Review: Sweetly

Title: Sweetly
Series: Fairytale Retellings # 2
Genre: Young Adult- Fantasy
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Book: Finished Copy sent by publisher

“Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel.

Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.”

First off, the characters were great! I loved how Ms. Pearce wrote such amazing characters so similar to the classic tale. I am amazed of how well Ms. Pearce captured the essence of the main characters and bringing more life to them. I adored the brother-sister duo. The way that they worked together and have held on to each other through all the hard times is great. Ms. Pearce captured such amazing teen voice in a whole new way.

The plot line of this book is awesome! I loved the spin Ms. Pearce put on the tale. Every turn of the page, gave you a whole new aspect to the classic tale. The reader sees things in a whole new light bringing forth a new story to read. It is easy to fall into the story with the great writing style. I found myself sucked in quickly in the world of Sweetly and could not get out.

I found the love interest in this story very bittersweet. I adored how Ms. Pearce weaved such a love so strong in an already strong story. I didn’t think that a love interest would be possible. Ms. Pearce made it so easy to fall into.

Sweetly is a a great and amazing book. Written beautifully and told stunningly, Sweetly is a book you want to read. The modernization of Hansel and Gretal is simply fantastic. Plus, just reading this book alone makes you mouth water for chocolate!

I give it 4 BITES!

Happy Reading!