I really loved the concept of a Nutcracker retelling, and it makes a spicy, fantasy read for the winter months.

Once I started this I could not put it down, when I got to the end I wanted more! There was passion, danger, magic, family, friends, trust, honesty, secrets, lies, half truths, pasts, hope, faith, darkness, light, mystery, romance and so much love.

This is a very adult retelling of The Nutcracker - no kids allowed! There is plenty of spice and the romance is insta-lusty, although it takes a bit for the full sexual relationship to develop. Sloane's writing style is flowery, but I don't mean that in a derogatory way. She goes for a poetic tone with lots of descriptors.
I think the story would have worked better if The Nutcracker story hadn't already existed in Klara's world. I kept wondering how she wasn't making the connection between what was happening to her being the same as the ballet.

A Curse of Frost and Fate was an enjoyable take on the Nutcracker. I found the characters well-written and the setting fantastic. It is a perfect story for the holiday season.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of a curse of frost and fate. this was a cute romance also kind of fantasy based.

I tried reading this book and it ended up being a DNF for me. It was boring for me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, it was putting me to sleep. I tried again the next day and it was the same result so I put it down and I haven’t picked it back up

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book.

I couldn't. I DNF'd this. I just don't think it is for me.

Christmas nutcracker retelling.
Did anyone ever think to do this other than Verika? No. Does it work? Weirdly yes. But it was also far too long for the story it was.

First of all, let me say that I love The Nutcracker Ballet and was looking forward to reading a spicy retelling, and now on to the bad news I was unable to finish reading this book, There are two reasons why I was unable to finish reading and those were that I made the mistake of picking this book very close to its archive date and the other is because I prefer to read books on the Netgalley App on my phone. I struggled to read this on my phone because of the way the book's electronic file appeared through the NetGalley App, it was like someone uploaded a file that would be better read on a computer screen or something because I often found myself having to zoom on the page to read it.

From what I did read of the novel I found that the characters were likable and the story seemed like a great twist on a Christmas classic.

I read this over the Christmas period and I very much enjoyed it, though haven't had a chance to review it until now. This is a steamy rendition of The Nutcracker. As such it has a very frosty setting and some great one liners. I really liked this version of Klara, as she is very feisty and capable of standing up for herself. She is certainly no shrinking violet. I'll probably read it again next Christmas too!

This was so cute and so just everything! I really enjoyed this retelling and can’t read it again around Christmas time.

The cover and title were what pulled me into this story. I'm such a sucker for the colors used and the whole overall aesthetic of this book! I loved the world and the mc!

I am hooked with this book. A fantasy romance story full of magic. I really enjoyed that. I loved the plot and the chemistry of Jaemis and Klara.

This book had it all. Action, magic and sex. I recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

WoW loved this fairy book story. It’s a story of how a young woman meets her prince and the trials they go through to be together. Oh yes and any good fairy tale has a curse!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

This was a fun read! It had everything I love in a fantasy book - I enjoyed the magic, the characters, the plot too, even though it dragged a bit a times. Solid read, I'll check out the next books!

4****
I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book! It have everything you could want and more! Humans amd magik beings and places! I was thrown into this book not really knowing what was going to happen but the story was told so well I absolutely loved this!
If you don't mind saucy scenes this book would be a fab recommendation ❤

This was a good book, I love retellings, and this one about the nutcracker was enjoyable

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.5/5 stars, I have complicated feelings

Thank you to BooksGoSocial for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I remember seeing that this was a nutcracker retelling and I was so excited as I'm obsessed with both the original story and the ballet that is based on this same story. Growing up a dancer the nutcracker was one of my favorite ballets to watch so I am very aware of each piece of this story. While it is a retelling, a lot of this story just really didn't feel fleshed out and that's a bit of a disappointment. The world that the Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Mouse King come from is supposed to be fantastical and otherworldly, but in this rendition, it felt very flat. I didn't care for the lack of time spent focused on the world, even if they were visiting multiple places in this realm. It didn't contain that spark of magic that lots of great magical worlds have.

This was indeed a unique take on the story, and I really wanted to love this story, but I think towards the end things started to go wrong for my enjoyment of the plot as well. In the beginning, I enjoyed seeing how Klara and her family existed in the present day, as I really do enjoy modern retellings of classic stories and fairytales. However, once Klara entered the realm of the nutcracker, the plot really slowed down and all it focused on was the "pining" between Klara and Jaemis. This was not what I expected from the story, which is fine I was just hoping for a little more about the rest of the story besides just the spice that was presented.

Sometimes, things also just didn't make sense. The ending of the story rubbed me the wrong way especially, and I can't really pin down why. One problem might have been that there was a "final battle" that happened in the story, but it was placed at a weird time and it felt like there were multiple climaxes. I didn't really enjoy this, because while there was an interesting plot twist it just didn't feel climactic, everything was very anti-climactic which was disappointing. As well, things wrapped up in a weird way that I didn't really expect, and I felt that there could have been better explanations for some things that happened.

In terms of overall writing, I think it wasn't a bad story and could have definitely been better with a bit more attention to detail in multiple aspects. My biggest complaint about her writing style is that the dialogue between characters always felt a little forced, besides Klara and Jaemis as they were the main couple. Most of the characters were very one-dimensional which made me really sad because I love a lot of the characters from the original nutcracker story.

All that being said, it isn't a great book upon reflection but I didn't dislike every aspect of it. I really enjoyed seeing bits and pieces from the nutcracker as I'm obsessed with that story, and will definitely be seeking out more nutcracker retellings. But there were aspects of the story that just didn't click with me and I was expecting other things from the story. I'm really disappointed because I wanted to love this story, but I will keep my eye out for other nutcracker stories in the future.

[TW: drinking and drugs mentioned, imprisonment of family members, death of loved ones mentioned, betrayal, sexual scenes]

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

Because this is a re-imagining of the Nutcracker story, there are many similarities, with some new additions to make it interesting and not too predictable. It was a little spicy and very romantic, which I always respect.
Overall, it felt like I was reading a lengthy fiction.
This was extremely tough for me to get invested in. There's a lot of information dump and conversation that just repeats itself. There is over-the-top instalust that is discussed A LOT in internal dialogue as well as by everyone around them and then acted on fairly quickly. They're obviously in love after that.
Too much internal monologue and information dumping at the outset is one of my pet peeves.
Given that some stories require this for world building, a lot of the time it isn't necessary and can overwhelm the story and the point the author is trying to put forth.