I would like to thank one of the authors A.M. Wright for sending this to me for free for an honest review.

 

This tells the story of twins Hans and Greta who live in the village of Krume that is plagued by a witch known as the Shrike. No one has even seen the witch, but when her victims are claimed she leaves their heart on the doorstep of their loved ones. As the witch continues to pick off the men of the village soon accusations and rumours create the worst damage, a lot like the witch trails of the past, fear grips the townsfolk and before they know it Greta and Hans are faced with two deadly options.

Greta must die or the siblings face banishment into the haunted woods that surrounds them. Into the witches territory.

 

This book switches between both characters POV, although this is more Gretas story which is a shame, as I would have liked more from Hans. Hans gets marked by the witch, and as they travel deeper into the wood he starts to change, he seems visibly ill, his strength weakening. Not to mention the mental side effects, he can constantly hear the witch, can feel her, see her when she's not there.

 

Whilst in the wood the Shrike torments them both with hallucinations, creatures of her own making and many other magical tricks in a bid to break and separate them. As the story continues we do find out more about the witch, but hopefully if a sequel comes, we'll find out more about the darkness at the heart of the forest.

 

Whilst I enjoyed this book, there were a couple of things that didn't quite tick my boxes. I've already talked about wanting more from Hans and experiencing the journey from his perspective. Gretas personal journey still needs some work. She is clearly a brave, fierce and loyal person who has hidden herself away in the family home, but when it comes to her brother there is nothing she wouldn't do to protect him and keep their little family together.

There where times in this book when she is repeatedly told how brave she is and strong but it forever seems like shes wiping away tears and trying not to cry. If there is a second book, which I hope there is, I want to see her come alive more. She is willing to go to hell and back, take on the Shrike and her magic for Hans. I want to see her grow and become more confident.

 

Thank you once again A.M. Wright for sending me a copy to review.

 

Hansel and Gretel - Jacob Grimm I am not impressed.
The narrator chose to voice all the characters as Southern (USA), when the stories and characters are German, which puzzles me quite a lot, I must say.
The story was decent enough, and her narration was good, it's the dialogue that's cringeworthy if you think about the origins of this tale by the Grimm Brother's.
Not that I can complain since it is a free audiobook by LibriVox *shrugs*

This traditional fairy tale would be perfect for a lesson on morals. It is easy yet challenging to determine the moral of this story. You could also use this book to address the sequence of events. It could also be used to determine right and wrong. The possibilities are endless with this book. It is leveled 430 L.

I was not really a fan of this story. It was too long and drawn out for me. The story felt unnecessarily stretched and may have worked better if it were more concise. Also the narration felt disjointed. While the narrator remains third-person omniscient throughout the story, the focus of the narration switches characters to focus on a certain person's thoughts and feelings. This also felt unnecessary and didn't really add to the work. For me, the ending was pretty predictable. There is a fair amount of gore in the story, but not as much as Richey's stories about Pinocchio and Cinderella (from what I recall; it's been a while since I read them). Overall, the story was long and dull in my opinion.

 

THE GIRL IN THE RED HOOD has been looking for her mother for six months, searching from the depths of New York’s subways to the heights of its skyscrapers . . .

THE PRINCE looks like he’s from another time entirely, or maybe he’s just too good at his job at Ye Old Renaissance Faire . . .

THE ACTRESS is lighting up Hollywood Boulevard with her spellbinding and strikingly convincing portrayal of a famous fairy. Her name may be big, but her secrets barely fit in one world . . .

Fifteen-year-old Crescenzo never would have believed his father’s carvings were anything more than “stupid toys.” All he knows is a boring life in an ordinary Virginia suburb, from which his mother and his best friend have been missing for years. When his father disappears next, all Crescenzo has left is his goofy neighbor, Pietro, who believes he’s really Peter Pan and that Crescenzo is the son of Pinocchio. What’s more: Pietro insists that they can find their loved ones by looking to the strange collection of wooden figurines Crescenzo’s father left behind.

With Pietro’s help, Crescenzo sets off on an adventure to unite the real life counterparts to his figurines. It’s enough of a shock that they’re actually real, but the night he meets the Girl in the Red Hood, dark truths burst from the past. Suddenly, Crescenzo is tangled in a nightmare where magic mirrors and evil queens rule, and where everyone he loves is running out of time.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for a review.***

 

What’s Good: an decent twist on what’s becoming a clichéd, stale idea. Fantasy characters migrating to the Real World and having to return to save everything is nothing new. Author Jacob Devlin invests the tropes with a bit of new life, which is all you can ask for. He also works all the loose ends of the plot into a neat little package; at about 65% or so you’re all caught up. Chapters are short, making for fast and easy reading.

 

What’s Bad: all the inconsistency. The setting seems lifted- or should I say ‘inspired by’- practically every existing Disney cartoon. It’s more mish-mash than mashup; all manner of fictional and historical characters- including Merlin, Kaa the Snake, Dr. Frankenstein and Mulan- come and go in Fairyland but no rhyme or reason as to how they got there or how it all works- especially at the finale when some of the characters end up in yet another fantasy realm. It’s all there to support the story without consequence and you’re just going to have to roll with it.

 

Dialogue- like most everything about the book, it seems to be kind of all over the place, almost like it was written freeform. One moment characters are speaking proper, stilted language and the next they’re saying ‘wanna, gonna, ain’t, buddy…’

 

Typical of a mish-mash, the characters exhibit some of the dumbest behavior at the worst times simply to advance the plot. And it’s pretty tiresome. This kind of stuff isn’t heroic- it’s idiotic, and far too often a crutch authors lean on. How about smarter, more capable villains?

 

There’s also the plot device of telling the story out of phase, alternating between Real World Now for the current situation and Fairyland Three Years Ago or Fairyland Twenty-Five Years Ago to reveal the backstory. Just when you’d be in the flow of one scenario you’re thrown into another, breaking up the rhythm. And sometimes it’d take several chapters to return to a setting, so you may have forgotten a thing or two and have to go back.

 

What’s Left: some badly executed good ideas. Nuggets of a story that need sharpening up, otherwise this isn’t a Young Adult story but a Middle Grade one.

 

2.5/5 stars.