We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel. Now after 20 years the two find themselves either struggling or hoarding secrets. Hans is in debt from gambling and Greta is keeping the secret of having the witch's grimoire. Their country lays in thin from a war and people are starving which is why Greta uses the gingerbread recipe from the grimoire.
People grow suspicious of Greta with what happened to her as a child and people wonder why her gingerbread cookies taste so good.

I love a good fairytale retelling and I have to admit that Hansel and Gretel scared the crap out of me as a kid. Witches scared me so bad as a kid and I was always worried about witches coming in the middle of the night and stealing me so when I heard Hansel and Gretel, it made me even more scared of witches. Thankfully in my late 20s I
am not scared of witches and enjoy books surrounding fairytales and witches.

I do not believe I have read a Hansel and Gretel retelling which is why I thought the concept of this was pretty unique. However, I do not feel like it was not executed well.

When it came to Hans and Greta, I found it hard to connect with them and to even care about what was and would happen to them. With everything that has happened to Greta twenty years ago, I found it weird on how everything she experiences that is magical she becomes surprised about. She was definitely naive and not fleshed out well.

The book moves at a slower pace and does not feel like much is going on and I found the ending to be just okay.

I do have to say that Kell Woods does a great job setting up the world and making it feel very atmospheric.

I did have a hard time staying engaged with this book but I do still think there will be a lot of people who will enjoy this book and I recommend this to people who love super atmospheric books and this is definitely a book that is good to read in the fall.

2.5 rounded up.

Why are we taking mediocre YA books, making the protagonists 22, and calling them adult books? If I wanted to read average YA fantasy novels with half-baked romantic storylines and incohesive worldbuilding I'd seek those out. The trend of fitting fantasy books into YA because they're written by women is bad enough, but putting YA into the adult section because the protagonists are just barely not teenagers anymore is egregious. Stop.

I don't really have anything good to say about this book because it doesn't stand out at all. It seems like the author tried so hard to mix a bunch of different plot elements and magic types that it circled around to being bland and unoriginal again. Plus, I am just so tired of female protagonists whose only storyline is "people are mean to me because ???? reasons, several men want to marry me, and also I make no decisions ever."

Ugh.

I received access to the audiobook through NetGalley and MacMillan Audio, for which I am thankful. I just wish it was a better book.

4.5 Stars

Wow. I’m shocked by how much I loved this.

From the synopsis, you know the story takes place 20 years after Hans (Hansel) and Greta (Gretel) survive the creepy old lady living in a gingerbread house. The primary focus is Greta though, which is definitely for the best because Hans is pretty useless throughout the book.

I loved how the author embellished Greta’s backstory and brought themes from other fairytales/folklores. There were multiple moments where I envisioned the little town where Belle grew up, the book from Hocus Pocus, Snow White’s evil stepmother, and oddly enough, the bloody countess Elizabeth Bathory (she’s the countess who was a serial killer in the 1500s).

Also, I know I’m not supposed to be a fan of the grimoire, but she was so SASSY! The book ended up being that perfect bit of humor throughout the pages.

Overall, I loved the writing and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of twisted fairytale retellings.

A gripping dark story about what happened to Hansel and Gretel after they defeat the old witch.
I am totally here for the dark after fairytale stories that are coming about and this is no exception. It gave a new stary that felt like a good continuation of the original characters.
I also really liked the narration in the audiobook.

What happened to Greta and Hans after they escaped the witch? This was an interesting dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel that starts many years after the gingerbread house. Greta is a baker making enchanted gingerbread and Hans has a gaming problem about to cost them their home.

Overall this was an intriguing story but it was too slow of a pace for me. I think for the right person this book will shine but it was not for me. I enjoyed listening and the narration was good but overall I would have been ok with just a book summary and not having to listen from start to finish.

What happened to Hans and Greta after they got away from the wicked witch?

Greta loves baking gingerbread cookies. The whole town can’t resist them. She kept the witch’s recipe book, who locked her and her brother away in a gingerbread house, and now uses the recipes to make cookies to sell at the market. Hans has a gambling problem and it’s about to ruin them both. Greta will have to do everything in her power to save her and her brother from losing the only home they’ve ever known.


This book was amazing. I was so intrigued by all its twists and turns. There were so many stories within the story that keep you engaged and wanting to know more. If you loved Ava Reid’s wolf and the woodsman you’ll like this dark fantasy retelling!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. After The Forest by Kell Woods will be released on October 3rd, 2023.

A dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel? Count. Me. In.

This is the perfect book if you enjoy fairytales, especially reimagined ones that tend to lead on the dark side of things. With an October release date, this is the perfect book for an evening read with some pumpkin spice and a warm blanket. The way that the book is written is beyond magical and I ate it up.

I look forward to more books by Kell Woods!

A little bit of gingerbread never hurt anyone, right? While Greta is doing her best to survive a hard world while her brother gambles his life away, sinister and magical things are brewing… This tale weaves together the dark side of many classic fairytales, the audiobook beautifully captures the suspense and anxiety of Greta navigating the many twists and turns in her magical little life.

DNF at 30%

This is a "it's not you, it's me" kind of situation. At 30% in I couldn't tell what the plot was and I just wasn't having fun. I've got a feelings that this is an all-vibes-no-plot kind of book and I'm not patient enough to stick around to find out if I'm right.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillian Audio for an advanced audio copy of this novel.

This book was on my highly anticipated list. I personally like fairytale retellings and this one did not disappoint. We follow the idea of what happens after in the Grimm fairytale of Hansel and Gretel which for me was an interesting perspective to take instead of simply retelling the story itself.

I think readers who are fans of authors like Alice Hoffman will enjoy this novel. I also think younger readers will even enjoy this despite it being written as adult fiction.

I believe it's release date in early October is perfect since it has quite an atmospheric spooky vibe to the story.

Everyone knows the tale of the lost children who were captivated by the gingerbread house and captured by the evil witch…but what happened after the children escaped and the story ended?

Twenty years after they found their way home Greta and Hans have had a rough go of it. Greta is trying to keep their family afloat by baking her famous gingerbread while Hans is gambling all of livelihood away. With dangerous beings encroaching on their town, the countryside in ruin and starvation plaguing their village things are looking grim. But Greta has a secret - on that dark night many moons ago she took the witches grimoire when she escaped and has kept it hidden all this time. But with dark magic on the rise and the suspicion of the townspeople growing - she must turn to the unknown to save her family.

Full of magic, mystery and all the gothic fairy tall vibes - this retelling is absolutely fantastic! I can’t wait to see what Kell Woods comes up with next!


Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

3.5/5 stars

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

This was a charming story with a fantastic premise - but something just felt a bit flat. I wish I could be more specific, but it just didn't capture me with magic and enthrall me intrigue the way I wanted it to. I didn't feel like I was in a fairytale, it just felt like a very normal, predictable plot with a wash of fairytale. Maybe that was it - it felt very disconnected in a lot of ways to the source material, and the "twists" were all very predictable.

But, I don't want to be too harsh. It really was a good story, the cover is gorgeous, and the narrator did a great job. The writing wasn't bad and I did enjoy it, I just wasn't dying to know more each time I had to step away. I would certainly read more by this author and it was a solid debut. Anyone that really enjoys fairytales and high fantasy I think would enjoy this, just don't expect anything earth-shattering.

This book was the perfect level of fairy-tale remix and original story for me, with excellent settings and characters. There's a lot packed into these pages, but the story never felt rushed. In my opinion, the tone both paid homage to the original darker tales without being too over the top and gloomy. Overall an enjoyable read!

(Purely in regards to the audiobook form, I found the narrator's English accent jarring with the German setting and vocabulary.)

After the Forest is a Hansel and Greta retelling that takes place two decades after they were held hostage by the evil witch in the gingerbread house. The siblings are struggling to make ends meet with a country suffering from the effects of a disastrous war, Hansel's gambling addiction, and the town's stirring suspicions that Greta is a witch. The tensions in her town come to a boiling point when dark magic begins to wreak havoc.

This is an AMAZING retelling that is truly unique. Doing a retelling in a way that is the "what came after the original fairytale story" is such a wonderful setup, and Kell Woods excelled at bringing it to life. There were several main themes/plot points going on (the devastation of the war, the romance, the sibling dynamic, the different magics and curses, the story of their past, the grimoire, the persecution of women thought to be witches, survival, and more) and they were each developed so well and made the story really come together. This romance was swoon-worthy, I loved that it was kept minimal- but our love interest's back story was amazing. As this is a debut, I cannot wait to see where Kell Woods goes from here.

The narrator, Esther Wane, was absolutely wonderful as always. I love this narrator and felt her voice brought even more to the story. There couldn't have been a better choice.

Well, this was yikes, largely it’s kind of boring. The first chapter was good but after that everything pretty generic.
As far as the sort of teen killer being hunted by victims way. I don’t know I feel like I’ve read and watched 1 million things like this in better ways.

The other production is really good though and the piecing is done well
Probably took me three weeks to get through it. I picked it up and put it down and wouldn’t have finished it except I need to turn it in.

Absolutely love fairytale retellings, and this one was very fun, but at times fell a little flat. As always, I love the narrators at Macmillan Audio. The narrator for this audiobook was so and helped bring life to the characters. This book began very slowly, I did not really get into it until around half way. One issue for me was the amount of characters, which seemed to take away from the main ones. This was the toughest aspect of the book for me, but I found it does pick up more later on and becomes easier to follow. If you are a fan of fairytale retelling, then this is definitely worth the read!

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advancer listener copy of After the Forest!

After the Forest is the beautiful story of Greta, a young woman living with her brother Hans in the woods. A loose retelling of Hansel and Gretel, Greta uses the witch's grimoire she stole from the witch's cottage after when she and Hans escaped as children to make magic gingerbread which she sells to keep them afloat. As May Day approaches, things are changing in their little village as soldiers are returning from war, a bear has been discovered in the woods, wolves have reappeared after a long absence, and the kind baron who ruled over them dies leaving his beautiful young wife in charge. But things are not as they seem and Greta herself begins to learn of her own power. But will it be enough to save them all from the dark magic that is circling? Or will Greta be caught as a witch herself?

I really enjoyed this book! It is hard to believe that it is a debut! Greta's independence and confidence are astounding and I spent the whole book hoping she would catch a break. The characters are well written and the magic system is very interesting.

I didn't love the narrator. The voice she used for Greta made her seem immature and weaker than I pictured her. I also struggled to differentiate when someone was speaking versus the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to listen Tate and review this audiobook arc which will be available October 3,2023!

Have you ever wondered what happened to Handel and Gretel after they survived the Gingerbread house and the witch? Then this book is for you! It’s set 20 years after their harrowing escape from the evil witches clutches and their lives are not an HEA. Hansel is in giant debt from gambling, their parents are dead and Gretel is left picking up the pieces of a shattered life. But she stole the witch’s grumoire and is using it to keep her family afloat in the devastated countryside.

I found this to be a poignant read. It was funny and at turns gave a realistic look at desperation ptsd and the power of gossip in small villages. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will be buying it when it is released.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of After the Forest by Kell Woods in exchange for an honest review. This was a beautiful reimagining of multiple fairy tales, all mixed up and made unique. I really enjoyed it and felt for Greta. It was a perfect book for the fall season and I read it in two days.