It was an overall okay read. The characters were probably the worst part of this book. They were whiny and to be honest just very annoying. However the plot and story bones were good enough to finish reading.

The book was okay, but I really felt like Hans and Greta could be very whiney. The book was probably a bit longer than it needed to be, but the story itself was mostly interesting.

An amusing and well paced retelling of Hansel and Gretel.

Historically Hansel and Gretel hasn’t been the most successful for authors attempting a retelling or reinterpretation, but this one actually worked well, though the style is admittedly not my cup of tea.

This definitely skews toward the Horror component of fairy tales, which isn’t my preference but does feel like a good stylistic match for Hansel and Gretel. I liked the setting and the atmospheric sense of menace a lot, and the bones of the plot were good.

The characters were a less successful component of the book. The protagonists are equal parts frustrating and irritating, and only the Shrike (evil though she may be) boasts interesting and complex motives.

I didn’t love then sex/horror mashup component of this, though I’m aware there is an audience for this. This one tends more toward cringe than upsetting in that regard, but it left me rolling my eyes. A lot.

In all, it’s not a bad go at respinning Hansel and Gretel, but not my favorite style of fairy tale retelling.

The story itself is interesting, a tad long and not much happening here and there, but the character is a bit so and so. I felt that both Hans and Greta were extremely whiny and sometimes i thought them to be younger than portrayed to be, because they acted so childish and selfish.

This book was an okay read. Something about the writing style, though, felt a little immature. The focus on the relationship between Hans and Greta was well done.

Usually, I love Chantal Gadoury’s books! They are normally a delight to read. However, I struggled with this book. Chantal Gadoury’s strength is that she writes compelling characters. However, none of the characters were likeable. Hans was a jerk throughout the book. It seemed that he was selfish and did not seem to care about Greta. Greta was weak and seemed to be a damsel in distress. The other characters in the novel seemed very one-dimensional. The villain just was not interesting and seemed flat. The medieval village seemed very realistic and was the best part of the novel. The woods did not seem atmospheric or very mysterious. It just seemed to drag with an instant romance that felt out of place in the novel. Still, this book would be enjoyable for those that like fairytale retellings. However, I expected better from the author.

I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, I really never got into it and it just felt, long.

After being accused of witch craft Hans and Greta must try to survive in the woods where the witch that plagues the village lives. Soon after entering the forest they seeing hallucinations and terrifying creatures. Can they make it through together it will the Shrike finish what she started?

Sadly, I don’t have a lot of things that I liked about this story. it started out strong but it soon became too much of the same situations repeated. Hans is more worried about chasing women and judging Gretas choices. It just got really boring to me. I had a hard time pushing through to the end and I only did because I wanted to see how it would end. Overall, I was really disappointed by this story.

This book is an incredibly (like seriously, slow down) fast paced book. An ADULT (not YA) retelling of Hansel and Gretal. If you like dark and suspenseful stories, especially ones with incredibly fast pace, this is the book for you.

I love fairy tale retellings, and Hansel & Gretel isn't one I see too often, so I was excited for The Shrike and the Shadows. I actually started reading it and couldn't get into the story at all, and ended up setting it down for MONTHS before finally picking it back up and forcing myself to finish it. Just... nothing HAPPENS. How can it be so long and nothing HAPPENS? The Shrike is the best character and she just sort of pops up and away and deserves WAY more page time. The pacing wall all over the place, and the main characters were unlikable (at best). Not a fan.

I think I noticed reading this that I have had enough of fairytale Retellings. I really need a pause reading them.

I think this is one's huge selling point is its writing style: if one really likes descriptive writing this book is for them.

Sadly the story itself failed to grab my attention the way I hoped. I found my thoughts wandering away from the book's content, thinking about a lot of unrelated things. The main characters are also not THAT great. They are enjoyable enough, don't get me wrong, but I failed to connect with the..

I also could have done without the explicit sex scenes - thank you very much

ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you for letting me review this title.

I thought the concept of this book, an adult retelling of the beloved tale of Hansel and Gretel, was intriguing but it didn't grab my attention as I hoped for, the descriptive writing was nice,

A very daring story, it was really intenee and dark. Loved the mysterious feeling throughout the book, wouls have liked a more detailed worldbuilding, but all in all a very enjoyable read. I did like some of the side characters more, Barin for example.
I feel like it is a very good dark retelling, perfect for Autumn, I will definitely reread it someday

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to The Parliament House and NetGalley for giving me access.

This is the Hansel and Gretel story you didn't know you needed! Can this be a movie please? I would really enjoy watching it.

We had witches and wolves and ripped out hearts...oh my! All the darkness that my soul needed!

I thought the concept of this book was intriguing but it never grabbed my attention. I put it down many times and forced myself to finish. I have been a retelling kick and i think that reading the same ole repeated format was grinding my reading ethic to a halt so the slowness of the book did nothing to help. I probably would not recommend this Hansel and Gretel retelling as there as slightingly better ones out there. I applaud the author for trying and writing about something that kindled a spark in her. Thank you for letting me review this title.

I adore retellings so at first I thought this would be the perfect book for me. I've been reading retellings a lot more lately and after loving A Tale Dark and Grimm I was ready to love this one, too. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case.

While I realize the original fairy tales were gruesome and most of those gritty details have been watered down over the years, The Shrike and the Shadows didn't shy away from any of those details. Then it went and upped the game hardcore.

The plot and basic story were fantastic, as were the shoutouts to other fairytales, but the way this book was written just didn't work for me. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found myself losing interest at several points throughout the story, hence why it took me so long to finally finish it.

I like dark, I like grim, but I simply couldn't get into this story which is a shame because the basis for an awesome retelling was there. I'm sure it'll work for other readers, but for this reader I'm going to have to give this series a miss.

I think this book didn't get a note that modern retellings are supposed to fix the issues of the original and not bring in even more of them.

I've never been a fan of the story of Hansel and Gretel. I found it lacking uninteresting compared to others and it always felt like it was on the edges of fairytale canon - known but kind of forgettable. That's why when I saw a retelling of it with such a cool concept, I decided that I immediately need it in my life.

Needles to say, I was deeply disappointed.

I fail to see how you can take such a spooky, thrilling concept and make it so boring. There's nothing going on in the book. And even if something happens it lasts a moment and then we're back to the twins complaining about being in the forest or arguing. There are supposedly spooky dream descriptions that make you think there's something deeper going on but in the end, there just isn't. The twins know everything from the very beginning - who's hunting them, why shouldn't you stay in the forest after dark, etc. There's no plot twist, no bigger surprise, nothing is turned on the characters making them go "wow we were wrong all the time". It's extremely monotonous to read.

The characters are at best flat and boring and at worst annoying as hell. The only character I didn't roll my eyes on was Barin and he was too tolerable at best. Also, the way he calls Hans "boy", implying that Hans is much younger than him and he sees him as an immature child but lusts after Greta is... Yeah.

But even a book with all of this would get 2-3 star ratings from me normally, especially that as I said - I liked the idea, the magical woods trope was also pretty well made and there were things in this book that were alright. What prompted such a low rating then?

The sexism.

You all, throughout the book Greta doesn't talk to a single woman beside her mother in the flashbacks. There is a sexual assault at the beginning of the book and later Greta is told by her brother that he can see why would she be almost raped because she's so soft and would be easy to bed. There multiple instances when Hans says that she wouldn't be able to survive without him. Maybe it could be blamed at him being an overall asshole if not for the fact that the moment Greta starts having a conflict with her brother and he becomes unreliable, another male character is introduced to take over the role of her big alpha male. Because GOD FORBID she does something herself. There's obviously a ton of girl hate, aka women in the village hating Greta because Hans picks her over them. There are 4 women in the book and they're either evil, dead, desperate, or completely incapable of doing anything on their own. There are comments on how Greta's "girlishness" is her weakness and how she should stop being "such a girl". Most of this comes from Hans, whose relationship with his sister was... Very questionable and downright abusive. Greta sits at home when Hans goes to the village to sleep with girls and drink. She has barely any contact with anyone besides her brother. Hans literally lies to girls in the village that Greta won't allow him to marry to get away with having sex with them and not marrying them. When Greta finally starts showing interest in another man, Hans is downright jealous and comments on how he would rather no man took interest in his sister and she had no interest in men. As soon as she starts forming a relationship with a man beside him he starts guilt-tripping and insulting her. It made me absolutely furious to see, especially that it is all swept under a rug and written down as the evil witch influence.

Also, you all should stop shelving this as YA - there are explicit sex scenes and the whole book is rather dark and gruesome. Not to mention characters' age hints more at New Adult than YA.

All in all, if you have any stronger feelings about portrayal of women in fiction - I do not recommend it.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was pulled in by the cover of this book and that was before that I knew that is was a retelling. I have read a lot of them in the last couple of years. I like new twists on stories I am already familiar with. Hans and Greta are forced from the one home they have ever known to go into exile after the were give a dark choice. It is know that men have been going missing and that the legend saying that there is a witch in the woods that is hungry and eating them. It was kind of gross that hearts would turn up in the village. It was a very different version of the story I know, but it is a dark version like many of the tales were at their time.

I have been very picky with re-tellings lately, and this one wasn't quite my vibe.
I had trouble with the characters, for the most part, while I didn't mind the overall plot. I liked how dark and gritty it was, and am interested to see what happens next. This just wasn't a book that I fell in love with. There was a ton of potential though so I encourage you to try it!

I'm not the biggest fan of fairytale retellings, but my biggest issue was personal disinterest in the main characters. I read maybe 30% before DNF'ing it.