I really enjoyed reading Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar. This is an adult retelling of the story of The Nutcracker, which incidentally I have never read. The book follows the story of Marietta Stelle, a young woman who loves nothing more than ballet but is being forced by her family and society's conditions into a life that she does not want. A strange and mysterious man moves into her neighbourhood and captivates her family with his enchanting toys and inventions. Marietta is wary of Dr Drosselmeier, who wishes Marietta to be his wife, and appears that he will stop at nothing to have her. Marietta yearns for the ballet and resists the advances of Drosselmeier.

Drosselmeier creates an elaborate set for Marietta’s final ballet performance, to be held on Christmas Day, However after exploring the set on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve following an argument with Drosselmeier she discovers it to be enchanted. She is transported to a snowy forest, where she experiences an enchanted adventure. Ice giants, enchanted forests, frozen sugar palaces, an evil magical king, fairies, gingerbread houses and the captain of the Kings guard. Marietta becomes the prisoner of the evil sadistic King Gelum, along with two others Dellara and Pirlipata. She forms a bond with these other women as they struggle to stay alive and obtain their freedom. Along the way she discovers love and friendship.

I loved this book, it is written in the style of magical realism, a style that paints a realistic view of the world while also adding magical elements to it. It is a very atmospheric, evocative novel, full of magic. I liked the characters and enjoyed the retelling of The Nutcracker. This book is very well written, with some beautiful prose. I really loved the world that Kuzniar has created.

This book was so enchanting. It puts a unique spin on the classical Nutcracker. The story offers a good dose of romance, drama, and magical realism, with well-rounded characters and a fast-paced plotline. It's a perfect read around Christmas, plus the cover is just gorgeous. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves dark fairytale retellings.

As retellings go, it's beautifully done. It's perfect for the festive season and winter nights. Fair warning you will be craving sweets, chocolate, patisseries, and all manor of desserts. So have something ready.

For those who love plenty of descriptions, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. The world of Everwood is magical and enchanting, but darker themes lie underneath the sugar coating.

I wasn't expecting this to be more gothic, I was anticipating a cosy winter Wonderland but I feel this is on me for cover buying and forgetting the contents of the blurb.

This was my second attempt to read this. Last year I just wasn't feeling it and found the character of Marietta too naive and immature, which is how a character in her circumstances would be expected to behave, however, it just wasn't doing it for me. On this second attempt, I still struggled with her as a character, and then further on, there weren't any characters at all I enjoyed reading about. By the time the events of the book kicked in I just wasn't really bothered about the outcome.

The sweet language that adds to the festive charm is also a slight hindrance, there's so much of it dusting every page that it feels too repetitive, and I quickly grew tired of it but as a retelling of The Nutcracker this is probably to be expected, but I just found it an excessive amount.

Overall the story is okay, the characters were not keeping me invested, the sugary details became too much, and I was forcing myself to finish it. This book may not have been the right one for me but I have no doubt it will delight and enchant others.

Such a wonderful and beautiful spin on the Nutcracker, I loved this so much it filled me with nostalgia and so much joy and happiness ! I loved the fact that feminism and questioning the patriarchal systems are woven throughout the book and in Marietta we have such a powerful protagonist and I loved how she is always true to herself and I devoured every page.

I'll start by saying I've never read or seen The Nutcracker in any of its guises. Feeling like a winter read, I chose this plus the authors next novel.

The story begins in 1906 in Nottingham. We meet Marietta, who longs to be a ballerina, but being born into high society has been told her Christmas performance will be her last, and she will be required to marry. Here, we meet Dr Drosselmeier, a man with a mysterious past and an unhealthy obsession with Marietta. Christmas Eve in the family Ballroom Drosselmeier confronts and corners Marietta, and in her haste to get away, she finds herself transported to a magical place - Everwood. There, she meets a brutal king who wants to possess her, an army captain in which to fall in love with and surprisingly female friendship with two of the kings prisoners. However, all is not as it seems in Everwood, and magic is evident everywhere Marietta turns.

Will Marietta escape back to her own place & time? Will she be forced into a life she doesn't want? I fully recommend you read this book to find out.

This book was not what I was expecting when I bought it.I do not usually like fantasy but do like the ballet so I enjoyed the book.One has to admire the way so many fairy tales are interwoven in the main story and I am curious as to what tales await in the next book.

I loved this take on the Nutcracker tale. I admit that a lot of the dancing terms eluded me, not being a follower of ballet, but it was easy enough to decipher in the context of the story. Drosselmeier was always a figure of mystery in the original story, here he becomes a figure of power and ill-intent, his intentions as stifling to our heroine as those of her own, rigidly Edwardian parents. The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King are here transformed into a handsome guard Captain and a cruel tyrant, but the theme of love and courage overcoming evil and darkness remains.

I hope the author plans a follow-up, after all, it's "in the stars that we will meet again".

For me, fantasy is a genre that I tentatively dip a toe in. I’m not confident with it and so my experience with books of this ilk is limited. However, I have to say that Midnight in Everwood my M. A. Kuznair is absolutely magical.

Marietta is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Expected to marry and give up her dreams of being a dancer, Marietta is desperately clinging on to her dream of dancing with a theatre company but when the insidious Dr Drosselmeier comes into her life Marietta must fight so much harder.

Transferred to a magical land, Marietta realises just how sheltered her life has been. She relies on her determination and tenacity to help her make it through.

Midnight in Everwood is like a snow globe in book form. The snowflake of a story left me feeling warm and glowy and it definitely made me more intrigued and confident to try more fantasy.

Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuznair is available now.

Nunca uma encomenda minha chegou tão rapidamente. Fiquei extremamente feliz com o produto, está em ótimo estado, bem conservado e bem embalado . Quanto a história, ainda não li , poréme interessei tanto pela inspiração em quebra nozes, tanto pela ótima avaliação de Stephanie Garber , minha autora favorita .

While I love both fairy tales and ballet, I had expected so much more from this book.

For a story with such potential, it was a disappointment - I had to force myself to keep reading.

I neither liked the flowery language nor the way the story developed, I didn't even like the heroine very much.

Snabb leverans

Product meteen na aankoop geannuleerd, had moet gezien dat het tweedehands was. Ondanks annulering direct na aankoop toch verstuurd. Retourneren op eigen kosten. Boek had een vreemde lucht alsof het lange tijd op zolder of kelder in opslag is geweest. Ook was het hele boek bekliederd door de vorige eigenaar (de hele zijkant met stift). Het boek is zonder kaft geleverd. Ik zou deze verkoper overslaan.

I loved the cover and the story!

But I had a really hard time reading this!