The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
What's It About?
Johansen’s worldbuilding is absolutely breathtaking, from the sugar-coated fields and glazed castle walls of the Kingdom of Sweets to the lush mansions and hard laborers of turn-of-the-century Russia.Over the years, I’ve been continuously drawn back to modern retellings of classic stories — from those rewriting mythology to those reworking classical Shakespeare. And with each book, I grew more in love with these kinds of stories. So when I heard of an imaginative retelling of the Nutcracker just in time for Christmas, I had to read it.
Erika Johansen’s The Kingdom of Sweets is a transformative tale of love and vengeance, in which twin sisters born on Christmas day receive a blessing — and a curse.
Light. Dark.
This became the tale of our childhood.
Twin sisters Clara and Natasha couldn’t be more different. From infancy, the two have lived with the curse placed on them by their godfather, Drosselmeyer. As Clara grows into a life of beauty and grace, Natasha is relegated to live in her sister’s shadow as the dark, unlucky sister. But that all changes on the eve of their 17th birthday.
On that fateful Christmas Eve Natasha and Clara find themselves transported to the magical Kingdom of Sweets. There, Clara experiences wonders beyond her imagination, while Natasha dreads the fearsome power she feels lurking beneath the sugary charade.
Clara could not see the hidden darkness of the world, but I could. I was cursed to see.
Then the Sugar Plum Fairy, a source of power far greater than Drosselmeyer, offers Natasha wondrous gifts … and a chilling bargain.
Natasha seizes the life she always wanted but unearths a much darker truth that’s been slowly unraveling since long before her birth. As the years go by and the worlds around her start to crumble, Natasha must reckon with dark forces both earthly and magical, and decide to which world she truly belongs.
Johansen’s worldbuilding is absolutely breathtaking, from the sugar-coated fields and glazed castle walls of the Kingdom of Sweets to the lush mansions and hard laborers of turn-of-the-century Russia.
But more than that, the story intricately weaves together real-world events with dark elements of fantasy and magic. Readers will be met with ominous shadowy figures and sinister warnings of the Russian Revolution, and encounter menacing puppets along with the bombings of London.
Underneath the magic and the gloom, The Kingdom of Sweets takes a raw look into the heart of humanity, showing the best and the worst of each character — and us all. Clara is more than the vapid, dim-witted girl she seems. Drosselmeyer’s intentions — and ultimate fate — reveal a much different side to the sinister wizard.
The Kingdom of Sweets is a heart-pounding journey of love, betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness. Whether or not you enjoyed the classic story of the Nutcracker — or if, like myself, you’d never actually known it — you’re sure to enjoy this dark retelling. Renowned fantasy author Erika Johansen offers an illuminating look into the nature of vengeance and forgiveness — in ourselves and throughout history.
About the author:
Erika Johansen grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She went to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and eventually became an attorney, but she never stopped writing. She lives in England.
