Author: Chantal Gadoury
Narrator: Ryan Haugen
Length: 9 hours 37 minutes
Publisher: The Parliament House
Released: Mar. 3, 2020
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
The village of Krume is plagued by a haunted wood and a hungry witch. It’s been that way for as long as Hans and Greta can remember, though they have never seen the witch themselves; no one has.
When men start to disappear once again in the cover of night - their bloody hearts turning up on doorsteps - the village falls into frenzied madness.
Hans and Greta, two outcast orphans, find themselves facing accusations of witchcraft and are met with an ultimatum: burn at the stake, or leave the village forever.
With nowhere else to go, they abandon their only home.
As they venture into the strange forest, their path is fraught with horrific creatures, wild and vivid hallucinations, and a mysterious man tied to the witch's past.
The Shrike is watching, just beyond the deep darkness of the woods.
My Review:
3.5 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Fairytale, Heart-Wrenching, Retelling, Scary, Supernatural, Werewolves, Witches--
The story is dual narrated by twins Hans and Greta (with a random chapter here and there other views), both struggling with the lives they have been dealt in very different ways. Keep in mind, this is not the version of Hansel and Gretel you think you know.
I really liked Greta, she was a little ball of sunshine. She was interesting and sweet, always thinking of others and full of optimism. She faced being lonely, see as an outcast by her own people since her parent's deaths, a so called holy man attempted to rape her and her brother is a total tool, but still she tries so hard to keep life going. I will admit I wanted her to strangle Hans and insist Greta leave him to his doom (and maybe run away with a certain brooding wolf man, just saying). She is for sure the good twin in this story.
Hans is literally the worst. I could not stand him even a little, his entire personality is motivated by his carnal desires and his jealousy over Greta liking anyone/having friends. So basically, he was a selfish manwhore who wanted his sister to be alone and codependent on him alone, while he slept with anything female and spread negative rumors about his sister as it suited his needs. In my totally judgy opinion, the Shrike can have him.
I liked the world (the plot and the world building were very unique and different from any other story I read before), making this a very dark fairytale retelling, with tons of danger and horror as well as LOTS of sex and desire (sometimes detailed and other times creepy)- with lots of imagery of both the sex and gruesome horror. The narrator did a great job of getting into both the main character's heads, making it seem like it was really them thinking, talking, responding. Overall I found this to be an interesting premise with a shocking ending leaving me questioning what will happen next.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Chantal Gadoury. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Amazon Best Selling Author, Chantal Gadoury, is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published "The Songs in Our Hearts" with 48Fourteen Publishing, and "Allerleirauh" with Parliament House Press, with future titles to follow. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues with that love of writing today. Writing novels for Chantal has become a life-long dream come true! When she's not writing, she enjoys painting, drinking lots of DD Iced Coffee, and watching Disney classics. Chantal lives in Muncy, Pennsylvania with her Mom, Sister and furry-'brother' (aka, puppy) Taran.
A.M. Wright is an Ohio native, perched on the shores of Lake Erie for as long as she can remember. She is a graduate of Walsh University and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Corporate Communications, with two minors in Marketing and Writing. She has a passion for reading, writing, and drawing; and has a particularly strong love for shojo-manga and all genres of anime. When A.M. Wright isn't focused on her day job, she is sorting through submissions, writing too many stories to keep track of, and playing video games with her fiance in a townhouse that's just a fifteen minute drive from "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World."
Ryan Haugen tried to write for a long time. He has nothing to show for it - in fact this is the first time he’s sat down to write since college.
Actually, he isn’t even sitting right now. He’s standing, and coming to grips with how writing has always caused him to deceive himself. So, that honest work tied to fiction would ever materialize shocks even him.
As a narrator, Ryan has no formal qualifications or training.
As a producer, he has an above-average grasp of Windows 10 and Audacity.
As a purveyor of twist endings, he would have you know he quit his day job to pursue narration full time in his home studio after 7 months of part-time narration, and 15 books narrated.
Ever engaged, passionate, and consumptive of all forms of media, Ryan floats in bewildered contentment at the notion anyone would want to listen to him speak for dozens of hours, but hopes you enjoy his youthful performances in the tales he tells, and that by now, you truly believe he is a better storyteller than he is writer."
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