Reviews - After the Forest

1.51k reviews for:

If you like classic fairy tales and historical fiction, this is for you. Take Hansel and Gretel once they've grown up, add a dash of Snow White and Rose Red, and mix it together with folklore and post 30 Years War Germany (Baden-Württemberg).

This was one of my Illumicrate tbr books and I am very happy with it!

beccas_bookreads's review against another edition

2.0

slow-paced

erigrae's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark

krisreads22's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

ficameron's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Diverse cast of characters: No

read_game_stitch's review against another edition

5.0

After The Forest is set in 1650 in the Black Forest, Wurttemberg, twenty years after the events of the classic Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Greta and Hans struggle with poverty and debts after a devastating war. Greta secretly possesses the witch's grimoire and uses a magical recipe to bake irresistible, addictive gingerbread that sustains their family, but she is also subjected to suspicion and derision by the villagers. As dark magic returns to the woods, Greta's budding powers may be her only hope for survival, though they pose a dangerous risk to her as well.

The blurb above basically explains the set up for the book, but without going into any specifics about the main plotline. As a result, I went into the book completely blind on the actual plot and I'm so glad I did. I didn't know where it was going at all, and so I was completely surprised when I experienced references to multiple fairytales, not just Hansel and Gretel. I won't give any spoilers here, because I felt a little thrill whenever I recognised elements of other fairytales and started to work out what was happening for myself. The various fairytale inspirations were pulled together into a really original story and I devoured the whole book in one evening.

I read a lot of fairytale retellings but my favourites are always the ones that use them as inspiration but do their own thing as well. The classics are classics for a reason, but for me retellings are so much better when it's not just a setting change or a minor change to the plot, but when they're given completely new life and it's not just a well-written rehash of the old material. So I loved this flawlessly blended mashup of inspirations and new ideas into something interesting and fresh.

It looks like this might be Kell Woods' speciality because it seems that there's a new book coming out in Feb 2025 with a historical setting and inspired by both The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. Given how much I enjoyed After The Woods, I will definitely be picking Upon A Starlit Tide up on release!

samanthabreading's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Kell Woods was spot on with the way she wrote setting and atmosphere in her debut novel, along with a beautiful lyrical prose. She had such a meticulousness of capturing accurate historical detail for the time. I later learned she also incorporated several elements from various versions of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale and it was a treat to see other fairytales blended into the story as well. Such a creative thought to detail what adulthood could look and feel like for these siblings after their abandonment from their father in the forest and escape from the witch.

Some aspects I did not love, which brought my overall rating down included the following: The graphic animal cruelty in Ch. 25 (huge animal lover over here 😭), I did not like the majority of the characters in this story (especially the men who were ALL manipulating Greta in some way, even though I didn’t always love her actions either), and it felt like there were too many plot lines to try to connect together. Some of the characters and animal aspects could have been excluded to make the plot stronger.

All in all, I would still recommend this for anyone who loves fairytale retellings, but can be ok with some plot holes, mostly unlikeable characters, animal death/cruelty, and a dark but very well done setting. 🌳🪄📖🍎🐻

Content Warnings