As a lot of you reading this will know, this book received a lot of hype in the book world online. I don't know if this is because of the premise of the book, the various beautiful covers, or if the publishers just did a really good job of marketing! I would like to say thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

This book follows Alice as she tells us about her life, we are sped through her younger years on the road with her mum Ella, essentially being homeless, until they end up stationary, finally, in New York. But Alice is noticing some weird things happening around her, and they're resurfacing memories that she had subconsciously pushed deep down. This is when things start getting... weird. 

I won't be saying any more in order to keep this spoiler free, but I really liked the way the book progressed from this point. There is a strong and frequently mentioned link to fairy tales and when this fully gets underway it's incredibly gripping and engrossing. I enjoyed the twists and turns and discovering the details as Alice does, and I absolutely loved the end half of the book! But... the very end was a bit... eh...

I feel bad for saying that, after such an amazing book all the way through, but the wrap up of this story felt rushed, incomplete, unsatisfying, and as if Melissa Albert didn't know how to end the story. It could've been so much better if there had just been a bit more tweaking of this section. There is going to be a sequel which is expected to be published in 2019, and I am sure I'm going to pick it up as I need more of this world and to learn more about Alice, Ella and the Hinterland. I just really hope Melissa Albert improves on how she ends books, and that her editors help her along with this because this could have been a five-star book. As it is, it was a very enjoyable 4-star read and I am looking forward to finding out more about the world (if it's possible with the ending we got...).

Book Review
Title: The Hazel Wood
Author: Melissa Albert
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to the Hazel Wood was great, we meet Alice whose mother Ella is a bit of a drifter, but it is her grandmother Althea we are interested in as she seems to be famous. The most interesting part is that Alice has never met her as she lived and died in the Hazel Wood. After her grandmother’s death Alice doesn’t understand her mother’s reaction but knows that something in the letter informing them of Althea’s death involved her although her mother wouldn’t speak of it. As we learn about Alice’s childhood and now present something strange happens when a man who had seemingly kidnapped her as a child shows up in the coffee shop where she works reading a very familiar book to Alice; Tales from Hinterland which was written by her grandmother and I have a feeling this is only the beginning of strange things that are going to be happening to Alice in the near future. 
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn more about Alice’s home life and the strained relationship she has with her stepfather Harold and her stepsister Audrey. However, she is more focused on the three items the man left behind in the café; a feather, a comb and a bone. The relationship between Alice and her family members is strange, she and her mother act more like sisters giving Alice the problems and appearance of someone far older than she is, Harold she hates but not for the reasons you think, it is because he took her mother away from her as up until that point they had always been the centre of each other’s worlds and Audrey she gets along okay with but can’t overlook that at her core she is just a pampered little rich girl, everything Alice isn’t. After the constant upheaval of her childhood Alice is always on edge waiting for the bottom to fall out even when the guy she tries to deny she has a crush on; Finch asks her out in his own quirky way. Then things suddenly go from bad to worse when her whole family goes missing and the only clue is a page from Hinterland; Alice three-times. Eventually both Audrey and Harold turn up saying people called the Hinterland took Ella and Harold refuses to help Alice believing it was her that did it even threatens her at gunpoint and the only friend she has now is Finch. 
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Finch tells Alice the story that she believes she was named after and both strange seeing strange things and Alice is confident that someone, maybe more than one person, is following her. At this point she has met two strange people, the red-haired man from her childhood and the boy in the cab. While Alice needs all the help she can get to find her mother she doesn’t want to drag Finch into anything as she isn’t sure how deep the rabbit hole goes (movie reference for all you old school people – let me know if you got it in the comments). Soon the pair realise that they aren’t looking for Hinterland, but rather Hinterland has come alive and it appears to be hunting them. Alice soon comes to realise her childhood wasn’t as settled as she thought and the reasons they moved a lot was because of strange things happening to her that scared Ella but things seems to be looking up when they manage to track down a copy of Hinterland but not before a strange bird appears carrying a new clue for Alice and Finch. 
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, the story quickly descends into a new level of mindfuckery I haven’t experienced since I read It for the first time. Nothing seems to make sense yet in some perverse way it makes complete sense. Eventually the pair learn they can’t trust anyone, however, they come across a blog post by a woman called Ness who Alice has heard of before and she claims to have been to the gates of Hazel Wood and now they have to get there themselves despite Audrey passing along her mother’s warning of staying away from her grandmother’s estate but all the clues are leading her there. As they travel to where they believe Hazel Wood is Alice beings to experience visions or flashbacks that connect with Althea’s stories that Finch fills her in on, together they seem to be getting closer and closer to their destination but travelling further and further down the rabbit hole with no idea where it leads. As they closer and closer to the small town bordering the mysterious estate more and more disappearances and murders seem to be connected to the dark and haunted stories of Hinterland and the visions and memories Alice is seeing don’t make sense to her. You can literally feel the tense and paranoid atmosphere that makes you want to constantly look over your shoulder.  
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Alice and Finch are so close the Hazel Wood when they meet the fairy-tale head one with disastrous results and now Alice is beginning to understand her true purpose within the horrors they have found themselves in. Alone and with marching orders Alice must now act alone to rescue her mother and get them both out alive if she can but without the knowledge of Hinterland this might be a hinderance to her. As she begins to understand what the clues that where left for her means she finally arrives at the one place she has been warned many times to avoid but the love she has for her mother won’t stop her, it seems that not even death itself can stop Alice when she puts her mind to something. However, I have the feeling that Hinterland didn’t just suddenly appear, it seems like they have been here for a while searching for a way back to their home and Alice seems to be the key unwilling to pay the price to open the door. 
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Alice is stumbling through the house looking for her real mother, struggling to separate dreams, fantasy and reality. However, I have a feeling that things are going to becoming clear when she stumbles upon Althea seemingly waiting for her, despite the fact Alice has believed her dead for year yet nothing at Hazel Wood connects with logic and reality. When the truth is revealed to Alice she realises to be free of the nightmares that have haunted her for most of her life, the nightmare that took her mother from her she must follow the rabbit hole until the very end and that end might be closer than she thinks.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Alice is given the tools to write her own story and now we are the audience that will see what she chooses to do with these tools especially since her heart is conflicted about what it wants. In the end Alice learns about her story and how to finish it but she doesn’t get the happy ending she’d pictured as a child, but she is free, the one thing she always wanted. Overall, I really enjoyed the Hazel Wood and felt it was a refreshing take on the fairy tale genre, it almost reminded me of a darker version of Seanan McGuire’s books. Highly recommended!

I loved this to start with - a book about a book, a genuine herione, characters I cared about, everything I love.  But, once in the Hinterland, I found it too confusing and too bazaar.  I think it would have worked a lot better if it had been more simply told.

Kind of creepy young adult fairy tale. I am not the correct age group to be reading it

This is a fabulous read! It's an enthralling, absorbing fairytale for grown ups and is so beautifully written, I really can't recommend it enough.

It's marketed as a YA Teen book, but, please don't let that prevent you from trying it. The writing is sublime and the storyline spooky, strange and amazing. I don't want to say anything about the detail as you really need to experience it for yourself. Just to say I literally stayed up to read it and still feel dazed and emotional and strangely bereft now I've finished it.

Thank you so much to netgalley, Melissa Albert and Penguin Random House for the wonderful opportunity to preview. Wishing you all much and well deserved success.

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liked it

I really enjoyed the first part of this book. Alice is a believable character and the set-up was really well done. Unfortunately the second part was not as captivating. Too descriptive for my tastes and I also found it to be a bit rushed. I believe that readers who liked Caraval will also enjoy The Hazel Wood.

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)

Hello from Transworld! I loved loved loved the hazel wood. It was just the right amount of sinister, held together by fairytale threads  that feel so familiar but so fresh at the same time. I especially liked that it wasn't a love story, but a story about family and the monsters we would fight (and become!) to save them. Thank you for sending, Ella.

I finished The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert yesterday and really enjoyed it. I've always been a fan of dark fairytales and this book is the modern day equivalent. Part of the story is made up of chapters from Alice's grandmother's book "Tales from the Hinterland" including Three Times Alice and The Door That Wasn't There. These are truly eery and I'd love this to exist as a book in its own right! High school me would have gone bonkers over The Hazel Wood and I can see why it has so many rave reviews.

It took me so long to get only 37% into The Hazel Wood.

At this point, I wondered at the direction of the plot and decided to have a look at the reviews to see if the book improves from here onward. Sadly, it seems it does not.

The problems I had with The Hazel Wood up until I gave up reading are as follows:

- The book opens with pages and pages of back story and no action. I think the first 2 whole chapters are just info-dumps. The information given in this back story isn't used as a set up for any action to immediately follow, and a lot of it is irrelevant. These giant lumps of text should have been dispersed through the book and brought up when the subject matter became relevant later on.
One piece of action happens in chapter 3, and then it turns again, into a giant boring info-dump on the grandmother's history.

- Alice is abducted as a 6 year old, but instead of being told about it in real time, as would be more dramatic and interesting in the first few chapters, we're just treated to vague commentary on it after the fact. This fails to build the suspense it could have, coming to a climax when Alice sees her kidnapper again, 10 years later.

- The narrator describes all of the characters in a very cynical and scathing way. Even those the reader is supposed to like are described as the most basic, know-it-all hipster tw*ts imaginable. 

Lana was a ceramicist in her second year at Pratt, who looked like David Bowie's even hotter sister and wore hideous clothes that looked good on her anyway. Today she was in a baggy orange rebel alliance-style jumpsuit. She smelled like Michelangelo must have - plaster dust and sweat. Somehow that looked good on her, too.


He bopped his head to the T. Rex Pandora was playing from Lana's phone. "Cool tunes. Is that the Stone Roses?" "Oh, my god," Lana said in a stage whisper.
... "God, what an asshole," Lana said at full volume, watching Guy in the Hat fumble with the door on his way out. She hip-checked me.


Lana doesn't make another appearance up until I stopped reading, neither does the 'man in the hat' who was also given a bitchy in-depth description. I'm not a fan of reading extensively about insufferable characters who aren't part of the story, just so the narrator can display what a c*nt she is and how she and her horrible friends behave towards innocent strangers.

The protagonist, Alice Prosperine, is obnoxious:

...but I remembered the feeling they gave me: the feeling you get from good poetry, real poetry, the kind that makes your neck tingle and your eyes tear up


I counted to three as I breathed in the peace, breathed out the rage, like Ella had been making me do ever since I broke a baton over a girl's head in kindergarten. - Alice often expresses a will to physically assault people for little to no reason and at one point, tells Ellery that his mother was 'ballsy' for punching a woman in the stomach. I think if Alice was male, there would be a lot of backlash against this violent attitude that seems to stem from nowhere.


"Oh." He looked down. "I really don't mean to be excited. I'm just glad to be going somewhere with you." Are you for real? I wanted to say, but some self-preserving instinct kept the words back. - There is LITERALLY nothing Ellery can say without it eliciting some unwarranted bitchy reaction from Alice. And this is the ONLY real friend Alice has.


"Harold's not interesting enough to be evil. He's just not good enough." - This girl who previously had nothing, gets taken into wealth and stability by her stepfather, then sits in his luxurious home and insults him because he wants his wife to contribute something to their relationship. As if the fact his wife is a woman is enough to grant her the right to everything she ever dreamed of with no effort, and if her husband who earned it all before they met expects her to return a tiny fraction of the favour by simply cooking a meal for him, OMG THE MISOGYNY!!!


It didn't matter if you were starting 7th grade in Podunk nowhere, or your junior year at Whitechapel, the fancy-ass Upper East Side academy Harold paid my way into. The students were the same wherever I went: clannish, judgemental, and unwilling to make an independent move. - Alice doesn't realise her own hypocrisy.


"You'd still be living out of your car if it wasn't for him. Wearing Walmart jeans." I was impressed she'd heard of Walmart and pissed at myself for telling her something true. "Hey, sometimes we lived in shacks," I said. "Or trailers. Once a garage." She considered me. "Once I waited so long for my truffle burger, it was cold when it got there," she said. "So I totally get it."
... Audrey smiled faintly, her hand going still on her laptop. "Once my dad bought a boat and named it The Audrey, but he forgot to put a ballroom in so I sunk it." - The author trying to make rich people out to be completely unfeeling and inhuman is comical. She has to create a caricature out of the people in society she seems to dislike, just to try to get her readers to see them as she seems to. I think it's ironic that we're led to despise the only person who tells the truth to the protagonist about her ungrateful bitchiness. I sense a distinct anti-capitalist theme in this book, which can f*ck off.

The quirky sidekick, Ellery Finch, is a walking cliche:

He goes jogging in a corduroy jacket, he dressed kinda like old photos of Bob Dylan: work boots and high-waisted pants... After that he'd started waiting at my locker in the morning, leaning against it with one foot up like something out of an eighties movie... A New York rich kid with a Vonnegut quote tattooed up his arm. - Gag.



The writing became more pretentious and nonsensical as the book wore on. Some examples:

When my shift ended, I stepped out into the night feeling skinless.

Or maybe it was wanting to see that light in his eyes again, a possibility that made my skin flutter with heat rash.

My skin felt keyed up and nervy. And there was something else: the pressure-shift feeling of bad luck on the move, as familiar to me as the smell of Ella's skin. - I don't know why the author uses 'skin' in so many of her weird metaphors.

Inked around it was a geode pattern that made me think of ice. - That explains nothing. A lot of the descriptions the narrator uses for things are often too vague to be of any use to the reader.

"Is he dead?" I whispered. My voice was a skeleton leaf.

Then a look came into her eyes: fear and a spiky anger that yawned open like an aperture before slamming shut into something worse- - How can a "look" in someone's eyes yawn?

Perks slipped on white gloves that made him look like an off-brand Mickey Mouse. - Unless the dude is also painted black with giant round ears, then he just looks like a man in white gloves.


We don't get a physical description of the protagonist until chapter 5 and of course she defiantly rejects her delicate beauty. - It seems the author wanted the protagonist to be pretty but didn't want anyone to hold it against her. 

The narrator breaks the fourth wall several times to tell us how much she hates Audrey. Not only is this distracting, removing me from the story, it's also pretty tragic.

Characters' reactions are often completely illogical:

E.g - Harold got kidnapped and then released by someone entirely beyond Alice's comprehension or control, and he ...blames Alice and threatens to shoot her. A 17 year old child who had nothing to do with it and wasn't present during the abduction. Sure, Jan.

E.g - A bookseller who thinks a book that he paid a lot of money for is cursed, decides to reject the offer of even more money than he spent on it, and the prospect of getting the curse out of his life, in favour of figuring out how to get rid of it some other way, and counting it up as a loss.

I call bullshit on the fact an experienced rich man would ever marry Alice's trampy mother after a 4 month romance, knowing her ability to take half of his empire upon divorce. I don't think anyone savvy enough to make that much money would be stupid enough to throw it away on a cheap, uneducated floozy like Ella.


In summary:
I don't hate this book but the writing is annoying, the characters are not my kind of people, the plot is boring and the story is swiftly moving more and more into fantasy territory, which I wasn't prepared for. 

I should have read the blurb more carefully before requesting this from Netgalley.
I'm giving it 2 stars because if I had been more impressed by flowery, nonsensical prose, contemporary-type pacing and bitchy teen internal monologue, then this book would be right up my street. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not suited to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from the ARC and subject to change.

You know when you hear EVERYONE and their cat talking about a book and then you get the chance to read a copy? That was me. I was legit like



But did this suffer from overhyped?

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Well... yes and no.
I legitimately loved the way this was told, it was dark and creepy and yet so teenage at the same time.
What we have is Alice who has spent her whole life being moved from state to state by her mother, Ella, as they try to outrun a streak of bad luck that seemingly follows them around. Alice is low-key obsessed with her famous writer grandmother, who after publishing an indie hit of twisted fairy tales, locks herself on her private estate and is rarely seen again. Ella escapes from the Hazelwood at the first opportunity and refuses to return, she also refuses to talk to Alice about her grandmother and the book that made her so famous. There was an interesting mix of discovering yourself and your heritage alongside learning about the fantasy world, which was a really enjoyable reading experience - even if it got super dark and creepy in some places!

The thing is though, from everyone else's reviews I wasn't really expecting a retelling of Alice in Wonderland and that's pretty much what this becomes. Alice and Finch have to go into Hinterland and speak to this cast of eccentric fairytale characters. It started off being a bit more unique, so I did feel a little let down by that, but if you set that aside, this is a solid book. I only wish I'd read it when it was dark and stormy outside, for full effect! This does differ enough from Alice in Wonderland to make it a fun and interesting read, but the Hinterland did remind me of many of the creepier, more dangerous aspect of it. The fairytale characters were all deliciously creepy and I really didn't see the twists and turns in the second half of the book coming.

Basically, is this worth the hype. Yes.
Will I be reading the second one. Yes.

I love this cover.

The story is typically YA and is very good. I just got a little bored.

I loved the synopsis and I thought it would be a book for me ..unfortunately it wasn't but I am happy to recommend and know someone who will love it so it is on my gift list

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, fast paced with characters that snuck into my heart.

I really enjoyed the main plot and all the fairy tale (ish) in it. The story is a bit dark and I loved this bit in it. The thing is, until half of the book I was really enjoying, but around 80% of it I just wanted to be over. It got slow and all the details made me confused. This book is kind of a reteling of Alice in Wonderland, at least I think it is similar. Anyway, I really liked the book and I am looking forward to read her next book on the series. Plus, I really need "Tales from the Hinterland" book right now!

Alice's grandmother Althea is a famous writer. Alice has never met her grandmother and also hasn't read any of her stories. Ella wants Alice to stay away from her grandmother. She doesn't allow any contact. Bad luck is following Ella and Alice and Althea's estate, Hazel Wood, is the last place they should be. Ella and Alice are constantly on the run and they have moved many times, they leave as soon as what's following them is catching up. Alice is curious about Althea and her dark fairytales, but Ella isn't giving her any information. What is her mother keeping from her?

When Alice and Ella finally have some stability in their lives Ella disappears, she's taken by faul smelling people and there's a link between the abduction and Althea's stories. If Alice wants to find her mother she has to become part of her grandmother's dangerous world. However, Alice doesn't know anything about it. Fortunately one of her classmates is a big fan. Finch has read Althea's stories numerous times and he knows a lot about Alice's grandmother. Will he be able to help Alice with her search? Alice's mother warned her not to go to Hazel Wood, but that's exactly where they're headed. Will Alice finally discover her own story and will she be able to locate Ella? Alice is about to deal with dangerous magic, will she survive?

The Hazel Wood is a terrific gripping story. I was immediately intrigued by Alice. She has a fascinating multilayered personality. There are plenty of hidden depths in her character and Alice doesn't completely know herself. I loved the secrets that evolve around her, she has dreams, but she's ignorant about most of them and that made me really curious. Althea is a mystery and the worlds she writes about are dark, dangerous and intriguing. I couldn't wait to find out the connection between Alice's bad luck and her grandmother's stories. Alice's adventures kept me on the edge of my seat. While looking for her mother she finds herself in one bizarre situation after another and I was mesmerized by her journey from beginning to end.

Melissa Albert skillfully mixes worlds, realities, fairytales and dreams. I loved the way she describes Alice's personality, her family history and the tumultuous road she has to travel. Every part of it is exciting and filled with sparkling energy. I was impressed by the way Melissa Albert tells her story, it's controlled chaos, mixed with surreal twists and turns, devious enchantments and strange and complicated surprises. I greatly admired the creativity of the story, it's truly magical and absolutely spellbinding. I highly recommend this fantastic book.

Alice and her mother Ella travel from place to place, never settling as they seem to feel that they have bad luck following them. One day on news of a death they decide they can finally stop runnng but unfortunately it's not long before they're soon caught in bad luck's web. I thought the premise of luck, fairytales and mysterious happenings was intriguing and I looked forwrd to reading the book, however, I found the story itself fell somewhat short of expectations. I found the first half frustrating as it was difficult to understand or even really care about the characters as information aorund the events were quite vague. The second half was much better, exploring the world of Hinterland and the creepy, strange, dark stories it held.  I did enjoy the book and would recommend, as one thing's for sure, the fairytales told within these pages are unlike any I've heard before.

the hazel wood by Melissa Albert.
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. Her mother is stolen away - by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . .
This was an ok read. I found it slow in places. 3*.

I would usually only give something a one or two star rating is it’s problematic or I have a personal vendetta against it because it reminds me of exams, but I’m giving this one a low rating because it’s just so boring. I feel like it’s marketed as a fantasy, but I was two-thirds into the book when I finally reached the fantasy aspect, and at this point I had stopped caring about the story entirely. This book feels more like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ rewritten as a YA mystery, and mystery is a genre that I’m not a huge fan of reading, so that could be why the story didn’t work for me.

Some points (good and bad):
•	The first half is extremely slow and too long
•	The storyline relies heavily on fairytale logic
•	So many thinks conveniently happen
•	I’m still very confused by the ending
•	Alice is rude and selfish and unlikable, but there’s no depth to make the traits interesting
•	I don’t think she’s supposed to be unlikable
•	She disregards how Finch was uncomfortable around the cops (he’s biracial and he’s explaining about racial profiling) and just says that he’s rich and privileged
•	Ellery/Finch is an extreme hipster who also has no depth, but is slightly less unlikable
•	The other named characters aren’t too memorable (as I can’t remember their names)
•	It kind of romanticises/glorifies kidnapping??
•	Alice was kidnapped when she was six and has so many fond memories of it that it concerns me
•	It references Alice’s grandmother’s backstory a lot and I found that more interesting than the actual story
•	It includes stories from the grandmother’s book that I actually loved

In summary, this was not the book for me or my tastes. But, just because I disliked this book, it doesn’t mean that you won’t pick it up and be engrossed and love it and devour it in a day.

Kind of a darker retelling of “Alice in Wonderland”, down to the character’s name, but more hinged on fairy tales (the ones with not so happy endings, that is). Alice Crewe has spent her whole life going from one place to the other with her mother Ella, never meeting her famous grandmother, Althea, an author whose book is also impossible to find. When Althea dies, Ella and Alice startto believe they can finally have a normal life, but of course this isn’t meant to be, as things keep changing for the worst.

I liked this book, although I didn’t love it, possibly because I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I had mixed feelings about the time devoted to them, to be honest: on the one hand, I wanted the Hinterland part of the story to start much sooner, on the other hand, I felt that I also needed more time to get to know Alice and Finch better. Mostly they were all ‘on the surface’, and apart from Alice’s pent-up anger, I didn’t feel like there was much personality underneath. (I did like them, just in a sort of… indifferent way?)

The fairy tales / nonsensical parts of the book appealed to me more, in spite of similes that made me go ‘huh?’ more than a few times. I do have a soft spot for that kind of whimsical atmosphere, I guess. And what we see of the Hinterland tales Althea wrote made me think that I’d like to read *that* book, and know how its tales actually end.

The plot had its good sides and its downsides. I liked how its Hinterland part dealt with the power of stories, their straps, and the sort of twisted logic that one can find in them; however, I felt like it was a little lacklustre, and dealt with too fast (compared to the part devoted to the ‘real world’). There were a few loose threads, too—for instance, the red-haired man showing up at the café, then disappearing again. (Why did he go away at that specific moment? It was never really explained.)

All in all, it was an enjoyable novel, for one who likes this specific brand of atmosphere. It jusn’t wasn’t exceptional for me.

I reviewed this book on my YouTube channel, link below. Thank you for the opportunity to read this amazing book.