definitely not my usual read by far. i picked this as my botm for december because it was the only one that managed to snag my attention. i'm not entirely too familiar with the nutcracker, but the kingdom of sweets felt easily digestible to me. i think erika johansen did a phenomenal job in crafting the atmosphere/setting of the book. i was transported to both a historical, aristocratic russia and the terrifyingly sweet world of the sugar plum fairy. 

i think my hold up was the characters. no matter how real they felt, i found that i didn't care for them. i was more intrigued by the plot (which is unusual for me). I wouldn't say i enjoyed this per se, but i can't stop thinking about it.