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melissa_l_mcabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Genocide, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, Classism, Gore, and Torture
amanda_reads89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Gore, Confinement, Murder, and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Pregnancy, Classism, Sexism, and War
tacochelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Johansen is very good at worldbuilding for the most part. The descriptions are the highlight of everything here, fully realizing the setting from the industrial city they live in to the candy-coated nightmare realm of the Kingdom of Sweets. It's enough details to paint a gorgeous picture, but vague enough to create a sort of dark fairytale mood - at least until the very end. Throughout, there's little details, like mentioning Dracula multiple times, and various European countries, where you know it's kinda set in a turn of the century, Eastern European country, and I would have been fine with that. Then the last few chapters reveal that this is actually Russia before the revolution and implies that the magical events in the story directly lead to Lenin taking over. It was such a buzz kill for me. Completely took me out of the story, what little was left. It doesn't even fully make sense, either. Little details like calling the ruler a King instead of a Tsar make it feel anachronistic to the time period.
The characters are all deeply flawed. And not always loveable. I'm generally fine with that. But the twins are the fucking worst, really letting some guy get between them? Natasha is deep in the I'm-not-like-other-girls mindset, and it feels like half the time she is criticized for it by the narrative, while the other half backs her up. The trope is really overplayed, but at least pick a lane and be consistent. It gets really slut-shamey at points, and again, half backs it up and half criticizes it. Against her own twin, even! I get everyone's life is different, but as a identical twin myself, I could not get over that. Personal preference really, but it's almost all you see in media that one twin is always jealous of the other, and it gets old real fast. Clara is no better, she is just as self-centered as her twin, but in the way that she tries to willingly be blind to other's problems. It's implied that Drosselmeyer could help Natasha get a good proposal for marriage, and that would be her only chance to avoid life in a Convent because their society is so deep up his ass with the whole dark twin shit that they do not want her. He gives the choice to Clara, who is also implied that she could easily get her own man at any time, by her own charisma and beauty, but she takes the opportunity Drosselmeyer offers. And then cries when her twin is upset about it. Neither really grows out of their major flaw, despite endlessly being punished because of it.
The ending kind of justifies their remaining character flaws, as it both gives the twin a kind of happy end, as well as an end that they rightly deserve for all their bs. But it would have worked better if it kept with the almost timeless vibe of a fairytale about the consequences of greed, jealousy, and vengeance. But solidly grounding this in the gd Russian Revolution ruins that and introduces far more complicated issues than the story actually handles.
I'm giving this 3 stars because overall I enjoyed this. Johansen does write well, and I was very engaged with the book, reading it in one sitting. But the negatives really stick with me in a way that I can't forget or forgive easily.
Moderate: Classism, Murder, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and War
colloreda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Misogyny and War
Minor: Miscarriage and Incest
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"The Kingdom of Sweets" is a Nutcracker retelling that follows one sister trying to get out of the shadow of her twin. Clara has always been the most beautiful twin with all of the opportunities in the world at her feet. Natasha has always lived in her shadow and seems to live more like a peasant than a princess. One fateful Christmas Eve, Drosselmeyer, a mysterious sorcerer, brings a special gift to their home: an enchanted nutcracker that takes the girls to the Kingdom of Sweets. While exploring this mythical land, Natasha finally gets her chance at revenge, and she may finally get to live the life she has always dreamed of.
I am not familiar with the original Nutcracker story, so I cannot attest to how well this book did at a retelling, but regardless, I really enjoyed this story. Natasha's envy of her sister was so relatable and although she made poor choices and really wreaked havoc on Clara's life, I still felt sorry for Natasha. Clara's life has always felt so much easier than Natasha's, and everyone has made Natasha know that she is less than Clara. That has got to be rough for anyone.
The Sugar Plum Fairy is sickeningly sweet, and Natasha's entanglement with her was enticing. I really enjoyed seeing the pair interact throughout the story, and I enjoyed even more the ultimate resolution they made by the end of the story.
This story was so atmospheric, and I loved reading about the Kingdom of Sweets. This is the perfect story to read in the winter, especially to get you in a festive spirit for the holiday season. I do wish I read it last month, but I still really enjoyed this story and I appreciated the ambience.
I really appreciated the overall message of this story. There are a few lessons to be learned throughout the duration of this story, but none of them felt presented to the reader in a heavy-handed way.
My one critique of this story is that the book ends up jumping ahead many years a few different times throughout the story. The time jumps made the pacing feel a little stop and go.
I highly recommend adding this to your holiday TBR for 2024!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Moderate: Murder and Death
lateromantic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
sustainably_lucia's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Alcohol, Gore, Death, and Classism
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Grief, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Classism, and Torture
kelseyr713's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, and Child abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking
Minor: War, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Sexual content
maregred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Murder and Infidelity
Moderate: Mental illness, Body shaming, Confinement, Violence, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Blood, War, Pregnancy, and Death