An interesting take on what happened after Hansel and Gretel defeated the witch in the gingerbread house. Overall this was an intriguing story with well developed characters. My only issue is that the end felt a bit rushed and the whiplash character change of the duck character came out of nowhere.

The Gingerbread Queen was the sweetest fairy tale story! Thanks to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for this eARC. The Gingerbread Queen takes place in Germany in 1825. It tells the story of Gretel and what has happened to her after she escapes the evil witch's house. This book is full of heartache, whimsy, and overall coziness. I absolutely loved Carrie Noble's writing. This book would make a great movie as well. I highly recommend if you're in the mood for a fairy tale!

I am always on the hunt for a fairy tale retelling and reimagining and With The Gingerbread Queen, we revisit Hansel and Gretel nearly 13 years after their ordeal with the witch in the woods. The beginning of this book reminded me of After the Forest by Kell Woods, where we also revisit Hansel and Greta (I believe we call her) after they've grown. I was actually surprised I didn't see more people comparing the two as the other only came out about a year ago.

However, this book does take a bit of a darker path as we see Gretel ( now going by Marga) trying to distance herself from her past and her brother throwing their family into poverty because of his gambling issue. I love the dark atmosphere of the book, the magic which still permeates everything, and the gothic eerie forest which becomes almost a character in itself.

I think I noticed someone say this would be part of a duology and I hope that is true. I would love to continue to explore the story and the world she is weaving. I also want to pick up more of her works as it seems she has quite a way with fairy tale retellings.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I am so glad this came along and I was granted the opportunity to read it and provide my thoughts, I cannot wait to read more,

A lovely, enchanting, albeit darker, Hansel and Gretel tale, told 13 years after their infamous escape from the witch. I liked how The Gingerbread Queen humanizes Hansel and Gretel - they have real flaws, real fears, real problems. As they inevitably are drawn back to the gingerbread cottage, they encounter magic and how’s it’s always been entwined with their destinies. Enthralling story written by a masterful writer.

This book follows Gretel 13 years after her encounter with the witch in the woods. This was a cozy, whimsical and sweet book. I really liked the relationship in this book. I did not like the duck!!!! You don't see a lot of Hansel and Gretel retellings or future telling, but if you are into fairytale reads then this book is the one for you.
Thank you for allowing me to read this!

This was such an amazing read! I loved the twist in the story and the idea of it was so original. Having a duck as the villain was pure fun. The writing brought me into a sinister world where Gretel aka Marg was determined to survive in for herself. It is a breathe of fresh air to see Hansel grown up to be an irresponsible person after what happened with the witch unlike Marg. The little romance in the story lightened the heavy air of the whole plot and I enjoyed whenever Lukas and Marg has scenes together. All in all, such a fun and original read! I guess I found myself a new author to follow!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 4.25/5

A fascinating fairytale retelling, The Gingerbread Queen tells what happens to Gretel after her and her brother grew up. This was a cozy and quick read that despite its dark material, felt more lighthearted than expected - perhaps because of Marga's kindness (the name Gretel now goes by) and her sweet romance with Lukas. The only issues I really had with it was that the characters felt a little underdeveloped - I wanted to love Lukas but he didn't feel that deep of a character to me - and the resolution seemed a little sudden.

I love reading Fairy Tale retellings, so when I saw this book I knew I needed to get my hands on it! This book is a Hansel and Gretel retelling, which is one of the main reasons I gravitated towards this book. I have always been fascinated by an actual gingerbread house with frosting and candy glass windows. I could not put this book down once I started it and finished it in one sitting. I was completely enamored with the characterization and how the author told her version of this tale. I do wish it had gone in a more far leaning direction whether it have been good or bad. Though I'm not upset that it hung out more along the middle of the road throughout the book. It makes it very easy to enjoy this book. I am completely happy with how this book ended. Definitely eager to read more from this author.

this was so good and a lovely twist on the classic fairytale. this is a dual pov story which i love. i don’t normally read fairytale retellings but this has opened my eyes

3.5 stars rounded up. This definitely was a magical fairy tale of a read. The writing was good and suited the story well. It felt like a bedtime story for grown ups.

Which is why I'd give it a 3.5. It's a very nice, pleasant, cozy tale. There just isn't a lot to it. I always like stories that are character-driven so that part wasn't a problem for me. I just expected a little more danger and intrigue than what I got.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I loved this! Hansel and Gretel, but fast-forward to years after their harrowing encounter with the forest and witch. This to me was a mix of fantasy, historical fiction, and fairytale. Very descriptive, interesting characters, and great attention to detail in atmosphere. Highly recommend this.

Hansel and Gretel was never one of my favorite fairy tales, but Carrie Anne Noble has written a charming continuation of Gretel's story.

Noble's writing style and voice naturally have a fairy tale feeling, which results in The Gingerbread Queen feeling like a light, cozy day read. The ending felt a little anti-climactic, but the book was still enjoyable. While it's the first book in a duology, The Gingerbread Queen seems to work fine as a standalone novel. If you like fairy tales, happily ever afters, and magical forests, you'll likely enjoy The Gingerbread Queen.

Caution: light/moderate romance; five kisses; brief mentions of a side character having an affair in the past; brief mentions of a side character having visited brothels

I’m gonna be honest, I had to look up a summary of the original Hansel and Gretel story because I couldn’t remember. I think the author did a great job at sticking with the German culture and heritage and timeline for the 1800s. I loved Lukas, I’m really glad he stuck around. I for sure thought she’d end up falling in love with Ansgar but I don’t really like him. Or Hansel for that matter, what a piece of work. The story wasn’t anything over the top for me and the ending was a bit anti-climactic but a fun story overall.

The Gingerbread Queen by Carrie Anne Noble is a historical fantasy dual-POV reimagining of Hansel and Gretel. When Marga, once known as Gretel, and her brother, Hansel, get run out of town, Marga is put face-to-face with her destiny to take the place of the same witch that held her and her brother prisoner. Meanwhile, she is assisted by a duck named Ansgar, who was once the husband of the same Marga is replacing.

What I liked about this was how Hansel and Gretel deal with their trauma in very different ways. Hansel is a gambler who has grown exceptionally tall, most likely from the candy the witch fed him, while Gretel is short for a woman in her twenties and tries to keep her head down as the town looks at her in distrust for her association with the witch. Marga has also forsaken the name Gretel to put distance between her current self and the little girl that pushed the witch into an oven to save her brother.

This was the first reimagining I've read of Hansel and Gretel that introduces a family member or partner of the witch. I appreciated Ansgar’s complex feelings for his wife, from how he loved her to how her physical form became twisted to all the magic to his resentment for her cursing him to be a duck. We see a lot of the story through Ansgar's eyes and the tidbits we get of the witch help flesh her out and how we got to this point.

One thing that stood out to me was that Lukas, Marga’s love interest and a baker, is the descendant of the baker who made the gingerbread house. It adds a fun element of worldbuilding that brings a more adult element to the fairy tale.

I would recommend this to fans of Hansel and Gretel and readers looking for historical fantasy retellings of classic fairy tales.

I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings, so when I came across this one, I couldn't resist! Hansel and Gretel is not a very commonly retold fairy tale (that I have come across), so I really enjoyed this take on it. It takes place after the events of the traditional story, and Hansel and Gretel are adults and still dealing with the consequences of their time in the gingerbread house. Gretel has chosen a new name, Marga, and she is accused of being a witch and therefore avoids the townspeople. Hansel, meanwhile, constantly gives in to his vices and is kind of a terrible brother to Marga even though she saved him when they were children. I spent a lot of this book wondering if it was going to be a villain origin story or not, because I felt like it could go either way. I had my suspicions and wasn't surprised in the slightest by the ending, but I won't spoil the book by saying whether it is a villain story or not. I will say that the villain was very interesting and fun to read while also being really frustrating. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

THIS REALLY GOOD! I saw this book on Goodreads a month ago for giveaways. Of course I entered because I am a sucker for gingerbread things (so cute). Next cover change should be the whole book decorated as a gingerbread house.

I love that this isn't a damsel in distress and all the magical creatures that were brought into it. The independent woman thing, I absolute love and glad someone finally wrote it that way. The lake scene reminded me of Harry Potter and I freaking loved it. There are a couple scenes that are tangents including the days where she is by herself in the beginning. We don't need all that inner dialogue. You could have summarized it and made it one chapter. I love that the action just continued to spiral instead of slow down.

Couldn't really vibe with it. The writing was putting me off as well. I just couldn't get hooked into the story.

This is an excellent fairy tale continuation of Hansel and Gretel. Hansel remains as greedy and selfish as ever, and Gretel (whose real name is Marga) is just as clever, resourceful and good. Add in a too-clever duck, playful nixies, a handsome baker and you’ve got the recipe for a sweet, fun little romance story. I had fun reading this book, and hope you will, too.

I also want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for grinding me an advanced reader copy to read (and enjoy!)

The Gingerbread Queen by Carrie Anne Noble follows the story of Gretel, thirteen years after the events recounted by the Brothers Grimm.
Young Gretel, or Marga, as she prefers to be called, has led a life of abuse and contempt since she returned from the Igelwald Forest, her father is dead and Hansel is nothing more than a freeloader. Due to Hansel's gambling debts, she is forced to flee the town where they lived to return to the feared gingerbread house in search of the witch's treasure.
From that moment on, Marga's life takes an unexpected turn as she finds love and her new powers.
A charming story, a fairy tale for teenagers and adults that will leave the most demanding reader very satisfied with the ending.
I would have only liked an epilogue, something like "Thirteen years later..."
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

Thank you, Carrie Anne Noble and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

This is definitely different, and I love different things. It's part of a duology that's to come. What do you think would happen to Hansel and Gretel after hilling the witch? Read this book, and you'll find out. Of course, their lives could have gone many different ways. In my opinion, I thought for sure Hansel would have diabetes but alas not in this tale. There is romance, magic, betrayal, and so much in this twisted tale, but it certainly keeps you interested till the very end. You can only hope so much for your favorite characters.

Even if you don't get to meet many magical creatures, you certainly feel the magic and their presence throughout the book. The times you meet any, it's certainly fun and entertaining. Even those who seem like magical creature might turn out to be more than they appear.

Years after the death of the witch, Hansel and Gretel are living strange lives. They are completely different from one another, and one can say Gretel is the only one who seems to remember what happened to them in those woods. Things are changing, magic is stirring, and a new witch might be rising. What's going to happen? Read and find out.