Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

7 reviews

sburchart's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This really isn't a retelling - more like the inclusion of a few Nutcracker elements towards the beginning that take a backseat to a story about characters nobody wants to root for and that never quite figures out what it wants to be. Horror story with a poorly explained magic system? A story about twin sisters reconciling? Russian historical fiction? Not sure what the marketing department was doing trying to spin this as a fantasy Christmas read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

I selected this as my BOTM pick for December 2023.
"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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Moderate: Murder and Death

honuzbubbles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

lateromantic's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• 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

 

This was an interesting metaphor, but badly executed: the setting was shoehorned in (and, as a romanticist, I do not appreciate the Hoffmann or Dumas erasure), the characters and their actions boring, the references to the real world jarring and eye-rolling. Every time I started to get into it something would bounce me out of it. I wasn't a fan of the prose, I found the turn of phrase clunky, and the structure was strange - was it going for thriller? Why did it run on so long? Also, it was 'edgy', which I find incredibly boring. 

 

Not without merit, just not my kind of thing - perhaps if you want more 'dark faerie' content after reading ACOTAR, or want a book that has vibes of the first Wonder Woman film, you'll like it, but I found both of those put together by a better craftsperson than this. 

 

(Sorry, I don't like to write mean reviews, but I have nothing nice to say about this beyond 'nice idea' and that I will inevitably read another Nutcracker book next Christmas.)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

I had high expectations for this because I love what I’ve read by the author before, but it gets repetitive and many questions aren’t ever answered. Great atmosphere though.

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Content Warnings

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

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Misogyny, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Gore, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Incest, Alcoholism, and Slavery