I started learning how to play the piano when I was 6 years old. Sure, initially it was more of a chore than anything else but quickly it became something of an outlet. I loved creating something beautiful that way, so when I saw The Enchanted Sonata I was immediately drawn to it. Music, fairies and an enchanted empire? Sign me up! Thanks to Amazon and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Enchanted Sonata brings together a variety of different themes, stories and influences. Two main stories form the inspiration for Wallwork's novel and those are The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper. However, these two originate in their own way from the German tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. These stories provide inspiration for most of the plot and much of the characterization. This makes something of an adaptation out of The Enchanted Sonata, but since many people won't be familiar with the original tale, there is still much in the novel that will surprise the reader. (I also saw some notes of The Phantom of the Opera in parts of the novel, and especially in some of its characterization.) At the very heart of The Enchanted Sonata is music. It moves the plot forward, it wraps itself around the characters, but it is also in the very way Wallwork writes. The way she describes music is the very best thing about this book. I think that anyone with some experience in music will fall in love with The Enchanted Sonata for that alone, the clear reverence and adoration with which the book treats music.



As I said above, I adored the way Wallwork writes about music in The Enchanted Sonata. It is where she excels, alongside her descriptions of the landscape. All of the novel seems set inside a snow globe, a perfectly adorable, cozy and wintery landscape full of snow-topped pines, candy factories and imperial palaces. It was a perfect winter read, in that sense, purely because of its setting. However, there are a few things in The Enchanted Sonata that feel amateur-ish. Much of the characterization is flat. Clara was an okay main character but her motivation, her "perfectly planned future", are slightly ridiculous and I almost found myself offended on her behalf. The dialogue is sometimes oddly modern or childish, which doesn't fit with the fairy tale-esque backdrop. The writing in general could have done with some heavy editing since some sentences didn't really make any sense. These things would often take me out of the narrative and led to some frustration, but even despite them I did adore the atmosphere of The Enchanted Sonata and couldn't help but keep reading.

I did like The Enchanted Sonata, even if it's severely flawed in certain aspects. However, it has a lovely atmosphere and makes for a perfect little winter read that doesn't require too much from you, except some patience here or there.

This was the book I needed in winter. It's exactly the kind of book you'd want to cuddle up with, with some warm tea and a fire.

It was refreshing to read a book that not many people have written about. I really enjoyed this book.

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.

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.

2.5/5 stars

At first I enjoyed the beginning of this story, but it became a little bit fanciful to me. I thought there wasn't much development of the characters and that they seemed two-dimensional at times. The idea was interesting, but execution was lacking for me.

I'm sad. This wasn't that great, and most of the time I was really bored. After a while I was just not interested in it and I felt that it wasn't what I had hoped it would be. In the beginning I was confused about it and couldn't figure out the time line and such. I think since I love the Nutcracker I had my expectations high for this novel, and in the end that is what made this not that enjoyable for me. The writing was good, but the storyline wasn't what I hoped it could be.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.

I picked this ARC because of the stunning cover and it was well-written retelling. I will be checking out more from this author in the future!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having never been a fan of The Nutcracker (I don't dislike it I've just never been a fan) I was worried I wouldn't be able to get into this story, but my fears were totally unfounded. Wallwork's writing is both vivid enough to give the readers a full picture of the world and not so highbrow as to lose readers in the prose. Some of the dialogue feels a little stiff but overall it was easy to follow along.
Clara is swept away to a magical world of The Nutcracker and the story that follows is lush and fantastical. I was worried the plot would fall flat without the music but the world building more than made up for it.

I'm not a fan of the Nutcracker, but I decided to try The Enchanted Sonata. As a retelling of The Nutcracker, I really thought it would be more appealing. It turns out that I'm still not a fan of The Nutcracker in any form. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay interested enough to really like the story. It's not for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

-- I received an eARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity --

This is such a wonderful, magical read. Inspired by tales of the Nutcracker, it reads like a fairy-tale - an ideal read for a snowy winter evening with a mug of tea or hot chocolate.

Young Clara Nussbaum, an aspiring pianist with idealistic views on life, gets sucked into a different world, where she meets the enchanted prince of the realm. She is called to help him solve the mystery and save the Empire's children before it is too late. This turns into a fantastic romp, with magical music and devious oversized rats (reminiscent of the Princess Bride's RUSs, a nod which I hope was intentional), over the course of which Clara and the prince save everyone and fall in love.

It is not a very serious or deep read, but it doesn't aspire to be either. It suits it's genre exceedingly well, and is definitely worth reading!

I wanted to love this book so badly but I'm very sorry to say that while it has some truly wonderful moments there's just something about it that doesn't quite work. The cover is absolutely stunning and I loved the uniqueness and inspiration behind it but unfortunately the execution really lets it down.

The story is a combination of The Nutcracker and the Pied Piper with a little bit of Phantom of the Opera thrown in for good measure and in the beginning it feels like it could be the perfect wintry read. In the first few pages I had that feeling you get when you just know this is a book you're going to love. This may just have been because I adore the ballet and the beauty and magic of the Nutcracker story but it instantly swept me away, making the world around me disappear. I loved the musical references, the wintry setting and the Christmas feel but I'm afraid to say that it wasn't long before that sinking feeling started and the problems I had with the writing became too big to overlook.

I should stress this isn't a bad read and I flew through it in around a day. There are some magical moments and the story is intriguing and unique. I loved how the author brought together elements of the Nutcracker and the Pied Piper and turned it into something new but with plenty of references to the original. I loved how music was such an important part of the story and how the magic system was based around it and I really loved the world the author created. I truly think this could have been a wonderful read and that's why it's so disappointing that it's not.

The style of writing is very much like a fairytale and there are parts which are very good however there are unfortunately far more that are not. I'm a reader not a writer so am struggling to articulate it but there was something a little clunky about the writing and the characters. I was reading an ARC so it's very possible a lot of the errors were due to that, but I suspect not. There are words repeated within sentences, things that don't make much sense and just the wrong words used suggesting a lack of knowledge or research on the part of the author. These are all minor things but when it happens time and time again it becomes all you can see.

Character wise, they're a little lacking in complexity and depth but I can probably let that go given it is a fairy tale type story (they're not particularly known for their emotional depth). Clara is a little annoying and her actions and choices are often a bit silly but she does get there in the end. The Nutcracker is a little more intriguing, possibly because we don't really get his pov (and he's wooden so the expressions don't give a lot away), so I did kind of like him. The villain of the piece was probably the biggest letdown. He felt a little tacked on rather than central to the story which is a shame and I don't think his story was ever fully resolved.

Overall therefore I have to rate this as an okay read rather than a great one. There are some intriguing ideas and some great moments but it's let down by the quality of the writing. Worth a read if you're looking for something simple and festive but don't set your hopes too high.

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 changed on Christmas Eve, when Clara receives a mysterious and magical nutcracker.

Wisked away to his world—an enchanted empire of beautiful places, fickle fairies, enormous rats, and a prince—Clara must face a magician who uses music as spells . . . and the future she thought she wanted.

I have to admit I'm incrediby biased when it comes to the stuck in another world trope. It's my favorite one, and that's maybe the reason for why I loved this book so much. Add in romance and magic and it's perfect. Not to mention a re-telling of The Nutcracker Ballet and Pied Piper? I'm in love.

We meet Clara, whose world turns upside down once she enters a new world (one which you only read about in the fairytales) where every child in Kristallgrad gets turned into toys. Plus, her only companion is a nutcracker who wants to help everyone and Clara can't help but to feel obliged to assist him. There's a clock ticking and she has to do this all on Christmas day, hours before her important piano concert.

Reading The Enchanted Sonata felt like I was in a dream, almost. Kristallgrad felt like magic, and I adored reading this. Since Clara is a pianist, we learn to see that music is the way to save everyone and I think that's a sweet way to incorporate a message.

I really liked the villain of this story. He was complex, and had more sides to him than he is willing to show. He intrigued me. I'm going to be honest, there was a part in this book that made me really want for the villain to be together with Clara. This doesn't change the fact that I still love the nutcracker very much. He's sweet, honest, and incredibly charming. His chemistry with Clara is also really adorable.

I have one objection, though, and that is the dialogue. The Enchanted Sonata was captivating and nostalgic to read, but I really wish there was more dialogue so we could learn more about the characters, because I really loved the moments where they talked and wish we could have read more of them.

Otherwise, all in all, I think the good outweighs the rest and that's why I'm giving it full stars. I loved the book and recommend it to everyone who likes nostalgia, re-tellings, fantasy, and a tad bit romance. If I'm frank, I might even find myself rereading this. It was really that good.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story of the Nutcracker has never truly interested me. In fact, it quite disturbed me. Even the Barbie Nutcracker version still scarred me. I decided to put aside my inhibitions to read this book as I loved the author’s previous book, Entwined. If you have not yet read that book, do so. You will not regret it. It was hard reading this book because I kept wanting to compare it to Entwined.

I was slightly disturbed at the thought of rats eating people’s’ faces off. However, putting that aside the world building was done very well. I thought it interesting how there were parallel universes in that two worlds could be connected through magic but otherwise just didn’t interact with each other or even know of the existence of the other.

It was strange that while the prince was only a few years older than Clara, he talked like he was an old man. I understand that generally, royalty are more polite sounding, but the tone was beyond that. As a character, his tone was just off. I don’t know how else to put it. He was way too optimistic and happy for an 18-year-old put in this situation.

The ending was a bit stranger and altogether too perfect. For example, the couple that wanted to stay in the magical world and then suddenly decided to adopt Pyotr.

I give it a 3/5 because while the book did a good job retelling the Nutcracker, I just wasn’t interested. Dixon’s work Entwined is amazing and this just didn’t measure up to it at all.

This clever little book combines the Nutcracker ballet with another famous story, that of the Pied Piper. At the beginning of this novel, Clara receives a nutcracker and enchanted storybook for Christmas. Clara begins reading the book that night and finds out that the piper has turned all of the children into toys and the prince of the empire, Nikolai into a life-sized Nutcracker. Clara is then transported into this whimsical, holiday world where rats the size of bears are locked into a war with the people of the empire.

Clara and the Nutcracker find each other and team up to defeat the piper, push the rats back into their territory, and get Clara back to her world in time for the holiday piano recital she has been working towards for years. Well, at least that's the plan, and things don't go as planned.

I thought the relationship between Clara and Nutcracker was cute. It was a sweet kind of fairytale romance and went really well with the whimsy and lightness of the story. My only issue was that after Clara learned Nutcracker was, in fact, Nikolai the soon to be emperor she kept calling him Nutcracker. I didn't like that this choice not to use his name. It made it feel like there was a distance between the two characters when there wasn't.

My favorite thing about this book ended up being two middle-aged side characters that Clara accidentally transports to the Nutcrackers world. They decide to stay even when Clara offers to take them back. There were a few side-stories like this one throughout the book that really drove home the holiday magic aspect. And that is exactly what I was looking for when I picked up this book something fun and full of holiday magic.

I read this book just before Christmas and oh my I really enjoyed it a lot!!

I have to be honest and need to say that I myself am not very familiar with the story of the Nutcracker, but that was one of my reasons to start this book.

I loved everything about it, really everything. The descriptions, the magical world the reader is introduced to, the word building, the musical terms that were always used (I personally remember arpeggios or something like that because I think it sounds super nice), the characters (I love the Nutcracker a lot, more than I want to admit), the plot and the relationships. This book really had me looking forward to reading it, to cozy up and to dive into this amazing world that Clara is pulled into and to know what she and the Nutcracker will do next.

I don't have any negative feedback on this book, but I do have to say that you have the best experience reading this book when you read it in December or around Christmas.

“Such a thing, Miss Stahlbaum. For when the world was darkest, I remembered you.”

Clara dreams of nothing so much as she dreams of music and of the music of one person in particular, Johann Kehler. She is sure her dreams of being with Johann will come true when she plays the piano Christmas concert and the sonata she has poured her heart into just for him. However, when she opens up a mysterious gift on Christmas eve she is surprised to find a book with her name on it “Clara and the Nutcracker Prince”. Reading the book, something strange happens and Clara feels almost as if she is thrust into the book herself but it isn’t until she goes to sleep that her life spins and she is actually thrust into a journey like she could have never imagined. Racing against the concert clock, Clara and the Nutcracker face down giant rats and an evil magician to save the Nutcracker’s empire and get Clara back home. Bled through with the classic Nutcracker story and that of the Pied Piper, The Enchanted Sonata is a tribute to the magic of music and an overall enchanting journey.

I may be biased but… I love the Nutcracker. Like the Tchaikovsky classic Nutcracker ballet. I could listen to the soundtrack for days on end (and I have) and still feel cascading emotion every time Pas de Deux comes through my headphones. This is why I was so excited to read a retelling of this classic story and I will be honest, it did not disappoint. The title is very apt for this book as it really grasps the essence of the entire novel. The children were enchanted into toys and I was enchanted in reading this book, I was drawn in and didn’t want to put it down. And at the very core this book was about the magic that lives within music, such a beautiful theme to go along with this classic story, one that fits perfectly. It was enjoyable to feel the cascades of emotion in the Nutcracker Ballet displayed through Clara and her love of music, bringing out my own love of music alongside her.

The Russian setting was great and gave everything that extra, magical touch to picture the old buildings covered in snow. I especially liked the Krystallgrad setting and the journey that Clara and the Nutcracker went on, it was a whimsical quest that was a delight to read along, even when the giant rats were attacking. The giant rats were a great addition to everything, ensuing chaos around the empire, though I was never sure exactly how intelligent these rats were. They seemed to be intelligent enough to be at war and form swat teams to attack trains but still very rat-like and I never really got a handle on their larger meaning in the book and the empire.

The relationship between Clara and the Nutcracker was sweet and fun and I really believed in their growing affection. I liked the banter between them and some of the more complex feelings they were working through with each other on the side. I enjoyed most of the characters overall, though I had a bit of difficulty with Erik Zolokov’s main motivation he was still a fascinating character to follow and frustratingly elusive to the protagonists. Overall, the book offered a beautiful and fun rendition on a few classic stories and any book that has me grinning as it comes to a close has done a great job is a good one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey that The Enchanted Sonata takes you on. I loved the interactions between all of the characters and while you can sort of figure out midway through the novel what is going to happen, I still found myself up at 4 am unable to stop reading. I highly recommend it.

The Enchanted Sonata is an interesting retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the Nutcracker. As soon as I started reading this novel I was hooked. The nutcracker is one of my all-time favorite stories. I feel like the enchanted sonata did the story justice and created such an interesting twist by adding another retelling in. The whole story is an exciting adventure and fresh while sticking to key parts of the original stories.
The Enchanted Sonata is not a super romantic novel but has just enough. It is more action and adventure. I highly recommend this book as a winter read since it’s based at Christmas but it could be enjoyed all year. It will be my every year holiday reread.

Not going to lie, the cover of this book drew me in immediately. Along with the pretty title. This was a sweet and magical book. The characters were lovely and well developed. The world-building was unique and intriguing. This was an enjoyable, fun, and cozy read, with magic and romance. I would recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book! The enchanted sonata keep me hooked. It was fast paced magaical and interesting. The characters were well developed and clara she is my favorite. I would love to read more books. From heather dixon wallwork.