Reviews with content warning for Animal death - After The Forest

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.

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

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madisongturner's review against another edition

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4.0

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rachelsarahjjones's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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carrie915's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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becandthebooks's review

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Oh my goodness I want to eat this book up like one of Greta’s gingerbreads! The beautifully lyrical combination of writing and the narration by Esther Wane has me wanting to restart this audiobook again!

“After The Forest” follows Hans and Greta (Hansel and Gretel) approximately 15 years after they were imprisoned by the old crone in the forest. It explores what kind of a life they lived after such trauma, with sprinklings of Snow White & Rose Red, Rumpelstiltskin, magical beasts, witch trials and an unlikely romance.

Kell Woods writing is just stunning and Esther Wane’s voice performance was so complementary to this whimsical fairytale retelling! I will 100% be picking up what Kell Woods comes out with next!

Pure joy 💛 Off to bake gingerbread.

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⚠️ TW: After reading some other reviews I’ve learnt that Chapter 25 is the chapter number with some descriptive animal cruelty (bearbaiting). Reviewers who skipped this chapter have said it didn’t hinder their experience. I listened to it and it was graphic, but it is also written for a different time and that’s how I tackle these situations personally.

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rambles's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

The story is an impressive mix of the Hansel and Gretel story, Rose Red, and a little Beauty and the Beast. It made me crave gingerbread.

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sarrie's review against another edition

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sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Tl;DR - 2.5 stars. A cold, disconnected story with a reactionary character, this was a frustrating read for me.

I genuinely was expecting something very different than what I got with this and I’m quite disappointed. For some reason I thought this was more modern, however this leans very hard into the fairy tale ‘retellings/what if’ stories we’ve been getting a lot of the past few years. Hans and Greta are now adults and this follows their lives as more supernatural beings begin to enter it and how they deal with life after ‘the witch’.

My biggest complaint on this is that Greta was just so bland. I’m not sure if this was due to the writing, which in general felt very disconnected and cold, or the character herself. Even after the traumatic events of her childhood, the frequent supernatural events that followed, and the magical book that talks to her in her own home daily she still manages to find shapeshifters and werewolves surprising and frightening. I believe I would have started having problems well before the book started whispering in my mind, but to each their own.

Sadly I spent the entirety of the book disconnected, cold to the characters and only growing more frustrated. Greta felt a lot like many female characters I read in these types of stories, reactionary and mild in manner. If you met these women on a Tuesday in the supermarket you’d never know. Which, if this was literary fiction then yeah I can see that making sense. But in a fantasy novel? A retelling of a fairy tale? It makes for a dull and frustrating time for the reader.

2.5 bewitching gingerbread houses

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