--I have received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
This book started pretty explosive and continued throughout. This was an interesting read about a girl recovering from her life in a cult. Which while interesting, the fact that she started talking 3 days after escaping the compound even with her limited belief in the Prophet? Yeah, not gonna happen. I've read several biographies from women who escaped actual cults and that's not how that goes. The characters were realistic enough, the story is fine, but it was admittedly a bit too predictable even down to the twists.
Enjoyable enough, but probably not going to remember it much after a few days.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was very well written, the events that happened were so vividly described, it was absolutely flawless.

I was very interested in the story. It’s a topic I’ve never read before and I found it refreshing. The things that the characters went through were so painful and emotional at times, I felt their pain. The ending was satisfying.
Thank you for the author’s note at the end, it was very informative and eye opening.

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.


I am going to keep this vague because I think it adds to the story so I won't use the main character name.


She awakes in the hospital, she knows there was a fire, she tried to get the children out, and she had to rely on the government to help her. She isn't sure who to trust because Father John always said that they Outsiders lie, but she knows that he lied too so maybe she could tell them some of the things.


As she begins to trust the doctor and the agent working with her, she begins to open up, and they let her see the other kids and that helps her. She enjoys being able to help the others, and she knows that the road they are on is hard and long.


I really want to say more about this book, I hate to be super vague, but one of the things that hooked me was it took a couple of chapters before she would even tell them her name. This is a book that will draw you in and keep you reading. Maybe because I have been listening to a podcast called Cults is part of why I was intrigued from the first page. But it was powerful and moving and real. Not all cults are destructive, but we all know there are plenty out there that are extremely destructive. Which is why reading about them and listening to things about them is so fascinating.


We know this a work of fiction, but given all the mystery shrouding cults and the practices that we hear about when a cult makes the news it almost feels like you are reading non-fiction. I could not put this down.

After the Fire by Will Hill is a riveting story of how one girl survives a deadly cult in the deserts of Texas. Inspired by the events in Waco, Texas with the Branch Davidian religious sect, After the Fire follows the life of Moonbeam, a seventeen year old who has only known life surrounded by her Brothers and Sisters inside the walls of the Lord’s Legion base. Moonbeam spends her days working in the gardens, training, and helping the other Legionnaire’s keep the Base running smoothly.

But then comes the fire.

Now, Moonbeam’s life is a series of Before and Afters. Before the fire, she lived inside the fence. After the fire, she lives in a hospital. Before the fire, she was a promised wife to the Prophet. After the fire, she has to learn what real truth is.
Why did the Prophet change his name? What was inside the mysterious packages that the Prophet received. Why were the Servants of the Serpent after them? Why did they want them dead?

Moonbeam’s harrowing story is told through flashbacks and therapy sessions at the hospital she is sent to after the fire. Brought to the Base when she was only a year old, her parents were trying to find a better and simpler life. What began as a group of people trying to live purely for the Lord, quickly becomes something much darker when a new Prophet joins their ranks. Father John, Prophet of the Lord has declared that the Base must begin to train for the End Times. With Armageddon close, Father John imposes harsh punishments against those that refuse his orders. Training with guns become part of everyone’s daily life. Hand to hand combat is taught to children with severe consequences for anyone who doesn’t train hard enough. Young girls are promised as wives to the Prophet-the only father to future children.
This story is incredibly well told. From the first page I was completely sucked in. The story is raw and emotional, but because it’s told through Moonbeam’s point of view, the author does a wonderful job of not making her pain-or any other character’s-gratuitous. We find out at the very beginning that Moonbeam has a terrible secret-one so big that she can’t let anyone find out what it is. Her constant fear of someone discovering her secret impacts her healing and that of those around her. After the Fire is an incredible look at how easily power can corrupt and affect the lives of innocent people.
An amazing story-I can’t recommend it enough.

Sincere thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

I had seen lots of people raving about After The Fire so I was delighted to be approved for reading it. Sadly, I think it didn’t live up to the hype for me. The writing was great, but I just couldn’t connect with the main character, so found it difficult to keep engaged with her story!

I really enjoyed this book! There's a lot of growth with the characters and the story progresses well. There's a lot to the story that really kept me interested. Towards the end I felt a mixture of happiness and sadness for the main character. Definitely a book worth checking out.

This book was incredibly good. I am usually a sci-fi/fantasy girl, so this is not a normal read for me, but I REALLY enjoyed it. The transitions from memories to present reality are seamlessly done, and I love the main protagonist, Moonbeam. Despite her ridiculous name, she is infinitely strong and totally bad ass. A strong female-led story is always going to be a big plus for me. The supporting characters were well-written, as well, not afterthoughts like in some stories.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC.

Well imagined novel about the aftermath of a military take down of a religious leader's compound, very reminiscent of the Branch Davidian incident and Waco siege. We follow the interviews of Moonbeam, one of the older children in the sect.

3.25-3.5 STARS

Delving into the psyche of 17-year old cult survivor, Moonbeam, “After the Fire” is a fictitious exploration of the manipulation and brainwashing that took place within the confines of a cult compound, right up until a government siege that led to the death of many of its members.

Alternating between past and present, the story unfolds through a young girl’s eyes, as she struggles with an unfamiliar world in the aftermath of tragedy. As a member of Father John’s Holy Church of the Lord’s Legion for most of her life, Moonbeam is haunted by Father John’s words that are so deeply embedded in her mind. But even before witnessing the death of her brothers and sisters, Moonbeam had begun to question all that she’d been taught. Was Father John the spiritual deity he claimed to be? Or, was he nothing more than a snake oil salesman who had been conning them all for years?

While I found the book’s premise interesting, and the subject matter fascinating, the story’s execution left a bit to be desired. With no true revelations and a story that fell flat, there were times that I found it difficult to stay engaged. Still, I was drawn to Moonbeam’s character and was committed to seeing her journey through. To the author’s credit, much of what was portrayed behind the compound’s gate, came across as brutally raw and real, making it all the more chilling and tragic. Hence, “After the Fire” is a good story overall, just not as compelling as I had hoped it would be.

After the Fire tells the story of Moonbeam, who is currently in a treatment center after surviving a raid (and the subsequent fire) on her religious compound. Told in varying timelines, Moonbeam processes what her life has been like and how she came to distrust the Lord's Legion and the Prophet Father John.

Moonbeam's story felt like I was reading a story about the Waco, TX seige, so I wasn't surprised to read in the author's note about how he was influenced by those events. After the Fire was a compelling read about psychology, about manipulation, about power, and about how children are impacted by an experience such as this. The characters were extremely well written, and the topic was handle with the utmost sensitivity. After the Fire will appeal to students who liked The Chosen One and Escape from Eden. I will definitely be purchasing this one to share with my students!

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, and was not disappointed. This is a story about survival and strength. It follows the lives of those who are part of the Holy Church or the Lords Legions; a cult, through the eyes of Moonbeam. She is a seventeen year old survivor of the cult. The story weaves in and out of the before events of the shut down of the Lords Legions, and the after events. The story is well written and allows the reader to connect to Moonbean and the rest of the survivors. It touches on what it is like to be brainwashed and held prisoner of a compound, and what it takes to overcome those events and come out stronger than before.

When I started reading After the Fire, I was thinking that this was going to be a run of the mill Young Adult book. You know, a book where the plucky heroine saves the day. She solves the mystery and gets the bad guy. When I started reading After the Fire last night, I thought that I would get to 30-40% before going to sleep. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Instead, I was up until almost 12am, devouring this book. I got emotionally invested. I needed to find out what lead up to the fire. I needed to know what would happen to Moonbeam.

After the Fire is Moonbeam’s story. Moonbeam is a survivor of a raid on her cult’s compound. Unlike the other children that were saved, she has secrets. Secrets that eat away at her soul. Secrets that need to come out. Recovering from the raid at a children’s psychiatric hospital, Moonbeam must tell what life was like inside the compound. She also needs to tell them the events that led up to the raid. But can she? Can she overcome everything that has been beaten into her? Or will Father John’s hold on her extend into this new life?

I wasn’t a fan of how the book was broken up at first. There was Before the fire and After the fire. Before detailed how life was at the compound. How Father John and his Centurions dealt out savage punishments. How everyone walked on eggshells because they didn’t want to be the next one in the box. It was a frightening and oppressive existence. After detailed, Moonbeam’s time in the hospital, recovering from wounds attained in the raid. But more importantly, she is being helped mentally to adjust to being Outside. They also want her to tell them about what led up to the raid and what happened when she went into The Big House while it was going on. Like I said earlier, I wasn’t a huge fan of it at first but as I read the book, I realized that there was a flow to the book. All Before scenes were told in therapy sessions. After I realized that, the book flowed nicely for me.

The characters in this book were layered. I like that in a character. I like being able to peel back the layers to see what made that character up. Take Luke for instance. When he is introduced, I thought that he was an innocent victim. But as the book went on and more of Luke’s personality was revealed, I realized that he had been 100% indoctrinated. That began when Father John took over. By the end of the book, I felt bad for him. Even though he did some atrocious things Before and After, he was still a child that had been abused.

I despised Father John. He was the epitome of evil. He took child brides (which disgusted me). He turned Luke into a fanatic that about flipped his wig when he wasn’t accepted into being a Centurion. I thought he got what was coming to him during the fire.

The secondary characters made this book what it was. They were very well-developed. I will say that I was upset with what happened to Nate. I actually groaned and said “Nooooo” when it was revealed what happened.

The end of the book filled me with hope. The author did a great job of wrapping up all the storylines. He did a fantastic job at letting the reader know that deprogramming from a cult takes months, not weeks. He showed me that those kids could go on to live normal lives. But most of all, he showed me what happened to Moonbeam. The afterword was worth the read.

What I liked about After the Fire:

Not your typical YA book
Layered characters
The end of the book
What I disliked about After the Fire:

How the book was broken up at first
Luke (even though I pitied him)
Father John
I gave After the Fire a 4-star rating. This is not your typical YA book and I liked that. It had layered characters (main and secondary). I loved the end of the book. What I disliked about the book didn’t have a huge impact on my rating. They were personal feelings. I didn’t like how the book was broken up when I started reading it. I didn’t like Luke or Father John.

I would give After the Fire an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is language. There is violence. The scene of the raid and of a man being almost starved to death in a box can be triggers. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 16.

I would reread After the Fire. I would also recommend it to family and friends.

Title: After the Fire
Author: Will Hill
Genre: YA
Rating: 5 out of 5

Before
Moonbeam has lived inside the fence as long as she can remember. Her parents joined the Lord’s Legion when she was very young, and this is the only life she’s ever known. Her father died here. Her mother was banished. Now Moonbeam is alone, except for the rest of her “family,” and Father John, the leader of the Legion and her future husband.
Every day is filled with labor, a fight for the Legion to survive. Rules govern every action, every thought. Father John is the Lord’s voice, so his words are law. No matter what. Less food. Stricter punishments. New rules. More wives. Disagreeing means banishment: being forced to leave the safety of the fence for the dark world outside. Sometimes Moonbeam wonders if this is what life should really be like. But she can never let any of her family know she wonders.

After
Reeling from the destruction of the Lord’s Legion, Moonbeam struggles to stay true to Father John’s teaching: never speak to outsiders! They are servants of darkness and speaking to them gives them power. But Dr. Hernandez seems to really care what happens to her, and slowly her defenses come down. Then Agent Carlyle starts asking questions about life inside the fence—and what really happened the night of the fire. Moonbeam knows she shouldn’t tell, but some wounds will never heal without being exposed to the light. Even if the truth means she must pay for her sins.

This book. Wow. I was intrigued by a character raised by a cult, and I loved how Will Hill handled it. Moonbeam is a fantastic narrator. The story follows her growth from a fervent believer in the Legion to a tragedy survivor who realizes the truth. The subtle way Hill weaves this tale together had me hooked from the beginning, and this vivid look at life inside a cult was completely engrossing.

Will Hill lives in London and calls himself a creative procrastinator. After the Fire is his newest novel.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)

Totally intense story of a girl raised by a cult and her struggle to a happy ending. Very intense so caution to the soft hearted among us.

This is an absolutely amazing story. It is fictional but based on some real events in the past. Moonbeam lives within a cult. She is 17 now, but was brought there when she was very young, with her mother and father. Her father is dead and her mother has been banished from the cult. Moonbeam has suffered neglect, torture, hunger, shame, yet she survives. She shows immense strength of character and I loved her. The story is written from the view of Before and After the main event, but it was never confusing and really added to the tension. I simply loved it! Highly recommended!

Powerful book about a teen girl surviving a cult and describing the community's final days, which ended in bloodshed and fire. Strong VOICE in this book. Chapters alternate events before and after her "escape," as she slowly shares her story with a therapist. Be sure to read the author's note to find out his inspiration.

Loosely based on the events in Waco, this novel tells of 17-year-old survivor, Moonbeam as she recounts the events leading up to the horrific "end of days" after living in the Legion of the Lord compound. Told in a "before" and "after" format, the book shows her therapy/treatment with a psychiatrist and FBI agent as she deals with the guilt she is racked with after believing it is her fault for calling the authorities. Voices in her head scream that she is being a heretic while another part of her brain knows she must confess and get the truth out there. Reading this is often painful as what is endured in the compound is exactly what we know of cults and extreme punishment meant to suppress and control. I did get a little bogged down in the middle as I was anxious to hear the entire story and Moonbeam drags it out as it is painful for her to say too much each day. Overall, it was compelling and satisfying though and I would certainly read more by this author.

After the Fire is a fictional book by Will Hill that feels like an account from someone who lived and was witness to the events. After the Fire is listed as a Young Adult story, I am far from that age category and enjoyed it very much. At times After the Fire is a page turner. I was given an early copy to review.

This book wasn’t what I expected, but I enjoyed it so much. Learning what happened to Moonbeam while living at the Lords Legion was a spellbinding trip. It was heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time...I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

It’s hard to imagine one person being able to completely control the thoughts and actions of a crowd, but it happens, the hive mentality can provide a safe haven for some. Is that a failing of society? Of parenting? Of mentoring? How does an immoral vulture choose his victims?

Will Hill’s AFTER THE FIRE is a raw and telling look into the power of manipulation, brainwashing of the innocents and the aftermath of “freedom.” Although fictitious, this saga mimics the true story of the Branch Dividians and their charismatic puppet master.

The compound has been breached, the few survivors rounded up and the children taken into protective custody and therapy. This is the story of one teen and her journey from terror and mistrust of who she sees as her enemy to re-learning to trust, opening up to share the events of her life both before and AFTER THE FIRE.

Through her words told in sessions with a therapist and FBI agent, this grueling horror story unfolds as she unloads her guilt and the suffering she saw among God’s “Chosen.”

Moving, horrifying and heartbreaking, this tale is a must read for all readers, but written to resonate with teens. Told in a simple, straight forward manner, we feel as we are sitting with Moonbeam, witnessing her re-learning to trust in others without fear of reprisal. It is the story of her survival, re-birth and redemption, the story of her becoming a free-thinking individual.
Powerful and captivating reading!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Sourcebooks Fire!

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (October 2, 2018)
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Genre: YA Fiction | Abuse
Print Length: 464 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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