Book Review: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  SWEETLY is a modernization of Hansel and Gretel and a companion book to SISTERS RED.

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.

...moreSWEETLY is a modernization of Hansel and Gretel and a companion book to SISTERS RED.

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.

My Thoughts:  More fairytale retellings, more fenris!  I loved it!  Pearce had me captivated from the Prologue (deliciously spooky!) and I didn't put the book down until the end!

Ansel, Gretchen and Abigail  go into the woods to find the witch they have heard about growing up.  Unfortunately, they find the "witch" and Abigail disappears.  Now, twelve years later, Ansel and Gretchen are heading to South Carolina to escape their past (well, and the fact that they were kicked out of their home by their stepmother).  Of course, their car breaks down in a small town and they end up in a cottage in the woods.  Hmmm....

However, the small town of Live Oak has had girls disappearing very much like Gretchen's sister disappeared.  Gretchen decides to investigate while Ansel works for Sophia (the town's candy shop owner) and of course, maybe starts to fall in love with her (yeah, you'll have to read it to find out what goes on there).

I loved that I never knew what Sophia was about.  She kept me guessing the entire time!  I also loved Gretchen and her rainbow colored hair!  I enjoyed watching her grow into a strong young woman.  All the characters were well developed though and I honestly enjoyed them all, Gretchen, Sophia, Samuel, Ansel...yeah, they rocked!

I think I liked this book more that Sisters Red!  Maybe because I've always liked the Hansel and Gretel story more than Little Red Riding Hood but I think it was just more fast-paced and I connected more with these characters than with those of Sisters Red.  Both stories are great but this one takes the cake!

*I received this book for review from Around the World ARC Tours*