Review by ruthmoog - Midnight in Everwood

ruthmoog 's review for:

Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar

2.25

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

A bizarre retelling of the Nutcracker, that was strangely magnetic - I had to finish it, despite moments of disbelief because the writing is what I would call _bad_?

Everything was sugar ice butterfly wings, or buttery hummingbird hearts. I've never read so much dairy!
Something I found frustrating is that ballet terms were explained assuming the reader has no knowledge, (despite it being a book aimed at people with some ballet knowledge?), While other terms that were more niche (champagne makers, fashion designers) required a look-up to understand the context. Plus there were a lot of thesaurus words that weren't in my vocab.

And, some of the ballet was just weird, Marietta was dancing the rose adage as a solo? And finished a dance in a chasse?

I kinda enjoyed sharing quotes and balking with my mates.

I dunno, I loved to hate it... I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but I would probably still read the authors upcoming swan lake retelling 🫣

"But tonight, she began to tire as her feet cramped and her chest grew tight. She glided to a halt in a chassé and performed her révérence – a curtsy to end the performance."

"...she performed a series of petit piqué battements, her legs whipping the air as if it were cream..."

Content Warnings