Full review to be posted soonish. I'll update review with links to socials.
I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Snuggling up under a cosy blanket, in front of a roaring log fire in the countryside, with a creamy hot chocolate and this perfect winter read, was a Christmas 2021 highlight!

Reading this was like reliving my childhood through the eyes of my adult self. A dark yet magical retelling of “The Nutcracker”.

5 Stars – Magical Read!

Publication Date: 28th October 2021

Thank you to #NetGalley, #HQ and #MAKuzniar for an ARC of #MidnightInEverwood in exchange for an honest review.

Charming and sweet; a perfect winter read. A little slow in parts, but the gorgeous and lyrical writing is enough to carry you through.

I did find the start a bit slow and the pacing was slightly off at times but wow the writing the WRITING amazing I loved it so very different to Mias middle grade series it’s clear they can do it all. Marietta’s struggle and character building was brilliant! Generally a must read for a cozy wintery book

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me access to these books, thank you to the publisher and the author for giving me access to this eARC.

Apologies for the late review life has been crazy.

I was so excited to get given this book to read and review as I had heard so many good reviews on this book I was super excited and the book didn't disappoint. The writing style was beautiful and lyrical and the storyline was well-curated. This was perfect and I would like to in future read more from M.A. Kuzniar.

I have not read a retelling which has made me imagine characters in a completely fresh way! The descriptions and world building was incredible. I could almost imagine being there myself (and I wanted to be!)

The best part for me? I was oddly pleased by the way the relationship turns out between Marietta and Captain Legat! No spoilers here but...pick the book up and find out!

Thank you @cosyreads for creating a book I didn't even know I needed!

Marietta hopes to become a ballerina, but in the early part of the twentieth century, this is not an option for long. But then she encounters the mysterious Dr Drosselmeier who transports her to a magical land. But can Marietta work out how to return?

Midnight in Everwood is badged as a retelling of the Nutcracker story. As I don’t know the Nutcracker story well, I couldn’t comment on the similarities, however it’s an entertaining enough story. At times the dialogue feels a little clunky and not really in keeping with the Edwardian setting. Drosselmeier is a creepy, sinister character and not somebody Marietta should get herself involved with at all. There seemed to be many descriptions using sweet food - the snow was crisp…a path of granulated sugar; heavy with the scent of forest, snow and marzipan - which I felt detracted from the story.

An enj,oyable read if you’re a fan of ballet and fantasy.

The hype for this was well deserved. I didn’t think I’d enjoy a book about a ballerina but it was beautiful. I loved the writing and this was the perfect book to read around Christmas time. Would definitely recommend.

I loved Midnight in Everwood and thought it was a fabulous story in its own right. As a movie it would be awesome …

Marietta, bucking against parental/societal expectations of what her life should look like for as long as she can, knows it’s almost time to do what she should. She’s been able to manipulate her father Theodore, but his patience has almost gone. He has declared that her last ballet dance will be her performance at the Christmas Ball they hold at their home every year.

Newcomer Dr Drosselmeier is invited to dinner and blinds her parents with his inventions. In his interactions with Marietta, we can only feel darkness and greed. He’s created the stage for the last dance and after trapping her on the stage, gives her no option but to try and escape …

Marietta gradually learns how this darkly magical world works (echoes of Chronicles of Narnia and the Snow Queen). It might be all saccharine and sweetness on the surface but there’s a deep and dark undertow.

She makes allies and within the protection of those relationships, she grows and matures.

Dance is Marietta’s escape, her ‘voice’ and I thought it was clever – and unexpected – how this was used in a couple of scenes.

I was totally captivated throughout and really quite sad when it was over. I don’t always need the ends of stories to be tied up but in this case, would love a sequel!

This really was a hauntingly beautiful tale.

Midnight in Everwood is a great Christmas read and a lovely take on the Nutcracker tale.

Sumptuously descriptive the detail and flowery language may not be for everyone, but given the Edwardian setting is suited.

The first quarter is perhaps a tad slow in places but Marietta's desire to dance and the reality of her impending marriage (to any suitor) is important in setting up her arrival in Everwood, and the whole story flows better after that.

As always, I won't ruin it for anyone wanting to read it, if you know the Nutcracker you will figure out who is who and what is what, so grab yourself a hot chocolate, settle in, and spend some time in Everwood.

I absolutely adored this beautifully written book. Set in Nottingham in 1906 we follow Marietta, a determined and strong willed young woman who is passionate about her ballet dancing. A mysterious stranger moves next door and is befriended by her family. As Marietta’s final performance, before her parents force her to give up her dreams of dancing, is coming up, this stranger, Mr Drosselmeier, begins to build her an elaborate set for her final performance.
Yet all is not what it seems and Marietta soon finds herself in the dangerous and magical world of Everwood.

This is an adult retelling of The Nutcracker but Midnight in Everwood stands on its own. The author has created a vividly imagined, richly detailed, enchanting world which held me under its spell from start to finish. The sumptuous descriptions, well defined colourful characters and the depiction of female friendships were, for me, the highlights of this wonderful story. Emotional and genuinely moving in parts, I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to discover what is next in store from this author.

I would like to thank the publisher, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book just before Christmas and it was a perfect wintry read. It's so descriptive you feel as if you have been transported to a magical land.
I have it on kindle but this is a book I would like to purchase physically and revisit when its snowing outside. Beautiful and I can't wait to read more from M.A Kuzniar.

dnf at 60% - I really couldn't get in to this story. I found it so slow to start and had to push myself to read the first 25% or so. It did start to pick back up and got interesting but it truly felt like nothing was happening at all.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect wintery read for curling up in front of a fire or under a blanket, and escaping to a world of imagination.

I am perhaps one of the few that didn't love The Nutcracker when I was introduced to the story last year, but perhaps that helped in this case. A retelling can go either way, it can enhance the love for the original, be a fitting tribute to it and add to the experience, or it can fall flat and take away from it - as I have no feelings one way or the other about the original I come to this one unbiased, and I found the tale all the more absorbing for it. I can draw no parallels, I don't compare the two. This stands on its own, as it's own story and with its own magic.

The imagery is second to none, the extravagance is stunning, the story entertaining and overall a surprisingly effective tale that I'll be sure to recommend to others.

4 Utterly magical stars

A great winter read to dive into on a cold winter night, I was unsure weather I would like this as I had never read this author before but I was really surprised and really enjoyed this great story.

Overall, I enjoyed Midnight in Everwood and loved the idea of retelling The Nutcracker with a darker edge. It took a little while for me to get into the book, but after that I sped through. The world building was effective and I enjoyed the wintry setting. This is an entertaining read but I think it would be particularly enjoyed by a YA audience.

This was a really beautifully written book. I think comparing it to the Toymakers meant that when I started it, I thought it was going to be one thing, and then when it turned out to be something else entirely it took me by surprise, but in a good way.

The story focuses on Marietta who loves to dance, and the constraints that society (and her family) place on her to force her to give up her love of dancing to enter into a marriage that is against her wish. In trying to break free from this she encounters a world that is unlike that she knows. But this world has other constraints and locks her in a different type of life where she still has to fight for her freedoms.

The magic that rippled through the book was beautifully created. And I loved the imagery used to describe the ice palaces and extravagant balls. The story itself was a little predictable, and I felt the first half of the book had greater stregnth than th second. But, saying that it was a really enjoyable read and I will be recommending it to others.

A re-imagining of The Nutcracker that's as full of sugar, sweetness and as much festive cheer as you'd expect, but with a shot of drakness that lurks beneath the charming exterior that prevents it from becoming too sacharine, as well as making the whole concoction richer.
Thanks also to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.

I found the first 100 pages of this to be very slow, and also not knowing the Nutcracker story beforehand probably didn't help. I wasn't sure where the story was going at the beginning. I think knowing it was fantasy going in and not getting those vibes initially was odd. I almost considered putting it down until I got to 100 pages, wow then did the fantasy elements kick in and I was hooked!!

If you're going to give this a go definitely give it time. By the end it was beautiful and now I really need to watch a Nutcracker retelling.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me . I don’t know if it was the writing style or the pacing but I had to push myself to finish. I did enjoy some of the story (I have never read another nutcracker retelling) and I thought the imagery was beautiful