Review: Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar

This book has one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen. When I found out it was a 'retelling' of the classic story, The Nutcracker, I really wanted to read it. However, it wasn't quite the romantic magical fairy tale I was hoping for.

Midnight in Everwood is set in Nottingham in 1906. Marietta Stelle dreams of becoming a professional ballerina but, as her parents are well-to-do, she is expected to have an arranged marriage to a man of equal status. Her new neighbour, the creepy Dr Drosselmeier, has impressed her family with his gifts of 'magical' clockwork toys; now he's built a stunning set for Marietta's last ballet performance on Christmas Eve. As the grandfather clock strikes midnight, Marietta hides from Dr Drosselmeier inside, only to find herself in a winter wonderland...

This is one of those 'perfectly good book but totally wrong reader' scenarios. From the cover, I was expecting a romantic fairy tale retelling of The Nutcracker, in the same way that Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver was a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. However, while Midnight in Everwood does have elements of The Nutcracker, it is not a retelling but more 'inspired by'. There are also elements of other well-known stories such as The Red Shoes, Alice in Wonderland and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

The first third of the story is about Marietta's life in Nottingham, showing how privileged she is (I loved the descriptions of her fabulous gowns!) but how she is also trapped by that privilege. Her life has been planned out for her by her parents and will be continued by her husband. As much as she rebels against this with her ballet lessons (considered shocking for an upper-class Edwardian girl) she is quite naïve. When she arrives in Everwood her first thought is to relish her freedom, ignoring the fact that she might be walking into a pretty trap. Marietta has many hard lessons to learn about family, friendship, love and sacrifice before she can earn her own happy ending.

Midnight in Everwood would suit anyone who loves ballet and historical novels about women fighting for their right to lead the independent life they want. It's not quite the magical fantasy the cover suggests, despite the luscious descriptions of the sweets in Everwood. I would have preferred more fairy tale magic, more romance, and an ending more in keeping with the original ballet, but the story is still worth a solid four stars.

Thank you to M.A. Kuzniar and HQ for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.