This book was on my radar for some time as a much anticipated release in 2018 and I actively stalked it for ARC opportunities. So when it appeared on NetGalley and my request was approved, I gave an audible squeal of excitement. I am not a squealing type of person so that should give you an indication of my high expectations.

And, for the first 3/4 of the book, I was absolutely engrossed. The story was dark perfection, a wonderful blend of mystery, creepiness and whimsy. I stayed up until 2am one night, captivated and more than a little creeped out. The pacing felt a little bit uneven but overall premise hooked me. There is no denying that Michelle Roberts can turn a powerful phrase. I felt like we were being given glimpses of something amazing behind the curtain- and the limited recounting of the stories from the book within the book- Tales from the Hinterlands- were riveting.

Unfortunately, like many other reviewers, it felt like the wheels came off quite badly toward the end of the story, The protagonist. Alice, was not the easiest character and at times was down right off putting. However for a big chunk of the book the more grating aspects were balanced by what I felt was an engaging partnership with her companion Ellery Finch, as the pair fall further down the rabbit hole on their way to the Hazel Wood and try to decipher the mystery of their increasingly weird experiences. When the focus shifted toward Alice on her own and her adventures in the Hazel Wood, I felt like the plot became muddled and messy. The last 100 pages or so was like watching a beautifully cast sweater come unraveled- it was very hard to make sense of what was going on-and what was going seemed by turns boring or bizarre. On the whole, I felt like it didn't quite live up to its potential and I came away far more intrigued by the elusive volume of fairy tales that I didn't get to read than the story was I was being told.

I am still giving the book 3.75 stars since having mulled my review for a few days I still find myself thinking about the book- which is always a sign that it's made an impression on me, even if it was a very uneven reading experience. I'll be interested to see how the book does on general release and it's definitely the sort of novel that I would recommend to people, if only to see what they thought of it. And if Michelle Roberts ever decides to write the full Hinterland tales, I'd love to read more- especially about Twice Killed Katherine and her bird cage.

I was absolutely blown away by The Hazel Wood from the first chapter to the last. One of those books that you genuinely don't want to end - I read it once for pleasure and I'm going to read it again to learn from it. Evocative and enchanting prose alongside an engrossing storyline made this one of my top five books this year.

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa Albert and the publisher for my ARC of The Hazel Wood.
Alice Crewe or Proserpine is the granddaughter of the infamous Althea Proserpine, author of the mysterious and rather hard to get hold of Book Tales of the Hinterland. But Alice has never met her grandmother, her mother keeps them away from her estate; The Hazel Wood and seen as though bad things and bad luck seem to follow them everywhere, Alice has no choice but to spend her life moving from place to place and pining for the answers she's sure her grandmother and her Book hold.

This book is perfect for lovers of dark stories and particularly dark fairy stories, Tales of death and darkness, horror, murder and the creepy things which hover just of sight. When Alice's mother Ella goes missing, she must journey to The Hazel Wood and the Hinterland to try and rescue not only Ella but herself.

This story was unusual but brilliant, a real page turner which keeps the reader engrossed right until the end. What hold does the Hinterland have over Alice, why is her new found schoolfriend Fitch happy to help her? Is he just a crazy fan of the Tales too or is there something more sinister going on? If you want to know the answers then you'll have to read the book!!

Deliciously spooky, dark, funny and captivating. One of the most unu books I read this year.

Often surreal, spellbinding. Perfect for lovers of fairy stories but be prepared to be amazed.

I didn't request this, so not sure how I was approved,. I don't read childrens literature or have children who would, sorry!
The one star is only because I can't get it off my shelf without submitting comments here and I can't very well give it more if I haven't even sent it to my Kindle :(

Okay, so this was not a book for me. I really wish I hadn’t received an arc of The Hazel Wood and had instead waited for more reviews to roll in first.

The blurb makes it sound exactly like the kind of dark fairy tale goodness I love, but if someone had - more accurately - explained that this is a book about a girl called Alice who gets sent to the Hinterland where she meets many colourful characters who talk in riddles, and she finds herself doing bizarre and random things like singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Landslide” in a Tudor-style pub… well, I’d have passed. I’ve already read Alice in Wonderland. Once was enough.

I know this will be much more suited to a specific type of reader who likes dreamy, nonsensical prose, heavy on the metaphors. Perhaps those who enjoyed books like Caraval. Those who are more forgiving of no one saying what they actually mean and talking all mysterious for no other reason than “shh, this is the rule of fairytales” because we all know it's more magical if nothing makes sense. For me, it was honestly irritating to have characters withhold important information just ‘cause.

The book opens with a bit of background about Alice, her mother Ella, and her reclusive grandmother Althea Proserpine - an author of a dark fairy tale collection, Tales from the Hinterland, that gained a cult following some years back. Alice has never met her grandmother, but Ella has constantly insisted on the two of them packing up and moving again and again, running away from bad luck that clearly has something to do with her grandmother and the book she wrote.

When Ella disappears, seemingly kidnapped, Alice teams up with long-time Althea fan, Ellery Finch, and uses his knowledge of the stories to find her grandmother's secret estate - The Hazel Wood.

This first half(ish) seemed very slow and longer than necessary. It is mostly a road trip where the characters rely on fairy tale logic along the lines of if it wants you to find it, you will instead of smarts and deduction to keep the story moving. A romance develops but, to the author's credit, she never allows this to become a romantic book overall.

I found a lot of the story really hard to get through. Maybe because I struggled to form a connection with any character. Alice herself is cold and bitchy, without the depth and complexity needed to make these traits interesting. Ellery Finch is super hipster and must gaze at the moon and quote Shakespeare every few pages in order to keep functioning. He has a tattoo of a Vonnegut quote, of course. And the problem is these two are the only really valuable or memorable characters in the book.

The second half basically is Alice in Wonderland. Which may or may not sound appealing, but my tolerance level for random weirdness isn't that high.

My favourite parts were the Tales from the Hinterland fairy tales within the story, which were deliciously dark and creepy, but I disliked it every time we came back to "reality" with Alice and Finch. I kinda wish the author had written a book of short stories instead and let me skip out on everything else. I could definitely see myself enjoying a creepy short story collection from Albert.

So, yeah, definitely not for me, but I would recommend this for those who like Wonderland retellings, and those who enjoy really lyrical prose over characters and/or plot.