara and the nutcracker quickly takes a dark turn as we watch her night of joyous wonder through the eyes of her sister, Natasha.
And then the tale as we know it is over, but the story Johansen has in store for us is far from it.
This book is filled with dark yet realistic themes of all of man's downfalls and what being human truly means, at it's root. The things that seem so important when viewed through the naivety of youth are often far from it, as are interpretations of the world around us clouded by perspective. Through Natasha's dealings with the Sugar Plum Fairy, she learns that actions carry consequences, but it's up to each individual to choose how to deal with those consequences.

This was a gripping tale with many turns, and an ending that was perfectly bittersweet.

I love the Nutcracker and am always interested in new interpretations. I liked that this novel took the story in a much darker direction. There was some interesting connections made but I'm not sure exactly what the novel was trying to say. (Maybe it wasn't trying to say anything in particular...) The ending was a bit abrupt and didn't feel like a full resolution to the story but I must say that I was enthralled nearly the entire time.

The story drew me in easily and I enjoyed seeing the Clara story from a completely different point of view. I was gripped by the story nearly the entire way through with only the last wrap-up/ending piece feeling a bit disconnected or unresolved. There are things I wished to learn more about regarding twins and the light/dark split, I was intrigued by Orlov's character and was interested to learn more there too though it wouldn't have been necessary to the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but did wish the ending was a little more impactful.

this book started off so strong. I’m talking "this is about to make my favorite books of all time list". And then the author dreadfully dragged it out.

Ever since I watched the namesake ballet, I have been caught hook, line, and sinker for anything remotely reminiscent of the Nutcracker. So imagine my surprise when this book appeared on NetGalley as a dark, gothic reimagining of the Nutcracker.

However, I was quickly dismayed. The pacing was questionable at best. The beginning was atmospheric, elusive, and attention-grabbing. I was invested, loved the mystery, and couldn't wait to know more about the magic system.

Then, a character dies a little over halfway through the book and things after that quickly fell apart. The magic system that had been so beautifully built up crumbled into pieces, the motivations of central characters changed without cause, and two characters that had been justifiably gone resurfaced with little explanation.

Nevertheless, I powered through. Then, in the last 30 pages, it's revealed the entire novel was actually happening against a real, historical background that is pertinent to the plot. This is where I realized I should have dnf'ed.

In other words, you spend three-quarters of the book knowing (in uncertain terms) what time period it's set in and that it's taking place somewhere in Eastern Europe, but not much else: your focus is on the characters. Then, out of nowhere, it's stated that it's early twentieth-century in Russia and you're getting a short, unrelated history lecture on Lenin and the Red Scare. This all should have been stated at the very beginning of the book.

The timeline also felt messed up, which was proven by a quick two minutes of googling a question to my friend with a MA in history: we go from zero electricity, corsets, escorts, carriages, arranged marriages, and very Bridgerton ideals to suddenly it's WWI, electricity is everywhere, the Red Scare, Lenin, and a bunch of other things in less than 8 years.

All in all, glad I finally got this off my TBR in time for the holidays, but very disappointed.

I feel like I've been waiting so long for Erika Johansen to release a new book. The premise of this novel was certainly intriguing. The plot itself was very interesting but the characters fell flat to me. I couldn't really understand or sympathize with Natasha as it seemed her motives were repetitive. However, I will read whatever Johansen writes next because how much I loved the Queen of the Tearling series.

I know people generally like to read warm and cozy holiday stories during December, but if you're like me and sometimes feel allergic to all of those, then you might enjoy Erika Johansen's dark Nutcracker-inspired book The Kingdom of Sweets. This is a very thoughtful story that explores some dark and complicated situations in a world that is touched by hints of magic and the unknown.

I read Erika Johansen's The Queen of the Tearling years ago when it came out and unfortunately did not care for it, and as a result had not read any subsequent books from her. When I saw the premise for The Kingdom of Sweets and saw that it revolved around a dark re-inspired version of the Nutcracker, I knew it was time to give Johansen another read, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the result.

The Kingdom of Sweets follow twins Clara and Natasha, cursed from birth by their devious godfather Drosselmeyer to embody light and dark, respectively. Clara lives a life that is blessed by beauty and charm and is generally loved by everyone around her. She lights up every room she walks into and lives a life of ease and comfort. Natasha, however, lives a life in the shadows, always avoided by those around her and seen to be a sign of bad luck and darkness. She lives a life of solitude, though she sometimes likes the fact that this allows her to spend more time reading and learning on her own. Despite this, Natasha harbors deep resentment towards her sister and those in their community who always disregard her, and this resentment drives her actions when both twins are swept away to the Kingdom of Sweets by a toy nutcracker one Christmas Eve.

The Kingdom of Sweets dives deep into the sisterly bond between Clara and Natasha and really digs into the many dark sentiments that reside in such an uneven relationship due to Drosselmeyer's curse. Natasha holds immense jealousy and rage towards Clara that is fully revealed after a betrayal that leaves Natasha at the end of her rope, and I think Johansen captured all of the hurt and anger that Natasha would feel from living such a life perfectly. While I didn't always agree with everything our characters did–especially Natasha–I found it easy to understand and empathize with where Natasha was coming from. It is an incredibly complex relationship that exists between the two sisters, and I really appreciated how much we truly got to explore this relationship throughout the story, from the good and the bad to the downright ugly.

One of my favorite parts of this book was, of course, visiting the Kingdom of Sweets with Natasha. This is also why I'm disappointed to say that we don't spend nearly enough time in the Kingdom of Sweets to fully appreciate it, and I wish so badly that we had gotten to explore it a bit more. That being said, I loved it so much due to Johansen's evocative descriptions and how she made it feel both wonderfully magical and also deliciously dark at the same time. Johansen creates an atmosphere in both the setting Kingdom of Sweets and back in the real world that is full of darkness and foreboding, while also maintaining a sense of magic and curiosity that really kept me hooked. I was captivated by this world and all the possibilities that existed, and while we explored a lot of this, I do wish we had explored more.

Johansen is an author who seems to really value precise, descriptive prose, and also seems to be fond of incorporating as many obscure vocabulary words as possible. I read a lot and often come across unfamiliar words, but I made great use of my Kindle's dictionary while reading this one, and while I love learning new words, I sometimes found the words used by Johansen a bit clunky and almost with a forced feeling. Her writing often wavered back and forth for me between really beautiful descriptions or observations and sentences or phrases that just felt overly clunky and awkward to the point that much of the book felt overwritten. This is actually one of the things that I recall disliking about The Queen of the Tearling, and so it was helpful to confirm that I don't think I mesh overly well with Johansen's natural writing style, but that I can still enjoy her work depending upon the story itself, and I think that is why I had a better time with The Kingdom of Sweets. I also found some issues with odd pacing and plotting that often times made it a bit more difficult for me to get through the book in a timely fashion, but not enough to where I ever felt like really putting the book down.

Overall, I've given The Kingdom of Sweets 3.75 stars! I think The Kingdom of Sweets is a deliciously dark and beautiful Nutcracker-inspired story that will hit perfectly with the right reader. It's not without its faults due to some writing and plotting choices, but overall I enjoyed my experience reading this one and would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark retellings.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was not my favorite Erika Johansen book I’ve ever read. I really liked her Queen of the Tearling series, so I was excited to try a standalone novel from the author. I felt really disconnected from the main character and thought some of the decisions she made were stupid, especially those revolving around her love interest.

Erika Johansen is an auto-buy author for me; she just doesn’t miss.

This deliciously dark reimagining of The Nutcracker was so compelling, I tore through it in a couple days. Great writing and a really interesting take on a classic story. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

This was a case of the premise being more exciting than the execution. I was expecting a magical, whimsical read and this just felt a bit lackluster. I think a lot of it has to do with the characters. They all felt quite caricature-y and it was hard to connect with them. I enjoy the author’s previous work but this one fell a bit flat for me.

What a difficult book to rate. In one hand, the writing is extremely immersive and it flows really well. Erika Johansen is really good at creating the atmosphere and inserting the writer in the story.

But, I just found the story so boring. I didn't care about Natasha, who is not a compelling character. Her back story is supposed to make me feel for her. But she is defined by her envy; there is nothing more to her besides how envious she is of her sister. She even says herself that she is definied by Clara, and she really is. But that doesn't make a compelling main character, Not even her own actions feel as her decisions. Since we follow the story focused on Natasha, I didn't care about Clara either since Natasha didn't like her. The other characters felt just as flat as these 2. They were either kind to Natasha or self centered and mean to her. Nothing more.

The world isn't as explained as I usually like. Things just happens for no reason. And the author teases an interesting magic system. But she doesn't explore nor expands it.

By the end, I liked the writing but no the story.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

A dark retelling of the Nutcracker is such a cool idea, and this book does a great job of using it as a jumping off point versus a straight retelling. Really imaginative writing and a good dipping of the toe into fantasy if that isn't your usual jam 🙋🏼‍♀️ However, I found a lot of elements of this story really lacking and was ultimately left pretty unsatisfied with it.

The writing in this was great. There were some truly horrific scenes and I almost wish this had leaned more into the horror, more into the eerie fantasy of it all versus trying to straddle that with real world issues. Erika Johansen really sets the scene for you, especially in the first half, and if you love the Nutcracker for the vibes, I think you'd enjoy it. I have a lot of love and nostalgia for the original story, so these parts really worked for me.

I found the characters to be really lacking though. Everyone felt pretty one note, and it felt hard to understand or truly sympathize with any of them. A lot of parts felt very, very repetitive especially when it came to fleshing out these characters, or lack thereof.

I also think in the end, this book tried to do more than it needed to or could handle. The story got really convoluted towards the end, and I found the ending to be really unsatisfying. We lost the dark and creepy feelings we had gotten hints of in the beginning which I sorely missed. I saw another review say this should have been a novella, and I really agree.

I'd still recommend reading if you're a big fan of the Nutcracker and want the nostalgia and energy of that story, but if you have no connection to the original and are seeking out a good dark fantasy read, I'd probably skip it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC.

Natasha and Clara are twins and when they were born, the one everyone calls the Godfather, “blessed” them by stating Clara is the Light and Natasha is the Dark. Thus, as the girls grow, Clara beautiful and popular, and Natasha is seen as cursed, unlucky and ignored. The evening of their seventeenth birthday, Natasha gets the shock of her life when it’s announced that her sister Clara is engaged to the man Natasha loves, Conrad. That evening, Natasha truly realizes how different her and her sister are and how everything has always worked out for her sister and not herself. That same evening, the Godfather sends someone to kill Natasha, but instead Natasha is sucked into what seems to be a dream, but is more of an alternate reality or a world behind a veil next to theirs. Here she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy who bargains with Natasha, vengeance for vengeance.

Wow did this story take a dark turn! It seems at a point that things are looking up, but then, nope! Another dark turn occurs and was darker than what occurred at the beginning, if that even seems possible! And I just couldn’t put this book down, I needed to know what was going to happen next!

Now, I adore The Nutcracker! I was excited to see this unique take on the story and a darker one at that! It made me think of a mix of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland all meshed together, but with much darker elements added to it. I also have a sister and so this book had a deeper meaning for me. What would you do in Natasha’s place? Would you go as far as she did to be seen? It was though provoking, and sad too since I have a good relationship with my sister, and at surface level, so did Natasha, until she saw past that surface level and how twisted her sister actually was. It was heartbreaking to read.

The world was very fascinating and I loved the Kingdom of Sweets. It’s seems so innocent, beautiful and sweet, if you will, but, if you again look past that surface level, you see the true decay beneath.

It was such an interesting concept, and we see our world progress as well and get closer to war, etc. We see what the girls do in their lives and how everything catches up at some point.

I truly enjoyed this story! I have to give it 4.5 ⭐️ only because there were points that confused me with the pacing and where I was, but that also was the fantasy aspect of it too and I don’t think it was supposed to be fully understood. I do recommend this one highly!

I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Kingdom of Sweets is a dark twist on a Christmas classic. With intense themes of revenge, betrayal, and forgiveness, I thought this was a great holiday read for anyone who wants to subvert many classic holiday themes.

I gave this book a four-star rating because I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again. If you're someone who likes books with dark themes, The Kingdom of Sweets may be the right choice for you. I enjoyed the writing quality, setting, and foreboding essence in this read.

Another dark retelling of The Nutcracker. This time, it is told from the point of view of Clara's twin. Both sisters end up in the Kingdom of Sweets, but they have very different experiences with the Sugar Plum Fairy. It takes place in early 20th century St. Petersburg, Russia. Revolution is in the air.
This story remixes elements from the book, ballet, and other adaptations in a satisfying manner.

A dark nutcracker retelling is such a cool and unique concept, so I was instantly intrigued. Johansen expertly twists the magic of the nutcracker and creates a wicked and ominous story that feels like a dark fairytale. This is deeply terrifying in a way that sneaks up on you. The first three parts of the book were really entertaining in the ways I just described. However, at some point the story loses its way. I don't think the story knew what it wanted to be so it was all over the place toward the end including a few chapters filled with protracted stream of consciousness writing. Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Random House, and Dutton for this arc in exchange for an honest review. "The Kingdom of Sweets" by Erika Johansen is a nutcracker retelling following two polar opposite sisters when one tries, and they both get transported to a new world. This is written very well. I would give "The Kingdom of Sweets" by Erika Johansen a 3-star review because, the concept is interesting but everything else fell short to me.

"The Kingdom of Sweets" is like that intriguing stranger, you're not quite sure about at first glance—challenging to connect with.

At the core are Clara and Natasha, marked from birth by the enigmatic sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara's the 'light' one, adored and beautiful; Natasha, on the other hand, is labeled 'dark,' unattractive, and overlooked, finding solace in books. Then comes their seventeenth birthday—a Christmas party unveiling unexpected pregnancies and peculiar living toys gifted by Drosselmeyer.

Clara gets whisked away to the enchanting Kingdom of Sweets, with Natasha in hot pursuit. But something feels off in this sugar-coated realm ruled by the Sugarplum Fairy. Jealousy brews, betrayal surfaces, and Natasha is offered a chilling choice: assist in destroying Drosselmeyer for the Fairy or claim Clara's life and identity. The aftermath? A bitter awakening for Clara and a web of consequences neither sister can escape.

Let's be real here: for most of "The Kingdom of Sweets," there's a serious shortage of likable characters. Everyone's flawed, from indifferent parents to malevolent sorcerers, sadistic elites, and a self-centered sister. Even Natasha herself falls into the trap of bitterness and a 'smarter-than-thou' mentality, feeling out of place, much like someone navigating social media.

This made the initial two-thirds of the book a bit of a struggle. Despite the author’s skillful storytelling and the blending of this tale with Russian history, being entrenched in Natasha’s mind wasn’t enjoyable. Her repelling traits, the lack of potential growth, and apathy toward her fate made it hard to invest in her story.

But hang on, here's the turning point: when Clara reappears. Suddenly, the narrative gains momentum, weaving a more engaging and organic storyline. Natasha confronts her inner darkness, making the final third of the book poignant and gripping. It transforms into a tale of redemption and forgiveness, softening Natasha's edges and offering a glimpse of hope amidst her struggles, even altering her perception of others.

However, the catch is enduring the initially unpalatable portions to reach this rewarding finale. If you're up for the challenge, "The Kingdom of Sweets" offers a twisted take on the Nutcracker story that might just leave you spellbound.

To summarize, read this book if you like: Nutcracker retellings, gothic stories, fairy tale re-tellings, imperfect characters, and Tim Burton-esque stories.

Thank you, NetGalley for the arc, in exchange for my honest opinion!