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A review by bookandscone
Winterdream by Chantal Gadoury
4.0
I couldn't find a single bad review of this book and to be fair this won't be a bad review either.
I really enjoyed reading Winterdream. It was a a good book.
And just to be clear, I'm a huge fan of all things related to the original story of the Nutcracker, the ballet, the Barbie movie... you get it. The point is, I was not disappointed by this retelling, it did the original story justice and if you are looking for a good retelling and some Nutcracker Christmas vibes, this is a good place to start.
That being said I did have some issues with the story. I think part of it comes from the fact that when overally the story is good I tend to be a bit more nitpicky. Oh well...
The Characters
I liked both Nutcracker and Clara. Well I think I liked them best at the beginning. I was sort of tired after all the sugary stuff going on between them. I mean... it was just hard for me to understand their relationship when it was just the same all the time, OK, hear me out.... I feel like the Nutcracker was sweet and caring all the time ... and you may think: wait... that's good right? And well, yes but that's just the thing, it was hard for me to relate to them because there wasn't much to their relationship beyond that. Because being human (or a piece of wood) means we are not always sweet and caring, sometimes we are sad, tired, angry and we act and say some things we might regret but the point is we communicate with each other and sort things out. All I'm trying to say is it's not always rainbows. All in all the characters weren't flat, they just lacked something for me, they were just a tiny bit too sweet.
BUT I know it's not easy to write about all that in a story when you have a Mouse King to deal with.
The Tiny Trope
This is *spoilers* but I couldn't help but notice a tiny trope (I just hope I'm mistaken). But the Girl Hate TM. It might not have been the intention of the author at all but they way I read it, I just noticed it sometimes. So first it's with the daughter of the Ginger Lady, she is (apparently) really jealous of the Nutcracker and his special relationship with Clara. I mean it's just great to help someone and smile but later poke their scalp with pins while working on some really special hairdo. I mean? He was gone for so long and is *spoiler* the Prince and still u got some hopes gurl... I just don't get it ... It might be just my thing but oh well ... sorry, unnecessary.
And then *big spoilers* the bad bad lady is the blonde who, according to Clara, is getting too cosy with the Nutcracker... hmm
The Villain
*spoilers*
Well... I liked Irina, she was interesting. But we didn't get enough of her backstory and then she started talking and revealed her entire meticulously thought out plan (nope) to Clara ... plus she could have just killed them without talking so much. First rule of being a good villain: kill first, talk later (to yourself).
I don't remember anything else....I just mentioned some tiny things I didn't like much.
It was good tho, go and read it!! It's a fast read and I've been looking for a decent Nutcracker retelling for so long.
I really enjoyed reading Winterdream. It was a a good book.
And just to be clear, I'm a huge fan of all things related to the original story of the Nutcracker, the ballet, the Barbie movie... you get it. The point is, I was not disappointed by this retelling, it did the original story justice and if you are looking for a good retelling and some Nutcracker Christmas vibes, this is a good place to start.
That being said I did have some issues with the story. I think part of it comes from the fact that when overally the story is good I tend to be a bit more nitpicky. Oh well...
The Characters
I liked both Nutcracker and Clara. Well I think I liked them best at the beginning. I was sort of tired after all the sugary stuff going on between them. I mean... it was just hard for me to understand their relationship when it was just the same all the time, OK, hear me out.... I feel like the Nutcracker was sweet and caring all the time ... and you may think: wait... that's good right? And well, yes but that's just the thing, it was hard for me to relate to them because there wasn't much to their relationship beyond that. Because being human (or a piece of wood) means we are not always sweet and caring, sometimes we are sad, tired, angry and we act and say some things we might regret but the point is we communicate with each other and sort things out. All I'm trying to say is it's not always rainbows. All in all the characters weren't flat, they just lacked something for me, they were just a tiny bit too sweet.
BUT I know it's not easy to write about all that in a story when you have a Mouse King to deal with.
The Tiny Trope
This is *spoilers* but I couldn't help but notice a tiny trope (I just hope I'm mistaken). But the Girl Hate TM. It might not have been the intention of the author at all but they way I read it, I just noticed it sometimes. So first it's with the daughter of the Ginger Lady, she is (apparently) really jealous of the Nutcracker and his special relationship with Clara. I mean it's just great to help someone and smile but later poke their scalp with pins while working on some really special hairdo. I mean? He was gone for so long and is *spoiler* the Prince and still u got some hopes gurl... I just don't get it ... It might be just my thing but oh well ... sorry, unnecessary.
And then *big spoilers* the bad bad lady is the blonde who, according to Clara, is getting too cosy with the Nutcracker... hmm
The Villain
*spoilers*
Well... I liked Irina, she was interesting. But we didn't get enough of her backstory and then she started talking and revealed her entire meticulously thought out plan (nope) to Clara ... plus she could have just killed them without talking so much. First rule of being a good villain: kill first, talk later (to yourself).
I don't remember anything else....I just mentioned some tiny things I didn't like much.
It was good tho, go and read it!! It's a fast read and I've been looking for a decent Nutcracker retelling for so long.