The Nutcracker of Crystalfall by Kay L. Moody is a short and sweet retelling of The Nutcracker ballet. It is also a prequel to Moody’s Fae and Crystal Thorns series but can be read as a stand alone. This is the first book that I’ve read from this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. This review will be spoiler free.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis:
The annual Christmas party was going just fine… until the trolls showed up.
Clara is a young woman who is wickedly good at puzzles, but she also has a secret her parents have shamed her into hiding. The weight of that secret has ruined nearly every happy moment in her life.
At least this year’s Christmas party gets more interesting once a mysterious stranger shows up. He teaches Clara how to crack nuts, wears a soldier’s uniform she’s never seen, and flashes a smile she’ll never forget.
But then a cruel party guest destroys the only gift that matters to Clara. Even worse, trolls appear and try to kill the handsome stranger she only just met. The fight rages into the night. Soon, Clara has to make a choice.
She could finally escape her unloving parents and the dreadful life they have planned for her. It would only take a promise to join an even greater conflict in the magical and dangerous realm of Faerie—a land she previously didn’t know existed.
If she stays home, her happiness will end forever. If she goes to Faerie, a great adventure awaits her…but it might kill her too.
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
- Heat Level-
I am ALL about anything to do with The Nutcracker so this novella gets points for that alone. I also think it was well written, though I do have a few issues. It is a shorter story so the characters and world don’t have a ton of depth. That did hinder my ability to really care about the characters but I still liked them. I also loved how the world of Faerie was described. The setting and story overall had an almost dream like quality to it and I found that to be very fun.
There is a romantic subplot but I won’t spoil it. It was sweet but it was lacking so much depth that I didn’t really care about it. It was a slow burn romance and I personally feel that that doesn’t work well in a novella format. Of course, that’s just personal taste. I also don’t feel that there were any real high stakes situations. There were conflicts but nothing too intense and again, I think that’s because this is a novella and a slower paced one, at that.
Final Thoughts:
I would like to rate the Nutcracker of Crystalfall higher but the lack of depth hindered my enjoyment of the story. I still had a good time reading it, though, and recommend it to anyone looking for a quick holiday read. My next read, A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca F. Kenney, is also a retelling of The Nutcracker but more 🌶adult🌶 I will have that up as a bonus post this coming week so keep a eye out! As always, thanks for reading and have a great day!
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