Sweetly: Deliciously Mysterious

To start off, let me say that Jackson Pearce is one of my absolute favorite authors. Her books are different, her videos are hilariously entertaining, and she doesn’t seem afraid to take risks in her writing. Sweetly, Pearce’s latest book, is a modern retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Sweetly takes place twelve years after three siblings, Gretchen, her twin sister and Ansel, encounter a horrible beast, a witch-like creature, in the woods near their house. Gretchen and Ansel make it back to their house alive, but the outcome for Gretchen’s twin sister was much more gruesome. Having to live with the horrifying truth that the sister is dead or, at best, lost forever in the menacing woods, the members of the grieving family each take on different roles. Gretchen, who becomes a recluse, and Ansel, who acts as Gretchen’s protective bodyguard, are thrown out of their house by their stepmother, who, needing a scapegoat, blames the family’s loss on Ansel and Gretchen.

Homeless, Ansel and Gretchen hit the road, hoping to discover a place where they can find solitude in their multitude of sorrow. When their car breaks down in a small town called Live Oak in South Carolina, Ansel and Gretchen seek refuge in a chocolatier shop owned by a sweet, but lonely, twenty-something-year-old lady named Sophia. Taking a likeness to Sophia, Ansel becomes her boyfriend and Gretchen becomes her best friend. Mesmerized by her chocolate treats, her caring smile, and her welcoming aura, Ansel and Gretchen seem to have finally a place they can call home.

However, not all is perfect. Gretchen, despite her resistance not to, notices something hidden underneath Sophia’s candy-coated smile and sun-kissed skin. Gretchen notices a sadness that is all too familiar, the same sadness that enslaved her for so many years after her twin sister’s disappearance. After discovering that eight teenage girls have gone missing from Sophia’s annual chocolate festival, Gretchen confronts Samuel Reynolds. Samuel is the town crazy, who claims that Sophia is crazy and spews nonsense about werewolves. Samuel, along with the families of the missing, is sure that Sophia has something to do with the town’s disappearances.

All the talk of disappearances causes many memories to flood Gretchen’s mind – memories of her twin, memories of the woods, memories of the witch. But could sweet, kind, gentle Sophia really be a witch? A witch who kidnaps innocent girls? Realizing that she needs to take control, Gretchen begins an investigation into what really happened to those girls, what secrets Sophia is hiding, and, most importantly, what happened to her twin sister, whose name she cannot even say due to the incredible hurt it brings.

Entrancing, Sweetly chronicles the journey of Gretchen as she finally makes amends with what happened to her many years ago. With the ever-present threat of something just out of reach, Gretchen makes it her mission to uncover the truth, no matter what consequences come with it. Full of realistic, loveable characters, Sweetly creates a flowing, rhythmic story of mystery, resolution, and the truth behind what’s sweet. 

 

Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

Note: I was fortunate to recently receive an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Sweetly by Jackson Pearce. Officially, Sweetly will not be released as a hardcover until August 23rd. Since I have finished reading the ARC, I thought it seemed fit that you, the readers of The Bookshelf, should receive an inside look at one of this summer’s most captivating reads.

 

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