#m.a. kuzniar

[moonreadingjournal]

What is up?

(Totally unrelated to this post, but I hate it when someone says “what’s up?” Or “what is up?” And some smartass answers with “the sky jajajajja” I hate it so much. It makes my whole soul and my whole life cringe so hard. Also when it’s new years and people go up to you and say “see you next year jajajaja” ew or “haven’t seen you since last year ajajajajaj” ewwwwwww).

So after I finished reading The Extraordinaries I was on the fence in regards to what read next? Don’t get me wrong. I have a ridiculous amount of books to choose from, but it is hard sometimes to choose and make the right choice. So for me it was between If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens, Happy Place by Emily Henry (which I already started but put down to read the extraordinaries), All the Hidden Paths by Fox Meadows (the sequel to A Strange and Stubborn Endurance) Kindling by Traci Chee (which I have the ARC for [what???] but I haven’t read it and the book is out but whatever) and Midnight in Everwood by M.A Kuzniar.

I don’t know why but I ended up choosing Midnight in Everwood. It is a book that I have previously started reading but just stopped. I don’t think I know or remember what else I decided to read instead (but that’s not important). As you can probably guess from the cover it is a re-telling of The Nutcracker. Which I love. Granted, I’ve only ever seen the Brarbie and the nutcracker movie. But I’ve seen so many tiktoks of the ballet, from the Royal Opera House and the Bolshoi Ballet. It looks so magnificent and magical. It is all snow and sparkles (and some creepy af mice).

One of my dreams is to someday a) watch a small production of the nutcracker in person where I live currently and b) to watch the nutcracker at one of the famous ballet houses (Royal Opera or the Bolshoi).

This book is a work of fiction, for adults. But it is quite the cozy and comforting read. As of where I am right now, I know it is a pretty nice reading. Something you can enjoy during the winter months w a hot cup of anything (cider or hot chocolate) and curl up on a fuzzy blanket while it is snowing (slightly not a full out blizzard).

After I am done reading this book I don’t know what I will read. I am pre-ordering some books and I pre-ordered some books that will be coming at some point. I ordered The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang and there are also the books I listed I wanted to read before I landed on this one. I guess we’ll see.

Also I feel like re-reading Red, White and Royal Blue. Which I only want to because I re-watched the movie and I do remember a lot and know they made quite a lot of changes, but not quite the deal break for me. What is a deal break for me though is the cover for the paperback. The pink one with those goofy looking Henry and Alex. I don’t like it. Alex looks so weird in that drawing and Henry too. All I can think of is that, this cover had to go through approvals. Multiple people had to probably make a vote and landed on that. If someone were to tell me it was Casey who drew them I would be like “okay well” but yeah. I now I sound like a lot. I am weird but I just. It’s not like any of the other books I have. I honestly like the movie tie-in cover they released when the movie came out (I know, blasphemy). I want to buy this collector’s edition hardcover one that is so pretty. It has no Alex or Henry in the cover. Only on the inside and they are so cute. But whatever. This little paragraph has no real purpose just me complaining sorry.

Well hopefully I will finish Midnight in Everwood before The Emperor and the Endless Palace arrived (I write as I literally get a notification that it arrived and I can pick it up, ugh, I feel sick today, I cannot go for it). And hopefully I will remember to write something about the book once I am done.

So it was decided I will read The Emperor and the Endless Palace after this book (by me, just now) I don’t know what I will read after. It is between….all the books that I own.

[libraryofandrasta]

[bookliteratibookreviews]

Upon A Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HQ (21 Sept. 2023)Language ‏ : ‎ EnglishHardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pagesISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008450714ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008450717 Book Blurb The invitations always arrive the same way – without warning, appearing around the city on the first snowfall of the year, simply inscribed with ‘Tonight.’ When struggling artist, Forster, finds an invitation, he’s bewitched by the magic of the evening,…

[laurapetrie]

With only her ballet slippers and a box of pistachio macarons, she walked out into the night. Endless snowflakes were tumbling towards her - a white Christmas. She laughed and spun in a circle, tilting her face up, snow collecting in her eyelashes and hair. Rêverie.

M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood

[deathsweetblossoms]

Forster continued to wander through the party, pausing to watch a fire-eater write with flames – never grow up. I won’t, he thought to himself, seizing another cocktail. I shall live in this moment for an eternity, until the world ceases to bleed time and— A pixie with wings dipped in moonlight thrust a parchment into his hands. ‘Good luck,’ she said, and winked at him.

Upon a Frosted Star, M.A. Kuzniar

[graysonfamfan2021]

13 books 📚 to get me better

1.unseelie , it’s part of a duology and I loved 🥰 that it was written by an autistic author ✍️ ivelisse housman and featured an enemies to lovers between raze and unseelie and found family and an autistic Fae protagonist as I’m autistic and it’s a fantastic book 📖.

2. the secret 🤫 of service of tea and treason by India 🇮🇳 holton , a autistic author ✍️ and it is part of a trilogy about autistic witches , spies 🕵️‍♀️ and witches in a magical 🧙‍♀️ Victorian world 🌎 and has an enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between Alice and Daniel and it’s an phenomenal book 📖.

3. a duel with the vampire 🧛‍♀️ lord by Elise kova and it is amazing 🤩 book 📖 with the found family trope and an enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between Floriane and Ruvan and it’s an amazing 🤩 book 📖 and a retelling of snow ❄️ white.

4. a taste 👅 of poison ☠️ by tessonja odette is an excellent book 📖 and a wonderful book 📖 featuring Fae in a beautiful 🤩 magical 🧙‍♀️ Victorian inspired world 🌎.

5. court of dragons 🐉 by frost Kay and it’s an epic fantasy romance 🥰 and it’s part of a trilogy and has dragons 🐉, romance 🥰 and elves 🧝‍♀️ and badass ladies .

6. Midnight 🕛 in everwood by m.a kuzniar and it is a wonderful retelling of the nutcracker and has an rivals to lovers story, and LBTQ representation as well as many other representations and relationships as well .

7. A throne of shadows by tessonja odette and it’s part of a trilogy and has unicorns 🦄 and magic and Fae and second chance and enemies to lovers romances respectively between the two different characters, Cora and teryn and larylis and mareleau.

8. These vengeful souls by Kelly Zekas and Tarum shanker and has an LBTQ relationship with the main relationship being enemies to lovers and has villains 🦹‍♀️ and heroes 🦸‍♀️ living in Victorian times and I’m a history buff 💪 and it’s x men meets the Victorian era. It also reminds me of the heroine complex series by Sarah Kuhn and the renegades trilogy by marissa Meyer as well as my favorite 🤩 shows titans and doom patrol and x men evolution.

9. Ana Maria and the fox 🦊 by Liana de la Rosa is a historical romance 🥰 set in the Victorian era in England and has a slow burn 🔥 romance 🥰 between a Mexican heiress Ana Maria who is the sunshine ☀️ to the grumpy African politician, Gideon fox as well and a marriage of convenience and Ana Maria and Gideon’s relationship is amazing 🤩 and I love ❤️ how he knows to speak 🗣️ Spanish and can talk to her and her family in their native language and I’m so excited 😆 to read the next book 📖 in the luna sisters trilogy next year as well as India 🇮🇳 holton and Elise kova and tessonja odettes books 📚 too etc.

10. the moonfire bride 👰‍♀️ by Sylvia Mercedes has Fae , slow burn 🔥romance and combines beauty and the beast with the Greek myth of Eros and psyche and it’s so good 😊 and the protagonist is a seamstress and she can weave dresses 👗 out of moonlight and other things in the Fae world 🌎.

11. Bellegarde by Jamie lilac it’s a retelling of the movie 🍿 she’s all that in 18th century France 🇫🇷 and has two slowburn romances between evie and beau and evie’s best friend Josephine and beau’s cousin , Mia Bellegarde and I love 💕 these two couples and the book 📖 is very well written and phenomenal and it’s awesome 😎.

12. Daughter of the pirate 🏴‍☠️ king 🤴 by Tricia levenseller has an abundance of magic 🪄, sirens 🚨, pirates 🏴‍☠️ and a heart ❤️ pounding enemies to lovers romance 🥰 between riden and alosa and it’s a stellar book 📖 .

13. Queen bee by Amalie Howard is a retelling of the count of monte Cristo by Alexander dumas and takes place in the regency era and has an array of different romances from enemies to lovers and slow burn 🔥 and friends to lovers and LBTQ relationships and representation from the many biracial characters in the book 📖 and it’s a fantastic book 📖

I’m tagging my besties @selinascatnip and @escapism-through-imagination and @not-so-mundane-after-all and @itsjustafia and @majima4587 and @ambelle and @amberpride and @ships-bynoa and @blackloislane and @amberpride and @lady-stirling and @meerakory and @meetmeunderthestarrynight

[lostinpages-99]

“You dream brighter than anyone I’ve ever met […] and it’s a thing of beauty. Promise me you will not lose that for anything, anyone across the worlds”.

M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood, p. 238.

[karinamay]

9 people you want to know tag

Thanks for the tag @cinnamontails-ff <3

1. Favorite Ships

Will & Elizabeth (PotC) Caleb Widogast & Jester Lavorre (Critical Role) Fenris & Hawke (Dragon Age 2)

2. First Ship

Oof, um. I actually loved Katara & Aang back then. Also really passionate about Danny Phantom and Sam? OH and wait this is just extremely Dutch but for those who know: Amber & Appie, Huis Anubis, before the recast. That might be it.

3. Last Song

Biblical - Biffy Clyro

4. Last Movie

I rewatched The Devil Wears Prada last week.

5. Currently reading

Upon A Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar

6. Currently Watching

I literally just got through the Interview with the Vampire series last week so currently nothing.

7. Currently Craving

I really want some good Italian ice cream right now. Like a cone with a scoop of lemon and something like mango.

I don't know who to tag, classic.

[motherbookerblog]

Book Review - Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar

⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. I bought a copy of this book when it was first released in 2021. My intention was to read it that Christmas but, as usual, I failed to do so. It’s then been left sitting on my shelf just waiting to be picked up. When I came across the audiobook recently, I decided it would be a great way to get out of my recent reading slump. I always find listening to audiobooks is a…

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Midnight in Everwood

Author: M.A. Kuzniar

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2021

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, historical fiction, romance

Blurb: There's nothing Marietta Stelle loves more than ballet...but after Christmas, her dreams will be over, as she is obligated to take her place in Edwardian society. While she is chafing against such suffocating traditions, a mysterious man purchases the neighbouring townhouse. Dr. Drosselmeier is a charming but calculating figure who wins over the rest of the Stelle family with his enchanting toys and wondrous mechanisms. When Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate set for Marietta's final ballet performance, she discovers it carries a magic all of its own. On the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she is transported to a snowy forest, where she encounters danger at every turn: ice giants, shadow goblins, and the shrieking mist all lurk amidst the firs and frozen waterfalls and ice cliffs. After being rescued by the butterscotch-eyed captain of the king's guard, she is escorted to the frozen sugar palace. At once, Marietta is enchanted by this glittering world of glamorous gowns, gingerbread houses, miniature reindeer, and the most delicious confectionary...but all is not as it seems, and Marietta is soon trapped in the sumptuous palace by the sadistic King Gelum, who claims her as his own. She is confined to a gilded prison with his other pets: Dellara, whose words are as sharp as her teeth, and Pirlipata, a princess from another land. Marietta must forge an alliance with the two women to carve a way free from this sugar-coated but treacherous world and back home to follow her dreams...yet, in a hedonistic world brimming with rebellion and a forbidden romance that risks everything, such a path will never be easy.

[by-allison-kai]

3, 6 and 25 for the reading ask game

@amewinterswriting

Thanks for the ask, love!

3: What were your top 5 books of the year?

Ooh, I've read some really great books this year, but putting them into a list is difficult! Okay, in no particular order, here are my top 5 books of the year:

A Song of Ruin and Rage by Makenzie Marshall (I know, I'm not a fan of the title format, but I really enjoyed the story)

Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour

The Kitchen Witch Handbook by Aurora Kane

The Video Game Chef by Cassandra Reeder

The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses by L.V. Russell

6: Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

Oh, there's always something I mean to read and don't get around to! A couple in particular were Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross and Once Upon a Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar.

25: What reading goals do you have for next year?

My main goal is just to keep reading. I got into a slump in September due to family obligations and struggling through some books I really disliked, and I didn't pick up a book for about three months. My goal is to avoid doing that again next year.

[daisywiththorns]

December Book Roundup

A Snake Falls to Earth (2021), Darcy Little Badger The Hod King (2019), Josiah Bancroft The High House (2021), Jessie Greengrass The Apollo Murders (2021), Chris Hadfield Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021), Anthony Doerr The Fall of Babel (2021), Josaih Bancroft You Sexy Thing (2021) Cat Rambo Into the Riverlands (2022), Nghi Vo The Last Watch (2021), J.S. Dewes Midnight in Everwood (2021), M.A. Kuzniar

[con-alas-de-angeles]

Though he appeared to be but an ordinary man, enchantment cling to him. It dripped his voice, seeped out from under his skin and whispered around his eyes.

M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Midnight in Everwood - M. A. Kuzniar

A retelling of the Nutcracker story

Marietta Stelle has a love and passion for ballet dancing, but her social-climbing parents have decreed that her Christmas Day performance will be her last, so she can turn her focus towards finding a husband. Their favoured suitor for her is their new neighbour, Dr. Drosselmeier, an inventor and toymaker who gifts the family with whimsical and enchanting trinkets. But Marietta senses something dark and unsettling beneath his charming exterior.

At the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, Marietta finds herself transported to a magical winter wonderland filled with unexpected delights and dangers, where her talent for dancing lands her in a gilded cage in a sugary palace, the newest pet of a tyrannical and sadistic king.

It's my favourite kind of fantasy: a magical, enchanting dream-world that hides a darker reality underneath the too-good-to-be-true surface. I loved Marietta's inner journey of becoming more aware of her privilege and self-centeredness, and finding strength in relying on her friends. Beautiful, descriptive, and atmospheric!

[lostinpages-99]

“It haunts you, does it not? The depth to which you feel, which you want. I can taste the longing pouring through your veins, calling out across the worlds”.

M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood, p. 84.

[curlygirl79]

2021 Top Reads

Happy New Year! It's Top Ten of 2021 time, featuring (among others) @CaedisKnight @a_george_parker @IsabellaMayBks and @Cari_Threads #FictionCafeBookClub #BookBlogger #2021 #TopTenBooks #BestBooksOf2021 #HappyNewYear #ReadingRecommendations