Drakne grew up in a house of secrets. Her older brother, Fydir, serves Archduke Marinus as his spymaster, bowing his head, biting back his words, all while hating the man he obeys. Marinus suddenly shows an interest in the nine-year-old Drakne when he realizes that she has magic. Drakne’s magic is dance, and with music and grace, she can either enchant or command those around her to dance, to yield to her will, and it’s thrilling. Or it was, until she realizes that the woman Marinus has her casting her spell on is unwilling. But when Drakne tries to defy Marinus, Fydir instead takes her dance away from her and exiles her to a girls’ school far away from her home.

Nabik is the middle child, devoted to his brother, Fydir, even as he fears him. Nabik’s magic is to know what people wish for and, when he can — carefully, subtly, because magic is not welcome in the Szpratzian Empire — he makes the wish come true. Warm mittens, food, spells of healing, gifts of toys … and when Fydir finds out, as he always finds out, Nabik is punished, as he is always punished. But Nabik loves his brother desperately. Even now, serving in the Regiment he hates and crushing the rising riots at the factories, he still wants to make Fydir proud.

Nine years later, when Drakne is allowed to return home, she is changed. Brittle, fragile, angry, and hateful, and Nabik doesn’t know why. He also doesn’t ask. Because knowing what his brother did to her means having to face the horrors going on in his own house. Instead, Nabik turns his eyes away and chooses not to see even as Drakne lashes out. It’s at a winter ball that all things come to a head.

A toy given to Drakne comes alive when she dances with it, a wooden nutcracker that just so happens to be Prince Eugen, the last member of the royal family of Kolznechia, missing for hundreds of years. Suddenly, the rat king, who has been ruling Kolznechia for as long as Prince Eugen has been missing, is there at the party, determined to kill the nutcracker boy, and Fydir is ready to kill everyone else. Nabik and the Prince make a run into Kolznechia with Fydir and an army racing behind, and Drakne is now trapped at the side of the brother who tortured her, broke her, and who even now still controls her.

In Kolznechia, there is a curse on all who cross its border. They may enter the woods human, but the corrupted magic will turn men into beasts. Navik, Drake, and Fydir will find themselves shaped in ways they are not ready for, forced to see who they truly are. The only way to regain their humanity is to break the curse before they tear themselves apart.

For all the holiday trappings of nutcrackers, winter balls, snowflakes, and Yuleheigh, No Better Than Beasts is a dark fantasy, with an emphasis on the dark. Humans cursed to become beaver folk are skinned for hats; children are fed to soul machines in a factory, trapped in the metal for months, years; there is some body horror, as humans are forced into animal forms with ears stretching, feathers tearing through skin, legs breaking and rearranging. There is a toxic, controlling, violent, and abusive parent figure; war and its consequences; and all of this in a book where wishes make candy castles and grand feasts, toys for winter, and bring back dead children. So be warned, there are beasts in these woods.

Drakne is an angry young woman, and she has every reason to be. When she was a child, her brother almost crippled her and then exiled her from her home to a cruel schoolhouse. When she escaped and tried to join the rebels, using her magic to free prisoners from the soul machines, he hurt her. Eight months later, freed from captivity, she is now afraid to dance, trapped in a world of dark memories and seeing no hope waiting for her in the future. When Nabik refuses to accept her words, she turns against him, unwilling to explain herself or give him proof. She hurts him as she was hurt, following in the footsteps of her older brother deliberately in an effort to gain power for herself.

Unlike Fydir, Drakne has help, in the form of Ruba, a mouse maid her brother wants to marry, who is also Fydir’s prisoner. The two of them share so much between them, delighting in dance and music, both wanting a kinder, gentler world to live in. It’s with Ruba’s help that Drakne is able to fight against the darkness of her pain and her past, and when she’s not strong enough, to accept the love and help of those around her. When she’s with Fydir, Drakne goes from being angry to being terrified, fawning over her brother in hopes of being spared pain and abuse. When he’s gone from the room, and she has a moment to breathe, it’s all anger and shame, shame she isn’t stronger, isn’t able to stand up to her abuser.

Nabik is a peacemaker. He wants people to get along, for no one to be angry at him. It’s hard for him to be noticed, because with notice comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes guilt. Guilt for not doing more, for not being the brother Fydir wants him to be or the brother Drakne needs. Nabik doesn’t like girls, he doesn’t like violence, and he doesn’t even really like his brother. But he loves him, because … that’s what you do.

With Eugen, Nabik is finally free of the constraints that keep him afraid. And in Kolznechia, he begins to take on a new form of a fox in which he feels more … whole. Happier. In Kolznechia, he can use his magic, openly and freely, and the more time he spend with Eugen, the more he realizes he doesn’t want to go back. He wants to live here, to be happy. And for that, he needs to break the curse that made Eugen into a wooden nutcracker, because … well, let’s be honest. The paints are painted on and there’s nothing underneath them. Well, that and the whole saving the world thing, too.

Nabik blooms when he’s free from his brother’s tyranny, which makes it even more heartbreaking when he’s back with Fydir and, like his sister, struggling not to fawn for attention and forgiveness. Time and time again, Nabik, whose magic lets him see into the hearts of others, tries to reach Fydir, tries to forgive, to help, to give anything and everything to make his brother love him.

Fydir, for all that he’s the villain, is still portrayed as an actual character shaped by trauma. When he was seventeen, he became the parent to two siblings, with no money, no shelter, and no food. He made hard choices to care for his siblings, and allowed himself to be used. He realized that power gave people the ability to hurt him, and so decided to gain power for himself. Power enough to make people fear him, respect him, obey him. The author never once tries to gain sympathy for Fydir, who does horrible, awful things, but to show that his villainy was not something he was born to or even forced to. Fydir chose to be a monster, and at every turn continued to choose anger, pain, and violence.

Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a villain narrative that explores the reasons behind the cruelty while never excusing it, and I think his ending is well deserved. Through the whole book, Fydir was an actual threat, an honest monster, and it made the reactions of everyone around him feel that much more real and gave the threats they faced in defeating him more weight. Fydir is an abuser of the finest quality, which makes watching Drakne and Nabik break free of him that much more satisfying.

I haven’t even touched on the world building, the politics, the candy-based magic, the curse itself, let alone the plot … and this review is already pretty long. So I’ll be brief: It’s good! Honestly, everything came together so well, and the writing was strong and clean, making this book easy to read. The pacing is excellent, with no lulls or drops in energy, and the final climax was given more than enough time to allow everyone to shine. All three characters had strong arcs of growth and all three came to a believable end.

This would be a great book to read during winter, because all of the holiday mentions and all of the candy have certainly left me feeling ready for a snack and a warm fire!

Unfortunately, I didn't love this one as much as I wanted to. I think that's more so on me and my reading slump than it is on this book, however — I did really enjoy the world building, and the characters.

I didn't really know what to expect with this. I don't actually know a ton about the Nutcracker besides watching the Barbie Nutcracker special as a kid. Because of that I went into to this practically blind and I actually really liked it. I will say I was a bit confused as first but that may be due to not know the other story all that well.
I found this to be a really cool and dark story. I enjoyed this greatly as a fantasy book just as it is. I will also say that because I don't know the original story I don't know how this holds up as retelling.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

No Better Than Beasts is a darkly mesmerizing and delightful take on the Nutcracker with many fantastic characters and vicious tales.

No Better Than Beasts was so fun! From the first page, I knew it would captivate me the whole way through with its excellent pacing, beautiful prose, and fascinating characters. I loved the incorporation of folklore and fairy tales. The blending of key moments and aspects of the Nutcracker into the story was very well done, and I really enjoyed the twisty, magical plot. The romances were also lovely. I highly recommend checking out this debut YA fantasy!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ARC!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.