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audreychamaine's review
3.0
When they were young, Gretchen and Ansel were out in the forest with Gretchen's twin sister when Gretchen's twin was snatched away. Gretchen remembers intense fear as the red-eyed "witch" took her sister. Ever since then Gretchen and Ansel have been dealing with the guilt of having lost her, and their family fell apart because of the tragedy. With both parents now dead, their step-mother has kicked them out, and they wander lost. That is, until they stumble upon a small town and the sweet, beautiful Sophia who runs the chocolatier candy house where they begin to stay. The town has a dark secret, though--teen girls have been disappearing after going to Sophia's chocolate festival, and town residents suspect Sophia has had a part in it. Ansel and Gretchen may be in danger, and it is up to Gretchen to get over her past tragedy and do something before more young lives are lost.
If you can't tell from the above plot description, Sweetly is a modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Just as she did in Sisters Red, Pearce has transformed the fairy tale into a gritty fantasy set in the modern world. While Sweetly isn't a sequel to Sisters Red, it does seem to take place in the same universe, within the same mythology, and acts as a companion book.
Of the two books, I enjoyed Sweetly more. I was able to relate to Gretchen's guilt and concern, but also loved seeing her grow as a person. Gretchen goes from being a victim to a person of action, a heroine who risks her own life to save others. At the same time, we spend the entire story wondering if we're supposed to like Sophia or fear her. There's definitely a mystery that surrounds her, and while I wish it would have unfolded a bit more quickly, it was nice to be kept guessing whether or not she was good or the evil witch in the candy cottage.
Speaking of candy, this story was dripping with it. Reading the descriptions of things like candied lemon peels and chocolate covered orange slices made me drool with longing. It was great fun to read about, but if I gained weight while reading, I blame Jackson Pearce.
Sweetly was a fun rehashing of a familiar tale, made all the sweeter by the confectionery setting and dark tones.
If you can't tell from the above plot description, Sweetly is a modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Just as she did in Sisters Red, Pearce has transformed the fairy tale into a gritty fantasy set in the modern world. While Sweetly isn't a sequel to Sisters Red, it does seem to take place in the same universe, within the same mythology, and acts as a companion book.
Of the two books, I enjoyed Sweetly more. I was able to relate to Gretchen's guilt and concern, but also loved seeing her grow as a person. Gretchen goes from being a victim to a person of action, a heroine who risks her own life to save others. At the same time, we spend the entire story wondering if we're supposed to like Sophia or fear her. There's definitely a mystery that surrounds her, and while I wish it would have unfolded a bit more quickly, it was nice to be kept guessing whether or not she was good or the evil witch in the candy cottage.
Speaking of candy, this story was dripping with it. Reading the descriptions of things like candied lemon peels and chocolate covered orange slices made me drool with longing. It was great fun to read about, but if I gained weight while reading, I blame Jackson Pearce.
Sweetly was a fun rehashing of a familiar tale, made all the sweeter by the confectionery setting and dark tones.
fishgirl182's review
5.0
I admit that I had high expectations for Sweetly. Pearce's last book, Sisters Red, was eerie and dark and had me (figuratively) biting my nails. Full of turmoil and deep emotions, could her next book recapture the feeling without treading over the same ground?
Yes, indeed she could. Sweetly is roughly based on the Hansel and Gretel tale by the Grimm Brothers (whose notion of cannibalism always grossed me out). Sweetly's tale begins almost where the classic fairy tale ends, with Ansel, Gretchen and Gretchen's twin sister fleeing through the forest from an evil witch with yellow eyes. Not all of the children make it out of the forest though and Ansel and Gretchen are left with the guilt of losing their sister. While Ansel has convinced himself that their sister's disappearance was not the work of a witch, Gretchen has not. She's lived in fear since that day, haunted by the yellow eyes of the witch that took her sister and may be coming back for her. Even twelve years later, as she and Ansel make their way to a new city, she can't stop looking over her shoulder and staying away from the dark woods. She soon finds out that the witch in her nightmares is very real and may be closer than she thinks.
I really, really l liked this book. The characters were rich and complex. Most of the story is told from Gretchen's point of view and you can really sense the longing she has to belong and to become her own person instead of the other half of a missing girl. In finding herself, she learns to face her fears and confront the thing that's tormented her for most of her life. Even though the subject matter is quite dark, there are many funny and light moments. There's a bit of romance thrown in with the dark and brooding Samuel, who has a score to settle. And sweet, sweet Sophia, with her sugary confections and warm smiles but who has secrets of her own. The book is also filled with delicious descriptions of candies and sweets, which is an added bonus for a sugar addict like me.
All in all I thought this was a great read and I can't wait to see what Pearce does next.
Yes, indeed she could. Sweetly is roughly based on the Hansel and Gretel tale by the Grimm Brothers (whose notion of cannibalism always grossed me out). Sweetly's tale begins almost where the classic fairy tale ends, with Ansel, Gretchen and Gretchen's twin sister fleeing through the forest from an evil witch with yellow eyes. Not all of the children make it out of the forest though and Ansel and Gretchen are left with the guilt of losing their sister. While Ansel has convinced himself that their sister's disappearance was not the work of a witch, Gretchen has not. She's lived in fear since that day, haunted by the yellow eyes of the witch that took her sister and may be coming back for her. Even twelve years later, as she and Ansel make their way to a new city, she can't stop looking over her shoulder and staying away from the dark woods. She soon finds out that the witch in her nightmares is very real and may be closer than she thinks.
I really, really l liked this book. The characters were rich and complex. Most of the story is told from Gretchen's point of view and you can really sense the longing she has to belong and to become her own person instead of the other half of a missing girl. In finding herself, she learns to face her fears and confront the thing that's tormented her for most of her life. Even though the subject matter is quite dark, there are many funny and light moments. There's a bit of romance thrown in with the dark and brooding Samuel, who has a score to settle. And sweet, sweet Sophia, with her sugary confections and warm smiles but who has secrets of her own. The book is also filled with delicious descriptions of candies and sweets, which is an added bonus for a sugar addict like me.
All in all I thought this was a great read and I can't wait to see what Pearce does next.
phillygirljl's review
4.0
Sweetly mixes the sweetness of new romance with the bitterness of loss to create a new take on the Hansel and Gretel fairytale.
Author Jackson Pearce can take a story everyone knows and turn it into something completely fresh and new, while still maintaining the original premise of the story. In Sweetly, Pearce retells the story of Hansel and Gretel, but adds her unique blend of writing and storytelling to the tale.
What captured me most about Sweetly was the interconnection of characters and the sibling relationship between Gretchen and Ansel. The loss of Gretchen’s twin and Ansel’s sister created this remarkable bond between the two and while it was sad that this came about because of the sister’s disappearance, it was touching to see how they looked after each other. On the other hand, I liked how Pearce developed Gretchen’s character into being more independent, more of a different person from her brother, as the story progressed. It was great seeing Gretchen face her fears, become more self sufficient and less scared of her shadow, so to speak. This was spurred on in part by Ansel developing a romantic relationship with Sophia and Gretchen’s wish to let her brother have some happiness and to not be a third wheel in their encounters.
I loved the introduction and inclusion of Samuel in Sweetly. If you’ve read Sisters Red, the companion novel to Sweetly, you’ll recognize Samuel as Silas’ brother. In Sweetly, Samuel helps (perhaps unwittingly) Gretchen to gain independence and to face the fears and guilt she has carried since the disappearance of her twin sister. Samuel and the lore surrounding him and his family become an integral part of the plot of Sweetly, as it connects SISTERS RED to it’s companion novel, yet doesn’t detract from the fact that two different stories are being told in each book.
Sweetly is a novel of loss and love, but more importantly it’s about the relationship that exists between siblings and how they will do whatever is necessary to protect their loved ones.
Author Jackson Pearce can take a story everyone knows and turn it into something completely fresh and new, while still maintaining the original premise of the story. In Sweetly, Pearce retells the story of Hansel and Gretel, but adds her unique blend of writing and storytelling to the tale.
What captured me most about Sweetly was the interconnection of characters and the sibling relationship between Gretchen and Ansel. The loss of Gretchen’s twin and Ansel’s sister created this remarkable bond between the two and while it was sad that this came about because of the sister’s disappearance, it was touching to see how they looked after each other. On the other hand, I liked how Pearce developed Gretchen’s character into being more independent, more of a different person from her brother, as the story progressed. It was great seeing Gretchen face her fears, become more self sufficient and less scared of her shadow, so to speak. This was spurred on in part by Ansel developing a romantic relationship with Sophia and Gretchen’s wish to let her brother have some happiness and to not be a third wheel in their encounters.
I loved the introduction and inclusion of Samuel in Sweetly. If you’ve read Sisters Red, the companion novel to Sweetly, you’ll recognize Samuel as Silas’ brother. In Sweetly, Samuel helps (perhaps unwittingly) Gretchen to gain independence and to face the fears and guilt she has carried since the disappearance of her twin sister. Samuel and the lore surrounding him and his family become an integral part of the plot of Sweetly, as it connects SISTERS RED to it’s companion novel, yet doesn’t detract from the fact that two different stories are being told in each book.
Sweetly is a novel of loss and love, but more importantly it’s about the relationship that exists between siblings and how they will do whatever is necessary to protect their loved ones.
appelkers's review
5.0
This was a fairytale retelling of Hansel and Gretel and I had never read one before I went and picked up this one. I have read the previous book in the series, though I actually thought they wouldn’t be this kind of series. I thought they would just be a collection of fairytale retellings, but apparently they are a bit more linked than that. That’s all that I’m willing to say about this because I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone who has yet to read it. But I went into this a fan of the previous book in the series and this one definitely didn’t let me down.
So I really liked the setting in this story, and I enjoyed the start-off point as well. It was immediately clear on which fairytale this story was based but it also went right ahead and made it clear that there were differences. In my eyes that was a definite plus. As the story continued you get to see how this is tied in with Sisters red, which was nice. Though I must say that I hadn’t expected this at all (seeing as I hadn’t read any reviews of this book before reading it) and I was thinking about completely different ways in which this story would go. But I guess it’s nice that it ties in with the previous book and it’s definitely making me think about the next book as well. There are definitely some things that are mentioned that I might think come back in Fathomless (Fairytale Retellings #3) but I’ll have to read it to find out. And trust me, I will.
Gretchen was a great character, I love the progression of her character as the story continues. She definitely grows throughout this book and discovers how love (in any form, be it towards family or in a romantic sense) can be difficult. I also thought it was great to read about how Gretchen was coping with this childhood trauma. Meanwhile her brother, Ansel, was also a very interesting character, especially in the sense of which role he took up once his little sister was gone. Sophia was a fascinating character in the least. It was great to find out why she did what she did. This is something I can definitely appreciate in any story: finding out what drives people to do certain things. For me this definitely helped make the book interesting.
The writing in Sweetly was just as great as it was in Sisters Red. It has such beautiful descriptions and it just sucks you right into the story. Once again the action scenes were just fabulous, they just feel so incredibly real somehow. It doesn’t feel forced in anyway and there’s always just enough of it. The whole book is such a nice blend of mystery woven in with certain emotional struggles. It encompasses themes such as grief and blame but also love and loyalty. There was some romantic love in this book as well but it definitely didn’t take the lead and never stole the light of the other themes. Having read a lot of romance novels (and getting slightly tired of them at times) I really appreciated how cute this romance was and how it felt very realistic (as in: not insta-love or too many speeches about undying love).
In short I think this is a great book for everyone who loved Sisters Red but also anyone who is a fan of fairytale retellings (as far as they go this is definitely a diamond). I guess this book can easily be read on its own, but for me it was a lot of fun to piece this story together with the previous one and connect certain dots.
So I really liked the setting in this story, and I enjoyed the start-off point as well. It was immediately clear on which fairytale this story was based but it also went right ahead and made it clear that there were differences. In my eyes that was a definite plus. As the story continued you get to see how this is tied in with Sisters red, which was nice. Though I must say that I hadn’t expected this at all (seeing as I hadn’t read any reviews of this book before reading it) and I was thinking about completely different ways in which this story would go. But I guess it’s nice that it ties in with the previous book and it’s definitely making me think about the next book as well. There are definitely some things that are mentioned that I might think come back in Fathomless (Fairytale Retellings #3) but I’ll have to read it to find out. And trust me, I will.
Gretchen was a great character, I love the progression of her character as the story continues. She definitely grows throughout this book and discovers how love (in any form, be it towards family or in a romantic sense) can be difficult. I also thought it was great to read about how Gretchen was coping with this childhood trauma. Meanwhile her brother, Ansel, was also a very interesting character, especially in the sense of which role he took up once his little sister was gone. Sophia was a fascinating character in the least. It was great to find out why she did what she did. This is something I can definitely appreciate in any story: finding out what drives people to do certain things. For me this definitely helped make the book interesting.
The writing in Sweetly was just as great as it was in Sisters Red. It has such beautiful descriptions and it just sucks you right into the story. Once again the action scenes were just fabulous, they just feel so incredibly real somehow. It doesn’t feel forced in anyway and there’s always just enough of it. The whole book is such a nice blend of mystery woven in with certain emotional struggles. It encompasses themes such as grief and blame but also love and loyalty. There was some romantic love in this book as well but it definitely didn’t take the lead and never stole the light of the other themes. Having read a lot of romance novels (and getting slightly tired of them at times) I really appreciated how cute this romance was and how it felt very realistic (as in: not insta-love or too many speeches about undying love).
In short I think this is a great book for everyone who loved Sisters Red but also anyone who is a fan of fairytale retellings (as far as they go this is definitely a diamond). I guess this book can easily be read on its own, but for me it was a lot of fun to piece this story together with the previous one and connect certain dots.
milktoast's review against another edition
4.0
I love fairytale reimaginings. Several of my favorite recent YA novels are in this genre, from Shannon Hale’s Goose Girl to Malindo Lo’s Ash (Cinderella) to Jackson Pearce’s previous novel, Sisters Red. I don’t read enough YA to really know if this is a staple of the genre or a new trend, but either way, I am pleased.
Sweetly, which is a companion novel to Sisters Red (set in the same universe but no shared characters), doesn’t disappoint. Gretchen and Ansel, our modern day Hansel and Gretel, escape the witch in the woods as children, but Gretchen’s twin sister does not. She vanishes. In their late teens, Gretchen and Ansel leave their home, hoping to put their past behind them, and head for the ocean. Their car breaks down in a small town in South Carolina and they stay with Sophia, a beautiful and friendly, but mysterious candymaker. Although they hear stories of women who have disappeared in the town, Gretchen builds a friendship with Sophia and finds a sense of home until one evening she wanders out into the forest and is almost killed by the same creature she saw as a child. Gretchen vows to stop the vanishing of women in this town—but she must uncover many painful secrets to do so, including some of the woman she has come to regard as her first real friend.
I didn’t love it the way I loved Sisters Red, but I didn’t expect to. Even though I don’t have a sister, the relationship between the two women was my favorite part. Gretchen’s interactions are split between her brother, her love interest, and Sophia. I found the parts with Sophia the most captivating. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say she’s quite interesting. The love interest story was sweet, but like in Sisters Red, I could take it or leave it. It’s not that Pearce can’t write a good love story—As You Wish is particularly adorable—it’s just that everything else she’s doing is so much more interesting to me.
Anyway—If you like Jackson Pearce, fairytale retellings, or YA stories with a strong female protagonist, check it out.
Sweetly, which is a companion novel to Sisters Red (set in the same universe but no shared characters), doesn’t disappoint. Gretchen and Ansel, our modern day Hansel and Gretel, escape the witch in the woods as children, but Gretchen’s twin sister does not. She vanishes. In their late teens, Gretchen and Ansel leave their home, hoping to put their past behind them, and head for the ocean. Their car breaks down in a small town in South Carolina and they stay with Sophia, a beautiful and friendly, but mysterious candymaker. Although they hear stories of women who have disappeared in the town, Gretchen builds a friendship with Sophia and finds a sense of home until one evening she wanders out into the forest and is almost killed by the same creature she saw as a child. Gretchen vows to stop the vanishing of women in this town—but she must uncover many painful secrets to do so, including some of the woman she has come to regard as her first real friend.
I didn’t love it the way I loved Sisters Red, but I didn’t expect to. Even though I don’t have a sister, the relationship between the two women was my favorite part. Gretchen’s interactions are split between her brother, her love interest, and Sophia. I found the parts with Sophia the most captivating. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say she’s quite interesting. The love interest story was sweet, but like in Sisters Red, I could take it or leave it. It’s not that Pearce can’t write a good love story—As You Wish is particularly adorable—it’s just that everything else she’s doing is so much more interesting to me.
Anyway—If you like Jackson Pearce, fairytale retellings, or YA stories with a strong female protagonist, check it out.
glindaaa's review against another edition
4.0
I have bought Sister's Red in a hurry in Dutch. Something that I'm still a bit ashamed about. I liked Sister's Red but Sweetly is even better. I had tried to finish this in one sitting but of course I had to cook, I had to do something else, had a fight, and all things that happen in a normal day. Finally I decided to go to bed and continue reading this book instead of Inheritance. At exactly 00:25 I felt my eyelids got heavy and I knew I had to get up early the next day. I did, shaken by a nightmare and I'm still wondering if it came because of this book because that's a bit too much, wake up early and instead of heading down to shower, I tried to dooze off a little more before I realized I wanted to finish this book. That's what I did.
Maybe the end is a bit dramatic, for which I don't give the five stars rating. However from chapter six Pearce got me in a suspense already and I didn't want to stop reading. I liked Ansel and Gretchen, I first thought bit of weird names, bit too obvious but in the end it went fine. I was waiting for the realisation of Sophia all the time.
There is not too much to set about this book without giving too much spoilers. There is a lot of suspense. It never starts of as a sugar sweet story such as Fairy Tales do, it immediately starts with the blowing facts, following one after the other rapidly. Making a time jump but not leaving out the details that you need. For a few seconds (read: chapters) I thought that we would never hear the name of Gretchen her twinsister but Pearce casually mentions it when it is of significant proportion compared to the rest. Every piece of new information is delivered when it is necessary and when it has more than an explanatory need. Not everyone knows how to do that in my eyes.
Maybe the end is a bit dramatic, for which I don't give the five stars rating. However from chapter six Pearce got me in a suspense already and I didn't want to stop reading. I liked Ansel and Gretchen, I first thought bit of weird names, bit too obvious but in the end it went fine. I was waiting for the realisation of Sophia all the time.
There is not too much to set about this book without giving too much spoilers. There is a lot of suspense. It never starts of as a sugar sweet story such as Fairy Tales do, it immediately starts with the blowing facts, following one after the other rapidly. Making a time jump but not leaving out the details that you need. For a few seconds (read: chapters) I thought that we would never hear the name of Gretchen her twinsister but Pearce casually mentions it when it is of significant proportion compared to the rest. Every piece of new information is delivered when it is necessary and when it has more than an explanatory need. Not everyone knows how to do that in my eyes.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
As a child siblings, Ansel and his two younger sisters (twins) Gretchen and the unnamed are chased in their local woods by what Ansel and Gretchen come to believe was a witch. Gretchen's twin is taken and never found again. The loss scars the family. After reaching adulthood Gretchen and Ansel travel away from Washington State and the nightmarish memories to the east coast, finding themselves in the small town of Live Oak. They live with a young lady who owns a candy shop but she has been accused of being a witch and causing young ladies from the town to disappear.
Retelling of Hansel and Gretel with the reappearance of Pearce's monstrous villains.
JHS/HS.
Retelling of Hansel and Gretel with the reappearance of Pearce's monstrous villains.
JHS/HS.
owls_rainbow's review
4.0
A really good book, I liked the new take on an old tale :)
It did move a little slowly at the beginning/middle but then everything happened at once which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just could have been paced a little better.
I'm really interested in reading Sisters Red now :D
It did move a little slowly at the beginning/middle but then everything happened at once which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just could have been paced a little better.
I'm really interested in reading Sisters Red now :D
libertyskies's review
4.0
I loved this follow up to Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red. There were likebale characters and a good plot twist. Fingers crossed for a third!!
lmthompson's review against another edition
4.0
This book almost measured up to the bar that was set by Sisters Red([b:Sisters Red|6357708|Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings, #1)|Jackson Pearce|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291052720s/6357708.jpg|6544454]).