I was very much looking forward to this book when I realised it was a Hansel and Gretel retelling.
After The Forest
Kell Woods
A lush fantasy retelling of Hansel and Gretel set in seventeenth-century Germany, perfect for fans of Brigid Kemmerer, Naomi Novik and Marissa Meyer.
Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.
A drop of blood to bind its power.
1650. The Black Forest, Wurttemberg. Fifteen 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 recovering in the aftermath of a brutal war.
Greta has a secret, though: the witch’s grimoire, secreted away and whispering in her ear, and the recipe inside that makes the most sinfully delicious – and addictive – gingerbread. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.
But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her intoxicating gingerbread is a source of ever-growing suspicion and vicious gossip. And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta’s own powers – magic she is still trying to understand – may be the only thing that can save her. If it doesn’t kill her first.
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I love a retelling, I love getting to explore a new take on an existing story, and I love it when an author goes far beyond what the original story was. This is definitely the case for After the Forest which takes place fifteen years after Hans and Greta have escaped from the witch in the forest and explores how they have dealt with the trauma of their past whilst also creating some new hurdles for them to face.
Interestingly there were two stories in this book, at the start of each chapter was a snippet about two sisters and as the book progresses it shows them at different stages of their lives. I almost forgot about these characters until the start of the next chapter came around, but knew that there would be a reason for this inclusion. Eventually, I discovered that the two strands of the story overlap and it added some brilliant context and an idea of character motivation.
This book has a definite fairy tale quality to it and it borrows from a few other well-known stories, it is cleverly plotted and well-written, and whilst I did find that it started out quite slow I think that really built the atmosphere of the story so that when the plot picked up I was completely immersed. I loved that it incorporated a few fantastical elements that I wouldn’t have expected as well, it surprised me on a few occasions and I enjoyed being kept on my toes toward the end of the book as it headed toward its climax.
I loved the characters in this, especially Greta who is the main protagonist of the story. She is somewhat of an outcast after what happened in the woods and is mostly just trying to get by, she is at the same time a little naive and very resilient and everyone underestimates her. I really enjoyed her romance with Matthias and how she becomes bolder after she has met him but the stand-out connection is between Greta and the book, you’ll have to read it to know what I mean.
The narration was amazing, Esther Wane did a fantastic job, I am in awe of how she managed to portray the atmosphere of the book so well. I’m not sure the accents of some of the characters entirely matched where they would have been from, however, I appreciated that I could tell the difference in characters speaking and that there was a difference because they were from a different locale.
After The Forest is a brilliant reimagining of a classic fairy tale with some surprises along the way, it’s a wonderful debut book and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
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