The Shrike & the Shadows

The Witch of Krume, Book 1

By: Chantal Gadoury, A.M. Wright

Narrated by: Ryan Haugen

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The village of Krume is plagued by a haunted wood and a hungry witch. It’s been that way for as long as Hans and Greta can remember, though they have never seen the witch themselves; no one has.

When men start to disappear once again in the cover of night - their bloody hearts turning up on doorsteps - the village falls into frenzied madness.

Hans and Greta, two outcast orphans, find themselves facing accusations of witchcraft and are met with an ultimatum: burn at the stake, or leave the village forever.

With nowhere else to go, they abandon their only home.

As they venture into the strange forest, their path is fraught with horrific creatures, wild and vivid hallucinations, and a mysterious man tied to the witch's past.

The Shrike is watching, just beyond the deep darkness of the woods.

©2020 Machovia Productions Inc. (P)2020 Machovia Productions Inc.

Wonderful Potential

Krume has been plagued with an evil witch who lives in very haunted woods. Hans and Greta have known of this since they were young children. When men start disappearing, the village looks to blame somebody. With the urging of the village priest, they blame Hans and Greta and insist they leave the village immediately. If they don't, then the villagers will burn Greta for being a witch. With no choice, they leave to look for a new home. They have no other path than the haunted woods. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I feel like it had very great potential to be a very wonderful story. I am to the understanding that this is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Which I gathered just by the character names alone. I feel like it is the Grimm fairy tell version as opposed to the more happily ever after version. I tend to like the more darker stories, so I didn't have a problem with that. I also felt like there were references towards other tales. I'm not sure if this is me personally or if there actually were. While this book had great potential, it also could use quite a bit of work. There are parts of the story that could have had a bit more flair and dramatic. Instead, it fell a bit flat instead. I also didn't care for the characters in the book at all. Their behaviors were very inconsistent. Some times they just fell very flat and robotic. It was a little unnerving if I'm being honest. I feel like if this could use a bit of a polish. Just a little rewrite. I don't hate it, but it could use improvement. This book is narrated by Ryan Haugen. He did a pretty amazing job considering. That's the problem though. I'm not sure if he took a bit of the dullness of the story out of the story or if his narration was the reason for it. The only way I can truly determine this is to listen to other books narrated by him and actually go back and read this book. I don't mind doing this. I just don't want to do it now. Either way, I really enjoyed his voice. It was very soothing. I really did like this book a lot. I feel like it had a great deal of potential. I feel like if this book could be polished just a bit, it would be a wonderful book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really love it either. I am open to reading it again to give it another chance. That's how much enjoyment I got out of it. I just saw a lot of flaws that I couldn't really overlook. I am willing to admit that some of the issues I have with the book are personal.

what a damn minute . . . what ???

Hans and Greta in a way you have not seen them before or have you. This Hans and Greta were not as loving as I remember them from the various tellings I have heard over the years. This Hans and Greta had a dirty side to them, though not with each other, at least I don't think so. I was there for the beginning. I was right there with them. Then the further into the audio I started to get a little lost and blaza about it all.

Young they are when they are cast out of there home. Due to one man's pride and depravity. Then they meet the one being most would do anything to avoid. Then let's not forget the sex that came in. I was not expecting it and it kinda caught me off guard. This was most certainly a more racier side of this once tale of the night and witches and orphans. Step in to a world that is well described and filled with more than you remember from the tale you were once told as a child.

The Narrator Ryan had a good strong voice with clear concise intonations and level consistency. The audio was clean and clear with no hitches or repetition. Ryan's voice added a little something extra to the story that was not there when read via text/ebook. The narration for me added a layer of depth.

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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Chantal Gadoury. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A grim retelling of Hans and Greta

The Shrike and The Shadows is a dark and twisted take on the Hansel and Gretal fairytale. I love this retelling! The author delivered a fast paced thrill ride that left me on the edge of my seat.

The narrator, Ryan Haugen, lent the perfect voice to the story as it leaped to life from my speakers.