I found this to be an interesting retelling of American folklore. It was refreshing because most retellings are of the fairy tale variety. I'll definitely recommend this to my teen patrons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Love opened a mortal wound....The more she loved, the deeper she worked the blade."

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE HERE is a twisty tale that explores themes of sacrifice, the rawness of passion and the consequences of intention versus outcome. Once I started the story, Krause captivated me with the type of prose that swallows you whole and a world so vivid that it's easy to get lost in it.

My concerns lie with the pacing towards the end of the story; whilst I believe that the outcome suited the world of the story, it left me feeling like I hadn't heard enough from Catalina to feel satisfied with where we left off. Another thing was the romance—an atmospheric gothic story as strong as this one didn't really need it get by. If anything, it felt a little unnecessary and out of place. The love, in the platonic and familial vein, that Catalina showed resonated more with me than anything else.

"Life was cruel, certainly. It was filled with bright, ravaging horrors that stun you like a sun flare and secret, quiet wounds that fold against your ribs. It took loved ones from your arms so you breathed hurt like air."

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

After sitting on this for 2+ months, I've increased my rating from four to five stars. Why, you ask? I've had opportunity to recommend YA horror and/or seen this book mentioned by people multiple times in the past few days and it made me realize just how much I loved this book. I devoured the audiobook in one day and I still can't think of apples without shuddering and picturing rotten nastiness. I love the inclusion of Latin American culture and heritage, the dreaminess of loving/writing poetry and I was obsessed with American tall tales and folklore as a kid (alongside the more well known European fairy tales of course). Seeing a horror book centered around Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, a Faustian bargain scenario and the beginnings of the American westward expansion is everything I never knew I needed as a reader.

Autumn Krause has alway had a knack for character creation & this book isn't any different! I'm so glad we have gotten another masterpiece from Krause!

This one took me quite a while to read and I struggled getting into the “zone” with it. I was absolutely enthralled with the premise but having finished it and had time to reflect I think I would have preferred an audiobook of this one. In the way that folk tales come from oral stories and traditions I think this would have felt better if I could imagine the story being told to me in the same way. I felt that the pacing between the two sub plots didn’t quite match and the story simultaneously went too quickly and too slowly. I just never felt connected with any of the characters and they all seemed to hang out just around surface level with their characterizations. Their motives and actions were very direct and one dimensional.

This book really did have some beautiful moments, and they were the more horror-like moments. The grotesque birds and other creatures created by the Banker, the village with the bride, the bit of forest before Catalina and Paul finally reach the apple orchard at the end all felt like a fever dream. I truly loved these moments and would have loved for them to have lasted longer or for more fantastical moments to have been added.

Overall I did find the story a bit predictable and a little like it was “going through the motions”. When i think fables and folk tales I think of underlying lessons the reader is supposed to take away and that didn’t quite come all the way across from the writing. Happily Ever Afters are nice but I almost wish everything didn’t get wrapped up with a neat little bow.

I had the opportunity to read this incredible book early and it’s just the most perfect read for spooky season I think, it was so atmospheric and moody and I just loved it all so much. It’s the kind of book that is a total ✨vibe✨ & I’ll be thinking about the hauntingly beautiful writing for days to come. I also had the chance to listen to the audiobook early as well and it’s magnificent, I highly recommend giving that a listen if audiobooks are your thing! In whatever way you prefer to read it, just make sure that you do because it’s definitely a must read book & a total standout for the year!

This was an interesting take on the story of Johnny Appleseed. This Latin American twist merges magical surrealism with American tall tales. In this story, a Mexican American poet must work her way through a Faustian deal to spare her life and that of those she loves.

Interesting read. Definitely not what I was expecting. This book is a tale about Paul Bunyan and Johnny appleseed. I liked that it gave them much more background. Bonus points if you’re really into apples

there was something really overtly affected and dramatic prose-wise that really pulled me out of the story.

I don't really have a specific reason why I didn't like this book other than it wasn't for me! I know plenty of readers who will enjoy it, but I think I'm just not a tall tale person. I liked the gothic elements but I know in the past I haven't liked the pacing that comes with it being a gothic book, they are usually too slow paced for my preference.

A gothic fairy tale wrapped in gorgeous prose, this was easily one of the most beautiful books I've read this year. (and I don't just mean the cover but seriously that cover tho 😍) It truly reads like a classic fairy tale in the style of the brothers Grimm, both a cautionary tale and an encouraging one. And I don't know about you, but I've never read a Johnny Appleseed retelling. I'm SO here for the Americana vibes, it gets an immediate yes from me.

I wanted only good things for Catalina from the first moment of meeting her. Paul is the best boy and has the greenest flags, I love him so much. John and the banker and the bride are characters who will haunt me for a good long while.

If you love the darkness of the OG fairy tales, if you watch Over The Garden Wall every autumn, if you love stories and love characters who love stories, you should try this book. I think you'll like it.

5 stars from me!

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**

Before the Devil Knows You're Here is an inventive horror and was delicious. The writing was beautiful and lyrical:

"You need to have a heart to be alive and if I ever saw mine, I imagine it’d be an apple. A rotten one, sitting inside my ribcage between my lungs, putrefying me from the inside out. When I put my hand over my bark-covered chest to feel its beats, I become painfully aware of what I wish to forget."

"The hard winter had shaped her into something much more bone than blood..... Then, slowly, she’d written less and less as the hunger had grown more and more, and she realized her brother was starving before her eyes. Finally, she’d stopped altogether, a silent bargain against the wind-driven sleet and the dwindling pantry and the skin drawing so thin around Jose Luis’s face it looked like paper."

THIS BOOK MADE MY HEART FEEL WONDERFUL. From Catalina who I could relate to so much, to Paul and the Devil who was a banker and now my favorite way to think of him now, I devoured this one and had so much fun reading it!!

Apples are in the air lately! This was such a unique and lovely book. Beautiful, lyrical prose, twisty bargains, and a monster-filled chase through the woods. I thought the audiobook version was really great and added to the experience for me.

John's chapters took me by surprise. I LOVED them!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. I am going to try and get a physical copy of this at some point, as I do want to check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I didn’t know I was in the mood for a dark fairytale like book until I read Before the Devil Knows You’re Here! This book features two POVs, John, a man with a dream to grow the most delicious apples to feed the world, and Catalina, a young woman who has turned homemaker for her father and brother after the loss of her mother. One day, a horrible tragedy occurs and Catalina is set on a journey to save those she loves most. Along the way, she meets Paul, who is also on a similar journey, and together they face some graphic horrors. There were some incredible twists and turns that were a delight to read, and I loved the burgeoning romance between the two main characters.

In this unique retelling of Johnny Appleseed, Krause incorporates a gothic atmosphere. Our main character, Catalina, underwent major character development and as a reader I truly felt emerged in her story. I did not put this book down until I finished it and loved every second of it!

So I really wanted to love this one, but it just went a little out of my reading comfort zone for me to really get in to, which is totally a me thing not a fault to this book. I'll definitely be recommending this to customers at work

3.75 ⭐️

*Light spoilers ahead?*

I must have picked up this book because of the cover or title or I must have simply forgotten the plot before I got around to reading it, because when I caught on that it was a Johnny Appleseed/Paul Bunyan retelling the excitement that burst out of me… A folk horror story about deals with the devil and folk American figures I grew up with? Yes. And as a upstate New Yorker, the constant apple talk stole my heart.

This story was the perfect blend of prose and folk horror that I typically look for in a book. It could have been a bit darker for my taste, but it certainly had a spooky vibe throughout. I just loved the fakes on each characters personality and backstory - Paul Bunyan a chivalrous defender, Johnny Appleseed a regretful man blinded by ambition, and the Devil an trickster banker.

Things I could have had more of include more relationship development scenes between Catalina and Paul, more Johnny flashbacks (but I’m just a sucker for a story told though flashbacks), and more drawn out obstacles - especially the ending. I felt that while the story is told over several decades, it would have made more sense for more timeline distance between Catalina’s and Johnny’s stories. I also felt like many of the obstacles in the book felt took quickly solved, especially the ending - this book could have been a much longer epic of a story if it wanted to be. And lastly, for a book that claims to be about a poet main character, there was decided little poetry involved.

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the ARC of this book.

Definitely quite strange and unique. I highly appreciate that in today's world of homogeneous fiction. I highly recommend this book.