Pros: The cover is pretty. The idea of a Nutcracker retelling is exciting and the concept of making it a lil spicy had me jumping up to go grab this to read.

Cons: The MC is unlikeable. There are a lot of grammatical errors. The world-building is overdone. The book is very jargony. The title is derivative and reminiscent of every author trying to emulate SJM's A ______ of ______ and ______ title energy.

It feels like the author was trying to prove that she knew how to write and so picked up the dictionary and pulled out the longest, most ridiculous words possible to emphasize her point. Some readers may enjoy this book, but it was painful to finish for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a fab book for December and the Christmas season.  A retelling of the classic Nutcracker story with a magic and saucy twist, not for everyone admittedly but a great read.  It's a long novel so settle down for a fun read.

Well, that was much spicier than I anticipated for a Nutcracker retelling 🤣

I had a really hard time with the juxtaposition of the cutesy whimsical bits and the mature content. But, the main characters did have good chemistry. 

Was it a bit cheesey? Yes. Was it a fun holiday read? Yes.

3.5/5 ⭐️
3/5🌶

This story has a very interesting premise as a retelling of the classic Nutcracker story. Although this book still needs a ton of editing (lots of errors and weird structuring) I still enjoyed where the author was going with it. I was not familiar with the original Nutcracker story that the ballet is loosely based on so that was fun to learn about. 

Tropes:
Fated mates
Modern girl in a fantasy world
Forced proximity
One Bed
Cursed Prince

Lots of magic and fantasy in this story. I enjoyed the world building but would've liked to see more. As it stands right now it's a good story but I think with good editing this could be amazing.

Klara proves to be an outspoken, strong-minded, and brave FMC. She's unexpectedly thrust into an unknown world with magic and can take it all in stride and hold her own. She was no simpering female in need of rescue. In fact, on more than one occasion she helped save the Prince.

Jaemis is your typical honorable prince with the weight of the world on his shoulders. You learn very quickly that he's cursed and is resigned to his fate but determined to save his parents and kingdom from the evil Mouse King & Queen. When Klara comes into his life he learns he has more to live for than just his responsibilities. 

I only love fated mates in fantasy and paranormal stories because they just work. Magic makes it work 😉

I would definitely give this one a try if you are a fan of the tropes listed and the Nutcracker story. Even with all the errors (of you can overlook those) this was a fun read. 

I received an advance review copy for free from BooksGoSocial & Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a new genre for me and overall, I enjoyed it. It is well written with engaging characters and I recommend to anyone wanting to try this genre.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

I was so excited for this, I loved the idea of a spicy nutcracker retelling, howeve, this was very subpar. It felt very adult and then also very childish at times. I felt like there wasn't enough editing. I found most of the characters to be annoying. Honestly, this story was lackluster at best and it felt like a chore to read.

I loved the premise of this book but I couldn't quite connect (especially with the opening chapter and the portions that related more to Jaemis's world). I also thought the book could use some more editing-- I didn't mind some of the issues, but I DNF'd at a point where a paragraph was fully incomprehensible due to sentences being spliced together in a weird way.
I may have liked it if I'd stuck with it, but I just couldn't quite immerse myself in this one.

Over the course of the last few years I have come to the realization that some indie published titles are amazing and well some aren't.  This one was somewhere in the middle.  Although it wasn't horrible it wasn't all that good either.  I think for the most part the length played a big part in the errors on this story.  I liked it but it was just far too long.  I think if it would have been around 250 pages that would have been enough to be fast paced and really tie down the plot and characters.

Klara goes home for another family holiday, only to be swept away to a magical world. She joins forces with the prince to defeat the Mouse King from taking over both worlds. This is a very steamy, modern retelling of The Nutcracker. 
From a leisure read perspective, this book is fantastic! The reimagined telling of the Nutcracker is just what I need for this time of year. Rather than sitting by a roaring fire, the spicy content in this book will be enough to ward off a chill. One of my favourite Christmas stories just got even better!
However, speaking as a middle school librarian, this book is very much not appropriate. So, while I will be adding a copy to my personal library, it will not be making its way onto the shelves of my school library.

I love The Nutcracker, and so, I was excited to read this retelling of this popular Christmas story. However, I couldn't connect with the story. It felt like it was a cross between young adult fiction and adult, and honestly, I think it would have been great as a young adult book if Klara was younger. Second, the book rushes in early in the book, and I felt like that was too fast paced so early on, and then when Klara and Jaemis met, it just seemed like so much was going on without enough time on each setting. The writing is great, and so are the characters. I'd be willing to read more by this author in the future, but this one was a miss for me.

I wish I could follow suit and talk about how incredible the story is. But it is way too long and filled with too much description. The story lost me before anything actually happened. That makes me feel like I shouldn’t be publishing this review on Goodreads or other places because I don’t feel like I cared enough about the story actually to have an unbiased opinion. I’d recommend revising and rewriting it before publishing so future readers may find it more interesting.

This was an attempt to retell the story of the Nutcracker.  I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.  Well honestly, this book was poorly written, even more poorly edited, and just plain difficult to read.  The story was cute enough, but it was too hard to overlook the glaring errors that had me shaking my head in real life and wasting time rereading the sentences and trying to put the words in correct order.  I would recommend sending this back to the editor, cutting out at least 25% of the superfluous drivel prior to actual publishing.

This is an adult retelling of the Nutcracker. 

The mouse king has imprisoned the true king and queen and their son Jaemis is planning a rescue. Then he overhears a plot to capture a girl named Klara from another realm and knows he has to stop it...

Meanwhile, Klara and her family are celebrating Christmas. Her godfather gets her a nutcracker doll. After plenty of drinks, Klara has the oddest dream...

This is a charming story. If you like the Nutcracker, you will like this as well.

I had high hopes for this book I was love a good re-telling with a bit of smut thrown in it was a bit long for my liking but it had such promise. it kept me engaged enough to want to finish but I wasn't sad to see the characters go in the end. I think you should read it for yourself and make your own opinion. 
the author did a fantastic job of re-creating the nutcracker but keeping certain facts in, its a wonderful magical world.
Thank you to Netgalley/ BookGoSocial/Verika Sloane for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

DNF 50% of the way. This book was not for me. The writing style felt very weird. I felt like I was reading a hallmark movie but make it fantasy, and not in a good way. It felt like I was reading a children’s book with how the nutcracker world and characters are described but the author just added random mature themes that just felt very off. Even the family scenes in modern day just felt cliche and straight out of a hallmark Christmas movie. The first red flag for me was when the FMC said she wanted to be like normal kids with normal sized houses not living in a giant mansion. If that doesn’t scream old money privilege idk what does. All in all, not for me.

A Spicy Nutcracker retelling!! OMG you need this on your Holiday list! I can't stop thinking about this! Oh and the spice! Yes, yes,yes!
I just reviewed A Curse of Frost and Fate by Verika Sloane. #ACurseofFrostandFate #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This was an amazing read. The cover and title caught my attention first. But I was a little unsure coming into this because retellings can be a hit or miss thing for me. Thankfully I loved this retelling and the way everything seemed to flow so well and the chemistry was perfect. The characters all felt like they could be a real person and the story pulled me in so much that I actually cried along with them.

What a gorgeous novel full of loveable characters and a storyline that I couldn't put down. This one is a must read! I loveeeeeddd this retelling, seriously hooked from the first page.

“A cursed prince was nothing more than a titled man who knew how death would claim him”
“You’re still the most handsome doll in the house. Goodnight, my Nutcracker prince”
“You’re lost in thought, I see … would you like to be found?”
Absolutely the best Christmas book I’ve read this year !!! Oh my goodness !!! I’m in awe !!! I don’t have words to describe what this book meant to me !!!
I devoured it in less than a day !! I couldn’t stop reading it!!
As a huge fan of the Nutcracker’s story I couldn’t help but deeply appreciate the way the author reassembled this story to make it more adult, more magikal and spicier !!! I loved every second of it!!
Klara and Jaemis’s story was spellbinding and enchanting and I loved getting through the whole journey against the Mouse King and Queen with them!!
The connection between the worlds and the magic system were made even better by the secrets and mystery surrounding the characters’ abilities and the figure of this uncle that seems to know it all and be always there !!!
I would highly recommend to everyone to read this story with the original soundtrack of the ballet in your ear … believe it made the experience a hundred times better !!! 
A Christmas book, written for the Christmas season, that highlights a thousand fold the importance and the significance of family and love during a time of the year where they have most meaning. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this story !!! I can’t wait for it to be out !!
“There is no me without you”
“Life is merely a dance. A series of steps to an ever changing song. Hear this. When you no longer hear the music, you must stop and find your rhythm again … and love? … Oh yes, love has a rhythm too”

The description and beautiful cover are what caught my attention. Unfortunately, and it pains me to say this, I ended up skimming through the story. I just could not get into it. 

Thank you BooksGoSocial, NetGalley, and Verika Sloane for this ARC.