This was an interesting take on the Hansel and Gretel story and what happened after the events of the witch and the gingerbread house. Fifteen years after they made it out of the forest, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Hans is deeply in debt from gambling and now both Hans and Greta may lose their home. In order to survive, Greta has been making Gingerbread with the help of the Witch's Grimoire she stole all those years ago. Her gingerbread has been rumored to be the best in the village, but rumors of Greta seem to be growing, and many believe Greta to be delving into witchcraft. When a new visitor comes to visit the village, he sets off a chain of events that may leave Greta burned at the stake.

There were many things I did enjoy about After the Forest. I loved Greta as a main character. She is a such strong character and even though she survived the events that happened in the forest, she still provides for her small family by baking gingerbread. Even though Greta is often shunned and gossiped about, she does not hesitate to help the village when she can. I also enjoyed delving into the several mysteries that are brought up throughout the book such as the mysterious traveler, the talking grimoire and what is truly in the forest that has been killing several villagers and soldiers.

Please be aware of the trigger warnings that are in this book, mainly animal abuse that included bearbaiting with dogs. The detailed descriptions are only in Chapter 25 and I made sure to skip this chapter. As someone who googles "Does the dog die in this movie?" to make sure I can watch a movie all the way through, I am glad other reader reviews pointed this out for me to be aware.

Overall, the witchy vibe of this book was a great way to start my Fall TBR.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review After the Forest. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This audiobook had an intriguing premise, but I struggled to connect with the story and the characters. While the dark, enchanting atmosphere initially caught my attention, I found myself drifting as the plot unfolded. Greta’s journey and the magical elements held potential, but the pacing and character development made it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the narrative. I really wanted to love this twist on a familiar fairytale, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. That said, fans of dark fantasy might appreciate the unique take, but it missed the mark for me.

I really wanted to like this. It was one of my first audiobooks ever and it sounded like a fun fairytale retelling but make it adult fantasy. However, this book was really hard for me to get through. This may come from my inexperience with audiobooks, but the story was so slow and meandering that it would constantly put me to sleep while I was actively trying to listen and pay attention. One time I was literally driving in the car listening to it, during the middle of the day, and it was lulling me to sleep so much that I had to turn it off because I was driving and being sleepy was literally dangerous. So while part of my issues, I think are because I am new to audiobooks, I have also listened to a different audiobook since and while I do sometimes struggle with being sleepy, ultimately the story of that book is more interesting and I am able to stay awake more and for longer. So I do think in part the issue here is that this story is just not that interesting to me. I do at this point have a physical copy of the book, so I have tried to continue the story that way, but I am just unmotivated because the story isn't interesting to me to pick up. I do think the audiobook narrator is pretty good, I like her voice.

I was hooked the minute I started this book, like neglected all responsibilities and did nothing but listen until it was over. Make sure you have time free because you will more than likely do the same. The story is engaging. The retelling is unique enough that you haven't read a million other versions. This will be a reread.

5 stars.

This was very cleverly written, bringing in elements and memories of their experience with the witch in the forest. This book provides a glimpse into times forgotten. I really enjoyed the character development as well as the (time period) setting. If you like fairy tale retellings, I highly recommend.

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

After the Forest is a stood out to me as a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. It's a bit slow, but has fantastic characterizations. It explores the trauma that would have been in the aftermath of the original story. I think it was a great and well done exploration. The magic was interesting and I enjoyed how it was weaved into the story.

After the Forest by Kell Woods has an intriguing premise: what happens after the fairytale ends? In this case, we find Hans(el) and Greta(el) struggling to survive as adults after escaping from the witch and being abandoned by their parents. The author chose to take a more historical than fantasy focus and that did not work well for me. I stopped the audiobook at 20% and did not continue the story. The narrator did a lovely job but the trauma and struggle of the characters in the beginning felt heavy and the slow plot did not compel me to continue.

Readers who want a detailed, historical fiction take on fairytales or who enjoy emotional stories about the struggle of overcoming trauma may like this one, but it was not for me.

After the Forest published 10/3/23.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy.

After the Forest, Audio book provided by NetGalley

I’m a sucker for a retelling and this is a Hansel and Gretel retelling that follows up with them 20 years later….. There is a brutal war and not to mention the trauma caused by killing the old crone in the oven. As they deal with the war and the childhood trauma, they each find their own way to deal…Gretel bakes and Hansel gambles. Debts and secret books, dark magic, is the perfect dark retelling that you didn’t know you needed. We have forests, witches, wolves, vices, magic… it is so fun!!!1. Although the start was a bit slow, once I became invested in the characters and the plot, I was hooked!

I will continue to read Kell Woods as this was great prose and pacing combined with complex characters facing life with hopelessly flawed character!!!

I liked this retelling! I would have preferred no gruesome parts (animal cruelty) but overall it was an enjoyable read!

4.5 stars
This was such a unique retelling of Hansel and Greta. The children are all grown up and dealing with adult struggles amidst the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in 17th century Germany. I enjoyed the narration, though a German accent would have been more appropriate than a British one given the setting and characters. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed After the Forest and will definitely read more of Kell Woods’ books. I must also say that the covers are GORGEOUS!!

i love a good retelling that takes creative liberties with the original story, and After the Forest fit the bill. This was such a great audiobook. Everything about it was incredibly atmospheric and captivating. Definitely pick this up if you're looking for a magical stand-alone novel to fill your time.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What if when Hansel & Gretel escaped the witch’s gingerbread grasp, they took something with them? What if, adults now, the only thing between them and abject poverty is the treats they make with the help of a little… magic… but this isn’t a fairytale, people who use magic can get burned at the stake and sometimes, pushing an old lady into a fire doesn’t make you a hero, it makes you a murderer.

Gosh, I just loved this dark retelling of that classic fairytale. Greta is a great character, I loved how Kell Woods saw her life splayed out, and how the business with the witch was only the beginning of her story. And how childhood trauma like that can effect people so differently. Learning about the different types of magic in her world and unraveling the mystery of who these children really were, why they ended up in those woods, was an adventure.

This was just excellent fantasy—the characters were so endearing and jumped off the page, and listening to it on audio was such a treat, the narration really brought everything to life and highlighted the quiet humour in the conversations and Greta’s witty thoughts. I feel like I would enjoy rereading this one, and I don’t do that super often.

One of my favourite fantasy books of 2023, I hope she continues retelling these somewhat overlooked fairytales and keeps them in the same overarching world. This would make such a fun movie, too. Thinking about this book, it just brings a smile to my face, I think of it so fondly.

Thanks so much to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This is an oftentimes gorgeous book with an excellent audio performance, but I found myself predicting what might happen next at several points in the story, which made me impatient for the characters to catch up.

I have a feeling I might have enjoyed this less if I'd read more fairy tale retellings, but as it is, this one felt relatively fresh and interesting to me.

Unfortunately, while the concept was very cool, I had to DNF this book around 40% in. I do think the story had promise, but ultimately, the utterly misogynistic way that most of the make characters acted significantly hampered my enjoyment of the book and made me unable to continue.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I really enjoy fairy tale retellings and was excited to start this audiobook. This book focuses on a grown up Hansel and Gretel - Greta is struggling to make it as a single women, living on the outskirts of her village. She supports herself and her brother Hans (who has a gambling problem and is making life even harder with his debts). There's a dark magic falling over the town and Greta may be the only one who can save them.

I felt like the story was promising, but it kind of lost me in the last quarter of the book. (The magic just wasn't there for me, excuse the pun..) I did like that this book focused on Greta as an adult - we see how her time in the gingerbread house as a child affected her, and how it focused her future.

Pick this up if you enjoy tales of fantasy and magic, Ms. Woods does a wonderful job creating this fantasy world in the page of her book.

I really enjoyed this story. I am very familiar with the Hansel and Gretel story as it is one of my favourite Grimm fairytale. I thought the twists on the original story were well done and made it very unique. If I could change anything, I would love a more detailed explanation of the magic system. I will definitely pick up books from this author again in the future.

This was such a fun fantasy read! I loved the plot, the characters, the magic!! It was so so good and I highly recommend!!

This wasn't my favourite fairytale retelling. We follow the lives of Hansel and Gretel once theyve escaped the Witch and grown up. Hansel is an alcoholic and Gretel didnt seem to have any real understanding of what was going on in the world. I found it really hard to connect to the characters, or really the point of the story. Its slow in the beginning and while it does pick up, its still hard to care and want to continue reading

A dark retelling of Hansel & Gretel. This novel is for those who loved “Slewfoot”…both novels set in the past with a female protagonist trying to earn money, save the farm, dabbling in magic, and trying not to be called out as a witch.
I love that there were hints of other fairytales which kept me feeling enchanted!

This wasn't for me. Maybe an audiobook wasn't the best medium for it, but I felt it hard to connect with the characters (often finding them irritating) and the first part of the book was largely confusing and hard to follow. It didn't hook my interest, unfortunately, but may have fared better if I'd read the paper format. The romance was sudden and lacked depth, being too instantaneous.