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bzzkolla's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this eCopy to review
I enjoyed After the Forest, it was an interesting take on the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale seeing how they fared after escaping the gingerbread witch.
The location and characters are beautiful described, it was easy to imagine yourself their in Greta's village in the Black Forest.
Greta is trying to earn a living for herself and her brother Hans (who drinks and gambols it away). Despite believing she's a witch the villagers are still eager to buy her gingerbread.
There are plenty of mysteries for us to solve, who is Mathias and how is he related to Greata's uncle Rob? Who are the men threating Rob and his son Christie? Who is the Duchess and why does she need the villagers? Great comes into her own magic and finds her sense of self-belief and love with Mathias.
I enjoyed After the Forest, it was an interesting take on the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale seeing how they fared after escaping the gingerbread witch.
The location and characters are beautiful described, it was easy to imagine yourself their in Greta's village in the Black Forest.
Greta is trying to earn a living for herself and her brother Hans (who drinks and gambols it away). Despite believing she's a witch the villagers are still eager to buy her gingerbread.
There are plenty of mysteries for us to solve, who is Mathias and how is he related to Greata's uncle Rob? Who are the men threating Rob and his son Christie? Who is the Duchess and why does she need the villagers? Great comes into her own magic and finds her sense of self-belief and love with Mathias.
funwithmisssyd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
victorio's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The cover is beautiful and there is some nice prose within, occasionally. The problems I had with this book abound, however.
Foremost is the romance. Just too unbelievable and quick. Not to mention the age difference.
The magic never really feels fully thought out. It's a big part of the book but also always feels like it's an afterthought?
Often Greta makes dumb choices and seems overly immature, which tracks for someone who was abandoned as a child and lost both parents, but the author clearly wants you to believe that she is smart and mature.
There are a lot of interesting characters and too many plot ideas that get introduced and then abandoned for a long time before popping back up and feeling like the author just remembered about them. Sometimes the lull between plot points is just describing characters planting a field...
The first two-thirds of the book is slow and meandering and the last third just kind of whizzes by with a lot of very convenient turns to make everything turn out alright.
Also we never learnwhy Elisabeth kills Jacob which is just annoying.
Foremost is the romance. Just too unbelievable and quick. Not to mention the age difference.
The magic never really feels fully thought out. It's a big part of the book but also always feels like it's an afterthought?
Often Greta makes dumb choices and seems overly immature, which tracks for someone who was abandoned as a child and lost both parents, but the author clearly wants you to believe that she is smart and mature.
There are a lot of interesting characters and too many plot ideas that get introduced and then abandoned for a long time before popping back up and feeling like the author just remembered about them. Sometimes the lull between plot points is just describing characters planting a field...
The first two-thirds of the book is slow and meandering and the last third just kind of whizzes by with a lot of very convenient turns to make everything turn out alright.
Also we never learn
sillylily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
3.0
bekarebeka's review against another edition
It's just not holding my attention and I have other things I'm more excited to read
sbsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kellyculpeppertowe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
greygryph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
dekaj's review against another edition
2.0
By enjoyment, this is 1*, but it does have some redeeming qualities, and is overall well written.
I almost dropped it at 6% because it seemed like the standard historical fiction of a female character that is constantly belittled and feared/punished by the men around her. I gave it a chance, and it seemed to actually avoid some of the more angsty traps in this category! She actually had friends and people on her side, which was a refreshing change. Apart from this, every aspect of this book was very formula I and easy to predict.
Gretha acts infuriatingly naive, and keeps making things worse for helself by saying/doing the worst possible thing. It was maddening.
In the end, I just wanted it all to be over.
I almost dropped it at 6% because it seemed like the standard historical fiction of a female character that is constantly belittled and feared/punished by the men around her. I gave it a chance, and it seemed to actually avoid some of the more angsty traps in this category! She actually had friends and people on her side, which was a refreshing change. Apart from this, every aspect of this book was very formula I and easy to predict.
Gretha acts infuriatingly naive, and keeps making things worse for helself by saying/doing the worst possible thing. It was maddening.
In the end, I just wanted it all to be over.