Reviews

After the Forest by Kell Woods

louiseeliza's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thebalancedbookshelf's review against another edition

3.5

This book took a classic story and really transformed it. I love how it shows the trauma that Greta and her brother have due to what happened to them as children. I loved all of the magical and folktale aspects this story detailed. I also really enjoyed that this book was set around May Day and in the spring. It made her green magic shine even more and wasn’t a the typical Halloween/autumn witch setting. 

While I enjoyed this book I think it got a little mess towards the middle/end. A lot of elements were thrown in from the wolves to the curse and the baroness. There seemed to be a lot going on and I felt the pacing was off. Overall, it wasn’t a bad read but could have used some tweaking to make all the elements come together better. 

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!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Child death, and Addiction

animal cruelty in chapter 25 between bear and fighting dogs

yankeebk's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

3.5

allivenger's review against another edition

4.0

This was an interesting take on the classic story of Hansel and Gretel. What did happen to the two of them after the witch died and they escaped the woods? Did they live happily ever after? Or did life get in the way for both of them?

The story starts out with Greta doing what she does best, baking gingerbread using a tried and true recipe that has villages for miles around raving about her baking. But her prowess in the kitchen doesn't stop both Greta and Hans from struggling to get by after the death of both their mother and their father. Hans especially cannot get out from under his gambling debts and it is up to Greta to help him again and again. But a magic recipe from a book might not be enough to save them this time around.

I loved the way the book wove different fairy tales into one cohesive storyline. You have the traditional Hansel and Gretel woven in with the story of Snow White and the huntsman and it made sense at the end. My complaints about the book would be how naive Greta is and how ridiculous Hans is throughout. Greta's ability to empathize later in the book was a welcome change to this storyline and showed that she has the ability to change and adapt as a person once her views of the world were found to be false. As a huge lover of fairytales and of retellings this was a good book. If you enjoy them too I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

questsandquietude's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Sexual harassment

Minor: War and Miscarriage

shewsam's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

sarahp85's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this. I did... but it took forever to get going and while it was entertaining it never truly gripped me.

The cover design deserves 5 stars though

moidevaux's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

pixiepie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 for me. I did like it, but it felt a hint slow in the beginning. Also, the FMC was a bit bothersome at times. I wanted to just tell her "Gorl...just own it already." 

But it was a fun retelling/after Book. The world building was rich and lovely, and I could picture it all.