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A review by tsunni
After the Forest by Kell Woods
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I ultimately enjoyed reading After the Forest, but struggled with it early on.
The first half of the book is slow and filled with a lot of mundane, non magical detail about the world and the villagers that felt historically influenced; interesting in its own way, but not what I was expecting for a book about Hansel and Gretel. It was kind of dull in some aspects and nearly lost me, but was well written and just engaging enough -- with some hints to the fairy tale aspect of the original story -- to keep me going.
The latter half really picked up a lot and the payoff of all the threads coming together was really great, and a big contrast to the first half. The buildup of Gretel as a character both with her traumatic past and her growth throughout the story was done well and believably which I enjoyed. She was the only real focus and the rest of the characters didn't get as much time or chance to evolve, but the romance felt pretty believable and I liked the rest of her allies too. I loved the ending too! It landed really well.
The first half of the book is slow and filled with a lot of mundane, non magical detail about the world and the villagers that felt historically influenced; interesting in its own way, but not what I was expecting for a book about Hansel and Gretel. It was kind of dull in some aspects and nearly lost me, but was well written and just engaging enough -- with some hints to the fairy tale aspect of the original story -- to keep me going.
The latter half really picked up a lot and the payoff of all the threads coming together was really great, and a big contrast to the first half. The buildup of Gretel as a character both with her traumatic past and her growth throughout the story was done well and believably which I enjoyed. She was the only real focus and the rest of the characters didn't get as much time or chance to evolve, but the romance felt pretty believable and I liked the rest of her allies too. I loved the ending too! It landed really well.