Oh, wow, I am positively stupefied by this ingenuous magical entity. This is my first Heather Dixon Wallwork book and it's safe to say that any fairy tale retellings she spouts I want to be the first to hear them. The Enchanted Sonata is the most enrapturing, stunning and dreamy book I have read all year. I am perfectly smitten.

I read the synopsis of this book and thought, 'hey, this sounds right up my street' and I had a little flutter in my stomach that happens whenever I see a book I will probably love - sometimes the fluttering doesn't pan out and the butterflies die a gruesome death of disappointment, thankfully this wasn't one of those times - and then then I found out The Enchanted Sonata was actually written by a Disney story artist... Well, there was no need to tell me twice! I began reading the book with my hopes and expectations high, and finished the book with my hopes and expectations well fed.

The Enchanted Sonata is a flawless stature of a fairy tale. Wallwork combines the tale of The Pied Piper and The Nutcracker, which sounds like an unusual pairing but honestly contains more delicious layers than a luxurious Belgian truffle.

The prose is beautiful; so uplifting and inspiring, I love retellings where they light a warm glow inside and remind me that good things can happen.

Also - the little side story of Pyotr gave me all the feels! I thought it was such an adorable addition to what was already a moving storyline, the little details delivered in this story are the epitome of perfection and served on a plate of wonderful imagery that embody childhood dreams.

The Enchanted Sonata is the pied piper of books - see what I did there? - and I am the child lured out of my warm cosy bed. I would follow Heather Dixon Wallflower's precious writing anywhere.

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

I absolutely adored this book!

From the creepy rats to the slow-burning adventure, this has quickly become my favorite holiday book that I’ve ever read!

I don’t know too much of the original Nutcracker Ballet, so I can’t speak highly on that, but from what I vaguely know about it, I think this retelling took many of the main characteristics of the story and created a Russian version that I loved!

There’s the main character that is a musical prodigy on her way to performing in the biggest Christmas event, and then we are slowly introduced to this fantasy world full of chilly weather, nutcracker toys, and a musician who is destined to end the prince’s reign.

There is so many adventures throughout that just brought the whole idea of the holiday season into the YA world.

I gave this one a 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend for the Christmas and Holiday season, especially if you love music, nutcrackers, and peppermints!

It’s two worlds that collide, and the ending just warmed my heart all the way! Ah, I can’t recommend enough!!

This is a wonderful story. However, from the middle-grade level writing, it appears to be more geared towards younger audiences (12-16 years old) and therefore, it didn't get me as captivated as I expected it to.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC.

As a note, a copy of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

I needed a book like this, at a time like this. I'm so glad I was able to read it. There are books that are so vivid and fast-paced, and purely magical, that they are the ultimate getaway from ordinary. After the last few months from h*ll, this was one of those rare bright spots. In short? The Enchanted Sonata was positively stunning and sweet. I could not put it down.

Heather Dixon Wallwork crafts a delightfully musical, re-imagined version of two beloved classics: The Nutcracker Ballet and The Pied Piper. Two titles I would have never thought to put together, but that work so, so well. The Enchanted Sonata is for the readers who love to dream and a total must-have for fans of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert or ABC's Once Upon A Time.

The Enchanted Sonata is so gripping, and so full of energy, I could not put it down and shuddered anytime I actually had to. It follows the familiar themes of the stories it is based upon, but the end product is a new kind of story and wholly its own. Breath-taking, unique, yet undeniably familiar.

I really and truly loved every bit of this story and can't wait to read more. The characters are all well developed and easy to like, or hate, or be sympathetic with. I loved that the magic lay primarily in the music, in Clara and in the villain. Something about these little notes develops in true and complete magic, and it adds an extra layer to the story that I really enjoyed.

My favourite part of The Enchanted Sonata is, perhaps, the feeling that comes with it: wonder. You're intrigued throughout, there are moments of action and sweetness and joy and pain, but the wonder? I was filled with it by the time I finished this book and it soon became an incredibly bright spot in my day. If ever there was a book, about magic, that truly felt magical--The Enchanted Sonata is it.

This has been said a few times on Booked J, but I felt so enamored with this book it felt not unlike just sitting back and listening as someone took me back to those childhood fantasies. Whether this was because of the fantasy elements, the innocence feeling it sometimes held, and all those little luscious details or because it feels like something classic, there was something about The Enchanted Sonata.

Think: stories being told, at Christmas, just near a fireplace. It takes us back to a simpler time (which is hilarious because the book is not simple by any means) and boosts your spirits.

I thought the pacing was fantastic, and almost timeless. We know when it takes place. We know there is a fantasy world outside of all Clara has always known. We know something, inexplicably, ties them together. Still, The Enchanted Sonata felt of no time at all, and the pacing was so smooth you'd almost forget that the storyline is within only a few days worth of time.

If you are looking for an easy-going, but still bright and captivating, story of self-discovery, heroism, music and magic within ourselves (and others!) this is the book for you. It was cozy and warm; the perfect read to pick up and indulge in a little hot cocoa with this winter.

The Enchanted Sonata is vivid and magical, I am obsessed!

Plus, that cover art is just as stunning as the story. I only hope I have the money to get a physical copy one day soon.

The Enchanted Sonata is a retelling of the Nutcracker. In it, we follow Clara, an amazing pianist who has her whole future with another prodigious pianist planned. Indeed, she knows exactly how she's going to marry the other pianist and knows exactly how she's going to make him fall in love with her because she's been playing her song and practicing it for years now.
However, on Christmas, she receives a mysterious package with a book and a nutcracker doll in it. Before she knows it, she's thrust into a brutal world of war and where a mysterious and magical disaster happens.

I do have to say that this whole book is centered around music being magic and I think the author did a really good job at conveying this idea. Whenever music was played, I could <i>almost</i> hear it. The piano is one of my favorite instruments and this book was therefore perfect for that aspect. However, I thought that during some parts of the story, Nikolai and Clara seemed a bit child-like and there were some comedy-like aspects in the book I didn't really enjoy because it was very different from the initial writing. However, I overall really enjoyed it.

I would also like to mention that this story is said to be Middle Grade but some passages seemed a bit too violent to me for this rating. It may be just my opinion but I needed to point this out.

This book is quite unique in the plot of the classic tale, it keeps truth to the main story of a prince who gets turned into a nutcracker, and a girl who is destined to help, but in this version we get so much more.
Clara is a 14 year old pianist, who is facing the biggest concert of her life, the concert she have been waiting for, for years, but on Christmas eve (the night before the concert) she receives a nutcracker a long with a little book. Meanwhile the wicked magician have turned all the children and soldiers into toys, in the enchanted kingdom, and their destiny is now laying in the hands of a young girl and a wooden nutcracker prince.

I like the take on the book, I like that the book is a bit more visual and bloody and that the background story of the prince and the magician is more detailed. The book is still written in the same sort of style as the original, and you get that classic feeling to it, which maybe makes it a little less interesting for me, since I’m not really a classic book reader, however it works with the story.
I grew to really like the characters, and I found the overall story interesting and intriguing. It had that same feeling to it as the movie adaptions I’ve watched, which for me made it the perfect Christmas book, yet it had so much new things that made me want to keep reading. I did feel there was a bit too much ”then he said” ”then she said” also including random characters like ”one older man said” ”another woman said” which for me became too much, but other than that I found the book well written.
In the book Clara reads the fairy book, so we jump a bit around in the chapters, but it works pretty well, and it gives the opportunity to get more background stories and jump back and forth in time, in a creative way.

Hello, my fellow book lovers!

I know it’s been a while since I last posted, but life has been a little busy and that’s that. Anyway, I’m back at it today with a book review!

I recently received an ARC of The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork from Smith Publicity through NetGalley, and I have to say I quite enjoyed reading the novel.

Before we get into the review, I just want to thank the publishers and NetGalley for this lovely book, and I’d also like to state that this review is my personal and honest opinion of the book.

Now that that’s out of the way..let’s jump right in.

Clara Stahlbaum of London is a pianist and a protege. On Christmas eve, she’s excited and nervous about her first huge concert the following day, and about finally proving herself to the man she has always admired from afar- Johann Kahler.

As her family gather around the Christmas tree, however, Clara is surprised to find an unmarkedesent left for her- a book and a small wooden nutcracker. As she begins reading the book titled Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, she is awed and delighted to see the world of Imperia with its gilded domes and odd confections, its rats and its music…but her life takes an unexpected turn when she realizes she is part of this odd, magical tale.

The Enchanted Sonata is an atmospheric, musical, and magical retelling of the classic fairytale, The Nutcracker, sprinkled in with a little bit of the Pied Piper’s story. And I really did quite enjoyed reading this story, despite its flaws.

To start off, I want to first talk about the aesthetic of this book, which was the thing I loved most!

The cover is absolutely beautiful, the font is really attractive, and every chapter has this…tiny illustration of the Imperian Palace domes that was just absolutely lovely.



The setting and the atmosphere of the book were also quite enchanting. It had something of a winter wonderland meets Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibe to it, and I was all for that. I also really enjoyed the world of Imperia with its fairies, and rats, and candies, and palaces.

The Nutcracker, with its various retellings, is one of my most favourite fairytales to read! I feel like the story works best on page rather than on any other platform, and there is always this Christmas-y feel to it that just keeps you hooked and reminds you of warm cookies and fireplaces. And this book definitely managed to carry over some of that original aesthetic into itself. And I really, really appreciated that.

“Looking at the man was a somewhat Medusian experience. One could look at him long enough to see his golden curls, his half-smile, see that he was young enough to be a university student but old enough to wear a vest and tie and look quite dashing in them.But a person would rarely observe him longer than a glance, because the gentleman musician would turn to look back, and his blue eyes were just a little too bright and sharp and didn’t blink as often as they should and one would suddenly feel very, very uncomfortable.”

The characters in this story were…something, really. I can’t really say if I liked them or not. I can’t really say much, to be honest.

There were moments where I was deeply touched, and where I felt like I understood these characters. They felt real, and not like a jumble of character traits moulded into a person. But these moments were few and far apart, and I didn’t really know what to make of these characters in between these moments.

The main character Clara is a little bit of an idiot, and she’s straight up obsessed with this Johann guy. I mean, she is fifteen, and that kind of puts her madness in perspective, but she still feels a little off. I found Nikolai, the Nutcracker prince, to be more likeable than her. But not by a lot, that’s for sure.

The villain also isn’t someone too interesting or anything. He was just….kind of evil. There was a backstory and everything, but it fell a little flat for me. It didn’t hit as hard as the author had intended it to.

Most characters that weren’t these three were very inconsistent and two-dimensional. It was very underwhelming, to say the least.

“The words had risen, real, from the pages. Mother and Fritz hadn’t seemed to experience it the same way Clara had. She had actually felt it when Prince Nikolai had been riding through the mountain forest. The bitter cold air. The smell of soft pine. The thud of Kriket’s hooves. When the prince strode through the Palace, Clara inhaled the musty scent of old furniture and incense, and saw the glisten of chandelier prisms reflecting across the walls. There was magic in this book, and it gave Clara shivers.”

The writing in this book is bad. There, I said it.

It’s not unbearable. It has its moments. But, overall, it’s bad. It’s inconsistent, it’s cheesy and just….not good. The author kept shifting in between the limited third person and the omniscient third person throughout the book, and while I do know that this is very dorky of me, it bothered me so much!!!

The good writing parts were immersive, but the poor writing-parts were just as good at de-immersing you from the world. Like, yes, the description of music and the setting would be lovely, but the next moment there would be some corny dialogue or some unnecessary exaggeration, and that would just ruin it all. There were also quite a few grammatical and spelling errors in the copy of the book that I received and that was a huge bummer, too.

There was, however, the two-fold narration in the book which I found entertaining and cool.

“It was like learning another language, a purer language. Languages could tell you what to say; music made you feel.”

Lastly, the plot. This isn’t a new and unique story, I’ll tell you as much. But it does have something to it that isn’t too ordinary either. It’s a fun story, and it’s a really great concept of one. The execution knocks it down a couple of pegs, but not too many. At least, not for me.

The pacing of the story was also a bit off, but I blame that on my reading slump and not the book itself. xD

Overall, I found the book to be enjoyable. Yes, it has a lot of technical flaws and there were places where I would totally have DNF’d this book had it not been for the fact that this is an ARC, and I wanted to give it a chance, but there were also places where I would just forget everything around me and just keep reading.

Was this one of my favourites ever? Nope, Would I recommend it? Depends, because this is definitely not for everyone. Did I hate it? Again, no. But I didn’t love it either.

I gave this book a three out of five stars on Goodreads, and I think this one definitely had so much more potential. Still, I’m not too sad about how it turned out, all things considered!



Well, that was it for my review of The Enchanted Sonata. The book came out this October, and if you’re in the mood from some light, Christmas-y, going-on-in-the-side read, I would totally recommend picking this one up.

Thanks for the read, and hope you guys liked my review!

I adored this novel so much. What a great blend of Pied Piper and The Nutcracker. I could tell by the writing that this author was a classically trained musician by the way she described things. A lot of it was based off of sound as much as sight, which I loved.

Highly recommend for the holiday season.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah native Heather Dixon Wallwork loves every aspect of storytelling, from working as a lead storyboard artist for Disney to writing best-selling middle-grade novels.

Most recently, she's gotten into the holiday spirit with her newest book "The Enchanted Sonata" (The Wallworkshop, 386 pages), a retelling of "The Nutcracker" with a bit of "The Pied Piper" thrown in — the first in what she hopes will be a trilogy about music as magic.

"The Enchanted Sonata" tells the story of Clara Stahlbaum, an accomplished young pianist who dreams of falling in love and being rescued from her grief over her father's death. Then she receives a mysterious gift of a nutcracker, accompanied by a book that, when she reads it, whisks her away to a magical land of fairies, monstrous rats and a prince who needs her help. The kingdom is in turmoil after a maniacal musician's flute lures children from their beds and turns them into toys. The prince then needs Clara to use her own musical abilities to save them.

Wallwork pulled from her experience as a musician in writing "The Enchanted Sonata." She first majored in flute performance at Weber State University, but she'd spent most of her childhood drawing, and her dream since she was 14 was to become a storyboard artist, she said. When Brigham Young University first launched its animation program, she applied right away and transferred there after she got in.

It was while studying animation at BYU that Wallwork decided to take a creative writing class, thinking a storyboard artist ought to learn more about story. She started writing a novel as a homework assignment for that class, and soon found she didn't want to do her other schoolwork anymore.

"I remember writing it and really enjoying the writing process, thinking, 'I really should be doing my homework,' but I wasn’t," she said. "I was spending all this time writing."

Eventually, this assignment turned into Wallwork's first published novel, "Entwined," a retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." "Entwined" was published through HarperCollins, as was Wallwork's next novel "Illusionarium," a steampunk original story.

For "The Enchanted Sonata," Wallwork really wanted to apply her artistic skills to designing her own cover, but she knew a traditional publisher would never let her do that. She'd also had enough issues with how her publisher had run things that she decided she wanted to publish this book herself.

"I felt so strongly about it that I just went ahead and did it on my own," she said. "My agent was very supportive and very kind about it. I’m so happy with how the cover turned out that I think I’m glad I took that step."

She said she enjoyed picking her own layout designers and editors, including her BYU creative writing professor. Wallwork also said she was able to have more back-and-forth with them than she ever could with her traditional publisher.

In addition to applying her artistic abilities to designing her own covers, Wallwork has noticed how her storyboarding experience influences the way she writes her books. She said her novels are often similar to screenplays with dialogue-, action- and character-driven scenes.

"When I’m writing, I actually see the characters in my head and how I would draw them," Wallwork explained.

She added that she'll often draw the characters of her books for fun before she writes them.

In her career as a storyboard artist, Wallwork worked out of Salt Lake City as a story lead for Disney Interactive, contributing to movies such as "Moana" and "Monsters University."

Today, she freelances for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is the storyboarder behind the animated children's video "A Mother's Hope" — the story told by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, about his mother losing her children at a train station during World War II. She's also helmed "The Coat," a story from past church President Heber J. Grant's childhood.

Between working for the film industry in her home state to being able to publish her novels on her own, Wallwork said she's grateful for how modern technology has allowed her to fulfill her dreams.

"We live in such an incredible time," she said. "It’s just astounding. Twenty years ago, you had to live in California to create movies, and you had to always work through traditional publishers to write books. Now, with the internet and software advances, you can do this in your home. … I just feel so blessed and lucky to live in this period of time in the world."

This is one of those books that could easily become a seasonal, Christmas read. It approaches the classic story of the Nutcracker in a different way that I really enjoyed. The Enchanted Sonata is an adventure/romance story truly appropriate for all ages. It would be a great book to read to a group of children by the fireplace.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the atmosphere it created. I could clearly see the snowy countryside, snarling rats, and beautiful candy creations. The writing formulated a setting I could lose myself in.

It wasn’t without its flaws though. I think the book should’ve spent more time developing the characters. It would’ve been better in first person where we could experience the character’s feelings more thoroughly. Things also escalated exceptionally quickly and the villain was beaten too easily for my taste.

This novel was a cute adaptation of the Nutcracker story and I enjoyed it for the entertainment value, even if the writing and characterization had issues at times.

ARC given by Netgalley for my honest review.

Clara Staglbaum 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. The Enchanted Sonata, a retelling of the Nutcracker Ballet with a dash of the Pied Piper, will captivate readers of all ages.

What a delightful magical story! I love how this book completely transported me. This book will appeal to a wide audience. Thanks so much to the author, publisher, and netgalley for this ARC.

I always enjoyed the story of the Nutcracker and was curious how the author would bring this tale to life in a different way. The blending with The Pied Piper of Hamlin worked well, and I actually stayed up late into the night to finish reading, because I simply had to see how it would end.

I adore the concept that music has not only power, but also magic. And the idea that playing piano pieces can create silences, transport us to magical places, and bring back childhood memories. Is there no more true power than listening to a piece of music?

This is the basis of Wallwork's beautiful and enchanting novel, The Enchanted Sonata. Matching the gorgeous cover, The Enchanted Sonata is full of gorgeous writing. You can not only practically hear the music, but feel the thrumming under your skin. That out of body moment we feel when we are transported by a piece of music. When it causes us to fall in love, when it evokes memories, and when we can't get it out of our head.

As always, the cover caught my eye, while the blurb got me curious, so I knew I had to read it.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it! It's absolutely enchanting.

A story within a story. Clara is a talented piano player and she has this major crush on another piano player, whom she wants to impress with her talent. She already has everything planned out - what she would be wearing, how she would perform, how Johann would fall in love with her.

But we don't always get what we want. Sometimes, we get exactly what we need and what could turn out to be better than what we wanted. Such is Clara's case.

With the help of some fairies and magic, she becomes part of a story, having to help out a prince who may or may not become Emperor, if he manages to save his people and his country from a villain who uses music and magic to prevent that from happening.

I don't want to say more, just this: read it. I laughed, I cried and I swooned. I will definitely reread it.

4.5 - 5 stars. I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy of this book via Netgalley.

I loved the concept of this book, 'The Nutcracker' meets 'The Pied Piper', and the idea of music as magic. However, I felt the idea of the story was better than the execution, as the story often felt very slow and laboured, and the writing, at times, was verging on awkward. I also thought the dialogue to description ratio was very off, and the characters, particularly Clara, felt very juvenile. I enjoyed it, however I feel that a younger teen audience would appreciate it more, especially now in the run up to Christmas.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

I was enchanted...by the cover art and synopsis for this book.

The main character, Clara, is a super talented pianist with a serious crush on a fellow pianist, Johann (like, she carries around a photo of him in a locket - it's obsession level crushing). Clara has been chosen to perform one of her original pieces at the huge Christmas Concert on Christmas Day, where she hopes to impress Johann and make her recently deceased musician father proud. However, on Christmas Eve she receives a mysterious gift that transports her into a strange world where disaster has recently stuck the inhabitants. Can she use her magical music abilities to save this world and bring the perpetrator of this catastrophe to justice?

Well, I won't answer that question and ruin the entire story but I will say that The Enchanted Sonata is a fun story with the perfect atmosphere for a cozy winter's evening. There are certain lagging points where things start to become a little muddled and some wading through is necessary, but it doesn't totally hinder the effect of the tale.

There were points where I was a little thrown off about who the audience WAS for this story - some of the writing is middle grade level yet I'm pretty sure this book is marketed for at least young adults. The content is mild with very few instances of violence and the romance is super tame. The plot was fairly predictable. I was impressed with the antagonist of the story, Erik, who had the most complex and interesting storyline.

If you're looking for a quick, wintery read that will make you crave snow, chilly nights, candy, and beautiful orchestra music then The Enchanted Sonata would be a satisfying pick. Just don't expect much a deeper connection than that.

I was excited to read this, however upon finishing the book I found I was left....quite unsatisfied. The book had excellent parts, from the description of the music and the world. However a lot felt... unnecessary.

If I had read it like a fairy tale then perhaps it would have been different. The story wasn't strong enough to carry on and while it had good world building it had me questioning aspects of it.

Thank you for a copy of Enchanted Sonata.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover this little gym of a book. It was a quick read, but packed quite the adventure in just under 300 pages. Who would have thought a nutcracker retelling could be so much fun? The author created a magical setting with lovable characters and the conclusion was nicely done. Lastly, I will mention the appreciation I give to the author for taking the time to give a backstory
on the villain. It was interesting and beneficial to understand the reason the villain became who he was in the story.

This was a sweet book. I loved the musical aspects of the story, and the characters were positively delightful. Heather Wallwork did a nice job of weaving magic, music, and fairy tails into an intresting plotline. Even the bad guy wasn’t all that bad; he had his reasons for having a rat inside of him. And the ending for the main characters! Positively swoon worthy.