A book that started unassumingly, then crept into my heart!
I have always loved the story and ballet of the Nutcracker, so wanted to read this as soon as I spotted it on Netgalley. I loved the idea that music can be magic and the world of Imperia. Clara developed as a character over the book and Drosselmeyer, Zizi and Alexei became unexpected favourites. I feel like the antagonist could have been developed further, particularly with looking at how he ended up controlling and using the rats, despite his childhood experience with them. This book is a warm piece of escapism which would be a perfect winter or Christmas read, preferably while curled up with some hot chocolate and other yummy goodies.
3.5 stars.

A cross between The Pied Piper and The Nutcracker is the best way I know to explain this story. Great book to read during the holidays.

The writing was absolutely beautiful...very lyrical. I loved the way that everything was described. The writing style made it very easy to get engulfed in this world and the characters. I greatly enjoyed this book.

I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion

”The boy has a rat inside him.”
“A rat?”
”When someone is overtaken with a dark emotion, pain. Or grief. Or anger. If they continue to dwell on it, it grows. That rat feeds on every though it’s given. If not tempered, the rat will consume the soul, and destroy its host and everyone around it.”

The Enchanted Sonata Stars Clara as a studied pianist, as she is whisked away to a strange land which has befallen a curse. The soldiers and children have become toys and she must break the curse.

The story combines all of our favorite elements from the original. Fairies, toy soldiers, giant rats, and even rifle-wielding nuns are featured in this re-imagining of The Nutcracker. The story is undoubtedly whimsy in nature, but also delves into real emotions such as grief, anger, revenge, and love. And what it means to let any of those emotions consume you.

The story is cute and a mostly light read, and perfect to read during the holidays. I highly recommend to any looking for a holiday adventure.

I actually almost DNF'd this book at about 25% because I just couldn't get into it. BOY, am I glad I pushed through and kept reading! I simply adored that second half of this book. Somewhere around the time Clara and Nutcracker are dropped into the snow in the North Forest (around Chapter 11 or 12) it finally clicked for me. There is just TOO MUCH back story and lead up, and it's not until Clara and Nutcracker finally start interacting that the story truly comes alive. That being said, all that back story really is necessary for the rest of the book to take place in the way that it does, and I'm not sure how the author could have done it differently and achieved the same effect in the second half of the book. And the second half was amazing enough that it brought me from an almost DNF to leaving a 4 star rating so... There is that!

I love that this is a retelling of a blend of The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper. And what an amazing blend it is! The stories are interwoven so skillfully! I love the magic and the world building, and Heather Dixon Wallwork writes so beautifully it's almost as if you're transported there and can smell the gingerbreak and peppermint and hot chocolate in the air (much like Clara's fairy storybook!) I live for the small romance story moments between Clara and Nutcracker (*swoon*). There were also several moments in this book where I had flashbacks to the Carebears Nutcracker Suite movie. Does anyone else remember that movie, or is it just us dinosaurs?

There were some unresolved elements at the end, which are kind of killing me, and as I read an ARC I'm wondering if they were possibly wrapped up in the final version. Guess I'll have to get my hands on the final version to figure out if they actually say what ever happened to the bad guy! All in all, this is a fun YA fantasy/YA romance, and definitely worth the read, especially if you're into fairy tale retellings and *especially* if you love retellings of less known fairy tales that don't get retold as often, like The Pied Piper (and hey, we'll count The Nutcracker as a fairy tale too).

I adored this!
A simple, easy to read - young reader friendly - and beautifully blended retelling of The Nutcracker and the Pied Piper.
I sadly missed the archive date - but I have loved reading this over my Christmas break!

I do not want to give anything away so I will keep this fairly brief.
The writing was simple, age appropriate (for the characters) and also for the fairy-tale land they inhabited.
I often find teenage girls to be very annoying in a lot of teen and YA but Clara was kind and brave and although she had moments of 15 year old dreaminess - I think we have all been there - and it made her very likeable.
Nutcracker was an awkward teenage boy with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders, but who still managed to find the humour in the terrible but who did not act like a spoiled prince which was refreshing.

The action peaked again and again, the supporting characters were deep and thoughtful and I was rooting for all of them along the way - I even felt a degree of sympathy for the Magician in the end.

Over all - I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a simple, heartfelt read, and I definitely recommend reading it at Christmas! It have me all the feels!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Smith Publicity

This is the kind of book I may not have loved as much as I did if I had read it in another time and place. However, I was reading it around Christmas, and I got swept up in the descriptions of gingerbread and snow and music and it was lovely.

This is a retelling of The Nutcracker, with a bit of The Pied Piper and The Phantom of the Opera thrown in. The writing has a fairy-tale feel about it. Even when the stakes are high, there’s a feeling of whimsy to it and the language is beautifully crafted. Music is the form of magic used in this story and you feel a bit like you’re listening to music as you read.

It took me a little while to get interested in the romance between Clara and the Nutcracker because… well, it’s a bit weird because he’s a nutcracker the whole time she knows him, and also they’ve known each other for a day or maybe two, but their banter was sweet, and by the end I was totally squeeing over them. Also the Nutcracker (aka Prince Nikolai) is super-awkward and insecure but also really comes into his own and proves himself when given a chance and I like that in a leading man. Also, there’s no toxic masculinity to be seen.

Clara’s character growth took a bit longer. For a long time she was in denial about any feelings for Nutcracker, or her growing fondness for the kingdom or the other friends she is making there. However, once she got the proverbial knock on the upside of the head and realised a few things about herself, I was able to get behind her a bit more.

I mentioned Phantom of the Opera earlier and I want to talk about that because it seems I was the only one who noticed this? The villian a musical genius called Erik who has a tragic backstory and lives at least part of his life underneath the city’s enormous music hall. People hear him playing and don’t know where the music is coming from and assume he’s a ghost. If that’s not Phantom of the Opera, I don’t know what is!

Definitely recommend this one if you are in the mood for a whimsical, magical fairytale. It will make you smile.

The Enchanted Sonata is, as the synopsis says, a retelling of The Nutcracker Ballet with a bit of The Pied Piper tale mixed in. I was familiar with the story of Th Nutcracker, as I had seen adaptations of it and we did listen to some of it in school during music class (thus we talked about the story). I was unfamiliar with the story of The Pied Piper, so I looked it up before reading this story (thank you google, for having all the information I need). Not that you need to do that, I just wanted to know what exactly the story was pulling inspiration from.

The setting of this book felt magical and very wintery. The story takes placed around and during Christmas, which you can easily feel throughout the whole story. I read this book during that time as well, so the atmosphere in the book and around me fit perfectly together. I adored how musical this book was, from the way the main character loved music to the way that music becomes magic when in the Nutcrackers world.

Clara felt very young in the beginning of this story. She didn’t feel as if she was 15 years old, but a lot younger. I think it’s because she was in love with someone she never met and she had already planned out their life together. (I don’t think people her actual age do that. At least I have never done it.) I felt that Johann was too old for her and the same goes for the Nutcracker, though that might be because she felt a lot younger to me than she actually was.

The Nutcracker was an interesting character, though I didn’t love him either. I did want to know more about him and what happened to him, but I never felt for him completely. (Whenever his real name was mentioned I couldn’t help thinking of another character with the same name.) I felt at a distance from him, though that could be said for all the characters in this story. I both liked and disliked the villain in this story. In some moments he was great in others he felt flat. I really don’t know how to describe that better, he just didn’t feel as if he was developed enough.

The characters lacked depth and it took me a while to sympathise with them. Towards the end I felt for them more and their interactions seemed more genuine. In my opinion the characters weren’t developed enough and that is why I felt that way. The dialogue felt dull in some places, but amazing in others. Some sentences were repeated a lot and that brought me out of the story. Though there were also beautifully written moments that I loved reading.

OVERALL:

I had a lot of fun reading The Enchanted Sonata, even though I had problems with it. I was captivated by the story, even though I had problems with the characters. The writing was amazing in some places and not so great in others. The story felt festive and it made me feel good while reading it. There was just something charming about The Enchanted Sonata, despite its flaws.

The Enchanted Sonata really isn’t the best book out there, but it was a lot of fun and I’m very glad that I decided to read it. I rated this book higher, then I probably should have, because I ended up having a lot of fun with this story. I would recommend this book to everyone, though you shouldn’t expect it to be a masterpiece.

The Enchanted Sonata is a charming mix of The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper which was the perfect little story for me to end the year on, especially given that the action all takes place around Christmas time. The writing was a little simplistic and it is perhaps more suited to readers who are younger than me, but I still found it an enjoyable little read and would recommend it for people looking for a short, fun, Christmassy read.

This book can be best described as a retelling/mashup of The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper. Clara Stahlbaum has loved music for her whole life, and she uses that love to work hard on a concert piece for two years in order to perform in the same concert with a young, famous male pianist. She believes she loves Johann Kahler because his piano playing reminds her of her father, who has died. One day everything changes when Clara finds a book under the Christmas tree that transports her to a different world where the children, soldiers, and the Prince have all been turned into toys and nutcrackers by an evil magician. Clara must help them reverse the spell and capture the magician before it's too late.
I enjoyed this book very much. It was such an interesting story to read around the holidays. Sometimes the rat battles got to be a little too much for me, but other than that, I enjoyed the unique story and the characters. The romance between Clara and the Prince was so sweet and sad, and that was my favorite part of the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys retellings and a story full of adventure.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
The Enchanted Sonata, a retelling of The Nutcracker Ballet with a dash of The Pied Piper, will captivate readers of all ages.

Clara Stahlbaum has her future perfectly planned: marry the handsome pianist, Johann Kahler (ah!), and settle down to a life full of music. But all that changes 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 magic...and the future she thought she wanted.
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
This is my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
4.5 star rating!

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis:

Clara Stahlbaum has her future perfectly planned: to marry the handsome pianist, Johann Kahler 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.

“Inside the satin-lined box lay a nutcracker.”

Growing up my sister and I had The Nutcracker Ballet on VHS and we watched it all the time (probably an unhealthy amount tbh lol). The book is described as a combination of The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper and I cannot think of a more accurate description. Heather Dixon did not disappoint, I loved this retelling. The writing is incredible and the story feels like a fairytale. It was wonderful!

“He is coming, Miss Clara Stahlbaum, to your far away country, and now you will play a part in the fairy book you hold in your hands.”

I loved so many aspects of the story: the world building, character growth, character interactions, magic, the descriptions and everything in between.

“He simply took ill, faded like a low candle, and passed like a sigh.”

Clara is a marvelous character that not only overcomes her circumstances but also overcomes herself: her insecurities, her dreams, her planned out future. Her father died when she was young but always dreamed she would play in the grand Concerto, so she strives to make her father proud. The music helps keep his memories alive so she holds the music close and it becomes a part of her. Clara also begins the story in love with a fellow pianist and it reminded me of Jane Austen’s quote from Pride and Prejudice, “ A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” because that is exactly what Clara does, she loves someone she’s only talked to once and briefly, at that. So I really enjoyed watching her character grow and evolve over the course of the novel. She always felt multi-dimensional, real, I rooted for her throughout the story

The Nutcracker, aka Prince Nikolai, also grew so much over the course of the novel, he starts off extremely insecure of his place in the world. He doesn’t feel worthy of being the next Emporer, so he’s offered a test .... or more like forced to take the test or cease to be but that’s all in the details ...

“The flash of claws and teeth and yellow eyes. The stench of mud and the snake of tails.”

And let’s talk about the rats, these rats, y’all I hate rats. I loathe rats. I think about their scaly tails and cringe. I went to New York City a couple of years ago and there was rats IN THE STREET. I hated it, they were HUGE ... huge for our world now imagine a rat the size of a wolf. A WOLF. A rat army that descends like a hoard upon unsuspecting villages eating anything they can get ahold of: horses, people of all ages, food, and even furniture. At one point someone has a rat wrap around them and it TRIES TO BITE THEIR HEAD OFF. *shivers*

I loved loved loved this book and I highly recommend it!

What a fun retelling/mashup of The Nutcracker and Pied Piper! It's a great read to get you in the mood for the holiday season.

Thanks to Amazon and Netgalley for the review copy. I received this in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is an adaptation of the Nutcracker story. I've never even seen the Nutcracker ballet so prior to reading this book my knowledge of Nutcrackers extended to the little wooden guys you hang on the Christmas tree and something about a Sugar Plum Fairy.

I thought it might be a nice Christmassy read, something nice and fluffy to get me into the Christmas spirit. It is a nice read with the emphasis on 'nice.' 

The book is peppered throughout with musical terms which clearly show the author's musical background and knowledge. Anyone familiar with musical lingo will get a kick out this aspect of the novel. Clara is a likeable heroine although not always the sharpest knife in the drawer.

My main issues were with the characters. The villain and the supporting characters seemed a little one dimensional and I don't feel like I really got to know any of them aside from Clara. The side plot between Alexei and Zizi in particular didn't interest me at all. Although the story started off promising, the momentum began to drag as it progressed. The dialogue could be a little strange and lacklustre with repetitive responses consisting of 'oh' and 'hm'.

I think it's always going to be difficult to represent a visual spectacle such as a ballet in words but this simple story was dragged out too long for what the plot actually consisted of. I'm aware the author is a story lead at Disney and a Disney film is what this story reminded me of sometimes, something perhaps better represented on film that in text. A sweet story but not for me.

It was just a ok book, but it wasn't too bad. I liked it even do it had some issues. I liked the world building and the characters but the plot wasn't the greatest. 3.5/5 stars.

The Enchanted Sonata is a retelling of “The Nutcracker” with a mix of “The Pied Piper”. Clara dreams of becoming a future pianist and marrying the young, handsome, and talented musician Johann Kahler. On one Christmas Eve, she receives a nutcracker as a gift along with a magical book. The book tells the story that the Nutcracker was once a prince. He was cursed by a magician who used music to transform the prince into a Nutcracker. The children of the prince’s kingdom were also turned into toys. Clara learns that she has been chosen to break the spell that has been cast on the prince and his kingdom. Can Clara save the kingdom before she misses the chance to catch Johann’s eye or will she realize her dreams of snaring the handsome musician may not be as good as she had previously thought?

It took me a while for me to warm up to Clara. At first glance, Clara seems like a Mary Sue. She is beautiful, talented, and flawless. Once I warmed up to her, I really adored her. She is vulnerable and insecure. There were moments in which she is very childish. However, she grows into a mature woman and realizes her mistakes. She realizes that her dreams she had been wanting to come true were not as good as reality. I also like that Clara is not a damsel-in-distress. She is very smart, and I admired how she saves the Nutcracker and his kingdom.

Overall, this book is about dreams vs reality, belief in oneself, and hope. The novel did have a few flaws. The novel has many flat characters and it suffers from too much telling and not enough showing. I was a bit disappointed that besides the names of Clara, Nutcracker, and Drosselmeyer, there are not any other beloved characters from “The Nutcracker” that appears in this book. However, I did like the world-building of the Nutcracker’s kingdom which resembled an alternative version of Imperial Russia. The novel’s main strength is its vivid imagery. I highly recommend The Enchanted Sonata for fans of fairy tales and for classical music lovers. The Enchanted Sonata is a superb read for those who love The Bear and The Nightingale, Hunted, and Shadowsong.

This is a delightful retelling of The Nutcracker, just perfect for the holidays. Heather Dixon Wallwork brings the magic of the story alive on her pages through protagonist Clara and supporting characters.

Note: This review is based on an ARC I received from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There are times we need fairy tales, no matter what our age.

"The Enchanted Sonata" steps up and provides just that: a lovely, funny, beautiful, cute, charming, snarky, sweet, and just-plain-right retelling of "The Nutcracker." As a "Nutcracker" obsessee (I'm the person who kept "Ovation" in business by watching those "Battle of the Nutcrackers" programming blocks), I was a bit worried about opening this book and I'm so, so glad I did. In short, to borrow a line from elsewhere, I adored it.

Without spoilers, our heroine Clara is a rising star pianist whose life is knocked off tracks by a little dose of magic. Like the best of retellings, the author manages to reframe "The Nutcracker" story in a way that is both very comfortable (you'll smile when the obvious connections spring up) and original (you can't predict it.) The writing is terrific for this particular vehicle--there's that familiar fairy tale tone combined with an authorial wink and a little tongue-in-cheek fun, like a distant relative of Terry Pratchett.

Frankly, the only thing I wasn't keen on with the book is the title, as it's a bit blah. (Even though it does reference an important story element.) I can't suggest a better one, though, so I'll accept it.

I had seen this book on Netgalley after I had finished an ARC Review for WinterDream by Chantel Gadoury since its in the same realm of being a telling of the Nutcracker and what perfect time to read it before Christmas.

When I read the synopsis of this one an it had said that it was intertwined with The Pied Piper, I thought that was an odd combo to put together but some how this book had completely enchanted me, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

This book is filled to the brim with magic.

On Christmas Eve Clara is given a Nutcracker doll and a book which she then is sucked into the magical land which reminds me of Alice and Wonderland where she is the one that needs to break the curse that has turned the soldiers and children into toys. Will she be able to do so? or is she stuck where she is? How will she get out?

While reading I was hoping that Clara would have been more exciting to me as a reader but she fell flat for me. She was a little on the boring side. (I hate to say that) everything that was happening with her an around her I thought she would have been more relatable or at least more interesting but I didn’t get that. The thing that kept me reading everything else about the story.

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

B-E-A-UTIFUL! I loved this book so much!

The Enchanted Sonata was one of those books that I needed to read but didn't know it at the time. Now what piqued my interest was how this kind of sounded like a disney movie to me. Heck, I'd watch it. Plus, I basically grew up with Disney movies and Disneyworld stuff - soooo I was completely pumped to dive into it!

In it, you will meet Clara. She's kind of like the girl from The Nutcracker or Alice in Wonderland because she kind of gets thrown into a new world. Of course it has magic and wonder..but it also has some darkness (which I love). She's basically the cheerleader send to save the world - because she's the key to actually saving this one.

Again, it will definitely feel like a disney movie you've watched before or one that could become a real thing. I loved Clara, even if she had an insta-love moment with Julien. Not a big fan of that stuff.. but then again, it does remind me 100% of disney lol. I will admit though, they had some good twists/betrayal that kind of shook me to the core.

I didn't see a lot coming my way and that's probably why I enjoyed it so freaking much. I enjoyed all the cheesy hallmark-y/disney moments. If I didn't have to put this book on pause because of work life or sleep life - this book would've been devoured in a couple of hours. I will definitely re-read this again.

This was the perfect novel to read right before Christmas as most people have a wonderful fond memory around The Nutcracker at Christmas time. I loved that this one focused on Clara and her love of music. Woven into the story are elements from the play such as music, nutcracker, and of course evil rats. I liked that this one had it own uniqueness about it as Clara is immersed in playing this upcoming piano recital and has fallen or so she thinks in love with this famous piano player. Through her adventure with the Nutcracker in a wonderful magical land that has delicious candies, fairies and a evil magician, she discovers where her true heart lies. The story is woven so wonderfully that your drawn in to the fighting sciences, you can taste the wonderful candies, and your drawn into the story behind the evil magician. It the best kind of Christmas story woven up in the original with it own magical twist to make it stand out and become a part of your holiday season. It was a delight to read.