Scan barcode
cozyreadings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Now for the positives. The atmosphere of the village and the woods was great. The townspeople were written well: when a character can make you feel such anger towards them yet at the same time feel sad for them, you know the character was written well. The magic parts were woven in neatly with the normal daily village life parts.
For a debut novel I am impressed, but as retellings go it still felt generic and like something I had read before. However I'm very interested to see what will be coming next from this author!
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Child death, and Addiction
lilybear3's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved the idea of retelling/adding onto the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. I felt the additional characters added more depth to the story and helped bring the village to life. The story was also kind of like a mystery in that you and Greta are given bits of information over time and are figuring out how it all fits together. The bits of a second story are at the beginning of each chapter in italics give a little more depth. Our MC is Greta, but (hot take) I wished for more of Hans even though he's a mess. I thought the story was intricate and interesting. That being said, the first like 60% of the book was slow paced, lots of discussions happening, not so much plot-driven. There was some world building involved, but it wasn't heavy so that made it hard to get into. Past that, the story picks up and it was good. Some people found reveals to be obvious, but I never pick up on those so it was a surprise to me!
Beautiful cover by the way! I could see this being adapted into a tv show or movie.
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Death, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, War, Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Child abuse
madisongturner's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, and Animal death
This is a very dark novel. There is very graphic content, especially in Chapter 25-27.amberreadsgood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Even so, this was still more than a lovely read. I'm not hugely familiar with the original Hansel and Gretel, but I liked how the author portrayed and developed the characters. Greta is certainly not the worst character POV I've been forced to read, and in fact I liked for the most part where her head was at and appreciated how she tried to keep everything running as smoothly as possible for her little family. I just wished she wanted to focus on the things I also wanted to focus on haha, again this is the downside of writing within the confines of a retelling: any new thing you introduce has to somewhat fit into an existing context, otherwise you may as well have written your own story "inspired by XYZ" rather than a "XYZ retelling."
Anyway, the magic was cool, especially the
I'd like to read more of this author, and I hope she decides to try her hand at original writing soon! It's a lot more work, for sure, but I think she can do it given time and effort ๐๐๐ผ
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty
Minor: Rape
rachelsarahjjones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
ceruleanheather's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Greta makes money to support her and her brother through baking gingerbread (ironic), and Hans gets drunk and gambles as he tries to forget the past. Hans is quite frustrating, but his PTSD is understandable. Greta using the witch's book to help her make the gingerbread is so odd, but I guess it is needed for the story to work.
The book starts out slowly, explaining how Hans and Greta got to this point and their daily troubles. We get introduced to characters that are important, but not always fleshed out. Matthias is interesting and mysterious, but the insta love trope annoys me. The story picks up about a third of the way through.
I did like the atmosphere of the book. The magic, the setting, the realism of the town and their struggles. I also liked the bear and wolf storylines, and the smattering of other fairy tales that were referenced and reused. The author has a descriptive style that is enjoyable to read.
The story ended up being quite predictable. I figured out the *big reveal* many chapters before Greta made the connection. The characters are also a little flat. They exist for the plot, but don't seem to have much agency. Things that should have been questioned or investigated are just believed and people who are supposed to be smart do not seem to be so. Rob was the best character, and he was a side character!
*CW* chapter 25 has a fairly graphic scene involving animal cruelty. You can skip the scene honestly, and it does not affect the story. You can glean what happens.
*TW* chapter 27 has a scene involving relations without consent. It isn't very detailed, but still graphic in content. Again you can glean what happens, just skip page 447.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Pregnancy, and Death
monkeywaffle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Death of parent
cosmiccutie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Torture, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, Confinement, and Animal cruelty
bookswithjk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Overall I did enjoy the story. However, I could not imagine Greta as a 22-year-old woman - she struck me more as a teenager. Hansel was also an interesting character, although he was underdeveloped (understandably though, since it is not his story but Gretaโs).
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault
aj_langley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent