A review by amandalorianxo
The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen

dark tense 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

2.5

I’m vaguely familiar with The Nutcracker but not enough to know if the author gave us Easter eggs acknowledging the play. I was intrigued by the “dark imagining” synopsis so I picked this up. The initial 20/30 percent of the book was intriguing. But then once the sisters actually interacted with the Sugar Plum Fairy- my intrigue started to droop. We didnt get enough info on the godfather for me to fully understand his disturbing fascination with twins and youth. Also, I didn’t get a good sense of Natasha nor Clara to care about what happened to them. Natasha did reek of “not like other women” but I wonder if that was part of the “dark” alleged ties she had with Clara’s “light.” The ending didn’t tie up anything as far as plot points. I was left confused and wishing there was more backstory and less descriptions. 
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