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The Nutcracker Battle
★ Two boys.
★ Two ballets.
★ One role.
Gabe’s thrilled when he’s cast as The Nutcracker Prince— until he hears the rival ballet academy’s also performing a nontraditional Nutcracker, and super-hot, super-talented Kit is dancing the same part. Gabe has to out-dance Kit. Kit has to out-dance Gabe. Each school has to out-perform the other in the city’s annual Nutcracker Battle.
When a life-saving run-in brings Gabe and Kit together, sparks fly between two teen dancers with so much in common. Their studios hate it. Their choreographers flip out. The alternative paper scoops it as a tale of starcrossed lovers, battling ballet studios, and dueling princes. But Gabe and Kit scheme out a solution just crazy enough that, with the help of their Claras, could end the town’s Nutcracker Battle— for good.
A super-fluffy Christmas story by internationally bestselling YA author Annabeth Chatwin, The Nutcracker Battle is a stand alone novella in The Heart of the Holidays: A Stand Alone Gay YA Series.
★ Two ballets.
★ One role.
Gabe’s thrilled when he’s cast as The Nutcracker Prince— until he hears the rival ballet academy’s also performing a nontraditional Nutcracker, and super-hot, super-talented Kit is dancing the same part. Gabe has to out-dance Kit. Kit has to out-dance Gabe. Each school has to out-perform the other in the city’s annual Nutcracker Battle.
When a life-saving run-in brings Gabe and Kit together, sparks fly between two teen dancers with so much in common. Their studios hate it. Their choreographers flip out. The alternative paper scoops it as a tale of starcrossed lovers, battling ballet studios, and dueling princes. But Gabe and Kit scheme out a solution just crazy enough that, with the help of their Claras, could end the town’s Nutcracker Battle— for good.
A super-fluffy Christmas story by internationally bestselling YA author Annabeth Chatwin, The Nutcracker Battle is a stand alone novella in The Heart of the Holidays: A Stand Alone Gay YA Series.
- GenresYoung AdultHoliday
75 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 13, 2020
10 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Annabeth Chatwin
15 books21 followersAnnabeth Chatwin hit best seller lists in three countries with her debut novella "He Called Me Beautiful," a gay YA romance set in 1998. Hailed as "full of yummy pop culture references!," "He Called Me Beautiful" reaches back to Annabeth's high school years as a bisexual teenager. She earned numerous writing awards during her graduate program in fiction.
Annabeth's young adult fiction features LGBTQ teenagers dealing with gossip, finding themselves, and living extraordinary lives in ordinary situations. She writes characters people want to "wrap up and snuggle," often in instalove and friends-to-lovers situations. She especially loves manic pixie dream boys and the complications they bring to the real world.
Annabeth taught creative writing and wrote in the freelance (read: non-fiction) world before turning to young adult literature, with pieces appearing in The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and The Huffington Post. During that time, she was a featured guest on CNN, NPR, and Canadian public radio. Much of her writing focused on her three sons, all of whom have offbeat names and love David Bowie.
Annabeth's young adult fiction features LGBTQ teenagers dealing with gossip, finding themselves, and living extraordinary lives in ordinary situations. She writes characters people want to "wrap up and snuggle," often in instalove and friends-to-lovers situations. She especially loves manic pixie dream boys and the complications they bring to the real world.
Annabeth taught creative writing and wrote in the freelance (read: non-fiction) world before turning to young adult literature, with pieces appearing in The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and The Huffington Post. During that time, she was a featured guest on CNN, NPR, and Canadian public radio. Much of her writing focused on her three sons, all of whom have offbeat names and love David Bowie.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 11, 2020
I'd give this 3.5 stars if I could. I think I would rate it 4 or maybe even 5 stars if it were longer.
First, this is a novella. Because it was a short story, essentially, the opportunity you might have to get to know the characters and see the back and forth of their relationship is not there. It can't be because of the length of the text. Consequently, it feels quick and a little rushed, and I missed the unfolding that comes with a lot of romances, albeit mostly heterosexual romances.
Second, at the beginning, I was having trouble discerning Gabe's and Kit's personalities from each other. As a novella that switches narrators each chapter, their narrative voices should be different, but they really weren't. Their situations in the ballet schools were similar, their homeschooling concerns were similar, their drive to be best and their secret feelings for each other were similar. But about 5 chapters in, I had enough to understand a bit more: Kit is more shy but Gabe is quicker to anger and impulsive. Their family situations and their friends are different. Their other-than-ballet interests started showing themselves. So their behavior was different, but I thought their narrative voices were still very similar, and that made it difficult occasionally.
Third, I absorbed this book. It was fun to read, and the romance was cute. But the way they took on their situation (no spoilers) was cool to read about. I was disappointed that some things "just happened," and were mentioned in the narrative, rather than letting the reader read that scene, but - again - it is a 75 page novella and was limited by its intended length.
Overall, a fun fluffy read, just in time for Christmas. And I feel like it fits a gap that my daughter and I noticed recently: the Christmas romance trope does not seem to be as used for LGBTQ+ character couples as it could be. They need cute happy romance reading over the holidays too, darn it!
I was provided a free advanced copy of the ebook by the author in exchange for an honest review.
First, this is a novella. Because it was a short story, essentially, the opportunity you might have to get to know the characters and see the back and forth of their relationship is not there. It can't be because of the length of the text. Consequently, it feels quick and a little rushed, and I missed the unfolding that comes with a lot of romances, albeit mostly heterosexual romances.
Second, at the beginning, I was having trouble discerning Gabe's and Kit's personalities from each other. As a novella that switches narrators each chapter, their narrative voices should be different, but they really weren't. Their situations in the ballet schools were similar, their homeschooling concerns were similar, their drive to be best and their secret feelings for each other were similar. But about 5 chapters in, I had enough to understand a bit more: Kit is more shy but Gabe is quicker to anger and impulsive. Their family situations and their friends are different. Their other-than-ballet interests started showing themselves. So their behavior was different, but I thought their narrative voices were still very similar, and that made it difficult occasionally.
Third, I absorbed this book. It was fun to read, and the romance was cute. But the way they took on their situation (no spoilers) was cool to read about. I was disappointed that some things "just happened," and were mentioned in the narrative, rather than letting the reader read that scene, but - again - it is a 75 page novella and was limited by its intended length.
Overall, a fun fluffy read, just in time for Christmas. And I feel like it fits a gap that my daughter and I noticed recently: the Christmas romance trope does not seem to be as used for LGBTQ+ character couples as it could be. They need cute happy romance reading over the holidays too, darn it!
I was provided a free advanced copy of the ebook by the author in exchange for an honest review.
November 13, 2020
Another amazing romance by Annabeth Chatwin, who is becoming one of my favorite LGBTQ romance authors!!
In “The Nutcracker Battle” you have Gabe, casted as The Nutcracker Prince in a nontraditional Nutcracker performance, and Kit, also casted as The Prince, but from the rivaling school. What happens when ex-friends reconnect, and become more? What happens when they get sick of the rivalry? And what happens when they do something to end it?
This is a short, but still amazing book, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, clean LGBTQ romance!!
Thanks so much to Annabeth Chatwin for sending me this ARC copy to leave an honest review!
In “The Nutcracker Battle” you have Gabe, casted as The Nutcracker Prince in a nontraditional Nutcracker performance, and Kit, also casted as The Prince, but from the rivaling school. What happens when ex-friends reconnect, and become more? What happens when they get sick of the rivalry? And what happens when they do something to end it?
This is a short, but still amazing book, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, clean LGBTQ romance!!
Thanks so much to Annabeth Chatwin for sending me this ARC copy to leave an honest review!
January 1, 2023
Gabe and Kit dance at rival ballet schools. They each think the other is better, but when they finally break through their shyness, they find they share a lot in common.
They begin to see that instead of competing, they can accept each others’ differences. They start dating and attend each other’s rehearsal just to watch and enjoy.
When the pressure increases, they and their troupe members hatch a way to end the battle and show how stupid it is to pit them all against each other.
Fun little short story, I love the message of leaving behind competition and being in the beauty of their performances. Lovely.
KU
They begin to see that instead of competing, they can accept each others’ differences. They start dating and attend each other’s rehearsal just to watch and enjoy.
When the pressure increases, they and their troupe members hatch a way to end the battle and show how stupid it is to pit them all against each other.
Fun little short story, I love the message of leaving behind competition and being in the beauty of their performances. Lovely.
KU
December 11, 2020
This was a super sweet and fluffy, YA holiday romance.
A sweet and short novella that will surely lift your spirits and spread a little holiday cheer.
Annabeth Chatwin is fast becoming one of my favorite Authors in the YA genre. Her writing is engaging and enjoyable and the characters were likeable and well fleshed out.
Gabe and Kit were adorable together and I loved their story. I hoped this one would be longer because I couldn't get enough of them.
If you fancy a sweet, low angst, YA romance with heart and all the feels.
You will adore this one .
A sweet and short novella that will surely lift your spirits and spread a little holiday cheer.
Annabeth Chatwin is fast becoming one of my favorite Authors in the YA genre. Her writing is engaging and enjoyable and the characters were likeable and well fleshed out.
Gabe and Kit were adorable together and I loved their story. I hoped this one would be longer because I couldn't get enough of them.
If you fancy a sweet, low angst, YA romance with heart and all the feels.
You will adore this one .
November 13, 2020
This was so cute. I read this novella with the biggest smile on my face. I love Annabeth Chatwin's work and this is just another great read to add to her catalogue.
Kit and Gabe are both really sweet and their relationship is adorable. I loved watching them fall for each other even with the drama surrounding them and the immense pressure their choreographers put on them because of their respective parts.
For a cute, fluffy, light-hearted Christmas read, I highly recommend.
Kit and Gabe are both really sweet and their relationship is adorable. I loved watching them fall for each other even with the drama surrounding them and the immense pressure their choreographers put on them because of their respective parts.
For a cute, fluffy, light-hearted Christmas read, I highly recommend.
November 15, 2020
This was a really cute, sweet romance. I feel like it was hot chocolate (a little warmup for the Christmas season). I think the book was braced a little to fast in speed, and could have been a bit longer; with a little more details.
I loved the ending, it was a heartwarming ending. I would reccomend this book, to start you off with the holiday season, and give you a little Christmas spirit boost. I liked how the nutcracker was drawn into the book, because I love the nutcracker.
I loved the ending, it was a heartwarming ending. I would reccomend this book, to start you off with the holiday season, and give you a little Christmas spirit boost. I liked how the nutcracker was drawn into the book, because I love the nutcracker.
November 24, 2020
This was an adorable holiday read. I'm sorry that it wasn't longer to give us more from the characters. It felt slightly rushed, probably due to page/length constraints. It took a bit to hear Gabe and Kit in different voices since a lot of the descriptors were used interchangeably. Everything was pretty. Pretty hair, pretty lips, pretty face... but it was sweet and sometimes you just need a cute, fluffy story to get you by!
November 11, 2020
This book would make a cute holiday movie! It was refreshing that the drama in this book centered on the rivalry between two competing dance companies and not the relationship between Gabe and Kit. I am not involved in either the homeschooling or ballet worlds, but I really enjoyed how both of them were employed in this novella.
November 22, 2020
Very sweet short romance with the two male leads of 'The Nutcracker' Ballet falling in love. I loved the back story of missed chances as well as their eventual 're-meet cute'.
Overall a very sweet Christmas story, perfect for the holidays.
Overall a very sweet Christmas story, perfect for the holidays.
December 3, 2020
This is another adorable story by Annabeth Chatwin. I sometimes had trouble remembering who I was reading about. Both boys live such a similar lifestyle, but as the story progressed it did get a little easier for me.
December 14, 2020
A candy cane flavored spun sugar confection. syrupy sweet story intertwining The Nutcracker Suite with traces of Romeo and Juliet, here as Gabe and Kit, two star-crossed lovers.
A quick read that will make your teeth hurt from the sugar rush, but in a good way.
A quick read that will make your teeth hurt from the sugar rush, but in a good way.
June 17, 2021
Sweet story
This is a sweet story about dance and first love. It is not sexual, and that is refreshing. Short and sweet.
This is a sweet story about dance and first love. It is not sexual, and that is refreshing. Short and sweet.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews