The Kingdom of Sweets is a new standalone young adult fantasy novel by Erika Johansen. This book is a retelling of The Nutcracker following two twins called Natasha and Clara. The novel is told in first person POV from Natasha's POV. The two sisters are cursed from birth by their godfather Drosselmeyer who is a wizard. Clara is the beautiful twin and everything seems to work out for her whilst Natasha is cursed to be the dark twin and forever be in Clara's Shadow. This all changes though when Natasha gets her revenge by travelling to the Kingdom of Sweets through a Nutcracker. The sugar plum fairy offers Natasha a dark bargain and she accepts. This was my first novel by Erika Johansen and I enjoyed this. The setting of the novel was done well because I felt transported to Christmas time and the vibes of The Nutcracker were strong in this novel. However, I was a little confused on the time period. I realise this novel is fantasy so it doesn't have the same time conventions as contemporary society but some parts of the novel felt like they took place in the 1800s but other times felt like modern day so that took my out of the story. Otherwise this was an enjoyable book and I do recommend it if you are looking for a story like this. 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4.