In this novel we follow Marietta, a young lady born to wealthy parents who’s biggest desire is to dance ballet at a prestigious school. However, her parents have different plans for her and expect poor Marietta to become a bride and a housewife. Trapped by potential suiter Drosselmeir, in a room of his making on Christmas eve, Marietta finds herself transported to a whole new world that goes by the name of Everwood. We follow as she discovers this enchanting world full of sugar, strange characters and magic, and becomes ensnared by the politics surrounding this new world. The question is, does she manage to find her way back to her own world before it’s too late?
I really enjoyed this nutcracker re-telling. Full of Christmas magic and nostalgia. To start with I found the language slightly difficult to get used to but only because it is a different writing style to which I would normally read. However, the more I read the more i got used to and further enjoyed this writing style. It matched well with the era in which the story is set, the early 1900’s.
The description of settings, both Nottingham and Everwood were beautiful and I instantly wished to be transported to this setting. The metaphors and analogies regarding sweet treats to describe Everwood were extremely clever. Kuzniar has written a very compelling novel here and I felt myself longing to visit Everwood.
I loved the character’s they all had so much depth to them, particularly Marietta. Her character was extremely well written and very likeable. Dr.Drosselmeier was also written convincingly as the villain of this story and I really hated him by the end.
The only reason this was not a five star read for me was that I felt the story got a little repetative and slow in the middle when Marietta was trapped in the sugar palace. However, as far as debut novels go, this was very good! I’m definitely looking forward to future novels from M.A.Kuzniar.
I would recommend this to any nutcracker fans or anyone looking for cozy christmas vibes.
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
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