#ma kuzniar

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - December 19th - Festive

my other festive read for 2023 is also a Nutcracker retelling - Midnight in Everwood by MA Kuzniar. can't wait to see how each retelling transforms the story

[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.

[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.

[seeingorange]

Review: Midnight in Everwood

Review: Midnight in Everwood

A fantasy nutcracker retelling? My perfect cup of tea! Midnight in Everwood was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2021, with the the Nutcracker being one of my all-time favourite stories. That left MA Kuzinar’s debut with a lot to live up to.  Kuzniar’s heroine Marietta is aged up from the classic ballet and story, as a young woman she is trying to forge her way in the world with…

[elliepassmore]

Midnight in Everwood review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: magic, fantasy, multiple worlds, the Nutcracker, dark courts Big thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and M. A. Kuzniar for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was super excited to see that there was a book that was a reimagining of the Nutcracker. I've danced for most of my life and wish that there were more books that used ballets as bases for their stories. Admittedly, I was also somewhat wary considering the last YA book I read based on a ballet wasn't one I was a fan of...however, this one seemed like a good match and it was. Kuzniar did a good job weaving the scenery and making it feel rich, regardless of whether it was Edwardian England or the 'land of sweets.' I liked the details she gave to each place, so I didn't mind that almost the entire first third of the book was spent in England. I got a good sense of the imagery that was present in Nottingham as well as the kinds of people Marietta was surrounded with and the life she was expected to lead. The so-called 'land of sweets,' or Everwood, was also, naturally, rich in imagery. I liked that Kuzniar really utilized each sense in order to create a full picture of the world. The different scents that floated about on the air were an intriguing aspect of the story that I liked, as was the idea of a town and palace made completely of confectionary items. Not everything is as it seems, of course, and the pretty land has a rotting core. We get to see right from the get-go that things aren't right when Marietta is advised by a shop owner in the Everwood town she arrives in that she has to swiftly leave lest she attracts the attention of the king. Naturally, things don't quite go as planned for Marietta and we do, in fact, get to see this darker side of the otherwise sweet world. Things do get dark, but I think Kuzniar manages to strike a good balance between the whimsy of the world and the darkness of its ruler. The desperation of Marietta and her fellow prisoners, Pirlipata and Dellara, are obvious and we are given plenty of evidence to back up their worries and desire for escape. Marietta was a fun character to read. She's already determined and ambitious at the start of the book, desiring to dance ballet more than anything but unsure if she'll be able to do so after Christmas, but the rest of her story just makes her even more headstrong than she already was. The Marietta in Nottingham seems to have a decent head on her shoulders, making at least some contingencies, but the Marietta in Everwood almost immediately lands herself in foolish trouble (foolish because she was warned about it) and can blame no one but her own pride, so I thought that was a bit odd despite her falling into a trap regarding dancing. To be fair to her, Marietta learns from her mistakes and is able to recognize where her fallacy lay and correct it in the future. I liked seeing her character growth in the book and how she came into herself. Pirlipata is one of the other women imprisoned with Marietta. She is a princess of another land of the realm Everwood is in and was kidnapped by the king after she rejected his marriage proposal. Pirlipata is sweet and compassionate from the get-go, not faulting Marietta for her mistakes and often acting as a gentler force to Dellara's intensity. That isn't to say that she's all sweetness, she was a warrior-princess in her country, and Pirlipata shows her grit and strength more than once in defense of the Marietta and Dellara. I think she served as a good balance between the other two personalities, but I do wish she had a stronger voice in the book, since I feel like the spotlight was mainly on Marietta (for obvious reasons) and Dellara, when Pirlipata was probably in the book just as much as Dellara. Dellara is thorns and lightning to Pirlipata's compassionate words. She acts as a good foil, I think, to Marietta. They're both in similar situations, but Dellara doesn't hesitate to point out where Marietta is lacking, though her barbs mask a caring heart. I think Dellara is a stand-in for the traditional Sugarplum Fairy, and I wholeheartedly approve. I like the take where the fairy is a bloodthirsty, angry creature who wants to directly take down the 'mouse king.' Dellara was certainly a major presence in the story and I liked the camaraderie she had with Pirlipata and Marietta. I also think Kuzniar did a good job showing that Dellara and Pirlipata had a different relationship than Dellara and Marietta, though all three of them grew close. It felt realistic that the shape of it was slightly different. Legat is the captain of the king's guard (i.e., the 'Nutcracker') and it's hard to tell whose side he's on at first. He didn't seem overly friendly, but he also shows compassion for the three women and helps them multiple times in the book. Additionally, he doesn't seem to be too overbearing on his soldiers, despite probably having reason to be. He's the love interest for Marietta and while I wasn't sure of him at first, I did come around after some of his secrets are revealed. He's a much better (and more interesting) person than I'd initially thought and I think the two make a good match. King Gelum takes the role of the 'mouse king' from the original. He's cruel and capricious, and what's more, he doesn't seem to wholly understand, or care, about human limits. We don't see a lot him face-to-face, but he's the person that nearly everyone fears and is the reason there's a current of fear and rebellion in Everwood. In this same vein, Dr. Drosselmeier is quite the antagonist in this book. I did figure some things out about him well before Marietta did, but considering how obvious some of the hints were, I think this was intentional. Drosselmeier is a toymaker with the talent of making elaborate and magical inventions. He charms everyone with them, but he definitely begins giving off slimy vibes as the book goes on, until a chance encounter brings Marietta away from Nottingham, and him. Marietta's parents kind of suck and they really just exist to add tension and erect barriers in Marietta's life. It seems that only her marriage will please them, despite the fact that Marietta is a gifted dancer and getting a spot with the nearby ballet company could be prestigious for her. It isn't too surprising when you take into account that the father seems to disdain art, either Marietta's dancing or her brother's painting. The tension that runs through the family provides some good, believable material, and I liked the final showdown that occurs with them all. Marietta's brother, Frederick, actually seems to be a decent one. His passion is for painting, though only Marietta and his secret beau, Geoffrey, seem to be aware of that and instead he is pursuing law. In Nottingham, he stands as Marietta's strongest supporter most of the time and I liked reading about their relationship. It was nice to see a sibling pair that took one another into their confidences and remained close rather than one that was fighting. The ending to this book aligns well with the ending to the ballet version, though it is still slightly different. I was, admittedly, hoping for an ending a biiiit more like Barbie's The Nutcracker, but I'll take what I can get. It's definitely hard to see how else the story could've ended with the way things were wrapped up, and I think the events and decisions at the end are true to the characters. Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit and loved reading about both Nottingham and Everwood. The pleasures and dangers of that otherworld definitely came through and I liked that there was a decent mix of plot and character scenes.

[ghostmay]

What are your most anticipated ya book releases of this year?

Hi, thank you for your question, and sorry for the late reply.

Some sequels or books from familiar authors I look forward to:

The Project by Summer Courtney 

Jernulven by Siri Petterson

The Hollow Heart by Maria Rutkoski

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong 

Others YA books I am interested in:

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone

Down Comes The Night by Allison Saft 

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston

Midnight in Everwood by Ma Kuzniar (not sure if this is YA)

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

I have also mentioned some books I can’t wait to read this year here. :)

[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.

[lostinpages-99]

“I am a driven man, Miss Stelle. What I covet, I find a way to possess”.

M.A. Kuzniar, Midnight in Everwood, p. 50.

Well, you’d be very welcome to possess me, if you like, Dr. Drosselmeier …