This was an interesting read and not what I expected. It's an adult twist on the Hansel and Gretel story, the twins are nineteen and the witch is called The Shrike. She takes older boys and men and rips their hearts out. The Shrike lures the men through lust, appearing to them as a beautiful woman and bringing them to her. Hans is basically ruled by lust the entire book, even before The Shrike starts invading his mind. Hans sleeps around with all the girls in the village and that's what gets him and Greta in trouble. He can't resist The Shrike and it's up to Greta to save him. I did like Greta for loving Hans and doing whatever she could to help him, even when he's pushing her away, but she doesn't realize her strength. Barin was a good character, basically a werewolf under The Shrike's control, but he's slowly breaking free of her. I thought the book would wrap up, not leave us hanging! Guess I'll have to wait for book 2, although it's going to be a while lol.

Gadoury and Wrights book is a retelling of the classic fairytale of Hansel and Gretel (or Hans and Greta), in which the children are twins living in a small village in the middle of the woods. Since a few years back they're orphaned and this made them stigmatised. The reason why is sort of explained in the book, but it's an odd reason, and it doesn't feel like much more than the authors wanted the main characters to be shunned by their society.

As in many other similar stories (and well, true to this ones' original) there's a mystical force living in the woods surrounding the village called The Shrike. This malicious force lives on human hearts - that it, if The Shrike is real. The villagers think not, lead by the local priest. In some way or another Greta is accused of being a witch, with the result being that both her and Hans are driven out of the village into the dark woods. There they meet their own demons, more or less.

There are makings of something interesting but the story is not intriguing enough for it to be really engaging or interesting. Some things, like the siblings' stigmatisation, is just sort of there? I gathered that this is, probably, the first book in a series but the way it ended was very cliché and it didn't make me want to continuing on to see where the story would go. Language wise, though, it's okay.

I think that's the whole thing, the book is too "okay" with nothing really special to make it different from other books in the same genre.

I really enjoyed this book! Not only was the plot clever and intriguing, but I felt that the characters were ones you could empathise with and fully comprehend their emotional depth! I will absolutely be buying a physical copy and recommending this to everyone!

The Shrike and the Shadows

All the stars! This is Hansel and Gretel retelling which is without a doubt for adults. It’s dark, violent and gruesome early on in the story.

Hans and Greta live in a small village called Krume. The Shrike is a witch that has been attacking and killing men from the town, leaving their hearts as a calling card. After they are driven out from their village after Greta is falsely accused of witchcraft, and have no choice but to venture into the woods.

Cracks of distrust begin showing between brother and sister when walking through the woods, the story becomes more ominous and sinister as it goes on. They meet a wolf shifter called Barin who was an excellent character.

The shrike was a truly terrifying villain. This book genuinely scared me I was reading it at night and the dream sequences in particular frightened me I loved it!

Hans wasn’t a likeable character for me I began to feel frustrated and angry towards him for his treatment of his sister but this was probably meant and added a different dynamic to the brother/sister relationship.

I don’t think there’s anything I would honestly change about this book I throughly enjoyed it! Thank you to netgalley

I believe most if not all of us know the tale of Hansel and Gretel.

Two children are cast out by their parents but leave breadcrumbs to find their way back home. They come upon a witch’s house and she wants to eat them yada yada blah blah. There are many variations to the story but that’s the basic gist of it. And of course there are many retellings.

The Shrike & the Shadows is one of these retellings. It is the story of Hans and Greta and of course the Shrike. The Shrike is hungry for men and when she comes you will know, as she leaves the hearts of her victims on your doorstep.

The villagers of Krume soon turn against the siblings and cast them out of the town and into the haunted forest to the waiting and hungry clutches of the Shrike. Will they be able to escape her clutches? Or will they fall victim to her hungry heart and lips?


Have any of you ever played the game Heavy Rain? In the beginning the main character is searching for his son and intones over and over again: Jason…Jason…JAAYYYYSOOOON. It’s hilarious in a way. This is how I felt reading this book. Over and over again Greta called for her twin, Hans, looking for him, and all I could think was that fucker could really use a tracker or a bell placed around his neck.

This was…disappointing to be honest. It showed a lot of promise in the first half but at the first titty suck it quickly went downhill. And yes, I said titty suck. There’s sex in it. A lot of it. Now, I’m no prude. Not at all. I enjoy romance and erotica to a point but when there’s a demonic witch bitch flitting about and literally tearing the hearts of men out, the last thing I want to be doing is humping. I put my kindle down and rolled my eyes. I understand that tensions are high but jesus christ, PUT IT AWAY AND FOCUS PEOPLE.


The characters are alright. I could throttle Hans though. Minor spoilers but Greta defending him throughout the book and blaming the Shrike’s hold on him. Um, girl. Your brother was going around saying that you nagged him LONG BEFORE THE SHRIKE CAME INTO PLAY. He was an ass long before any of this. Bairn was meh. Tolerable. I wasn’t shocked at his big reveal. More like…oh, wow that’s crazy *flips page*

The end felt rushed and I had to re-read it a few times to fully digest that it was the end. I found myself internally yelling at the characters that yes, you said this before many many times.

I did enjoy the setting of the book, this was a new fresh way to bring to life Hansel and Gretel and the Shrike was a really interesting character, my favorite actually. She actually struck fear into me. I just feel that this could have been executed much better. The timeline was also tricky. I was confused regarding the deaths of the twins mother and father and felt that that could have been explained more. The cover for this book is beyond gorgeous though and really well made. I am always here for dark retellings of fairy tales so I’m happy I got the chance to read this.

Thanks very much to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Shrike, kinder, comes only at night.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and The Parliament House for the e-arc to review!

Hans and Greta are two outcast orphans living in Krume, a village on the outskirts of a haunted wood plagued by a witch. The witch is known as the Shrike, and she terrorizes the villagers by taking the men and leaving their hearts as a bloody token of her visit. When Hans and Greta are soon met with accusations of being witches themselves and are forced to enter the wood the Shrike calls home...

First things first, I absolutely love the premise and the idea behind this story. It is a dark and twisted Hansel and Gretel retelling that definitely gives the creeps. The setting is well done, evoking foreboding and dread. The writing had flashes of brilliance, however, between those flashes I felt the writing lacked a bit, becoming mundane and too simple.

I had such high expectations for this book, so ultimately I was left a bit disappointed and there are two main reasons why.

First is that I actually had a lot of trouble connecting with both Hans and Greta. I found Hans to be rather unlikeable. There were mentions of how he wasn't acting how he normally was but since I felt I never got to see the supposed 'real' Hans, I didn't feel affected by anything he was going through. With Greta, she was far too naive for me and seemed to be crying all of the time? Granted, she was going through a lot but I found myself being annoyed with her rather than sympathizing.

Secondly, the story felt so slow. I felt like there was no clear goal with the plot and that I was just a passenger on some wayward vehicle with no set direction. This wouldn't have bothered me as much if the characters were more well-written and likable, then the more emotional part of the journey with the two characters would have been more captivating and able to carry the story better.

Overall, it wasn't bad. There were parts I really liked, the overall intent behind the story, the setting, the twist at the end, and of course there was Barin. But some inconsistent writing and lack of plot points as well as two protagonists I wasn't completely sold by have let this story down a bit.

If you like dark, spooky tales that are definitely more mature in theme, I would recommend you give it a read and see what you think!

A dark reimagining of the Hansel and Gretel folk story, The Shrike and the Shadows is an immersive and fluid read that explores the sibling dynamic. Broaching such subjects as sexual assault, religious intolerance, and mass hysteria, this novel is a unique and dazzling take on the medieval era and the ways that our differences can often be our greatest strengths.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.