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Carrie Anne Noble
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Gretchen and the Bear Kindle Edition

by Carrie Anne Noble (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 231 ratings
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Sixteen-year-old Gretchen has been waiting forever to trade life on a dreary orbiting station for life on gloriously regenerated Earth. Still, visiting faerie-infested Britannia is not on her agenda—especially since no human who’s ventured there has ever returned. But when her stepsister sneaks off to the island to meet a faerie boyfriend, Gretchen’s stepmother forces her to choose: risk death to rescue the runaway, or forfeit her father’s life.


Lost in the faeries’ forest, Gretchen meets a family of Bearfolk—fae who can shift between human and bear forms. Kindhearted seventeen-year-old Arthur volunteers to help, while his mother, who believes Gretchen is the heroic Silverhair of faerie legend, schemes to use the girl for darker purposes.


When the quest to save the runaway proves costly, will Gretchen and Arthur find the courage to sacrifice what they hold dearest to save the ones they love most?
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  1. Print length
    286 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 17, 2020
  5. Reading age
    13 - 17 years
  6. File size
    1776 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Gretchen and the Bear transports the reader into a magical realm that is one part sci-fi, one part fantasy, one part fairy tale. It's a brilliant mash-up, and I was thrilled to journey with Gretchen as she discovered all the layers of meaning inside this wooded landscape - one of fairies and spells, and most importantly true love. It is a marvelous read.

Roberta Gore, author of "Relic"

About the Author

In the wake of her thrilling past as a theatre student, restaurant hostess, nurse aide, and newspaper writer, Carrie Anne Noble now crafts enchanting fiction for teens and adults. Her debut novel The Mermaid's Sister won the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction and the 2016 Realm Award for Novel of the Year. Her second novel, The Gold-Son, follows the adventures of a teenage leprechaun. The audio book received Audiofile Magazine's Earphones Award and was included on its list of 2017's best audio books. Her short fiction has appeared in Deep Magic E-zine and Splickety Magazine. Carrie lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, where she enjoys taking walks, letting her imagination run wild, and hosting the occasional tea party. Connect with Carrie online at www.carrienoble.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0876F7FV2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ WordCrafts Press (June 17, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 17, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1776 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 231 ratings

About the author

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Carrie Anne Noble

Carrie Anne Noble

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In the wake of her thrilling past as a theatre student, restaurant hostess, certified nurse aide, and newspaper writer, Carrie Anne Noble now writes enchanting fiction. She lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania with her musically inclined husband, snarky kids, two naughty cats, and a spunky half-Corgi. Find her on Instagram @carrieannenoble7 & Twitter @noblebat.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
231 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Laurie
5.0 out of 5 stars A creative mash-up of genres and fairy tales!
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Wow! I never could've imagined pulling together a mash-up of Cinderella and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but Carrie Anne Noble completely made it work! And if that wasn't enough, this book also had a mix of fantasy and science fiction unlike anything I've ever read before. I absolutely loved Arthur and his dad and so much about the Bearfolk. Their culture was executed to perfection in their language and traditions, and Arthur was just such a sweetheart! *happy sigh* Gretchen was brave and spunky, and I was impressed by the great lengths she was willing to go to save her step-sister and father. Brittania was such a fun place to explore, vividly described and full of surprises. As always, Noble's prose is rich and engaging, and her unique story left me smiling and satisfied (and wanting to attend a Bearfolk feast...). Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys fairy tales with a twist!
2 people found this helpful
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seafairy
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
Pretty good read. I liked the main charactor. Hard to put down. Good story.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, magical and delightful
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
A marvelous story by a gifted writer, Carrie Noble. She drew me into a magical, enchanting world where I met delightful characters, some strong, bold, trustworthy and loving and others who were fierce, cruel and threatening. The story captivated me. I didn't want to stop reading. I've read and enjoyed Carrie's first two books and this one certainly did not disappoint. What a wonderful imagination and exceptional artistic ability to make it all come alive in the readers mind. Excited for the possibility of more to come.
One person found this helpful
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Susan Mann
5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting!
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Gretchen and the Bear is such an enchanting story! It’s a beautifully crafted and wonderfully spun tale of life, loss and love. Carrie takes you on a free spirited ride through fairy land and leaves you wishing for more. Sure hope there’s a sequel in the works!
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Amanda S
3.0 out of 5 stars 2.5/5 Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021
This story would have benefited greatly from fewer words. You know how, since they were originally orated, fairytales are usually short, sweet, and to the point? Like, "the girl returned then to her cruel stepmother and took up the work of her lost stepsister, along with her life and face..." something like that instead of 10 chapters about Gretchen's predictable, anticlimactic Ruby-ruse. It was weird, because the story was novel-length but I got literally nothing out of all those excess words.
I read a review when I was struggling and wondering if I should just give up on reading it that said something along the lines of "none of the characters are developed enough to really make you care about them," and that is absolutely true. And I was never even really sure why they cared about each other, even. Gretchen's step sister was brutally murdered in front of her and she just picked up and went home and schemed with barely the occasional thought about it. There were a couple mentions of her after that, but yikes. Even worse, Arthur's MOM went out the exact same way and he mourned more for the cute girl he'd just met than the woman who birthed and raised him! Sure, she pulled a dick-move and caused her own downfall, but that doesn't stop her from being his family! That really REALLY bothered me. Maybe it's cause I never had a teenage fairytale romance, I dunno.
Speaking of which!! I get that they're the protagonists in a fairytale, but please at least TRY to give them more reason to fall in "true love" than literally just that. Arthur was much more guilty here than Gretchen since she at least did go off and have additional adventure, but that kid PINED over a girl he'd know for less than a week and exchanged about 50 words with before being an accessory to his mom's murder. And then he just gives her his whole heritage, like, "hey you're cute-- have my bearskin." UGH. Just... put a LITTLE effort into building an actually interesting romance, PLEASE.
Okay, I've already spent more time in the review than the story deserved, so just... yeah. Mediocre at best, don't really see what most of the other reviews are going on about.
Sassy human friend was the best part of the story.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful magical realism
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020
Verified Purchase
Another beautifully crafted story by Carrie Ann Noble, who has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The parts that happen in the North American colony drag some, and Gretchen isn't really as likeable as I'd like her to be, but the beautiful story makes up for it. And the fact that there are some sad things that don't get resolved make me love the story even more. Four and a half stars from me!
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JoanneB
5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful adventure story
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Forget everything you know about Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Carrie Anne Noble has a way of taking a well-worn fairy tale and turning it into a delightful, rollicking adventure story, with a strong heroine, and a supportive case of magical creatures. Even if you don't read fantasy, you'll be captivated from start to finish. A great beach read!
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Immensely Creative and Charming?
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2020
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I wanted to give this novel 5 stars when I was at the 23% stage of the story. The author has a highly creative mind that simply shines in her writing. She misses nothing! At 67 years young, I adore her books!
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