Waiting on Wednesday: Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

I am so ready for the August 23rd release of Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce. This loosely related series are re-imagined folk tales of stories we all know & most of us love. Sisters Red was a twist on Little Red Riding Hood where "Little Red" became the hunter. In Sweetly we start anew with 2 new characters, with a tie-in Reynolds character that is a re-imagining of Hansel & Gretel. The Fenris are still snatching girls, but this time there is an accomplice.

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.

I really enjoyed both of these books & you can find the links to my reviews above. I hope to one day meet Jackson Pearce so that I can get the books signed. :) What are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday: Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce

Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce

It only took 12 years for Gretchen & Ansel to finally get the boot from their widowed step-mother. They've depended solely on one another ever since Gretchen's twin sister disappeared from the woods. Always a little lost, Gretchen clings to the rock that is her older brother Ansel.

The pair find themselves broken down in the tiny town of Live Oak, just a few hours shy of the Atlantic Ocean they were so looking forward to seeing. Having nearly run out of money the two kids are fortunate enough to find a native resident of the sleepy town who could use a little help on her secluded estate. What started as one afternoon of helping around the property quickly becomes an all-consuming task of assisting Sophia, the chocolatier, in her quest to put on a great chocolate festival.

But as the brother & sister spend more and more time with the candy queen, they start to hear things from the other natives about local girls going missing after her festival & one voice in particular, that of Samuel Reynolds, rings louder than any other. While each sibling goes about finding answers in a different manner, the result is the same. The festival is coming & the local girls need protection. The only question isn't necessarily from whom, but from what.

Jackson Pearce has done it again! The second book in the Sisters Red series does not disappoint at all! This time we're enjoying a reimagining of Hansel & Gretel. The characters are inviting, the twists & turns are quite unexpected & the heart is palpable.

We start off with shy, Skittle-colored hair Gretchen & her big, bad protector brother escaping a life they were dying under. Gretchen, as the main character, is the eyes & ears of the story, but she doesn't seem to miss anything. Every facial expression, every telling movement is noted & examined in her mind. Through her we learn to observe the mundane & extrapolate the truth. Sophia & Samuel present the more "wildcard" elements of this story because we never get their full back story. We can infer Samuel's story from the first book (Sisters Red) but we know nothing of Sophia.

The writing is impeccable with so much feeling & energy expressed without burdening the reader with conversation. Like I said, we learn so much through Gretchen's almost methodical inner-workings that there is little need for extended conversations. Jackson's wit & humor continue to add an amiable quality to her heroes/heroines.

The vibrancy of this story is unparalleled & I am truly thrilled to have gotten a chance to read this latest addition to the series. Although, despite being in a series, this would also serve one well as a stand alone novel. Just a thought for those who might not have enjoyed Sisters Red as much as I did.

Thoughts folks? What do you think of this series take on some of our beloved childhood stories?

Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Scarlett and Rosie March are hunters. They eat, sleep, and breath hunting. We're not talking about rabbits & ducks; these girls hunt Fenris, wolves. These monsters take on men's forms to lure in young girls who they devour. After a horrific Fenris attack that left Scarlett horribly scarred with an eye patch & their grandmother dead, the girls began training with the Pa Reynolds, their neighborhood woodsmen. Growing up with Pa Reynolds's son Silas, the girls do their duty to protect their homeland.

When another wolf ambles by looking for the Potential, all three teen's senses are on alert. They decide to move to the city in search of better luck tracking the Potential & taking down the wolf population in the process. But Rosie isn't really in to it all. Silas, who has just returned from a year long hiatus in San Francisco, can see it in her eyes and encourages her to explore other activities. Rosie discovers that not only does she enjoy these other activities, but she actually has an aptitude for something besides throwing daggers. Scarlett is determined to put a stop to the turning of the Potential. Silas is torn between his heart's desire & his duty.

One thing is for sure, none of these three will ever be the same & the Fenris don't stand a chance against them united.

This was an interesting twist on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. This time though, Little Red Riding Hood doesn't necessarily need the woodsman to save her. These girls are tough and determined. They are presented as two parts of the same heart which is very understandable given their traumatic experience as children. Put together they really would make a dynamic person, but as two individuals they can't possibly remain together forever. Silas really is just there to throw hormones into the mix. I feel like he didn't really add much to the story other than being a catalyst for Rosie & acting as eye candy.

The Fenris were an interesting group. They really were wolf-possessed men with no souls instead of a traditional werewolf. That was an unexpected element as it made the Little Red Riding Hood background make more sense. I really liked the mythology behind the Potential and how the wolves sought him & found it quite enchanting.

Jackson Pearce is really onto something with this kind of storyline and I look forward to her future works as they seem to be heading down the fables & fairy tales path.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce