Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

“He was a child again, alone in his grandfather’s enormous library … Long-forgotten details from that single feverish reading flooded through him: a full moon looking down through the mists of the Night Wood; the Mere of Souls, black in its midnight glade; a child flying through the whispering trees; the Horned King upon his pale horse.”

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. HarperVoyager for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘In the Night Wood’ by Dale Bailey. It was originally published in February 2019. I subsequently bought its ebook and audiobook editions. My apologies for the late feedback.

This proved an atmospheric Gothic tale. Since he was a child Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood. His wife, Erin, is a descendant of its author, Caedmon Hollow, and inherits Hollow House, located in an ancient oak forest.

In mourning following the recent death of their daughter, they decide to leave America and relocate to England. They discover that Hollow House is full of secrets and the couple increasingly feel haunted by fleeting sightings of their daughter and sense that something older and darker is lurking in the woods.

I am always drawn to tales of ancient woodlands. Here the traditional elements of Gothic/folk horror are combined with a mystery as well as the kind of culture shock one would expect when an American couple move across the pond and seek to integrate into a small rural community.

Overall, I felt this was an engaging psychological horror though it didn’t have quite the impact that I expected given its themes and symbolism. Perhaps I needed more weirdness. I also found its ending somewhat rushed.

⭐⭐⭐
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In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey.
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The premise and the final product are poles apart. It's a good story but far from dark enough to be convincing or scary. The characters are fragile in every sense of the word. The whole story world lacks substance and conviction. Bailey has here, the ground work for an epic gothic fantasy but lacked the confidence to go there.
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Bailey sets this book in Yorkshire but to be perfectly honest, it could have been anywhere. The scene setting seems to have consisted of place names, biscuits instead of cookies & a section of dialogue reminiscent of Downton Abbey.
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My thanks to NetGalley & publishers for a free copy in return for an honest review.
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#InTheNightWood #DaleBailey #HarperCollins #HarperFiction #Netgalley #yorkshire #fairytale #fae #myth #igreads #BookReview

Well crafted, atmospheric, a stunning setting. It's unusual to have a gothic novel set in the modern day, but it was handled well.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to our readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

Let me preface this review. I really wanted to like this book. I thought Oh! A Gothic thriller set in modern times! What a perfect read before Halloween. All I can say now is... YIKES.

In the Night Wood is about a couple who move from North Carolina to the United Kingdom, in Yorkshire. Erin inherited her ancestral estate, Hollow House. Charles, a professor and Erin's husband, has been studying Erin's ancestor Caedmon Hollow and the book he wrote back in the early 1800s, In the Night Wood. Together, they see this move as a fresh start after the passing of their daughter, Lissa, a year ago.

Something lurks in the Eorl Wood that lies beyond the house though. Something dangerous. Charles must unravel the mystery of the Hollow House, Caedmon Hollow, and In the Night Wood before it's too late.

What did this book do right?
If I'm being honest, and I am, not a lot. Really. Not. A. Lot.

The setting was gorgeous. The woods seem beautiful, lush, alive, with a hint of mystery and creepiness. Only a hint though. Let's not get too carried away here. The Hollow House seemed like a beautiful Victorian house. The wood carvings would be something I could stare at all day. The library. Oh... the library. Just set me up with a nice big cuppa, a good book, a fluffy blanket, maybe some popcorn, and I'm set. Leave me there, I'll be quite happy.

The invented folklore of the town and the myths surrounding the Hollow House were intriguing. I'd read a book about the Horned King and the fae in the Night Wood happily. But likely not a book by this author. Sorry.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd........
That's it. That's all I liked about this book.

Jolly ol' England
This book takes place in England. Because it was written by an American author, this book might be quite enjoyable for an American who has never been to England and just watches Downton Abbey (great show, please hurt me more, but doesn't represent modern-day England).

Please, if you come to England, don't expect the "Ooooh hullo. Welcome to our beautiful country! Good show, old chap!" with the super posh British accents. No, no. Expect "Oii mate, get me a pint!" or whatever. Unfortunately, I feel like the former is what this book expects England to be like.

We get a few examples of this throughout the book. Mrs. Ramsden, or Helen, the housekeeper constantly calls Charles and Erin Mr. and Mrs. Hayden. When Erin insists she and Charles don't expect her to call them Mr. and Mrs. Hayden, Helen says "I'm sorry ma'am. I fear out different stations in life preclude such intimacies." then goes on to say "Mr. Harris (the groundskeeper) wouldn't approve." You might assume this book takes place in the early 1900s or so with talk like that. NOPE! Charles has a Macbook and Frozen is out, has been out for well over a year since it was Lissa's favorite movie.

Bangers and mash. We have to be told in the book what bangers and mash is. Okay, fine, maybe not everyone knows what that is. There's a man in the pub who is always playing draughts or as the solicitor, Ann puts it, "what you Americans so quaintly call checkers." Thanks for that. The owner of the pub is, for some reason I can't figure out, called "the landlord." (I asked my husband about this and he was like yeah no.) And the cherry on the cake? Charles explains to Silva (we'll get to her in a minute) that back in North Carolina, the temperatures are usually in the eighties. Did someone not give him the memo that the UK doesn't operate in Fahrenheit and operates in Celsius? Silva, who is British, doesn't even question it. She's just like oh yes, I totally understand what that temperature means (spoiler: she probably has no clue). Sure, it takes a while to transition from Fahrenheit to Celsius. I would know, but I still make the effort.

All the characters, or lack thereof.
Let's start with Charles. He's a prick. Why? Well, here we go. Charles cheats on his wife with a woman named Syrah Nagle (what a name). On the day of Lissa, his daughter's birthday, he decides to break it off with Syrah. His "private birthday gift to his daughter." Yeah. Lissa, unfortunately, dies on her birthday. Charles says Erin blames him for her death, and honestly comes across like it wasn't his fault. And then you find out how Lissa died. Sorry, Charlie Boy, that was 100% your fault, you selfish git. He doesn't feel remorse for cheating on his wife, instead checks out the solicitor Ann, and a woman he ends up working with, Silva North. I have to give him some credit for attempting to get Erin out of the house a few times, but beyond that, there's not a lot of effort made on his part to try and pick up his marriage. It's pretty heavily implied he just stays with Erin to keep doing his research about her ancestors and have access to the Hollow House.

Erin. Oh, Erin. Out of all the flat, lifeless female characters in this book, you, my dear, are the worst. Erin's still grieving the loss of Lissa. Everyone goes through grief differently, I know firsthand. And losing a daughter is really rough, I'm sure. But she's constantly overdosing on pills, drinking, drawing, or sleeping. That's it. That's her life. She doesn't leave the house. She barely talks with Charles or anyone else. She just doesn't do anything. Want to go see a therapist? No. Want to go to the pub? No. Want to go for a walk? No. Want to do anything? No. She hates England, for god knows what reason. Like this... "She sat him at the kitchen table, fetched him the water - lukewarm; they had yet to discover the virtues of ice in this benighted country..." What? WHAT? First of all, have you ever heard of an ice cube tray? Put water in a tray, freeze, AND PRESTO ICE CUBES! Also, in my British house, the water coming out of my tap is cold when I turn on the cold tap. Shocking, I know.

I don't feel like there's much to say about Cillian Harris (the groundskeeper), Helen, or Silva. At best, they are just kind of there. What I will say is for some reason, there are no boys in this village they are living in. Just girls. All the kids are girls. Oh, and all the girls look like Lissa, even when they don't look like Lissa. And they are all around 5 or 6 years old. And the are all named Lissa, Livia, Lorna, and Laura. Cool. Then there are the two women Charles are attracted to. Syrah Nagle and Silva North. Why? Why are the characters named like this? Why do all the names have to be so similar?

Just one big Y I K E S
I've got so much more I could go on about. How everyone in the town talks about how they wouldn't read Caedmon Hollow's book to their children. Well yeah, I don't think anyone would read their kids the story about how Cinderella's stepsisters sawed off their toe and heel to get their foot in the slipper and when Cinderella was married, the stepsisters had their eyes plucked their eyes out by birds. Or how Ariel got her tongue cut out, was rejected by her prince, turned into seafoam, and her sisters murdered the prince. Sure, those stories aren't appropriate in a modern setting, but there's no reason to comment about how you wouldn't read a Victorian children's book to your kid now.

The book seemed so long, and so short all at once. A lot of things happened, but also, not a lot of things happened. The book dragged on and on at times and didn't at others. It was so awkwardly paced, it was hard to read. Just like this paragraph. You're welcome.

And then my favorite game popped up in the middle of the book. Charles quoted 'The Raven' by Edgar Allen Poe to Silva. Silva couldn't believe Poe used the word "quaff." So here's a list of words I couldn't believe were written in this book. Sepulchral. Lacuna. Piecemeal. Surcease. Gelid. Opalescent. Thus. Thence. Moldered. Vertiginous. Betimes. Affixed. Capacious. Bifurcation. Riven. Sloughed. Portent. Bemazed. Interstices. Sibilants. Capricious. Laving. Descry. Flotilla. Triumvirate. Rumpsprung. Libidinal. Spurious. Klaxon. Sordid. Officious. Epiphyte. Suppurating. Panoply. The list goes on and on really. Some advice. PUT DOWN THE THESAURUS AND NO ONE GETS HURT!

This book is 2 star out of 5 stars. Yeah, I don't think so. Gothic, sure. You got some of the Gothic elements down. Thriller? No. No. Please. Not even a horror. Fantasy? Yeah, okay sure I'll give you that one. But not a thriller. Not a horror. I am still on the fence about the Gothic thing. Maybe come to me later on that matter. Folklore is good, descriptions of the house and forest were really nice, but everything else was extremely lacking.

In the Night Wood falls down in the one area that is the most important to gothic fiction: its sense of place. Rather than depicting the draughty uncertainty of an old mansion in a closed-off Northern English town, it pulls class and village dynamics from another age to mangle what could have been a rather atmospheric tale. And sure, maybe it will do well on American and International markets (ones who watch too much Downton Abbey and still think the social structure of the country has not moved on since the end of the war), but I can already imagine that this obstacle preventing suspension of disbelief and true immersion in the mystery of the novel, will repeatedly occur in the experience of many of its British audience.
Because, the fact is, whilst reading the novel, all that can be focussed on (no matter how much you try to push your thoughts away from it and focus on other things) is the fact that In the Night Wood is so utterly England from an American’s point of view. Oh, I just wish he had visited. And if he has, I wish he had not been so romantic and so blind.
Instead, the book reads like he read some novels by the Brontes and still thinks that is what Yorkshire is like in 2019. Yorkshire in 2019, instead in actuality, is deprivation, casual racism and the occasional cobble-stone street. It is not servants worrying about crossing social boundaries by talking with their 'mistress' for too long.

When I started reading this book I knew that it wouldn't be like any I usually read. The whole way through I wanted to read on and see how this book would end. The whole book was surrounded by grief of a child and the break up of a marriage. I wanted to help Charles and Erin but nothing could help them. As for all the missing children and the Horned King, I'm still not sure if it were real. The past suggested so. Everything points towards it. Overall., it was a very good book. You can feel all the emotions and everything feels real.

This was such an interesting read. The story was crafted really well and it had many different layers happening at once. The story within a story was done well and the mix of fantasy and horror kept me wanting to read more and more of it in one go. The characters were generally well fleshed out and the development was built up with the plot and drama. The ending was tense and exciting and finished the book off really well. The only issue I had with it was that a couple of the side characters did not feel fleshed out enough and only served to forward the plot.

Dale Bailey’s novel In the Night Wood is a creepy, dark, gothic fairytale that will have you jumping at your own shadow. I don’t want to give away any spoilers as you should experience this book for yourself, but it is as much an examination of grief as it is psychological horror. The pace is slow which won’t appeal to some people but it is exquisitely written and does come to a satisfying conclusion.

A well written, creepy tale with good characterisation. The atmosphere builds slowly and entices you to read on, if you like a good gothic mystery then you won't be disappointed with this one.
The cover is an amazing piece of artwork and would entice you to buy with that alone.

Not being a fan of mythical creatures, dragons, or anything that of that ilk, I was rather dismayed when I started reading this. However, that aside, what transpired was a pretty decent mystery of sorts, with an interesting cast of characters. I kept waiting for the “locals” in the village to be part to of some conspiracy who reject the newcomers to their village but the story didn’t go down that route, thankfully.

This was very well written and different to what I would normally read. Not one of my instant favourites but certainly enjoyable nonetheless. Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

American Charles Hayden came to England to forget the past.
Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children's book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow's remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn't dead.
In the neighboring village, Charles meets a woman he might have loved, a child who could have been his own lost daughter, and the ghost of a self he thought he'd put behind him.
And in the primeval forest surrounding Caedmon Hollow's ancestral home, an ancient power is stirring. The horned figure of a long-forgotten king haunts Charles Hayden's dreams. And every morning the fringe of darkling trees presses closer.

The above synopsis sounds like an amazing story and this is the reason why I wanted to read this book so badly! I found myself getting immersed into the setting the author created in this book , i could see the trees , the old house and even the bar itself, this book had a sense of the ethereal in it so I enjoyed that part. But scenery a book does not make and I felt that while the story started strong it kept losing more and more complexity as it went forward and by the end it had lost any foundation that it had on the beginning . Great effort but felt flat towards the end.

A gothic and well weaved story, In The Night Wood is a book that I heard some hype about it and wanted to check out, as the fairy tale and gothic writing fan I am, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The story’s mood and the atmosphere Bailey creates in this book makes this book such a delve into dark and gothic writing that just works throughout the whole of this tale. Haunting and ever developing, this story develops our characters really well from start of the book giving us an idea of the kind of people they are and it makes for a gripping story.

I feel though the story however takes a bit of time to really get started, and it does I think eventually come into it’s own, but what I find in this book is how the story builds is through the characters but also how Bailey writes about the scenery in this book. How he builds the woods in this book and how he builds the tension and foreboding around the house is done brilliantly throughout the book, making me want to keep reading.

I feel like this is this book is like a grown up version The Hazel Wood, and touches on so much more as this book goes into different themes, like grief, memories and fairy tales. it’s really really good.

This is certainly an atmospheric novel, heavy in gothic literature devices.
A mourning couple, Charles and Erin, inherit Hollow House in England; they decide to pack up to start again there as a way to begin to heal. However, Hollow House and the surrounding estate is not all it seems; it soon becomes apparent that a positive fresh start is not going to occur at this mysterious house surrounding by a dense and dark forest.
The book explores the couple as they deal with the aftermath of great loss and their declining relationship. Soon, their paths divide further as Charles becomes obsessed with local tales and researching the local Caedmon Hollow. Erin, on the other hand, sinks further into depression, drink and drug dependency.
I enjoy and am interested in gothic fiction; it was a large part of my English Literature degree many years ago, so I enjoyed exploring all the gothic motifs - and there were a lot!
A well-written, creepy mystery novel of a dark story exploring the aftermath of loss and grief. A great, atmospheric read for a dark winter's night beside the fire.

Gorgeous cover.
Mysterious inheritance.
Spooky wood with sightings of strange creatures.
The above meant that I couldn't wait to read In the Night Wood (thanks to the publisher for enabling me to read a copy via NetGalley).

Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a strange Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood, since he was a child. When his wife, Erin – a descendant of the author – inherits her ancestor’s house, the couple decide to make it their home. Still mourning the recent death of their daughter, they leave America behind, seeking a new beginning in the English countryside.

But Hollow House, filled with secrets and surrounded by an ancient oak forest, is a place where the past seems very much alive. Isolated among the trees, Charles and Erin begin to feel themselves haunted – by echoes of the stories in the house’s library, by sightings of their daughter, and by something else, as old and dark as the forest around them.

This was a mixed bag for me. I loved the story within a story narrative, and the well-drawn spooky atmosphere of the house and surrounding woods. The extensive poetry quotations and lyrical language of Hollow's Victorian fairy tale are lovely and beautifully woven into the fabric of Charles and Erin's story.

However, I found the British characters (who are meant to be Yorkshire born and bred) rather disconcerting as they acted American, with American sensibilities and were certainly not local folk. Charles and Erin were the most credible, although not particularly likeable. But once the cause of their daughter's death is revealed towards the end of the novel, some of that unpleasantness is explained away.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this, but I think I would have enjoyed Caedmon Hollow's 'In the Night Wood' even more.

Not going to lie- I totally requested this book based on 2 things: the cover #hearteyes and the title. I am so easy to engage sometimes! haha… General fiction doesn’t often find its way to my reading list, so naturally- slightly afraid at how this was going to turn out. But, In the Night Wood turned out to be one of those books that takes the description “atmospheric” to another level!

Charles and wife Erin are in deep mourning after the death of their young daughter. So, when Erin inherits the Hollow House in England, Charles sees this as an opportunity to start over and start something new. Erin’s forefathers include a writer of a book that many say they would not let their children read and that book as well as the author has been a fascination (of sorts) in Charles’ life. It is so, that Charles approaches the chance at a fresh start with optimism, whilst Erin follows in a daze of medication.

New start it is, yes, but not what one would have expected. Not only is Hollow House and the whole estate shrouded in mystery, the truth of what happened to the couple’s daughter and why remains hanging over the married couple through guilt and blame. With a slight air of supernatural, everything seems to be linked- grief, depression, visions of a horned figure and horrible dreams… Following the good pace upon expertly placed words, I found myself at a shocking yet satisfying ending.

There’s no denying that the writing style is a perfect fit for delivering a story such as In the Night Wood. It made me question sanity, reality and truth. The writing truly, wonderfully pulled me in and delivered an enjoyable, even though a gloomy, story full of characters who are all wrapped in mystery.

I have quite a few problems with this book, which is unfortunate because the premise sounded pretty good. It tells the story of Charles and Erin who move to North Yorkshire from the USA following a tragedy and their subsequent entrenchment in the legend of the Night Wood. Firstly, this is a story that had potential, but the execution was not great. There were some very passages that were very exposition heavy and a lot of the dialogue was very stilted. Also, I felt that the narrative just hit a lot of obvious Gothic story beats, without trying anything new or original. My main issue, however, was the treatment of the women in this book. There is a lot of gaslighting, which was unpleasant and the female characters just left me with an unpleasant taste at the way they were depicted. It seemed that they only existed as counterpoints to our protagonist and were not fleshed out or given motivations of their own. All in all, I was just disappointed with this book.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Charles and Erin are grieving the loss of their young daughter when Erin unexpectedly inherits Hollow House, former home of Caedmon Hollow, writer of a strange, dark, Victorian fairy tale, ‘In The Night Wood’. They move across the world and try to create new lives, deep in a sprawling oak forest. But Charles and Erin are haunted by their pasts. Isolated in their ancient home in the depths of the dark wood, neither can trust that the things they see are real.

In The Night Wood is a carefully-constructed psychological, gothic mystery. I thought the themes of grief and guilt were explored interestingly with the haunting setting of the forest. I didn’t feel much sympathy with the main character, Charles, as he was a little too self-centred, though his feelings of guilt fit in well with the darkness of the story.

I thought that the unravelling of the story, with Charles finally finding the courage to admit what happened to his daughter worked really well. There’s a secret from the past which is slowly uncovered with mysterious clues which I really enjoyed. I didn’t find the ending quite as satisfying as I’d hoped, but the last chapters leading up to the end were brilliantly paced.

I found this book immensely readable. The writing is wonderful and at times entrancing, and I found myself pulled forever onwards into the story by the rhythm of the words as well as the mystery element of the story. The novel explores the idea of storytelling and circles, and everything coming back on itself, repeating, forever. This, combined with the descriptions of the forest, and the emotions of the characters, made for a haunting and chilling tale.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This is a story about an American couple, Erin and Charles, whose marriage has been devastated by loss and deceit. Erin inherits an inherits a property in England called Hollow House, a grand pile surrounded by ancient woodlands, which was once owed by Caedmon Hollow, author of a strange and very dark Victorian fairy tale called 'In the Night Wood'. The move to England seems to have come just at the right time, with Charles hoping that a fresh start will save his marriage. But things do not improve between Erin and Charles and as Erin spirals deeper and deeper into her grief Charles begins spending all his time researching the author of the fairy tale. Before long Charles finds himself immersed in an unbelievable world of local folklore and fantasy and he soon begins to wonder if perhaps there is some truth in the legend of the Horned King and the Night Wood. A mostly melancholy story about grief and a marriage in crisis with a mystery and maybe something a little more otherworldly.