Book Synopsis:
Light and dark – this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed on them by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favourite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister’s shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has returned and brought with him the Nutcracker, an enchanted present which offers entry to a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.
In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also a giver of gifts . . . and a maker of dread-filled bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical . . . and decide to which world she truly belongs.
My Review:
The Kingdom of Sweets is a fantastically dark, gripping re-telling of The Nutcracker which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The story is told from the point of view of Natasha and follows two twins who have been given an unusual curse at birth. One, Clara, has been given light which means she gets everything she wants in life and everyone loves her. The other, Natasha, was given dark meaning she is essentially sidelined for her more popular twin. I ended up liking both sisters though initially felt sympathy only for Natasha as I felt she’d been handed an unfair hand. It was interesting to learn most about the sisters and to understand more about how events had effected both of them.
I really liked the setting and enjoyed exploring it alongside the characters. It’s a world that seems familiar with balls, dance cards and a women’s role seemingly only to be to marry well. It was especially interesting to see real life historical events and characters included in the story too with the author touching on the start of The Russian Revolution. I especially loved the fabulous descriptions of the Kingdom Of Sweets when they first visit as I thought it was incredibly clever to see how the author had created things with sweets.
I thought this story had a great pace to it and I was soon absorbed into the story, unable to put the book down as I wanted to find out what an earth happened next. The story does get very dark in the second half and some of the explanation as to why the twins had been separated went over my head but I feel that’s just a small niggle as I still really loved the story.
Huge thanks to Chloe from Transworld for sending me a copy of this book. Highly recommended by me.
About The Author:
ERIKA JOHANSEN grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She went to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania before attending the celebrated Iowa Writers Workshop, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. She eventually became an attorney but she never stopped writing. Her debut was the international bestseller, The Queen of the Tearling – the first novel in a remarkable sequence. This was followed by the acclaimed The Invasion of the Tearling, The Fate of the Tearling and a prequel, Beneath the Keep. Erika now lives in England.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Fab review! I do love the Nutcracker, and will definitely check this out! x
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