TL;DR Review: Slow in pace but rich in wonder. A quirky character you’ll enjoy following as she discovers the world of magic is real—and there is a threat only she can stop.

Full Review:
Take a stroll into a magical Paris, where the lights and glamor of the early 1900s hides a much subtler sort of magic, one brought to life by imagination and creativity.
In The Palace of Illusions, we join Clara Ironwood, genius clockmaker extraordinaire, as she discovers the afterweld, a reality that is a mirror to our own, but where anything you imagine can be brought to life. The more powerful your innate creativity, the more marvelous the things you can create from living, breathing materials. Here, fountains bubble with the best lemonade in the world, houses are made from marzipan and nougat, and clockwork ballerinas dance with a skill to rival the greatest danseuses of the time.
From the beginning, Clara’s intelligence is on full display. She is a fully analytical thinker, and there is no problem she cannot solve with sufficient time and testing. She’s a no-nonsense, work-minded young woman who has neither the time nor desire for anything beyond the clockwork puzzles she is solving to help create the cutting-edge displays of the 1900s World’s Fair Paris.
Inevitably, her world is thrown into chaos when a gift from her Godfather sends her traveling through the looking glass (quite literally) and into this magical world beneath our own. There, we begin to see a different side of her, a part that can set aside the analytical mind to find wonder in the marvels she witnesses. Though she still approaches figuring it out with her usual logic-driven, solution-oriented methods, she retains enough of her childish love of her Godfather’s fairy tales to want to allow the magic to be real, and so it is.
The story takes a lot of time exploring the whys, hows, and wherefores of this magical world, and it often gets a bit bogged down in Clara’s efforts to decode this mystery. But there’s a lovely fraught dynamic with her sister, making a new friend, finding romance, and building magic-powered marvels that make it an enjoyable read.
It’s a slow-paced yet wonder-filled story that will tap into your nostalgia for fairy tales like the works of Hans Christian Anderson or Beatrix Potter, but all dressed up in the glitz and glamor of a Paris newly discovering electricity.

The Palace of Illusions – Rowenna Miller
Never thought I’d find myself reading a re-imagining of The Nutcracker, but here we are. Set in early 1900s Paris, The Palace of Illusions by Rowenna Miller features clockmaker Clara Ironwood, who moved to the city to work on a display for the World’s Fair. An unexpected Christmas gift from her godfather unlocks a mystical Paris full of whimsy, opportunity, and magic. As she explores this other Paris, she soon discovers how the two worlds overlap—and how villains are working to manipulate both to their benefit but to the detriment of everyone else.

I enjoyed The Palace of Illusions well enough, but I struggled with the book’s pacing. It was SLOW. I kept wondering when I was going to reach the end. Maybe, however, that’s symbolic of Clara’s hesitancy to accept her role in both worlds’ futures. She came to Paris for one reason: the World’s Fair. But then her godfather’s nutcracker drops this fantastical world in her lap with no explanation. And there’s a man who supposedly wants to “help” her who’s also connected to her godfather? No way. But with the guidance and help of minor characters, Clara embraces her fate and commits to saving the day.
The book was just…okay. Unique, imaginative, and detailed, yes. But it never immersed me. I always felt like I was on the outside, looking in through a window. While it had high stakes, my breath never caught; my heart never skipped a beat. The Palace of Illusions was entertaining, and though it was easy to read, it took me several days to finish. It didn’t demand my attention. It offered me its hand and rather than demanding me to come along, it let me stop whenever something else caught my eye. I loved Rowenna Miller’s imagery; “other” Paris leaped off the page, and I liked the godfather’s stories he told Clara and her sister. But though Clara found the door to the otherworld, I don’t think I ever did.

If you want something slower paced with fanciful fantasy, The Palace of Illusions fits the bill. It’s a nice escape from reality, but it just wasn’t enough for me.

The Palace of Illusions by Rowena Miller is a whimsical, atmospheric retelling of The Nutcracker set in a dazzling, magical version of 1900s Paris. It beautifully blends innovation, art, and enchantment into a story that’s both creative and captivating.

Clara Ironwood, a talented clockworker, discovers a hidden mirror-world Paris where fountains spout lemonade, the Seine sings, and mechanical ballerinas dance with lifelike grace. Rowena Miller’s vivid imagery makes this world feel dreamlike and immersive—it’s pure magic on the page.

As Clara’s journey unfolds, danger creeps in. The boundaries between the real and magical Parises begin to blur, and the tension builds. While the pacing dragged in a few spots, the overall experience was enchanting and imaginative.

This is a unique, richly detailed read perfect for fans of historical fantasy, fairy tale retellings, and stories with a touch of whimsy.

I've never been much of a fan of The Nutcracker, so I surprised myself when I requested this retelling from Orbit. I'm glad I did.
The Palace of Illusions is full of wonderful imagery. From turn-of-the-century Paris to automatons to the anderwelt, everything is introduced as fantastical and magnificent.
Clara is a great leading character with relatable flaws and strengths. Introducing nearly any other character here feels like a spoiler, so I'll just say that I loved the entire cast and the relationships between them.
As a fan of early automatons, this book had my imagination hooked. I think this is a lovely book for those like me with a slightly more than casual interest in clockwork.
The pacing was great, with enough description to immerse you, but enough action to keep the momentum.
This is a particularly great winter read, and I could easily imagine cozying up with this book in the colder months.

When I started on The Palace of Illusions by Rowenna Miller, I was really intrigued by the world I found myself in. I really love the decades surrounding the turn of the century and all the World’s Fairs and Expositions from the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 to the 1889 Fair in Paris which saw the building of the Eiffel Tower and the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 celebrating the 400th anniversary of the “discovery” of the New World. In Miller’s newest novel, Clara finds herself in Paris just ahead of the 1900 Fair, a grand celebration which combines so many of the fantastical elements of previous fairs.

That history was fascinating to me and I overall enjoyed the novel, but the story seemed to get bogged down a little bit in the details from the story that inspired The Palace of Illusions. So, what’s the inspiration? The Nutcracker, the 1892 ballet by Tchaikovsky.

I’ll confess I haven’t seen The Nutcracker since I was a child, but I can recall the broad strokes of the story. I remember mice and the sugar plum fairy and a lot of colorful dancers. The story was a little hard to follow as a fourth grader watching it on a school field trip back in the day. Frankly, I didn’t even know about the connection between The Palace of Illusions and The Nutcracker before I started on the book. Since I wasn’t a huge fan of the ballet, it didn’t really add to my enjoyment of the book, but I can imagine that for some fans, it might push the book over the edge from liking to loving.

So what did I love? As I said, the setting is great, especially if you love historical fiction. You have the Paris of 1900, but there is a bit of an international flavor since its setting up the World’s Fair. The set-up for the story worked really well with Clara slowly discovering an alternate world -- an inheritance from her godfather -- where beauty comes from creativity and imagination. There were some wonderful themes set up early on about the value of creation and where the spark of life actually comes from.

Once I got about a third of the way into the book, Clara was pulled in multiple different directions and for a good chunk it seemed like she didn’t have a lot of agency of her own. Many of her decisions were reactionary and seemed to swing her from one emotion to the next like a pendulum and it took a while before she was able to settle in and really get her head around the core mystery of the novel.

I had a good time with The Palace of Illusions, but I just didn’t quite vibe with it as much as I wanted to. It’s very creative and if you are up for a story heavily influenced by The Nutcracker, I would recommend checking out Rowenna Miller’s latest work.

I’ve never read a retelling of The Nutcracker and found this one interesting.

I do think this was whimsically and magical. I found the imagery wonderful and creative. I liked the plot and how they went from reality to the “other world”. It was a cool concept but I do feel like it dragged a bit for me until the ending. I feel like the ending was a little underwhelming though.

All that said; I did like this book and I do think others will too.

"The Palace of Illusions brings readers to a Paris breathless with excitement at the dawn of the twentieth century, where for a select few there is a second, secret Paris where the magic of the City of Light is very real in this enchanting and atmospheric fantasy from the author of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill.

In the run up to the 1900s World's Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers' moving pictures and Loie Fuller's serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather's mechanical creations, and she'd rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world's fair.

When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather's toys was real.

As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There's no ignoring the danger she's in, but Clara doesn't know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both."

A World's Fair is catnip to me, through in some Nutcracker magic, and I'm so in.

Ahh, This was fun! I enjoyed the first book from this writer so I was very hopeful about this one, too. I was lucky enough to get a copy from Netgalley for review early so win! :-)

I loved the setting and the characters were lovable as well. Nice setup for a new world to explore, with a solid adventure to boot. I had a good time reading this one. The MC does make a few stupid decisions for being supposedly such a brilliant character but she has been dropped into something completely unfamiliar to her that keeps getting bigger as the novel continues. I liked how her relationship with her sister progresses as well as getting to know her new friends and opening up to the world she's found herself.

Thank you Orbit Books, Net Galley, and Rowenna Miller for providing me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Though I am not normally one to read retellings, when I read the description of The Palace of Illusions, I knew I had to give it a try. This book is a beautifully whimsical retelling of The Nutcracker set in 1900 Paris. The writing was very easy to read and flowed very well.

I really enjoyed the settings, real world Paris and the otherworld (anderwelt) Paris. The mix of the real world, human creativity, and magic resulted in a very atmospheric setting that was incredibly enjoyable to read.

The main character, Clara Ironwood, has moved from her home in Milwaukee to Paris to pursue a career as a clockworker, working on a project to be showcased at the 1900s World’s Fair. During her time there, Clara finds herself mixed up in some mysterious dealings that have to do with her Godfather’s past. While unraveling the mystery, she meets an interesting cast of characters and develops some wonderful friendships.

Following Clara’s story of discovering this whole new world that allowed her imagination and innovative thinking to flourish was such a delight. This is a softer fantasy story for those who still want to enjoy being transported into a new world, without all the anxiety and intensity of more traditional fantasy books. I will definitely be picking up more of Rowenna Miller’s books in the future!

The writing in this book is absolutely beautiful. The world was super atmospheric and I thought it was truly unique.

Belle Epoque Paris PLUS magical otherworld PLUS Nutcracker retelling? Yes please!! The mysterious Drosselmeyer of the original tale takes a backseat to our heroine Clara, a talented American clockmaker hired to work at the 1900 World's Fair -- and who falls into a glittering alternate Paris where magic comes to life. Fun, smoothly executed, characters you could root for and who grew and changed, deeply satisfying magical otherworld, and yes, there are mice! (but helpful mice! nice mice!)

this was an interesting concept. the atmosphere was amazing but i didn't fully connect with the characters. overall, i thought it was a bit slow moving for my taste

very well done atmospheric novel with some interesting ideas. the fairy tale elements sprinkled through work pretty well too! 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Palace of Illusions is a fantasy book like no other I’ve read in recent memory. Clara Ironwood, a clockmaker, who has ventured to Paris during the dawn of the 20th century to help design and build The Palace of Illusions for the 1900 Worlds Fair Exposition. Clara soon discovers a secret second Paris when her Godfather sends her hideous nutcracker from her childhood. In this other Paris these creations are not merely works of gears and cogs but they are alive with the spark of Magic. While the other Paris is fantastical and magical soon Clara discovers, like with most wonderful things in life, there are mysterious forces at work with goals to seemingly destroy this wonderful refuge she has discovered.

The Palace of Illusions is based on The Nutcracker and you can feel the influences throughout the novel. While in the otherworld of Paris the magic of the mundane and ordinary come to life in such a dreamlike and storybook way, much like the traditional Christmas tale that makes soldiers out of mice and fairies out of sugarplum. The obvious parallels and callbacks to The Nutcracker really worked for me. I was invested as soon as she discovered the magical otherworld of Paris, but the plot does slow down a bit in the middle, then in about the last ¼ of the book it ramps ALL THE WAY UP and then just… ends quite abruptly.

Woven throughout the novel are short stories that were told to Clara by her Godfather that were veiled references to this magical otherworld. I LOVED this method of providing context and backstory. It helped tie the otherworld and the real world together for the reader in real time, but for Clara in hindsight. However, I do wish there was bit more of Godfather as a character as he is mostly a spectre looming over the story at large.

Overall I’d give it a solid 4/5 stars and would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fantasy, standalone stories, cozy fantasy, and mild romantic plots that don’t overshadow the story.

Hi there, thank you so much to the author and the publisher for allowing me to review this ARC! I really enjoyed how creative this was in being a nutcracker retelling it was entirely different from any other I have ever read and the creativity was so incredible as well as the prose truly. However, I had to DNF at 100 or so pages, it just wasn’t captivating my attention and I feel I may just not be the right audience for this book so i will refrain from posting a review anywhere else. I do hope you keep me in mind for future ARCs

I wanted to love this one *so* much - the premise is intriguing, and I'm a sucker for Christmas story reimaginings. Something felt off here for me - I think it was the pacing. I didn't find myself connecting with the characters or the story itself.

I should probably stop requesting books just because I like the cover. I just couldn't get into it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The Palace of Illusions by Rowenna Miller
3.5/5 stars!

Huge thanks to this author and Orbit books for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for a review!!

This book is so incredibly cozy and whimsical!
We meet Clara, our FMC, as she works in Paris as a clock-maker. She left her entire family back in the states to pursue an opportunity to strike out on her own after a falling-out with her Godfather, who was also her mentor. I live near almost my entire family, but somehow the author managed to make me homesick while Clara deals with the consequences of finding herself mostly alone in a new place!

The concept of the anderwald was my very favorite part. I love books that transport you into different and magical lands.
It was fun being introduced to so many faces and having to untangle the mystery of who is causing trouble, as well as who Clara can trust vs. who is just trying to use her. The soft romance between Clara and her "beau" was also adorable and had me smiling!

I did find myself thinking that the story building in the middle was a bit too long and I struggled to stay invested, and the end felt a bit rushed, but overall I greatly enjoyed the story and would ultimately recommend this to my friends that enjoy this genre!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was an incredibly delightful reimagining of The Nutcracker! I loved the setting and the characters immensely!