A dark, sarcastic, and freaking hilarious retelling of Hansel and Gretel, with a few other fairy tales thrown in.
Gretel bites off a whole lot more than she can chew when she escapes into the Darkwood and accidentally joins a gang of witches. But she can handle it, she can do maths.
It reminds me a bit of Discworld and it was nice to see that the author did get inspiration from that among other sarcastic magical stories.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story is a fun re-telling of a mixture of fairy tales and fables. Witty and colorful, the story of Hansel and Gretel comes to life in new ways. Memorable characters, jaunty plot, impish humor, and great dialogue make the pages fly by. Eager to see where this series goes.

Darkwood is a book aimed at ‘middle grade’ or YA readers. It is a fairytale with a twist. There are ogres, huntsmen, magic and of course witches all of whom come together is a enjoyable and entertaining adventure story. This is very much in the vein of Pratchett or Maxwell, and equally as much fun.
My 11 year old devoured it and I enjoyed it too, I would recommend it to adult readers as well.
This is the start of a series and I cannot wait for the book.

Any fairytale retelling is a great read in my opinion and it is a sure trope to get me to buy it.
Loved this one which had a reminiscent feel of the Brother Grimm and Angela Carter in certain ways.

Absolutely had me hooked.

Will be on the lookout for more from this author

Hansel & Gretel Meet Snow White . . . and Jack in the Beanstalk and Unicorns and Centaurs and Ogres and other magical and mythical beings. Most fairy tales seem to exist in monarchies, but the King has been overthrown and the Princess has fled to the forest. Dystopia is ruled by masked creatures who, thinking magic is the venue of women, have restricted the education of girls (no maths allowed!) and condemn witches to death--or the forest. Written with a great deal of snarky humor, with interesting twists on the stories from our childhoods.

Thus isa Kind of Haensel and Gretel Story like the Grimm Brothers wrote it. But with witches, speaking animals . They have to win a war against real bad guys.

Can't wait for more in this series. A cool take on classic fairy tale figures, but also relevant to modern happenings. Great characters, fun plot. I will definitely pick up the next book in the series.

This book had was an enjoyable middle grade read. It took some already well known fairytales and it added a slight darker feel to them, which made things more fascinating.

Overall, Darkwood was a decent book, but I don't think that it was exactly for me. Maybe someone else would enjoy it more than I did.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The only reason I requested this book was because Heathur @ Aphrodite Reads raved about it. I sadly, do not share that opinion. When adding this to my ‘currently reading’ shelf on GoodReads, I was very surprised to see that it’s a middle grade fantasy. I’d only gotten about 10% into it before adding it on GoodReads, but it didn’t seem like a middle grade story to me.
My first issue with this being middle grade is the language. There were a handful of words that I didn’t know the meaning of and others that I know but younger readers would likely struggle with. If you’re going to write a middle grade book, you should make sure the intended audience won’t have to look up words every few pages.
The next issue was the writing style. The story jumped all over the place. It was told through the perspective of a bunch of different characters but there wasn’t really any warning when the perspective changed. It would have been different if these changes had been confined to their own chapters. But there were POV changes mid chapter, more than once.
As for the story itself, I think there was some real potential here. There were a combination of fairytale characters that were a part of this world. The Darkwood also reminded me a bit of The Wood from Naomi Novik’s Uprooted. I was excited to see where the story was going in the first half, but the ending seemed rushed and so many things left as loose ends. I assume there is going to be sequel, but too many things were left unresolved for my liking.
Overall, I thought this story had a lot of potential, but I didn’t love the execution. Though others have really enjoyed this story, so take my review with a grain of salt.
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Thirteen year old Gretel Mudd is very clever in a place where this trait in girls leads to suspicions of witchcraft. As a result, Gretel is banished to the terrifying Darkwood where she meets an assortment of witches and fairy-tale creatures. Alongside her new companions, she must save her family and home from the dangerous Huntsmen.

Darkwood is a wonderfully humorous tale, suitable for middle grade to adult. The narrative tone is an incredibly witty and readable way of dealing with some deeper issues such as prejudice and abuse of power.

Gretel and her friends are quirky and likable, with plenty of clever quips and sarcastic remarks between them. Gretel’s new companions include some interesting takes on some familiar fairy-tale characters. I particularly liked the portrayal of the slightly inept Huntsmen and their ridiculous, hypocritical leader.

This is the first in The Darkwood Series, but stands alone well as a self-contained story. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes new interpretations of fairy-tales, or who just likes a fun read.

This book was a lot of fun. It had an interesting concept and delivered it well. I enjoyed it immensely.

What a wonderful fairy/folk tale mash-up. And a fun re-imagining of characters. It's a book about family, tolerance/intolerance, acceptance, grief, the joy of family and friends. How fear can turn to hate and power to horrible acts of inhumanity. Thrown in are several moments which made me laugh. There's so much going on and so many characters to win your heart or wish they'd just turn to cake. More, please!

What caught my eye about this story was the fact that it had the feel of olden fairy tales (like Grimm’s) yet was modern and fresh. I loved the idea of a magical “forest” filled with darkness, beasts and witches. Gretel and her adventures called to me. I very much enjoyed this YA story and would love to read more in this world. A mixture of classic fairy tales mix together seamlessly, and they create a magical world for any reader to get lost in.

No one is safe in Deadwood, not even the dead, but Gretel thinks soon finds herself immersed into the life of Deadwood when she is accused of being a witch. Gretel (against her society’s beliefs) is smart; she uses math, engineering and all that related sciences to help her in the world (females are not to do math/science). I loved that she stayed who she was and would not form to expectations.

In Deadwood she meets the most interesting and fun/scary creatures. I loved this world and all that it inhabited. The creatures were so vivid and amazing to read about. These (I think) made the story for me. I would love to get to know these people/creatures and be a part of this amazing world. I don’t want to give away more as I truly think that this world is best experienced as you read, but it really enjoyed the adventure. Oh and if there was ever a creature/familiar that fit me this story has it! It’s a talking spider and yea, that would be my dream!

This story is so much more than just a modern retelling of some favorite fairy tales but if you just want to read it for the entertainment value, you won’t be disappointed! I highly recommend this story and I will be adding it to my “buy for friend's children” list! I received an ARC via NetGallery and Farrago and I am leaving my honest review.

#NetGallery #Darkwood #FairyTales # MustReadYA #AdventureReading

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley & author.

LIke some of the other reviewers, I initially didn't realize this was a middle grade book. It was an unique storyline, a fun take on fairytales and the such. My daughter whom is in 4th grade also really enjoyed it!

"We make out that witches aren’t real people, but we pretend that we aren’t people, either. Because, if we can convince others and ourselves that we’re not really people, then we can let ourselves get away with committing some really inhuman acts."

This was hilarious and also surprisingly deep towards the end. It starts out as a satire of many common fairy tales [Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc] as well as a commentary on the antiquated gender roles in most fairy tale type stories. By the end it's actually a very insightful commentary on how easy it is for people to turn against other people who are 'different' than them and what a slippery slope that can turn out to be. The plot is very fast paced and funny and I really liked all the characters and the unique spins that the author put on them. I would definitely recommend this to people who like tongue-in-cheek fairy tale retellings like Kiersten White's Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales.

This is a retelling of many fairy tales rolled into one quirky story. It is along the lines of the drama 'Once upon a time' in terms of its content. There is a flippancy in the conversation and the humour lies in the delivery and the situation that we are witnessing. 
Hansel and Gretel live with their step-parents in a little village where they get orders from power at the citadel on how to conduct their daily lives and how things are supposed to work. When Gretel is suspected of being a witch and driven out to Darkwood(the magical wood bordering their village) new information comes to light. Gretel corrals the troops, which consists of different odd magical life forms in order to defend their way of life. It is a fun book meant for light reading despite touching upon forms of xenophobia and the blind faith in cult-like situations. 

There are many other fairy-tale characters that make their way into the story in order to give it more substance and they are all unique in their own way, none more so than Trevor (more about him would get clearer on reading the book itself). I would recommend this to fans of retellings as well as quirky dialogues and characters.

I absolutely love this book. It is perfection!

Darkwood is suitable for anyone from middle-grade to adult, as there is plenty of peril and adventure, but the strongest word (used in the direst situations) is ‘trousers’!

The plot takes classic fairytale characters such as Hansel and Gretel, or Jack of beanstalk fame, and tumbles and twists them about into something brand new, touching and very funny. Similarly there are ogres and unicorns, fairies and mermaids, but they may not look or behave exactly as you might expect.

Gretel, our main character, is forced into the woods for witchcraft and finds herself joining a jolly band of (mostly) friendly witches – and a talking spider, Trevor – as they attempt to protect the good folk against the wicked. Which is problematic because Gretel isn’t actually a witch…just very good at Maths. And she’s really not sure which folk are which!

There are some serious lessons here about how we treat those who are different; about hypocrisy and bravery; about judging on appearances, first impressions, gender or species. These morals are integral to the story but at no point do they intrude on the sheer entertainment of the action. There are simply cool-headed, logical STEM girls, tough kick ass girls, sensitive boys who worry and overthink… and a talking spider who thinks that sunglasses and a big hat make him inconspicuous! Everyone does what they do best and delightful mayhem ensues.

This is a well-written twisted fairytale with great characters and world-building and I am exceptionally happy that the ending clearly points to a sequel. May there be many more adventures in the Darkwood!



You don’t go into the Darkwood. That’s one of the first lessons every child learns in Myraina. All sorts of nasty things live out there, amongst the twisted trees and brambles. That’s where the witches and the beasties creep, and if you go in there, you’ll never come out again, or you’ll come back all wrong, and won’t be able to live with notmal decent folk any more. Stay away from the Darkwood, child, don’t even go near. Unless… well… house prices are so cheap on the outskirts of the wood.

– Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Darkwood

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Other reviewers suggest that this is a middle-grade book. Whilst I’m sure students would enjoy it; I don’t believe it’s a “middle-grade” book. It is emphatically enjoyable for 60-year old adults like me too. The book is a light read but I found myself re-reading some pages just because the dialogue was so good.
It is reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s books: fantasy; a riff upon a folk-tale (in this case, Snow White, Hansel & Gretel and echoes of a couple of others); and very very funny one-liners. I’m still laughing out loud, a few days later at the exchange between Gretel and the princess:
“Can you feel peas in your bed?”
“I’ll pee in YOUR bed, if you’re not careful.”
“Well, that’s not very regal, is it?”

It’s reminiscent of Terry, but Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is NOT copying Terry. She has her own voice. Gaving said that, I’m pretty confident that if you enjoyed Terry Pratchett’s books, you WILL enjoy GHC’s. I wish, however, that she didn’t use the present tense. I find it irritating and distracting – and I can’t think of a good reason for her to use it.

I consider it a badge of pride to be one of the first fans of Darkwood and, oh, I do hope the second book in the series comes along soon. The last page of Darkwood hints at a sequel with more jeopardy to come…

#Darkwood #NetGalley

Under thoroughly enjoyed this take of the classic fairy tales - I loved the abundance of strong female characters, the engaging plot, the dark humour throughout. Some of the writing felt a like clunky for me, particularly in the dialogue but overall this was a really fun read, well paced - I look forward to reading more about the Darkwood!

A brilliant twist on the original legend Hansel and Gretel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the magic surrounding it. Cannot wait to read more.