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Hansel and the Gingerbread Queen by Lea Doue

Fairytale Retelling. 132 Pages. 5 Stars

Synopsis: 

No matter how the sugar sparkles, never sample the sweets.

Evony is the daughter of a witch, with all of her reputation but none of her powers. She’s spent her whole life in the heart of the forest, safe from outsiders in a wondrous candy cottage as dangerous as it is beautiful. Kept company by a trio of tiny companions—a loyal gingerbread dragon and two mischievous brownies—Evony’s one desire is to find a place in the human world. But first, she must find a way to undo her mother’s spells and free the poor souls who fell to temptation. Only two obstacles stand in her way. A traveler with distracting molasses-brown eyes, and the one creation the witch left behind with the power to stop her: the gingerbread man.

Hansel and the Gingerbread Queen is one of twelve short novels in A Villain’s Ever After, a collection of stand-alone stories featuring villainous twists on some of your favorite classic fairy tales. Read the series in any order for magical adventures . . . and fall in love with villains as you’ve never seen them before. Who said villains can’t have happily-ever-afters?

My Review: 

Okay, I thought I’d reviewed this one already, but guess not. Hmm…

I’ve been meandering through the Villain’s Ever After series for a while now and I kind of came to a pause here because I’ve never loved Hansel and Gretel. I always groan inwardly when that tale comes up. I’ve seen it retold a few times, and generally I like the retellings better than the original, but it’s just simply not one of my favorite fairy tales. So, I kind of procrastinated on progressing through the series cause I wasn’t really in the mood to read this retelling.

But honestly? This may be my favorite in the series so far. It genuinely surprised me. It was well-written. I have nothing to say in regards to the quality of the writing–though I’m not exactly surprised. I’ve read and enjoyed Doue’s work before. But she actually really impressed me with this one. It’s hard to pace a novella well, to flesh out the world enough and build a plot and complete character arcs in such a small wordcount. But this didn’t have any hiccups that most novella length stories do, particularly in pacing.

Furthermore, the story itself was a delight. It was really sweet, pun intended! I actually liked some of the twists on classic elements, like the unique manifestation of the candy house (and the magic surrounding it) and the characters themselves. The classic witch and children and Hansel and Gretel characters mixed with unique, new characters of Doue’s world seamlessly. One original character I didn’t think we’d see made an appearance and I just loved that particular character (no spoilers!).

Doue wove the plot elements in such a way that the story kept moving forward. Her pacing and reveals were fantastic, as I’ve already mentioned. But there were actually a few twists I didn’t see coming and plot points that took me by surprise. And as a reader, that was a true treat. I loved the suspense she built around the stakes of freeing these trapped cookie people and the courage and honor of the main character. Even the romance felt natural to me, though I did find it a little odd they were both bakers (fun, but interesting).

This was an adorable novella with heart and creativity. One I’d be proud to own. I’m excited to see where else the series leads and definitely considering rereading some of Doue’s books!

Content: the romance is clean, sweet, and subtle for the most part. There’s no foul language. And some mild fairytale violence. I’d feel fine giving it to a preteen.

More: 

A Villain’s Ever After Book 1 is The Beast and the Enchantress (3 Stars)

Book 2 is The Sultan and the Storyteller (4 Stars)

Book 3 is Bluebeard and the Outlaw (5 Stars)

Book 4 is The Stepsister and the Slipper (4 Stars)

Book 5 is The Goblin and the Dancer (4 Stars)

Book 6 is Hansel and the Gingerbread Queen (5 Stars)

Book 7 is The Dark King and the Eternal Dance (4 Stars)

Book 8 is Gothel and the Maiden Prince (4 Stars)

Book 9 is The Sorcerer and the Swan Princess (3 Stars)

Book 10 is The Baker and the Wolf (4 Stars)

Book 11 is The Prince and the Sea Witch (5 Stars)

Book 12 is Carabosse and the Spindle Spell (5 Stars)

Check out Goodreads for the full reviews and more info on each story. These are standalone and do not need to be read in order.

On GraceBought

If you missed my thoughts on the previous books in the series, check them out below!

The Beast and the Enchantress, The Sultan and the Storyteller, Bluebeard and the Outlaw, The Stepsister and the Slipper, and The Goblin and the Dancer