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.

The Enchanted Sonata completely took me by surprise, I was expecting a good retelling of the Nutcracker but I got so much more! From the first page the book had me enchanted, funny but true. There is simply something so magical about The Enchanted Sonata.

Clara is very likeable, she starts with a small dream to marry a famous pianist and becomes so much more. Clara is relatable and I always wanted everything to work out for her.

The descriptions of the land were so magical, I wish I could have dived into the book. The concept of music being magic was amazing and you can feel Wallwork’s love for music shining through the plot.

There was a great exploration into grief and how grief can affect each person completely differently. The three main characters have each suffered from grief but it has shaped their personality in different ways.

The villain in the Enchanted Sonata is one of the most fleshed out villains I have read. The reader learns their whole backstory and it makes sense why they have acted this way. Full chapters are dedicated to the villain in the present as well. There is also the inclusion of rats and they are terrifying, anything with rats gives me the creeps.

The romance element in the Enchanted Sonata is a slow burn and the romance between the two characters is sweet. They are well matched and help each other improve everyday.

I would highly recommend the Enchanted Sonata as it is the perfect Winter read.

Lessons:

Learn to play music it may just save your life
If I got turned into a toy I would be a book
Keep peppermints with you always
*ARC received from publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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.

The description sparked my interest and I love giving indie books a chance. It was executed differently than I expected, I give the author props. It was an interesting read, not my favorite but interesting none the less. I have never read a story like this before but there was room for growth.

It is not often that I wish to see a book turned into a movie (why ruin a perfectly good book?) but this a book that more than deserves to dance the silver screen with all of the beautiful (and, in some instances, terrifying) imagery that Mrs. Wallwork paints within these pages.

This is retelling of the Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, with a smidge of Pied Piper added in. Clara is a pianist, like her late father, and thrilled to finally perform in the annual Christmas Concert... and impress Johan, the pianist she has admired for years. All of her carefully arranged music and plans change when a mysterious package is found underneath the Christmas tree: a Nutcracker with a book: Clara and the Nutcracker Prince. Clara is swept away into a fantasy land where rats are the size of wolves and (somewhat useless) fairies, and Nutcracker is determined to save his people and prove himself worthy of being Emperor.

There are militant nuns (who may or may not engage in somewhat illegal activity), a candy shop that becomes the center of a military operation, and an abundance of characters you can't help but fall in love with and root for.

A very nice Christmas read, enjoyed with apple cider and gingerbread, or anytime of year with a copious amount of chocolate.

*thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

I haven’t read the Nutcracker before now, but I have listened to Tchaikovsky’s epic piece and I can see exactly how that work inspired this one. The ENCHANTED SONATA is a beautiful, magical, surreal retelling of the classic.
I thoroughly enjoyed this work, and I’ll be watching for more work from Heather I’m the future!

I was so excited for this book! It’s the perfect read for the Christmas Holidays!
The world Wallwork immediately established was magical and intriguing. There is a sweet childishness to it and yet, at the same time, there is danger and adventure. That is a terrible explanation. But just read the book! Then perhaps you will understand.
The characters were colourful and dynamic. Clara began as a child who could only see her dreams of marrying the handsome and accomplished pianist Johann Kahler, but as the story progresses, she grows into a brave, kind, and sweet woman. The Nutcracker… I loved him. He was chivalrous, fearless, and gentle and had an adorable sense of humour. I really liked how the narrative switched between POV because this gave it a faint storybook feeling.
The plot was gripping and was paced really well. I didn’t find myself lagging behind trying to catch my breath or crawling along at a snail’s pace half asleep.
Now about Wallwork’s style of writing… How to describe it? The first word that comes to mind is warm. And then we could add magical and pleasant. She has a way of writing that pulls in a reader and places a charm upon them. Despite this, though, there were a few things that could be polished up. For example: “Their parents slept on, stirring a little for the draft from the open doors, but they did not stir.” There were also a few words missing here and there.
This book has flourishes of The Nutcracker (obviously), the Phantom of the Opera, the Pied Piper, and Beauty and the Beast. Maybe that’s just me making those connections, either way, I loved the spectrum of the plot.
Lastly, this was a clean read. The exclamations went something like, “Oh, cabbage!.” Or “He’s just a great pancake-head.” Honestly, I find that kind of cute…
I definitely recommend this novel! It was an enchanting read!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was utterly magical.

A retelling of the Nutcracker ballet, intertwined with the story of the Pied Piper, takes the form of a sensory-driven novel that pans out like a mystical movie in front of your eyes.

This novel is simply magic and music come to life.

Admittedly, I was unsure of this book going into it. My musical knowledge is weak, and I'm generally not the most intrigued by retellings. However, the vivid imagery pulled me in immediately.
I was, dare I say it, enchanted by this story.

The characters instantly are divine and charming, and the world building oh my goodness. I could not get enough. Easily the best story I've read all of 2018. I'm so blown away by this author's voice and descriptive language used throughout this book.

This was a very good retelling of the Nutcracker. I loved the world building and the magical aspect of this book. Overall, I'd recommend it!

I really wanted to love this book. I love the Nutcracker ballet and the story of the Mouse King. I though the book was a bit childish. The msytery of the magic didn't excite me all that much. It would be a good book for a younger adult reader.

3.5 stars

This was an enchanting and magical book. Great to read during the holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

THE ENCHANTED SONATA | ★★★★★

THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!!!!

Heather Dixon-Wallwork is my favorite author. Her books are few and far between, each taking four+ years between release, but are they worth the wait.

With The Enchanted Sonata, Mrs. Dixon Wallwork (she just got married! Yes I read her blog RELIGIOUSLY) she decided to go a different route than traditional publishing, which she’s been successful with, but would have added more long months to the release date. Instead, this time, she went indie.

And she’s SO talented. Lemme just talk a bit the physical book itself. I bought myself a copy before I got approved on Netgalley, so I read my copy. And IS IT BEAUTIFUL. The typography cover and art, the interior design, and all the formatting was done in THE WALLWORK-SHOP (omg I can’t imagine a better name for a workshop than the Wallworkshop). I’ve always been a huge fan of her artwork so having a full book with everything created by her was so special!

Now let’s move onto the actual book. It’s sooooo MAGICAL. A retelling of the Nutcracker about Clara Stahlbaum, a prodigy pianist who, on Christmas Eve, is scheduled to have her debut concert before her first love (who may or may not know her name) and her entire German city. But, that night, she comes home from rehearsal to find a mysterious, unmarked gift underneath her Christmas tree.

Lo, it holds a nutcracker! And a tiny book. The book describes a magical tale about a prince who’s kingdom is under attack from giant rats and all the children in the land have been put under a spell: they’ve been turned into toys. And the prince, the Empire’s only hope, has been turned into a nutcracker. The very nutcracker Clara holds in her hands.

Clara reads on through the night, and when the book stops–Clara is transported to the land she’s read about, where she finds herself in the nutcracker prince’s kingdom, facing a war between giant rats and a curse that must be broken with the thing that created it: music.

This whole book can be summed with one word: precious. The atmosphere is delicious; there’s a land of sweets in the luxurious candy shop, there’s beautiful onion dome palaces, and the whole land is sparkling white with snow and dripping with the music that Heather Dixon Wallwork so lovingly describes. The whole world is drenched in music notes and onomatopoeia and it’s practically alive and breathing. Everything is so lovingly crafted, every pretty word and bold description is just so voicey and delectable!

Clara is such a sweet main character, with all her flaws and her growth. She is suffering from the loss of her father two years prior and, as he was the one who introduced her to music, she uses music to fill the void he’s left behind. That, and the love of her life, Johann Kahler, a star musician at her conservatory. At least … she thinks he’s the love of her life. Right?

Which brings me to Prince Nikolai, our nutcracker. He is PRECIOUS. Protect him at all costs. Nikolai wants to serve his country as his late father, the beloved emperor, had when he was alive. But the curse on his people–and himself–is out to see that he never will. When he finds Clara, he finds hope that he’ll be able to save everyone.

There aren’t many Nutcracker retellings out there and the few I’ve read have been severely underwhelming. However, The Enchanted Sonata is of a decidedly different category. Heather Dixon Wallwork’s writing gift lies intertwined with retellings. She crafts magical stories with a glittering, tangible soul. As a person who adores retellings, I can say for certain that she is the master. If you’re looking for a story to get you in the Christmas spirit, this is the book for you!