I feel really bad that I only read a quarter of Winterspell before giving up. I was really excited for it, but had a hard time with the beginning. I kept putting it down over and over to the point where I just had to stop. 
 Things that bothered me: 
 - The main character, Clara, is sexually harassed by an older guy frequently in addition to others that are alluded to. That was hard for me to read, though, I'm not saying it's a deal breaker for a book to show this. I don't know if this was relevant to the plot or if it was a plot device since I didn't read far enough to find out. So don't let this point alone turn you away. 
 - Clara seems to develop a strange relationship with a statue. This caused some major eyebrow raising from me. I guess he was a real guy deep inside the statue, but it was just really weird. 
 Things I liked: 
 - I love Legrand's imagination. She's always impressed me with how she can create something that looks nothing like what's on my current bookshelf. I haven't read The Nutcracker, but I know the general gist behind the plot. Winterspell is a retelling, but it definitely stands on its own. 
 - The descriptions and setting was very great and the best part of Legrand's writing. 
 Eh, I guess this just wasn't a Stephanie book.