The Kingdom of Sweets

This book is a dark retelling of The Nutcracker. Though you do not have to know anything about the ballet or the story to enjoy this book.

Natasha and Clara are twins who where cursed by mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, is blessed with beauty and grace. Everyone she meets loves her. Natasha is cursed to live in her sister's shadow, being feared by everyone she meets. Then one Christmas Eve, Natasha finally breaks and wants revenge on Drosselmeyer and her sister. Drosselmeyer has brought the Nutcracker, an enchanted present that offers entry into a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

The beginning of the story starts slow, but picks up. There were parts that I found that were interesting. The idea of the Sugar Plum Fairy being some sort of dark creature that manipulates human is a great concept. At first I thought that the Sugar Plum Fairy was going to be like The Other Mother from Coraline.

The story just starts to go on and on, repeating the same ideas, but with no resolution. I kept reading hoping at the end there would be some sort of conclusion that would tie everything together. But in the end it never really gave any answer or if it did they were very general and vague. My first though when I finished the book was “what was even the point?”

At the end Natasha and Clara are supposed to have forgiven each other, but it just felt kind of contrived as the last time we see them together they basically just express indifference to each other at best.

Overall, this book has a really interesting concept, but fails to tell a coherent story.