This was a great gem of a book! I really enjoyed the story and thought it highlighted the original tale well, while providing a logical continuation of the ideas. It was very frustrating that she was bound so much by the male figures in her life; though it is not meant to be contemporary. The magic was interesting! I liked the veering to morally grey at times. It felt right. I wasn’t too sure on the romance at first because of a certain other character that was in the mix at first. It was interesting and kept me reading. Overall, I enjoyed it! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

One of the best fairy tale retellings I’ve read in a long time. Great for fans of Naomi Novik and Katherine Arden.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan Audio/TOR books for an e-arc to read (listen), rate, and review.

If you adore fairy tales, this is for you!

Twenty years after the ordeal of the gingerbread cottage and the witch in the woods, we see that Hans in terrible gambling debt and Greta is struggling to keep them afloat -so happily ever afters don't always happen. Greta's one skill is her baking which is enhanced with the whispering spellbook she took from the gingerbread cottage, but something is coming...

I am a sucker for fairy tales, the originals included - that didn't have a neat happy ending for everyone. This retelling and reweaving certainly hits the mark! The beginning of chapters give the reader snippets of something amazing that was woven through the entire novel. I have seen reviews that do not like the reader, but I feel that Esther Wane does a fantastic job! I felt the main characters emotions, and she did great narration for other characters, as well. Five stars!

Wolves, witches, a bear, a book and dark magic oh my...

Greta has just been trying to get by in the years since her and her brother Hans were left in the forest and taken by an old witch. With her stepmother long dead and her father gone two it’s just the two of them. She works selling gingerbread to the superstitious villagers who aren’t aware that it might hold a tiny bit of magic. No matter how much she bakes she can barely keep up with the debts her brother seems determined to rack up. On the verge of losing their home and tired of her brother’s irresponsible shenanigans she’s reaching the end of her rope. But Greta never gives up... just like when she saved her brother’s life all those years ago. Things take a turn when rumors of men being killed in the forest come too close to home for Greta. Learning that there a lot of magical goings on that she was previously unaware of in the woods changes things. So does learning that she might be more magical than she thought. With her magic book whispering in her ear and dark forces on the horizon Greta is forced into action to save those she loves. Even though the villagers and their superstitious ways seem rather determined to get in her way.

I loved this story it came at a perfect time since I read a few 2-3 star books prior to this. I loved Greta though she definitely let her brother get away with too much and was sacrificing way too much for him. Sure they have a traumatizing backstory but she’s not out doing foolish things and being a useless person. She should have left him to figure out his own life especially after the things he did. Hans never made anybody else’s life easier only more difficult. I guessed some of how the tale of the two sisters fit into Greta’s story. There were times when I wanted to shake Greta while that book was giving her ideas but she did eventually learn her lesson. The people in her town sucked... she deserved much better.

I really like the concept of what comes after the happily ever after. Greta and Hans defeated the witch and made it home to their father but then what? How do you go on about your life after something like that happens? Well apparently you don’t go back to normal which makes sense. Though hopefully now Greta has her happy ending .

The narration was perfect.

The narrator is very dry and dull, making listening more of a task than enjoyable. The whole story is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, but they grown up and he's a gambling drunk steal all their money and wasting it. While she has the witches spell book and used recipes to make the best gingerbread cookies to make money to get by.

While I love fairytale retellings, this one didn't quite do it for me. I loved the magic system and the different type of witches. While I am a sucker for a romantic subplot, I felt like the romance could've been built upon better. It was just okay for me. At times, I felt like the plot was all over the place and a little hard to keep up with. At other times, I was bored and waiting for the story to go somewhere. There were times where I found myself enjoying the story, but not as often as I would've liked.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to listen to it, but it was just okay and probably not something I would pick up again.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book!

When I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. When I read the premise (Hansel & Gretel after the fact), I was obsessed with the idea.

Unfortunately, that's where a lot of my ultra-positive feelings ended. While "After The Forest" had a strong premise and some good moments, overall, it left me feeling more let down than anything else. There were a few bits that pulled me back in, but over all, I just felt that everything fell a bit flat.

I would have loved to see Greta come into her own a bit more, and be a stronger human that spent more time thinking for herself versus being led along by bossy dudes. I loved the magical aspects, but even that didn't have quite the twist that I was hoping for.

Overall, I'm rounding up because of the beautiful cover and the good idea, but I really wanted much more.

Did you ever wonder what happened after Hansel and Gretel got away from the evil witch in the forest? Well, look no further. We find out in Kell Wood’s debut novel. The beginning has a slow pace to it as we are re-introduced to “Greta” and “Hans”. Greta has the recipe book of the now deceased evil witch and bakes ginger bread from the book. It’s the best anyone has ever tasted. Hans is a little worse off. He is a gambler and owes a lot of money. He’s not in a good place. As key players are being introduced I felt it was a little too slow and not much to the story but at about the 35%-40% mark, hold on tight because the story takes off. I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know how it was going to turn out. It became it’s own “fairytale”. There is good and evil, blood, death, curses, love, and a bitter sweet ending. I gave it four stars for its strong ending. If you like fairytales you should give this book a try.

I listened to the audiobook. I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the audiobook. This review is voluntary and is my honest opinion. The narrator, Esther Wane, was excellent.

While I love a retelling/revisiting, this struggled to find its footing for me. I wanted so badly to enjoy it, and on paper I LOVE the concept, but the pacing and flow just weren’t there for me at this time!

That said, I can see that this would be VERY well liked by many!

After the Forest by Kell Woods, with the audiobook narrated by Esther Wane, is currently scheduled for release on October 3 2023. Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war. Greta has a secret, though: the witch's grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta's ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you've ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat. But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her mysteriously addictive gingerbread, not to mention the rumors about her childhood misadventures, is a source of gossip and suspicion. And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta's magic—magic she is still trying to understand—may be the only thing that can save her. If it doesn't kill her first.

After the Forest takes a unique look at several fairy tales, and ties the together. I have seen this done before, but not with this particular set of tales or quite so thoroughly. I liked getting to see Greta and Hans grown up (for the most part) and how their lives have continued on, and how life has progressed for the poor people struggling to survive. I liked the blend of real life, struggle, and magic. I thought the characters were well built, and while I often disagreed with their choices or words, I fully understood what they took that path. There were some moments that I thought Greta was far too naïve or overlooking what I thought was obvious, but I have to admit that the ride was quite the adventure. I was emotionally invested as I listened, and even when it was over I found myself thinking about the story and the characters. I would definitely read a follow up book about what comes next for several sets of characters.

After the Forest is a engaging and entertaining read that ties together a collection of classic fairy tales in a new way, with a different look at 'ever after'.

Greta and Hans are getting by in their small town, despite their traumatic childhood encounter with a forest witch who wanted to eat them. Hans is always in trouble, gambling away what little they have and deepening his debts, while poor Greta is a slave to selling her baked goods in order to keep them housed and fed. But Greta has a secret when it comes to her gingerbread, and if that secret gets out, she'll be ostracized as a witch herself. Newcomers to town start to stir up a bunch of trouble, and Greta gets roped in despite herself — can she salvage her good name, her home, and her happiness? Or is she doomed to be the victim of yet another dark fairy tale?

Ever wonder what happened to Hansel and Gretl after their encounter with the infamous witch and her gingerbread house? Well, wonder no more! After the Forest is a lush reimagining of the classic fairy tale and its aftermath, with tons of action and robust characters. I loved Greta's journey through this story, and I think every reader will find themselves rooting for her. There are some fun fantasy/paranormal inclusions in the book as well that made for interesting twists. A couple of them were predictable, but this didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story.

This book has a bit of a slow start (it's on the long side), but don't be discouraged, because the pace really picks up as you get further along. Highly recommend this one if you love fairy tales and retellings! Thank you to Kell Woods, Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

3.5 stars rounded up!

Even though it took me a while to get into the novel, I ended up liking this! I didn't realize it'd be so dark, so that was a huge plus in my book. It was also written well, and I'd love to read more from the author.

The way that the author incorporated all of the various fairy tales and wove them into the story made it really immersive. Although I did wish the author would've pared down on the number of fairy tales used because at times it felt really overwhelming. (Kinda like when an author uses too many references to pop culture.)

It took a while for me to actually like Greta, the FMC. For the first ~60% of the novel, it didn't feel like she had a lot of agency over her own life. It revolved around the men in her life and their questionable influences (like with her brother, Hans, or her love interest, Mathias, or the fact that the siblings owe debts to the burgermeister, etc.). So, it was a huge relief when Greta actually set out to do something huge a little after the midpoint.

The Big Bad reveal was too predictable and extremely fairy tale tropey imo, but it didn't really deter too much from my enjoyment.

Overall, this is a really good debut and I'd recommend it for anyone who loves dark fantasy and fairy tales.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this arc.

I wasn't a big fan of this book for a couple of reasons. I felt the thematic tone of the book lacked consistency, unsure if it wanted to have cozy helpful magic that adds whimsy, or be dark as it explores a woman's lack of choice, and the repercussions of magic that grows more and more risky to use.

The story itself takes a while to build any type of momentum, which I usually wouldn't mind as there's merit to a slow story, but it felt aimless and when the meat of the plot did start up it lacked intrigue, falling into predictable storytelling grooves.

The characters were also wildly unlikable and shallow. Grettal was inconsistent, naive, and sometimes frustratingly slow make a connection. Her brother was awful, and when he tries to redeem himself it feels unearned and out of character. The love interest is placid in their utter inability to be shaken, coming off as a flat, one dimensional, portrait of a character.

The final plot twist by the end was poorly executed and not foreshadowed well enough. The impact sends very little ripples through the story, and is over and done with seconds later.

Thank you to Macmillan for the audio ARC!

My rating is a 3.5 rounded up.

This was an interesting fairytale "retelling." I'm not sure retelling is the right word - because it doesn't quite retell the story we know, but picks up afterwards. I love that concept, but I wish there was a different genre for books like this! I'd love to see more stories about characters in fairytales set after the fairytale.

The first ~20% was really slow and character driven. It wasn't capturing my attention the way I wanted, but... the more I read the more I enjoyed this book! Starting around 40% I got really invested. Once I hit the 60% mark it was easy to fly through the rest!

Greta was a compelling main character, and I liked the growth her character went through during the novel! I liked the overall tone of this book, as it wasn't just a happy little fairytale and instead was very dark in parts!

I'll admit that the main pairing fell for each other a little too fast for my liking, but they were cute together so I'll let it slide.

Overall, this was interesting and worth the read!

After the Forest is a stunning new fairy tale inspired by Hansel and Gretel, and it's a must-read for your fall TBRs. We follow Greta and Hans as adults still struggling with the trauma from their past experiences as children at the hands of the witch. Although their struggles manifest in different ways, they both have to learn how to survive and make ends meet despite them. We follow Greta as our protagonist as she slowly uncovers things about herself–with the help of a certain talking grimoire that has given her company throughout her years.

What I liked: I loved the premise of following Greta and Hans years after their ordeal with the witch in the woods and seeing how that has affected their lives both mentally and with judgments from others in the town. I thought that Woods also executed the fairy tale atmosphere really well and really made this feel like a magical fantasy world where there are indeed things such as talking grimoires and plenty of unexpected magical things to discover. I think the first half of this book was really strong and I loved getting to know Greta and her baking (I'm not usually a huge gingerbread fan, but I could make an exception for Greta's!) and seeing how the magic would be working in this world. Woods has lovely prose that flows in a smooth manner, and since I read this as an audiobook I thought the narration really highlighted this.

What I didn't like: As much as I wanted to love this book, there was something that just didn't quite connect for me in the way that I'd hoped it would. I should have loved this book, but there was something missing that prevented me from fully immersing myself in the story. I think this was partially due to the fact that the characters and plot all felt very one note. There wasn't as much depth as I was initially expecting, and this made it hard to feel the emotions and occasional sense of urgency that the author was trying to evoke. I also wish that more had been done with so many of the magical elements in this book; there was so much potential, but I don't think it was explored or expanded as fully as it could have been.

Overall, I've given After the Forest 3.75 stars! Kell Woods does a fantastic job of creating an atmospheric, compelling story that will be sure to keep you flipping the pages.

4.5 stars! I loved this reimagining and melding of some favorite fairytales. Anytime that I had to put this down it was constantly calling me back to find out what would happen with Greta and those around her. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy. I will definitely be purchasing this when it releases.

After the Forest is a debut fantasy and fairy tale retelling (or continuation) by author Kell Woods.

What happens after…set in the Black Forest in Germany in 1650, this book tells the story of Hans and Greta after they escaped the witch’s cottage during their youth.

Twenty years have past since Hans and Greta escaped the witch’s cottage. They’re struggling to get by- their village is in ruin following a brutal war; their parents are dead; and Hans has gambled away what little money they had. Greta, however, has a secret…before leaving the witch’s cottage she took the witch’s grimoire and she has been using it to make the most enticing gingerbread known to man. With her irresistible baking, Greta may just keep her family afloat. But the townspeople are growing suspicious- and rumors are circulating about Greta and what happened in her youth. There’s dark magic growing in the forest… and Greta’s magic may be the only thing that can save her- if it doesn’t get her executed by the townsfolk for being a witch first.

“No amount of talk can change who a person is in their heart- remember that.”

I LOVED so many things about this book- The descriptive writing. The imagery. The forest. 🌲🍁🌾The forest animals. 🦊🐺🐻 The magical elements. 📖✨The female main character. The narrator, Esther Wane 👏🏼 The cover…so gorgeous 😍 When this releases on October 3, 2023 I have to get a copy to display on my shelves!

My favorite thing about this book was that it was dark and spooky without taking things too far. For example, I saw in other reviews that there is a possible trigger warning in Chapter 25 regarding using dogs for bear baiting. The author did not make this scene gruesome or dwell on the act. In my opinion, she does a wonderful job of balancing the light and the dark, especially considering Hansel and Gretel is not a light story to begin with.

Add this to your fall/winter TBR immediately!! This book enchanted me right from the start, and I didn’t want it to end.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me an with advance reader copy of the audiobook version of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an early access copy of the audiobook.

2.5 ⭐ rounded up. I wanted to like this book because retellingsare my favorite and the premise of what would happen to hans and greta afterwards was intriguing but this book struggled and i struggled with it. The characters were very 2 dimensional and the plot overall felt very flat. The writing felt a little too flowery for me as well.

I was so exciting to listen to this book. The cover is beautiful and the premise sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.
There was nothing inherently bad about the story or the writing style but it just didn’t connect with me. I felt more annoyed with Greta than sympathetic. I didn’t connect with Matteus and I didn’t believe the love connection. He was using her for her magic and nothing can convince me otherwise. The only character I connected with was Jacob.

After the Forest’ by Kell Woods was dark, enchanting, magical, devastating, and beautiful. A sequel to the classic fairytale ‘Hansel and Gretal,’ ‘After the Forest’ is the story of Hansel and Gretal - Hans and Greta here - all grown up and living in the aftermath of being abandoned in the woods by their father, then kidnapped and kept by an old witch in her gingerbread house to be dinner. The aftermath has been brutal, and Hans and Greta are both buried in their trauma, trying to scrape by. What follows is a story of self discovery, curses, love, family, loss, tragedy, and magical gingerbread (that I really wanted to try, haha).

Told in the timeless “Once upon a time” style you’d expect when reading a proper fairytale, ‘After the Forest’ did seem to drag a bit at times, but Woods lulls you so thoroughly into the haunting world of ‘After the Forest,’ her lyrical prose spellbinding you, little by little, until you are fully bewitched by this wonderful book, that it hardly matters much. And audiobook narrator Esther Wane give a performance as captivating and lovely as a siren’s song, sealing the deal.

If you love dark fairytales and cottagecore vibes, ‘After the Forest’ is the perfect witchy book for fall. Totally recommend.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘺𝘰𝘶!). 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.