I love retellings! It is really cool to see how different authors interpret the same story and how they make it their own. I have also liked Jackson’s other books so I was really excited for this book!I liked this take on the classic Hansel and Gretel story because of the differences from the classic story. The story starts with Ansel, Gretchen, and her identical twin sister going into the woods, the sister is taken and that one even really shapes the rest of the book, because the different ways that Ansel and Gretchen deal with the grief are prevalent throughout the story and keep the plot going.I really, really liked the characters in this retelling. Especially the character growth in Samuel and Gretchen. All of the characters were very different and were products of their upbringing and lives which is sometimes neglected in today’s stories. There were a lot of twists in this story. I went in thinking one thing, and left with something completely different, I really liked that, books that I can figure out right away annoy me.Only thing I didn’t like about Sweetly was Ansel and Sophie’s relationship, I get that it was vial to the storyline but it really annoyed me it was trivial (IMO) and childish. But it was important in the end so I can appreciate why it was in the story.A really good book especially for fans of Sisters Red and fairytale retellings.And that cover? Beautiful and creepy!
