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hldrn13's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
rubiecore's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was super excited for this because the premise of a nutcracker inspired story with fae is really cool, especially knowing that the next books in the series are inspired by some of my favorite stories. And while I did enjoy it to an extent, I constantly found myself rolling my eyes or having to walk away from it for a few minutes because of cringy dialogue or convenient parts of the plot. I think if I was able to turn my brain off and not think about the dialogue or certain plot points too hard, I could have enjoyed this a bit more.
I want to preface my next point by saying that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sex positivity or being open about sex but the way it’s talked about in this book is just so,, uncomfortably direct? No tension, nothing, just direct “hey yeah my c*m tastes different every single time” and it’s like, okay? I’m sure there were more graceful ways for that information to be presented to us. I think I knew the directness of this book would be a problem for me when we were first introduced to Louisa’s POV and while I tried to give her a chance, I just couldn’t stand her or her “enemies to lovers” relationship with the Nutcracker. The enemies to lovers plotline felt incredibly forced. The Nutcracker and Louisa disliked each other for absolutely no reason, Louisa’s reasoning being as ridiculous as “he isn’t attracted to me!! What’s wrong with him?” like,, be so fr rn. There’s no way that’s why you dislike him.
As senseless as the enemies to lovers plotline was, once the characters involved were together, their characters and relationship became much more tolerable overall. I preferred Clara and Fin’s insta-love relationship a lot more.
Generally, the plot was fine and obviously I cared enough to see it through but there were so many eyeroll moments, either because of a certain plot point feeling forced or because of extensive info-dumping through the character’s dialogue.
I might continue on in the series (bc I found out that Clara and Fin are in the second book lol) if I ever want something fast paced that I don’t have to think too hard about but idk we’ll have to see. I’m a bit bummed that I didn’t love this, especially because the third book is a Wizard of Oz inspired story and I love the Wizard of Oz ☹.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent
lauramparis's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
anyawolfy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Violence
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Way spicier than I normally read but overall I had a great time with this one. It was fast-paced and kept my attention throughout, which is saying something because I read this over the holidays in the middle of being busy prepping for Christmas and other winter gatherings. I will say, that even though it’s marketed as a Nutcracker retelling, it reads more like ACOTAR with the lightest sprinkling of characters from The Nutcracker, so adjust your expectations going in that it might not be as Nutcracker-y as you were expecting. Overall, I would recommend this one if:
- You’re looking for an easy book to read during busy times.
- You’re a romantasy fan
- You love smut and spice
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
bookedandbooked's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
tguccione's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Torture, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
ramakn22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape
ta2dlibrarian's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A LGBTQ+, spicy Nutcracker retelling I didn't know I needed. Loved the sisters' story arcs, the Sugarplum Fairy gender bend, and the faerie realm parallel. Looking forward to reading more by Kenney.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
arbramirez's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
no thoughts, just smut
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault