Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce is released this month. I haven't gotten a copy of it myself yet, but just noticed that it is already shipping on Amazon--at least the paper version is. The ebook is still bound to a hard release date of August 23rd. Pearce wins the prize for some of the best fairy tale adaptation book covers. Her publisher has done well by her, IMHO. I love both the covers for Sisters Red and now Sweetly.

Here's the book description:

As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past-- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone-- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen it's next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

So, yes, this is obviously a Hansel and Gretel retelling. I like the name play with the characters to Gretchen and Ansel. I am partial to the name Gretchen anyway since it is my sister's name. (Yes, my mother liked the German names for her daughters with our German surname although she herself isn't German. My brother escaped that fate.) This one is on my TBR pile--or will be on my Kindle at some point.

Also, if anyone is interested, Jackson Pearce is slated to appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville over the October 14-16th weekend this year. I plan to attend at least one day myself although the festival overlaps with the American Folklore Society Annual Meeting in Bloomington, Indiana which I also plan to attend. Busy weekend! Well, okay, yes, I will also be presenting at the festival--reading from Bluebeard Tales From Around the World with a signing afterwards--although my name isn't on the site yet.
Pearce's previous books: