Dearest (The Woodcutter Sisters)

Dearest, by Alethea Kontis, is a remarkably imaginative story, based upon a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Dearest tells the story of Friday Woodcutter, sister to Sunday and Saturday, who have their own books in the series. While I did read the first book, and thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn’t read the second, and it still made perfect sense. Friday is caring and loving to everyone she meets, and even oversees the children that are residing as refugees in the palace after a sea appeared throughout the kingdom, forcing many citizens out of their homes. In the midst of all of this, Friday discovers seven brothers, along with their sister, in a tower of the castle rarely visited. These brothers have had a curse placed upon them, in which they are swans by day, humans by night. The only way to break the curse is for their sister to weave them all shirts of nettle, a very difficult task. Friday, a master seamstress, agrees to help. Throughout the process of helping the swan brothers, Friday and Tristan, one of the brothers, develop a strong connection and fall in love. Friday knows that they are meant to be together, and will stop at nothing to help him and his siblings. The entire castle must work together to help break the curse before time runs out. I recommend this book to anyone who loves fairy tales, as well as a great, well-written story. Five stars to Kontis, she’s done it again!