A really interesting and well told story with wonderful writing. I found myself thinking about it when I was reading it and raced pack to pick it up. It is not something I would usually pick up but I was drawn to not only the beautiful cover buy the story. Albert excelled

this story is very dark but intriguing, but it does take some getting into and at a couple of points in book i lost the plot , so had to go back and reread bits

I absolutely devoured this. I just couldn’t stop reading, I had to find out what happened to Alice and Ella. This was such a beautiful, dark and twisted fairy tale. I found this beautiful book while I was away in Scarborough in a Waterstones I stumbled across I couldn't wait to start it as soon as this months challenge started. As soon as I could I started this book and didn't stop until I'd finished it. I absolutely loved Alice and the whole fairy tale world of the Hazel Wood. I also loved the stories and the fact that they could try and break out of them. Ella's fierce, protective, motherly love was absolutely everything. I have been craving something dark and wonderful for months and this definitely delivered. The one person I'm not completely d
Sure of is Ellery Finch.. He has got to be the most complicated in the whole book. The fact that he sold Alice out but she was thankful for it? Things where he was concerned just seemed to get confusing but then I think exactly how much he fits in with the Hazel Wood. But overall I really really really enjoyed this book.

Alice fascinated me. With over-riding memories of her childhood being the highway and staying in different places with different people she's an outsider, never having that sense of belonging. It's obvious from the beginning there is something different about her. Mum Ella teaches her strategies for cooling her anger and of course there's always the accidents and bad luck that follow them wherever they go. Even after grandmother Althea dies. With Ella (the only other person who has been a constant in her life) missing, she's lost. As you would imagine from her insular lifestyle, when Finch becomes involved she finds it hard to trust him. The fanatical look he gets in his eyes when they talk about her grandmother's book, 'Tales of the Hinterland' doesn't help either. I must admit I found the beginning of the story a bit slow although of course I understand the need to introduce characters and to get us to a place where we have some (but not all) of the information. Once Alice and Finch meet the characters from the Hinterland, The Hazel Wood became a real page turner for me and I just couldn't get enough of this world.

I loved the three 'gifts' that were left for Alice in The Salty Dog and couldn't wait to see how they would be used. And like all the best fairy tales, Alice goes it alone on her quest from the time she's left in the Halfway Woods. Of course she meets others who give her guidance on the way but to crack the final challenge she has to find the strength to be able to break the web. With every fibre of my being I was hoping that Alice's 17 years of humanity would make a difference ...

The Hazel Wood is a dark and demanding fairy tale with creative use of the themes you would expect in any fairy tale. If you enjoy fantasy and magic, this is for YOU! I'm very interested to see where Melissa Albert will take us next.

This dark fairy tale begins with seventeen year old Alice and her mother Ella. They have lived a fairly nomadic lifestyle and she believes they are finally settled when the death of her Grandmother, and subsequently the disappearance of her mother, throws a spanner in the works. Alongside her new found friend, Ellery Finch, she heads to the Hazel Wood, where she believes she will find her mother. She encounters many weird, wonderful and creepy obstacles along the way.
I thought the book had a great plot and some beautiful description. I thought it was slightly long in places but with interesting characters and plenty going on. The Hazel Wood made compulsive reading and I look forward to reading a follow on.

The Hazel Wood is a spellbinding adult fairy tale, shrouded in mystical tales and dark secrets just waiting to be revealed.

When Alice discovers her grandmother's collection of dark stories, she starts to hunt around for answers about her own family history, only to discover much more than she bargained for.

It's odd how the main character was actually hard to like at first, but as the end of the story raced forward towards a conclusion, and the plot unravelled, I began to understand a lot of reasons for her behaviour.

If someone told you this warning - "Stay away from the Hazel Wood." Would you listen? What if your mother was suddenly kidnapped and the Hazel Wood was your only clue?

This is a cleverly structured story with some vivid characters and a dark fantasy horror theme, which was creepy, atmospheric and very Grimm in style.

An unusual, intriguing and totally unique read!

The Hazel Wood is a dark fantasy book that holds you tight until the very last page and beyond.
Melissa Albert has created an amazing world that crosses into our own and brings its own cast of colorful characters that brighten and darken the story in equal measure. Spinning from one world to another we follow Alice as she finds her own story and how it mixes with these worlds.
The story has a fast pace that keep you rushing for the next chapter without wanting to finish the book. The characters paint a vivid picture in your head that stay with you even after you step away.
This well written tale mixes fantasy and horror with amazing characters to give you a great adventure, grab this book for a weekend read, though be prepared to start down the path and read it in a single sitting.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

This is one of those strange conflicting books where I loved the premise, I loved the writing, the story but I hated the main character. Frankly, Alice was a giant bitch. (Narrative did reveal REASONS for her behavior but still.)

Alice has spent most of her life on the road with her mother, whom she refers to by name, Ella, rather than call her Mom. Bad luck seems to follow them where ever they go. They start settling down, things go wrong and they have to leave. Because of this Alice is never in one place for long so never really makes any friends or forms attachments to people. Which must be difficult but its the life she’s used to so it’s sort of understandable that she’d be cold and standoffish.

She has an attitude right off. She lives under the shadow of her reclusive grandmother whom she’s never met, the author of a book of very dark fairy tales. The fairy tale book seems to have a sort of cult following. There is very little information about the grandmother. At the start of the novel Ella has received a letter telling her that the grandmother Althea, has died and she has inherited her estate, the mysterious Hazel Wood. Which she wants nothing to do with.

The writing is quite dark and lyrical, the abysmal characters give the whole thing a dark murky feel to the story, when Alice starts looking into the grandmother and the book of fairytales, it fits as it turns out the stories are very dark. The book is now out of print and hard to find. Alice makes a connection with a boy at her latest school, Ellery Finch who has an interest in the fairytale book. Ella’s latest boyfriend is a very very rich older man with a daughter Alice’s age, so she and Alice attend a private school for very rich kids. Finch, is one of the wealthiest students there.

Of all the characters in this book, Finch is probably the nicest and was one of my favorites. He offers Alice a tentative friendship and is nothing like the stereotypical rich boy you get at private schools. He’s kind of a nerd and adorable.

Alice’s world is thrown into chaos when she goes home one afternoon to find her mother missing and her mother’s boyfriend in a fury after himself, his daughter and Ella were kidnapped. The two were let go, and he’s naturally furious. More for scared for himself and his daughter than Ella it would appear. The only clue Alice has is something to do with being told to stay AWAY from the Hazel Wood, her grandmother’s mysterious estate.

Of course, with a bitchy teenager who is told not to go somewhere - it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going to happen. Alice completely ignores the warning and freaks. She finds herself calling on Finch to help her, since he’s apparently read the fairytale book. He’s got involved with the people looking for the estate. Finch is the only person willing to help. Alice is freaking and she’s really being nasty to him. Yet almost reluctantly seems to resign herself to the fact she needs Finch and the help he is offering. Her nasty attitude during these bits made me constantly want to slap Alice. I really did not like her at all.

Though this is where the fairytale darkness seeps into the novel and it seems that reality is mixing in with the world of the mysterious tome written by her grandmother, a strange fairyland called The Hinterland. Is this really happening or is it the influence of the Hinterland?

Things get stranger and scarier as Alice and Finch investigate, ignoring all warnings to stay the hell away. Alice can’t do it. The more she digs, the more questions she finds with no answers. Despite the unlikeable characters, there is something very compelling about the darkness of the mystery as it unfolds.

I won’t recap much more because there would be some serious spoilers but things get weirder by the minute and finally, things start happening and answers start coming. There were a few twists before the final revelations.

Some misgivings, but definitely worth a read. It’s somewhere between a fantasy and a mystery. Vivid and quite dark and sometimes dreary. At the same time it has a way of making you want to know what the hell is going on. It’s definitely very original. And that book of disturbing fairytales sounds like something this reader would be dying to get their hands on. And according to Goodreads it looks like there will be a sequel (though I can’t imagine where the sequel will go) and the fairytale book from the first book will actually be written. I am certainly very intrigued to go.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for approving my request to view the title.

The Hazel Wood is about Alice’s quest to find her mother after she goes missing. She’s danced around the borders of the world her grandmother created all her life – running from it, hiding from it – but finally the time has come for Alice to go into the Hazel Wood and uncover the secrets her mother’s been trying to hide from her.

This book is AMAZING. I regret how long it waited on my list before I finally opened it. I was swept away from the start although it was something of a slow burner to start off with – I didn’t really understand where it was going until it had gone, but sometimes that’s the best kind of story, the kind that you just can’t predict.

My favourite bit was perhaps receiving the snippets of the dark and twisted fairy tales her grandmother wrote about, although reading about the tales coming to life was a very close second. Rarely have I come across a novel so imaginative, and I can’t wait for Melissa Albert to release the Tales from the Hinterland. I’m sure it won’t disappoint.

This novel is so carefully crafted; everything about it, from Alice’s creation (yes, she is a little annoying but it’ll all make sense when you get to the end) to the world Albert has created in which Stories are brought to life (note: Stories with a capital S). The Hazel Wood is a wild and magical ride from start to finish and I can’t wait to see more of what Albert has in store. I highly recommend this novel not only to readers of YA, but also people who just love fairy tales.

This is how dark fairy tale books should be done. I enjoyed the hints at the weird tales and the fact that there was no rule to them - no happy ending, no reward for the just, only revenge and misery.
But then the book itself deverges from this, and delivers a happy ending. Sigh. The first part of the book felt so long I thought it might end with the main character arriving at the gates of Hazel Wood and the rest would be in a sequel. But no. The book continued, and turned super weird. Which was okay, but then all the effort of building a nonsensical world was thrown out the window by then making up loopholes and new rules so that the main character could have her positive ending. Or, semi positive, because she didn't get the boy. And thank god for that!
I still think it was a good book, especially the writing style got me hooked. I am curious what the second book might be about, but I am much more interested in the Tales from the Hinterland book promised to be published after- especially because I might actually find out what the ending if Alice Three Times was meant to be!
All in all, a good read, and I would recommend to those who want something familiar with a few quirks.

It’s thanks to Netgalley and my Crone Bloggers that I even read this book. I had never heard of it until I received a copy in my Fairyloot box and then had my Netgalley request approved on the same day. (I totally forgot I requested it). My fellow Crone has been collecting all the editions of the book and so her excitement and love made me want to read it.

The blurb definitely draws you in as a reader and was one of the reasons why I requested to read it in the first place. The cover is very plain and simple which is a type of cover I find attractive and will make me think twice about picking up the book.

Melissa Albert’s story is a very mesmerising and creepy read which was easy to read and has incredible writing. It really draws you in and grips you as a reader but some bits are very dark. The plot itself, wasn’t that strong, and not my kind of story but I know there will be readers out there who love this book as much as my fellow crone does.

I really loved how this story makes you care about the characters even though they are super flawed and very hard to like. Overall it was a great story and I enjoyed reading it.

3.5 stars

Alice has spent most of her life on the road with her mother, having to keep moving because of the bad luck that follows them around.
Now, at seventeen and with her mother, Ella, married, Alice thinks they have finally outrun the bad luck. She's wrong.
Alice's grandmother is the writer of a book of short stories all set in the Hinterland, a dark fairytale realm. Ellery Finch, a student at Alice's school is a fan of the book and when Alice's mother goes missing, possibly kidnapped by characters from the Hinterland, Finch agrees to help Alice find the Hazel Wood. The Hazel Wood is Alice's grandmother's estate and in a message Ella left for Alice, she warns her to stay away from there.
Will Alice find the Hazel Wood and her mother?
Are the Hinterland and the characters in her grandmother's book real?

I like fairytales, so I was interested to read The Hazel Wood.
Alice was a good protagonist. She had anger issues and would have done anything to get her mother back. I thought it was odd that she always referred to Ella by her name, but I think I remember her saying at one point that their relationship was more like they were sisters than mother and daughter.
The plot was interesting and I liked the fairytales from Alice's grandmother's book. They were creepy and twisted and I would be interested to read the rest of them (only some of them are described). There was some action and a minuscule amount of romance.
I really enjoyed the writing style and look forward to reading more by the author.
I'm intrigued to see what happens in the next book.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

Not my usual style so I fear my review is a bit biased so I’ll keep it short.

I found it exceptionally scary, much more of a ‘horror’ than I expected!

I have never read a horror story before, but I think that's how I'd classify this book. It scared me! What a brilliant read. So many twists and turns I never knew what to expect, but it kept me hooked the entire time. I'd highly recommend this to anybody who loves fantasy, mystery, thrillers or, indeed, horrors!

It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do.

A wonderful fairytale and not that awfully soppy Disney type, but dark, sinister and properly evil like all good fairytales should be. The writing was excellent. The characters were three-dimensional and the pace was good. The interweaving of the telling of “Tales of the Hinterland” within the narrative was clever and led you nicely into the “real” Hinterland and The Hazel Wood. I loved this book, yeah it’s classed as YA, but who cares when it’s so good.

Alice Proserpine is the granddaughter of renowned storyteller Althea Proserpine who wrote the infamous and hard to come by Tales of the Hinterland. Alice and her mother, Ella, are estranged from Althea and are constantly on the move, seemingly avoiding something that seems to follow wherever they go, bringing them bad luck. When Alice was younger, she was kidnapped by a man who claimed to be taking her to her grandmother and the pair have been especially cautious since.
Alice is 17 when her grandmother dies, and her mother inherits the famous Hazel Wood house where she grew up, but she doesn’t want it. Alice and Ella finally settle in a house with Ella’s new partner Harold and his daughter Audrey. Audrey and Alice have an interesting relationship, at times seeming to hate each other and other times getting on well, and this is something I’d have liked to read more about and understood more. We do get to know a lot about her relationship with her mother, and it was lovely to read such a close and loving mother-daughter relationship in a YA novel.
Ella is kidnapped by a figure claiming to be from the fictional Hinterland, and the only clue Alice has is her mother’s strange warning: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood”. But this would not be a story if Alice did as her mother told her, so of course she sets off for the Hinterland in search of the Hazel Wood. The problem is that Alice knows very little about this world because she has been carefully sheltered from it by Ella. Alice knows almost nothing about her grandmother, and even less about the stories she wrote. She turns to her new friend Finch for assistance. Finch is a hardcore fan of Tales of the Hinterland and he fills the gaps in Alice’s knowledge. He knows the stories and the characters by heart. He seems like a genuinely nice boy and at times you feel as though he and Alice could have a lovely friendship. However, their relationship isn’t explored in any detail, beyond it being one of necessity: Alice needs him to find her mother and he needs her for…well, you’ll have to read it to find that out.
I found the story slow to start, but that changed once Alice made it through to this fairy-tale land. The pace picked up and the book got even darker and more twisted. The Hinterland is not a place of happy fairy tales: the characters are creepy (Twice-Killed Katherine anyone?), the landscape is harsh and unfriendly, and the stories are relentless. Alice’s journey is difficult, it is full of twists and turns, characters who want to do her harm and there are times she really wants to give up, and avoids doing so only because nothing good ever happens to those who don’t act in fairy-tales. The creator is more of a dictator and the characters are constantly trying to find ways to break out of their narratives and escape into the real world. It is dark, and if you read my reviews regularly, you’ll know that I like dark themes and dark worlds, and this is a particularly brilliantly written dark world.
The Hazel Wood is a very atmospheric book. Melissa evokes a really strong sense of place and draws on all the senses, especially smell, so you cannot help feeling as though you’re experiencing the world in the same way Alice is. This especially stands out when Alice makes it to the Hinterland, which feels as real to the reader as our own world.
Alice’s story is in part, one about storytelling: who has the right to tell stories? How do stories work? What happens to the characters when the reader closes the book? It’s an interesting and unique premise, and one that has played on my mind often since reading it. It is also a story about family and belonging. I don’t want to say too much on this topic because of potential spoilers, but Alice thinks a lot about what family means to her and about where she belongs as her story progresses, ultimately making that choice herself for the first time in her life.
I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting read. I think some parts could have been developed more and the ending lacked something for me, but I would certainly recommend this to anyone with an interest in fairy tales, especially the dark ones.

Entering the Creepilicious Hazel Wood

I mentioned last week that I had a few ARC reviews coming and in case you didn’t know, I loved them all. However, even though I gave the other two all the bananas, this book was basically a glorious banana cake of awesome (that’s monkey speak for “I saved the best till last!”). Now, when I first saw this book it was pretty much love at first sight- because just look at that cover!!! And most of the reviews were super positive as well… and then came all the negative reviews. I have to say they dampened my enthusiasm somewhat- and THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT. My expectations being much lower ended up making this all the more rewarding. Then again, nothing about this book is to be expected.

I will admit straightaway that I get why people some people don’t like this– the way the story’s told, the style and the structure are bound to be hit or miss. BUT one thing I’ve learnt over the years is that the most divisive books are usually the most brilliant. They’re the books that, when they work for me, make the biggest impact- and boy did this book work for me.

From the my first tentative steps into the world of this novel, I knew I was in for quite the journey. The writing made me shivery with glee. It’s probably a good thing that this was an ARC because otherwise I’d have clogged up this review with quotes- heck, judging by how highlighted my kindle version is, I’d basically be uploading the entire book. I wrote tons of notes as well, which can all be summarised: wow, this lady can write! I was endlessly impressed with the unsettling tone, the trickery of the luxurious language and the underlying genius of the ideas.

put your hands together.gifOne thing I noticed, quite quickly, was that Hazel Wood is a bit of a genre straddler. I wouldn’t personally classify this as magical realism (though I’ve heard a few people labelling it as such)- to do so would be to miss the large signposts to all the great gothic and fairy tale traditions at every terrific twist and turn. Now, a lot of people know that gothic books and fairy tales are two of my *absolute favourite* genres. Since this book *put those hands together* (so to speak) I couldn’t have been a happier monkey to find how well this worked. It reminded me so much of the finest works in both genres. Rather wonderfully, this tied in with its theme of falling in love with a story. I couldn’t help but be reminded of personal favourites- especially as they were referenced so well. To say this was rooted in literary references would be an understatement. It tunnelled down into the collective psyche of some of the world’s oldest stories.

The basic plot was simple and yet highly effective: it is a story of taking a trip into the woods, losing yourself and then having to discover a way out. I love tramping through Mirkwood-esque settings and uncovering uncanny secrets- and Hazel Wood was remarkably good at capturing that unsettling feeling that more was going on under the surface. Indeed, there were hints at psychological themes lurking. With a steady build up, the narrative crept towards a crescendo where everything began to make sense (and also raised tons of questions 😉 ).

The world of the book felt like a dreamscape and much of the messaging felt like an allegory for mental health and real world trauma. And that right there was another of the reasons I was often jumping up and down saying This. Is. Such. A. Good. Book. Because, much like the grandmother in the story, who is the author of a fairy tale collection, is described as being like a “war reporter”, this narrative brought brutal truths. The harshness of the main character’s life delivered a slice of reality to go with the story’s unreality; the unnerving creations had me wondering what was real in the book at all. Much of the messaging felt like a code for something deeper. Like I said, this was no ordinary book.

A significant way the book achieves a sense of raw realism was through the family relationships. They’re not cookie cutter and they’re not always monstrous- they felt grounded in genuine experience. I appreciated the slow build of connections and the fact that they didn’t always turn out how you might want. But then, this is not a book of wish fulfilment and that aspect worked for me. I also loved the prickly edges to the main character and found myself relating to her– even if she could be practically the embodiment of irritation at times- though I understand why a lot of other readers couldn’t get behind her.

By the end, the storytelling aspect took a meta turn and all the threads came together. I don’t want to spoil anything, yet I don’t know if I could- for Hazel Wood refuses to be pinned down. All I will say is that there are layers of mystery to this book and it will certainly make you think… and then think again. It is most definitely, my kind of book.

Still, I do have a bone to pick with the author: this book was *too* damn good. It was more exciting than I anticipated and I had wayyy too much trouble putting it down. So, thanks for contributing to my insomnia and preventing me from getting work done, because, while I was reading this all I could think was “ach forget it, I need to get back to the Hinterland!” I was simply swept away by the magic of this book and hope you will be too.

Rating: 5/5 bananas

small bananasmall bananasmall bananasmall bananasmall banana

One supremely satisfied monkey…

Overall opinion of the book:

I was looking forward to reading this book for many months before it was released. It was hyped quite a lot on NetGalley and throughout the book blogging community. Now, I'm not one to just merely jump onto a hype for the sake of it, but when I read the synopses of The Hazel Wood, I was genuinely intrigued. It sounded quite dark and right up my street. At first, I was declined a review copy on NetGalley as I'm from the U.K. and not the U.S., but when it finally came onto the U.K. site I was approved and was so excited!

I couldn't wait to read it, but when I did I couldn't help but be disappointed. While I know a lot of fellow bloggers who throughly enjoyed this book, unfortunately it definitely wasn't a book for me. With a book, I need to connect with the main character in some way and in this instance I just grew slightly annoyed with Alice, rather than finding her an interesting character. This was my main fault with the book as it did affect how I felt towards the rest of the book. I grew annoyed by her treatment of other characters, especially Ellery, and couldn't help but feel that she was a little spoilt and ungrateful of his help. Some of the things she said about and to Ellery made me feel a little uncomfortable.

Another slight issue I had with this book was regarding how kidnapping is portrayed. When I was around halfway through the book I read my friend Dani's review of it. She delved into this factor and I had the same problems with this aspect of the novel as she did. You can view her review here: https://theintrovertedbooknerd.wordpress.com/2018/01/30/the-hazel-wood-by-melissa-albert-spoiler-free-review/

The basis of the story is definitely an interesting one, and I thoroughly enjoyed Albert's takes on fairytales. I enjoyed that they were quite dark and not your stereotypical happy go lucky endings. I did feel as though the book took too long to delve into this however. The first two thirds of the book seemed to be quite slow and then the last third of the book seemed to cram too much into it and it felt slightly rushed.

Although I didn't enjoy the first person aspect of hearing Alice's thoughts, a lot of the language Albert used in the tales were beautiful and lyrical to read. If you're someone who enjoys a different take of fairytales and enjoys dark books then this will probably be a book for you.

Final thoughts:

Although this wasn't the book for me, don't let this put you off reading the book. If you're a lover of Dark YA Fantasy, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

As this book is the first in the series, this book is simply a taster of what's to come. I personally I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series as I just couldn't bring myself to click with the main character and her personality, which did disappoint me slightly as I was eager to read this book.

Not my usual genre of book but I fancied a change. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a dark and winding adult fairytale. Alice and her mother spend years on the road moving from one disaster to another, Alice never knowing why such awful things should always happen to them, When she hears that her grandmother has died she is dragged willingly into another world. I was kept interested to the end wanting to find out what happened next!