Review ~ The Snow Queen by Alana Albertson

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 2nd December 2013

Publisher: Bolero Books LLC

Description:
Five years ago, Cambridge Ballet's Sugar Plum Fairy vanished after performing The Nutcracker. Despite extensive city and statewide searches, no traces of her, besides her ballet slippers, were ever found. Every year since, another member of the cast has gone missing after closing night: a Spanish Hot Chocolate, an Arabian Dancer, The Dew Drop Fairy, a Flower. Nieves Alba, who as a thirteen-year-old played Clara in the first ill-fated performance, is now cast as the Snow Queen. On closing night, every police officer in Boston surrounds the theater, determined to catch the perpetrator whom they’ve dubbed “The Nutcracker.” Can Nieves break the curse or will she be the next victim of America's favorite ballet?

My Opinion

It was the beautiful cover that first attracted me to requesting this novella. It also had an interesting Christmassy theme with a darker twist which is something that sounded like something I would love... and in away that's what I got.

The Snow Queen is a very short novella that didn't even last me an hour so I can't say a lot without revealing too much. The story was an okay Christmas/festive read however, because of the length you never get much detail or create relationships with any of the characters. It also meant that a lot of the ballet terms are never explained. The author obviously knows her stuff when it comes to ballet and that shows clearly, but coming from someone who has next to no knowledge it left me a bit confused as to what she was referring to - my knowledge fizzles out at pirouette.

As well as this because of the length everything felt a bit rushed, especially the ending which confused me. It felt like it posed a lot more questions than it answered and there were quite a few loose ends that needed tying up. 

The Snow Queen was quick, easy and the writing flowed well but I think it would be better if it was longer. For me there was so much that could have been developed and because it was an interesting concept I would have loved to read more. The relationships were so brief and went from one thing to another in an instant so I never felt anything for the characters. I couldn't grow to love or hate any of them and I couldn't fall for any of the romances.

Overall, it was a quick and easy story to get lost in but I feel there could be so much more potential and narrative to get from it to flesh it out and make it a great read. It feels a little underdeveloped right now for me but I liked the concept.

2.5