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.

Hansel and Gretel was definitely one of my favorite fairytales growing up. I mean seriously, what little kid wouldn’t like to hear about a house made of candy? After reading Sisters Red, I was curious to see where the series would go and how the books would fit together.

Ansel and Gretchen are siblings and when they were younger, they lost their sister to a witch in the woods and they blamed themselves ever since. The sisters name is not revealed till more than half way through the book and I think that makes it even more intriguing.

Their mother died when they were young and their father remarried. When he passes away, their stepmother kicks them out so they travel to a small town. There they meet Sophia Kelley who is shunned by the town after girls began disappearing every year after her annual Chocolate Festival. As the story goes on, there is definitely something strange about Sophia Kelley.

The fenris from Sisters Red are back in this story. While there is action in Sweetly, there isn’t as much. But those scenes are more intense and keep you on edge. I love seeing Gretchen go from this scared, unsure girl, to a total badass with a gun.

The romance between Ansel and Sophia Kelly had me awwing at some points, but also apprehensive at the same time. I loved Ansel’s character and there was this worry for him.

Overall, while Sweetly has some of the same elements, Pearce continues to twist the story and makes it her own and it was another awesome retelling. I absolutely love Pearce’s writing style and her creativity and ability to come up with this unpredictable plot that has you guessing the whole time.