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henyouise's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
2.75
This book is confusing. But I wanted to like it so bad! I like what I understood of what was happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Mental illness
Moderate: Abortion
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
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.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Abortion, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
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