I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

After the Fire by Will Hill

A gripping and unforgettable story of survival after life in a cult, inspired by the survivors of the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, 1993.

This was such an engrossing story! We follow one girl's experience living in the "before" and "after" of her time in a cult. She doesn't remember life on the outside, and we walk with her as she wrestles with questions about what is true.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for a free copy of After the Fire by Will Hill. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Wanted a break from my normal genre, so I decided to try YA. This story bounces between before and after the fire and time living in the cult and time spent in the hospital. I could not put this one down. Excellent read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest opinion. If you like books about cults then this is your book. The plot was exciting and thrilling. Moonbeam is the main character and the story follows her escape from a cult after a raid. The story is full of secrets, lies and deceit that will keep you reading until the end.

Plan to feel uneasy and slightly nauseous as you read the horrifying story of Moonbeam and her experience in a disturbing cult. Cult books are hard to do well and I feel like Hill did a great job. His prose was easy to read and kept the tension at full blast from start to finish. The book felt like a coming of age story in the worst of circumstances and I liked to see her life during and after the fire. There was a lot of shocking things that happened in After the Fire but all the twists weren't gratuitous, but rather added depth to the story. Highly recommend 4.5 stars.

I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

I tried a few times to pick this book up, I even tried reading the Department Nineteen book I had by the author and I just couldn't get into either book. Sadly the author just isn't for me.

This book was SO interesting! I loved that it was told in dual timelines and that each chapter felt like it ended on a cliffhanger. I definitely felt the urge to keep reading until the end, because I needed to know what happened. I was worried the ending would be sad or open-ended, but I'm really happy with the closure we received. I would highly recommend checking this book out.

Moonbeam used to live under the watch of Father John, the leader of their community. It was important to follow the rules and be obedient. Now, after a fire that changed everything, Moonbeam is starting to realize how twisted her community, and especially Father John, was. But the past won't stay buried, and Moonbeam will have to find a new path as she navigates trauma.

AFTER THE FIRE has a really interesting cult premise. I liked the framing of the story, how we get Moonbeam's current life while also getting flashbacks/other time threads of her life while she was still under Father John. Her journey is full of twists, heartache, and ultimately, hope.

While I enjoyed the premise, the story did tend to drag in places, especially the middle. However, the climax was executed so well that I would definitely read another book from the author.

I must admit this started out rather chaotic and I had a hard time really getting into it. However, as I continued and was able to figure out what was happening and where it was going, I really got into it and ended up very much liking this story. It goes back and forth from after the fire to before the fire and you learn just enough to keep you wanting more and more. Even when you realize what was really going on "before" you still can't look away. I definitely will be recommending this one, it surprised me how much I enjoyed it.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

For some reason there was a wave of YA novels focusing on cults and so forth, however, I think this is one of the better ones because it was more after they were out of the cult rather than being inside it.

I really liked the back and forth chapters where Moonbeam is either in her therapy session or she has her therapist with her and the FBI agent getting information from her and when she recounts a situation we are taken back to first person and experience it in the Before chapters. As opposed to ways authors could write it by keeping us in the present and talking about the past. This was just an overall enjoyable novel as we see Moonbeam's growth from before when she was such a believer in the cult to coming to her own realization and finally doing something to truly help herself. At the same time as we are going through this transformation with Moonbeam we also are going through the pain of realizing how many people she has lost.

This novel was an emotional roller coaster, however, it kept me very interested throughout the novel and then end....oh the end! Let me just tell you there were tears, and the good kind. A really good roundabout novel that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of After the Fire by Will Hill.

Well hello there Mr. Hill, how are you? I'm already very much looking forward to reading more of your stuff!

This is a wild, and compulsively readable story of a young woman who is rescued from a toxic cult. It's told in before and after snippets, before the fire that had her rescued, and after, telling her story to a cop and psychologist. Through her retelling, we learn how she landed in the cult in the first place, and all of the events up until the fire. It's a gradual unfolding that makes you hungry to know more.

This is a slower but intense burn with licks of flame that are so pretty it's hard to look away. Don't let the length scare you, you won't even notice while you go down this twisted rabbit hole of cults, narcissistic leaders, heroes, and villians.

I remember Waco very well. I found this book extremely interesting with the POV of a girl who grew up in a cult and the before and the after of a horrible fire.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A solid young adult book, but I think there are better books like this out there. Still would recommend purchase for your library where YA thrillers are popular.

A compelling narrative After the Fire explores the lives of young adults after escaping a cult.

The novel begins with Moonbean running through the cult compound as it is on fire and invaded by police and armed forces. She is running through fire to save the children locked in their dorm.

The story continues to follow Moonbeam as she begins her rehabilitation and recovery at the hospital.

In some ways, this story was reminiscent of The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, exploring the effects of brainwashing and elitism. The story is an emotional one that goes back and forth between the past and the present, exploring the details of Moonbeam’s life in a cult.

The way the story is written is terrific. It showcases Moonbeam, flashing back to the present as interludes, answers to questions by the FBI and Child Psychologist. I loved seeing how different children acted and dealt with being away from the cult. Moonbeam is 17 going on 18, and there are children as young as five that she has to care for now. The reader gets to see this protective nature of her character, but what the reader also sees is how the cult changed her slowly over time.

Moonbeam was not blind. On a subconscious level, she understood the changes that happened in the cult when John took over. It went from being this haven for people who needed God to this brainwashed society. Many people leave over time, but others stayed and allowed themselves to be brainwashed. For Moonbeam, she was a child with a mom who had nowhere else to turn and stayed until she could leave until it was safe for her daughter.

After the Fire is a thoughtful read, once again, Moonbeam is not blind, she is aware, but she has gone through so much. She was raised in a sexist and misogynistic community that took away the rights of women. It was a community that prided itself on violence and power. Moonbeam faces the struggle of silencing Father John’s voice in her head, shutting it up and growing out of it.

Hill did an excellent job with the story, going back and forth from beginning to end and exploring the passage of time in a way that worked with the story. The Before was not always linear, but the way the writer introduces the past makes it work.

There is also immeasurable character development. The reader sees how much Moonbeam grows throughout the story, and it is empowering. Moonbeam rises to the occasion and stands up for what is right. That is a significant moment in the story that makes this novel so compelling from beginning to end.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I wasn’t able to finish this book. It wasn’t what I expected and I lost interest in it. It couldn’t hold my attention, unfortunately. I tried to give it a good try but this book was just not for me.

A unique take on a scary story. Isolation and captivity give me the creeps and Will Hill definitely kept me up at night. A must read!

I really liked this book. It’s powerful and intense. I love how the author wove the scenes from “before” the fire into those occurring “after” the fire...very clever.