'Delectably perverse and lushly written . . . the perfect gothic treat for a cold winter's day.' KATY HAYS, author of The Cloisters

'Dark in spirit and gothic in its atmosphere, this is The Nutcracker as you’ve never known it.' CULTUREFLY

Light and dark - this is the destiny placed upon Natasha and Clara, the birthright bestowed on them by their godfather, the mysterious sorcerer Drosselmeyer. Clara, the favourite, grows into beauty and ease, while Natasha is cursed to live in her sister's shadow. But one fateful Christmas Eve, Natasha gets her chance at revenge. For Drosselmeyer has returned and brought with him the Nutcracker, an enchanted present which offers entry to a deceptively beautiful world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

In this land of snow and sugar, Natasha is presented with a power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who is also a giver of gifts . . . and a maker of dread-filled bargains. As Natasha uncovers the dark destiny laid before her birth, she must reckon with powers both earthly and magical . . . and decide to which world she truly belongs.

"Captures the whimsical nature of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, whilst at the same time exploring a more sinister thread . . . dark in spirit and gothic in its atmosphere, this is The Nutcracker as you’ve never known it." - CULTUREFLY

"The famous Christmas ballet takes a sinister turn in Johansen’s spooky retelling . . . It would be a simple thing to take the outlines of The Nutcracker ballet and make it grim, but Johansen is doing a lot of delicate character work here, primarily around envy, social limitations on women’s choices, and accountability. The world beyond the candy fantasy is satisfyingly creepy but also an effective landscape for exploring what happens when you ignore the rotten core of your deepest desires. An eerie and sophisticated dark fantasy." - KIRKUS REVIEWS starred review

"The Queen of the Tearling series was so impactful for me as a fantasy fan that I’ll gladly read anything Erika Johansen chooses to write afterward. That The Kingdom of Sweets is a dark Nutcracker retelling is just the icing on the cake." - PASTE magazine

"If you watch The Nutcracker every year and say to yourself, 'This would make a seriously creepy novel,' you're not alone. And now we've got one. Twin sisters Clara and Natasha are cursed to be divided, one the privileged favoUrite and one cast aside and ignored. That is, until their powerful godfather brings them a magical nutcracker that grants the girls entry into the Kingdom of Sweets. That's where the journey toward their destiny really begins." - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, "The 20 Best Books of Fall 2023"

"Johansen transforms a beloved holiday classic into a dark tale of vengeance . . . Fans of artistically influenced, realistic historical fiction wrapped in moral allegory will relish Natasha's Nutcracker-adjacent narrative." - BOOKLIST (starred review)