Author: M.A. Kuzniar
Publisher: Harlequin Books Australia
Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Holiday, Fiction
Year of release: 2021
Release date 27th October 2021
Rating 🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis
Nottingham, 1906
Marietta Stelle longs to be a ballerina but as Christmas draws nearer, her dancing days are numbered. At the wishes of her family, she will be obligated to marry and take up her place in society in the New Year. But when a mysterious toymaker, Dr Drosselmeier, purchases a neighbouring townhouse, it heralds the arrival of magic and wonder in her life. Although Drosselmeier’s magic is darker than Marietta could have imagined…
When he constructs an elaborate theatrical set for her final ballet performance, Marietta discovers it carries a magic all its own. As the clock chimes midnight, Marietta finds herself walking through a land of snow-topped fir trees leading to a frozen sugar palace silent with secrets and must find a way to return home.
In the darkness of night, magic awaits, and you will never forget what you find here…
Review
Marietta Stelle dreams of nothing else but to be a ballerina but as Christmas 1906 fast approaches her family believes her dancing days are to come to an end, she is to swap her ballet shoes for a wedding ring taking up a role in society.
A Mysterious man purchases the townhouse next door, the Stelle’s invite him to dine with them one evening in the hopes to learn more about him they discover he is a toymaker. Drosselmeier takes a keen interest in the young women and her parents can see the pair being well suited, so they arrange for the pair to wed in the new year.
Marietta soon discovers she doesn’t feel as a new bride should around her husband to be soon realising Dr Drosselmeier is not what he appears the high society life she is expected to take up makes her feel cornered.
Dr Drosselmeier goes about making a theatrical set for her last dance, Marietta soon discovers the stage holds magic, midnight arrives, and Marietta soon finds she has been transported to a land that is blanketed in snow the tops of the fir trees are glistening white. Eventually Marietta arrives at a palace made of frozen sugar, behind those walls’ secrets are kept and she is asked to dance for the King, and she will then be granted permission to return to Nottingham, but Marietta soon realises she has become a prisoner and must now find a way to return home, or will she be stuck in Everwood for eternity?
Over recent years I’ve enjoyed a good retelling and having not read the Nutcracker and I thought this would be a good place to start. The promise of magic and snow had me reaching for this book.
I can appreciate what the author was trying to do with this tale; I really wanted to immerse myself in the town of Everwood and I believe I did that, but this book snowballed out of control for me after that. The story just couldn’t seem to stay on track and seemed to jump around from one idea to the next or maybe that was this reader trying to focus on the plot whilst I waited for something to happen.
Given that the book was perfectly descriptive when it comes to world building, I had high hopes for the characters too but unfortunately the characters flatlined for me, each one coming across one dimensional and more than once I found myself reading back over previous pages just to determine who everyone was and the role they played within the plot.
“Never dull your sparkle for anyone else, flame fiercely into your own glittering future.”
― M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood
I believe because I struggled to connect with the characters the rest of the plot suffered. I found I just didn’t care about the conclusion all that much. I believe if the book didn’t have as many characters and focused on the storyline more and the characters dialog a lot less, I might have been able to enjoy it a lot more.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced book that, has you racing through the pages the minute you reach the bottom of the first page this might not be for you. Midnight in Everwood does take time to get to the conflict pages where the book does pick up a little but not by much, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the book is set in winter year-round which is a nice touch.
Upon arriving in Everwood if the book would be ending a certain way and although I didn’t guess exactly right, I wasn’t too far off the mark either but a charming ending.
There is a little bit of Romance and female friendship sprinkled in these pages this detail is what made Midnight in Everwood a 3-star read
If you’re a fan of the Nutcracker and want to be swept up in the magic that is Christmas and snow, then check out Midnight in Everwood recommend for readers of Young Adult fiction.
With continued thanks to Harlequin Books Australia for sending a physical copy of this book to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion.