The Nutcracker is one of my favorite childhood Christmas stories. Last year, I started my preparation for Christmas with the Nutcracker Ballet on the 1st of December. It was a magical experience, filled with incredible music, beautiful costumes, and enchanting performance.
This year, I decided to find a magical book to put me in the Christmas mood. And that is when I discovered «The Enchanted Sonata» by Heather Dixon Wallwork.
goodreads blurb:
Clara Stahlbaum has her future perfectly planned: to marry the handsome pianist, Johann Kahler (ah!) and settle down to a life full of music. But all that changes on Christmas Eve, when Clara receives a mysterious and magical nutcracker.
Whisked away to his world—an enchanted empire of beautiful palaces, fickle fairies, enormous rats, and a prince—Clara must face a magician who uses music as spells…and the future she thought she wanted.
The Enchanted Sonata, a retelling of The Nutcracker Ballet with a dash of The Pied Piper, will captivate readers of all ages.
GOODREADS | AMAZON UK – US | BOOKDEPOSITORY | AUTHOR’S WEBSITE
If you are looking for the perfect dash of wonder during the Christmas season, «The Enchanted Sonata» will be just that. It combines the best features of a fairy tale, music and the belief that anything magical can happen during Christmas time.
Clara Stalbaum, daughter of the renowned pianist, cannot imagine her life without music. And also, without Johann Kahler, a handsome pianist Clara has been dreaming about. She has it all planned. She even created her new piece as a tribute to him, and when he hears it, he won’t be able to resist the charm of her music.
But fate has prepared a different path for Clara.
Taken to the magical world of enchanted kingdoms, fairies, princes and delicious chocolates, Clara has to make difficult choices that will change her life forever.
Infused with lyrical writing, «The Enchanted Sonata» is a perfect feel-good Nutcracker retelling that will put you right into the Christmas mood.
My rating:
★★★★☆
It was a very warm story that left the feeling of the fairytale, crackling fire, and first snow. But it was far from a perfect book. The writing was awkward, there were a lot of repeated words, silly comparisons and just clumsily constructed sentences. Maybe my copy didn’t go through the last edits, but I really hope that the editors took their time on the final version of this book.
Have you read any Nut Cracker retellings?
Let me know in the comments below!
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WhimsyPages 
Oh I haven’t heard of this before, but it sounds positively delightful! I love preparing for Christmas with winter and holiday reads, and I have a few on my tbr for 2019.. but none of them are fantasy novels, so this comes in handy. Great review! 🙂
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Thank you! I’m a huge fan of Nut Cracker, I love the movie, the ballet. I even made my bf go to the Nut Cracker ballet last year 😀 To be fair, he kinda enjoyed it as well. Lol
I hope you love this book when you get to it. Merry Christmas! ❤
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