Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

After the Forest by Kell Woods

4 reviews

ceruleanheather's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

After the Forest is not so much a retelling as it is a sequel. Quite literally, what happens after Hansel (Hans) and Gretel (Greta) escape the witch in the forest. 

Greta makes money to support her and her brother through baking gingerbread (ironic), and Hans gets drunk and gambles as he tries to forget the past. Hans is quite frustrating, but his PTSD is understandable. Greta using the witch's book to help her make the gingerbread is so odd, but I guess it is needed for the story to work.

The book starts out slowly, explaining how Hans and Greta got to this point and their daily troubles. We get introduced to characters that are important, but not always fleshed out. Matthias is interesting and mysterious, but the insta love trope annoys me. The story picks up about a third of the way through. 

I did like the atmosphere of the book. The magic, the setting, the realism of the town and their struggles. I also liked the bear and wolf storylines, and the smattering of other fairy tales that were referenced and reused. The author has a descriptive style that is enjoyable to read.

The story ended up being quite predictable. I figured out the *big reveal* many chapters before Greta made the connection. The characters are also a little flat. They exist for the plot, but don't seem to have much agency. Things that should have been questioned or investigated are just believed and people who are supposed to be smart do not seem to be so. Rob was the best character, and he was a side character!

 *CW* chapter 25 has a fairly graphic scene involving animal cruelty. You can skip the scene honestly, and it does not affect the story. You can glean what happens. 

*TW* chapter 27 has a scene involving relations without consent. It isn't very detailed, but still graphic in content. Again you can glean what happens, just skip page 447.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Pregnancy, and Death

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

This was so atmospheric and magical. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Violence

Minor: Torture, Gore, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I went through on again and off again on enjoying this. I like the concept and the main character, but I don't really care for the love interest and thought the plot got too winding (strayed too far from the path one might say). I also think the villain gets introduced far too late to be effective and her backstory is not handled with the delicacy it deserved.

It was so weird to be like and then I saw a vision of her being violently raped next to her sister's corpse, don't care though into the tree you go. I think that could have been cut and we would not have asked any questions. 

I would have focused on her connection to the town and baking magic like in the beginning for a stronger through line. I did like using the fairy tales in the chapter titles and tying it in. Ultimately it was fine but the vibes were better than anything else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Violence, Torture, Miscarriage, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Murder