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sammishivener's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent
kim__gar93's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Death, and Rape
aubreecoats's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Beautiful retelling of Hansel and Gretel mixed with Snow White; mimics the original dark fairy tales (not the Disney version)
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty
samanthaleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Misogyny and Religious bigotry
kassielovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was excellent. After the Forest is an enchanting read filled with witches, wolves, seemingly unbreakable curses and a great mystery tying it all together. And at the center of it all is one young woman with the power to either succumb to the darkness or save the world. The perfect book to add to your fall TBR if you so choose to! I got this edition in a Illumicrate box and I'm struggling not to smack myself for waiting this long to read it.
It was so easy to lose myself in this standalone. The author does a fantastic job of immersing the reader with classic storybook-like writing style. Which was incredibly fitting given the inspiration behind this tale! I loved Greta as a FMC; she was steadfast in her resolves, even in the face of so much trauma, loneliness, and justified anger. She was filled with so much compassion and empathy despite all the wrongs done to her; you just can't help but root for someone with such a pure heart.Greta's character arc was interesting to read, because you'd think initially she wouldn't be tempted by such dark and unstable magic. Her morals shifted and her allegiance was questioned more times than I could count. It was entertaining watching Greta test the boundaries of what she was willing to do. I respected it!
If I could change one thing however, it would be the pacing of this story or at the very least cut down on the page length. Overall I do believe every detail included in this book was worth reading, but I can imagine a ton of people who probably couldn't/wouldn't stick with the book due to the slow pacing or page count. I do think this book is one of those sleeper hits that requires you to stick with it in order to get a worthwhile conclusion. I get that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea! It certainly was mine though.
It was so easy to lose myself in this standalone. The author does a fantastic job of immersing the reader with classic storybook-like writing style. Which was incredibly fitting given the inspiration behind this tale! I loved Greta as a FMC; she was steadfast in her resolves, even in the face of so much trauma, loneliness, and justified anger. She was filled with so much compassion and empathy despite all the wrongs done to her; you just can't help but root for someone with such a pure heart.
If I could change one thing however, it would be the pacing of this story or at the very least cut down on the page length. Overall I do believe every detail included in this book was worth reading, but I can imagine a ton of people who probably couldn't/wouldn't stick with the book due to the slow pacing or page count. I do think this book is one of those sleeper hits that requires you to stick with it in order to get a worthwhile conclusion. I get that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea! It certainly was mine though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault
campredwood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I was hooked immediately and felt so immersed, but it was also dark dark dark and I lost focus in the second half. For fans of fairy tale telling, who also like family trauma and body horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Abandonment
joliebean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bamamelereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
This was so good! Just like a real Grimm's fairy tale it's dark and bloody and atmospheric.
I loved the way so many different fairy tales had pieces from them woven into the story. I will say, while I loved the audiobook narration, the one thing that was difficult to separate out was the vignettes at the beginning of each chapter. I think that would have been clearer in a physical copy.
Greta and Mattias's relationship was a highlight of the book. I liked the development and how they helped each other.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend for fans of dark fairy tale retellings.
I loved the way so many different fairy tales had pieces from them woven into the story. I will say, while I loved the audiobook narration, the one thing that was difficult to separate out was the vignettes at the beginning of each chapter. I think that would have been clearer in a physical copy.
Greta and Mattias's relationship was a highlight of the book. I liked the development and how they helped each other.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend for fans of dark fairy tale retellings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Blood
cozyreadings's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Retellings have been so overdone in the last years, that I feel it's become hard to find one that isn't boring and repetitive. I would love to say that this one was an exception, but it wasn't. Although the premise is pretty interesting (the aftermath of a fairytale instead of the actual fairytale), it was easy to guess all the twists, and I feel like towards the end there were too many things trying to happen at once. Too many fairytales becoming mixed into one story, which made it a bit "overachieving".
Now for the positives. The atmosphere of the village and the woods was great. The townspeople were written well: when a character can make you feel such anger towards them yet at the same time feel sad for them, you know the character was written well. The magic parts were woven in neatly with the normal daily village life parts.
For a debut novel I am impressed, but as retellings go it still felt generic and like something I had read before. However I'm very interested to see what will be coming next from this author!
Now for the positives. The atmosphere of the village and the woods was great. The townspeople were written well: when a character can make you feel such anger towards them yet at the same time feel sad for them, you know the character was written well. The magic parts were woven in neatly with the normal daily village life parts.
For a debut novel I am impressed, but as retellings go it still felt generic and like something I had read before. However I'm very interested to see what will be coming next from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Death of parent, and Murder
lilybear3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this up because one of the 5th graders in my outreach suggested it to me, it's like their favorite book. First off, this book is considered adult fantasy (not spicy and the fact that I have to add that, because people will wonder, is discourse for another day). I don't think it was overly explicit, a few swear words here & there, a few sexually suggestive moments, some violence, but nothing crazy. I don't know why I'm adding all this, but that is my context.
I loved the idea of retelling/adding onto the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. I felt the additional characters added more depth to the story and helped bring the village to life. The story was also kind of like a mystery in that you and Greta are given bits of information over time and are figuring out how it all fits together. The bits of a second story are at the beginning of each chapter in italics give a little more depth. Our MC is Greta, but (hot take) I wished for more of Hans even though he's a mess. I thought the story was intricate and interesting. That being said, the first like 60% of the book was slow paced, lots of discussions happening, not so much plot-driven. There was some world building involved, but it wasn't heavy so that made it hard to get into. Past that, the story picks up and it was good. Some people found reveals to be obvious, but I never pick up on those so it was a surprise to me!
Beautiful cover by the way! I could see this being adapted into a tv show or movie.
I loved the idea of retelling/adding onto the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. I felt the additional characters added more depth to the story and helped bring the village to life. The story was also kind of like a mystery in that you and Greta are given bits of information over time and are figuring out how it all fits together. The bits of a second story are at the beginning of each chapter in italics give a little more depth. Our MC is Greta, but (hot take) I wished for more of Hans even though he's a mess. I thought the story was intricate and interesting. That being said, the first like 60% of the book was slow paced, lots of discussions happening, not so much plot-driven. There was some world building involved, but it wasn't heavy so that made it hard to get into. Past that, the story picks up and it was good. Some people found reveals to be obvious, but I never pick up on those so it was a surprise to me!
Beautiful cover by the way! I could see this being adapted into a tv show or movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and War