About The Book
Gretel, er, I mean, Gabriella Salazar finds temptation and desperation to be too great and breaks into a wicked witch’s—uh, that is—a pretentious, rich woman’s condo, only to discover she’s not the only one with a B & E fetish. The twist is that the mysterious, handsome Hansel to her Gretel who has also stolen into the same apartment is anything but brotherly, and the two strangers find themselves lip-locked before the evening is over. Now Gabby and her new, aggravating accomplice must get crafty and work together to free themselves and everyone they hold dear from a mad woman’s clutches.But breaking and entering never ends with a happily ever after. Right?
My Review
First Impressions
B&E Ever After is the third installment in the Fairy Tale Quartet series by Linda Kage. I have really enjoyed the idea behind this series and what the author has delivered so far with this series. In this story we have a retelling that I have never seen from any other author, and I was more than pleased to be able to read this book and it definitely delivered. I had so much fun with this author’s unique twist on this retelling and how she fit in a romance into it. We get more depth delivered with this story that was reflected so well in the story and you see the aspects of this story that is so relevant to the “Hansel and Gretel” story and I loved these small connections that became so relevant to the story itself. There is also a sense of light humor that really balances out the story. We also get characters from previous books in the series, that make an entry into this story that offers a delightful twist.
Summary
The story sets off with our characters Hayden (Hansel) and Gabriella (Gretel), who meet in the most unexpected way. Gabriella is out looking for a way to provide for her brother and father. When her brother gets sick, she gets mistaken for a maid due to some racial actions. But Gabriella, is not new to this type of stereotyping. But she decides to take advantage of the situation, while she does clean a carpet stain, she also stumbles into a man she never expects, and his name is Hayden who happens to be the son of the owner of the apartment, but she learns that he has some plans for his mother in exposing her for the evil witch that she is and how many lives that she has ruined. Hayden and Gabriella work together to bring down the cruel witch Lana and find the evidence that exposes her for the criminal and murderer that she is, but along their journey with some skittles along the way, they realize a fierce love worth fighting for…
“…he doesn’t exactly hide his negative side.”
Brick snorted. “No. He’s too busy hiding his good one.”
What I Loved
This story was so captivating and I had such a fun time with this one here. I just couldn’t keep myself from truly embracing this story and if you are a fan of retellings then this is a story that you must read! I absolutely adore this author, she writes such wonderful books, and every time I pick her up, she just so easily captivates my attention and I become so involved in the story. I really was so curious to see how this one would play out. There are many elements to this one here that one can truly enjoy. I absolutely loved the methods in how this author portrayed this story. We start out by seeing the background to the two brothers that get abandoned by their mother and find their way back home with a trail of skittles. And then as adults, we see how Hayden wants to prove that his mother is evil after how neglectful of a mother she was and only consumed with her own wants above everything else. And then the scenes with the condo and being stuck together were so priceless. The way in which Hayden fights for Gabriella and what she deserves was so endearing and some fabulous stolen kisses really sparked so much fun chemistry. The humor that is implemented is superb in every way, and adds a lighter touch to a more serious toned story. There is also some diversity that was so fun to see as the heroine is Latino, and the author did the representation so well and handled the racism well and the incorrect way society stereotypes certain groups of people. The romance between Hayden and Gabriella was so endearing and just magical. I just wanted so much more time with these two and never wanted this story to end. We get some similar storylines with the other books, so I recommend reading this series in order so you can follow along with what is happening here. But such a brilliant romantic retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
When you have exhuasted all possibilities, remember this. You haven’t
What I Struggled With
Nothing much, I wasn’t fully into the story but that is definitely a “me” thing as I have been struggling with that of late.
Overall View
I found B&E Ever After to be a brilliant retelling that kept me focused, endeared me endlessly with laughs, and stunned my romantic heart with a tale of enduring love and passion!
Title: B&E Ever After
Author: Linda Kage
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Length: 390 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4.25
Story Itself: 4.25
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 4.5
World Building 4.25
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 4
Plot 4
Cover Art 4
Ending 4
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Fairytale Quartet
Monster Among The Roses-Pub 2017 #1 in the Series
Kissing The Boss-Pub 2018 #2 in the Series
B&E Ever After-Pub 2019 #3 in the Series
Black Crimson-Pub 2021 #4 in the Series
About The Author
Linda writes romance fiction from YA to adult, contemporary to fantasy. Most Kage stories lean more toward the lighter, funner side with a couple meaningful moments thrown in that center around love and hope. Focuses more on entertainment value and emotional impact than realism. She likes the drama and crazy, over-the-top plots that make you cry then laugh, get mad then sigh happily.
Published since 2010. Went through a 2-year writing correspondence class in children’s literature from The Institute of Children’s Literature. Then graduated with Bachelors in Arts, English with an emphasis in creative fiction writing from Pittsburg State University.
Now she lives with hubby, two daughters, cat Holly, and nine cuckoo clocks in southeast Kansas, USA. Farm girl. Parents were dairy farmers. Was youngest of eight. Big family. Day job as a cataloging library assistant.
Harry Potter House Gryffindor, Patronus White Stallion, character match Hagrid. Supernatural Team Dean. Game of Thrones Team Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. The Walking Dead Team Daryl. Outlander Team Jamie Fraser. Teen Wolf Team Stiles. Avenger Team Thor…or Hulk (can’t decide). Justice League Team Flash. Arrow Team Stephen Amell. Stranger Things obsessed. Heard Laurel, not Yanny.
Started out reading with the Baby-Sitters Club. Then moved to Sandra Brown, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood, and LaVyrle Spencer in high school. Now all over the place with her romance reading tastes.
I’m not sure I’ve come across a Hansel and Gretel retelling before but this one sounds fun! And hooray for all the humor! 🙂
This sounds delicious! I love that it’s Hansel & Gretel…I will check out the series.
I love retellings and this sounds like fun. Sorry you weren’t really able to get into it, but I’m really glad you were still able to enjoy it 🙂
I have never read a Hansel and Gretel retelling. This sounds like an interesting read.
This sounds like a fun book/series. I love that cover.