Ariadne Review

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I was provided Ariadne by Jennifer Saint an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.

As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother – demands blood every year.

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods – drawing their attention can cost you everything.

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?

I don’t even know where to begin with Ariadne!!! The narrative drew me in instantly and I felt an intensely deep response to it as if it was nestled inside my heart and I couldn’t let it go. I did not want it to end but I also couldn’t stop myself from reading on in a world where horror and terror reside in equal measure with beauty and wonder.

The narrative was beautifully written and the descriptions in the book were almost cinematic quality I was able to immerse myself into it so completely it was almost as if I was watching it on a big screen and that is something I have rarely experienced before.

I adored it and it is on my list of top 2021 reads. 5 stars just isn’t enough.

Gretel On Her Own Review

I was provided Gretel On Her Own by Elna Holst as an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.

Once upon a time, a brother and sister were led away into the depths of the forest. It was only to protect them, their mother explained and the brother concurred; yet he insisted on pebbles, bread crumbs. He insisted on looking back for cats and pigeons and whatnots, brightened by the touch of the sun.

Twenty years later, Gretel Kindermann is on her own: her father has taken himself off to Dortmund, her mother is a fixture at the local mental healthcare institution, and her brother Hänsel, oh— thats a whole other story

At the heart of the matter, like a thorny-rooted weed, is Frau Heckscher, the purveyor of all things sweet in the little village at the lip of the forest. And now, perhaps, also a niece that no one has heard of before, lately arrived from Vienna to wreak havoc on poor Gretel’s nerves and heart.

In Gretel on Her Own, Elna Holst offers a contemporary sapphic twist to your favourite Germanic fairy tale of homicidal arsonists and houses built out of baked goods, trickster witches, and parenting skills that leave a lot to be desired.

I have always loved fairy tales and retelling of fairy tales so this instantly appealed to me. However, to simply say it is just a retelling of Hansel and Gretel is both true and false at the same time.  The author takes the much loved and incredibly well-known tale and puts her own spin on it with twists and turns that will make this a very familiar yet completely new tale.

The one thing that really stood out to me in this novella is the emphasis that is put on the sense of smell and taste, which is no surprise when the original tale is all about sweets, sugar and all things nice, however, it is nonetheless done in a very clever and thought-provoking manner.

The reader is kept guessing even looking through Gretel’s eyes as for the longest time she is unsure of what is happening too. It had a sense of gothic creepiness about it which is everything that a true fairy tale- and truly talented storyteller should invoke.

This is the quintessential bedtime story for adults and I will definitely be looking for more work by Holst. I loved it and will read it time and time again so it is a 5 star read for me.