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The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2)
The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2)
Melissa Albert | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is probably even darker than the first book. I really like reworked fairy tales, and I think the characters in this series are more like the characters that the Brothers Grimm had in mind before they were told to rewrite them less scary (I still want to get my hands on the originals - they sound deliciously dark, like this book).

This is a great continuation of the first novel. It looks at how Alice and the other Hinterlanders settle in to life in New York, and Finch’s continuing adventures in The Hinterland. I can’t say much more than this without giving the story away, but needless to say, if you enjoyed the first book, you’ll love this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my copy to read and honestly review!
  
LK
Little Knife (Grisha Verse, #2.6)
Leigh Bardugo | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of the companion stories to the Grishaverse novels, and I loved it.

I really respect when authors put together stories that would be in the folklore of the world they built. I can imagine Alina or Nina getting told this story when she was a kid.

I loved how this story was so much about girl power and a woman's rights to her own personhood.

I enjoy any kind of fairy tale, but I especially love one that takes place in a world I adore. The language used was very mysterious and lyrical, much like the Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Anderson would use in their classic fairy tales.

I loved the twists and spins in the story.

Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

Don't trust rivers, they may be FREAKING GODS IN DISGUISE!?!?!?!?
  
The Hazel Wood
The Hazel Wood
Melissa Albert | 2017 | Mystery, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.4 (33 Ratings)
Book Rating
A little too over the top
I think I completely lost the plot trying to follow this fairytale within a fairytale. A modern day version of a Brothers Grimm-style folklore, the story follows Alice, who is trying to find her missing mother, and discovers that all is not what it seems.

The main thrust of the novel asks whether Alice is a character in a tale herself? And if she can escape her fate by running away from her story. And while I can appreciate the author's creativity, there's very little character development and there appears to be a fair few loose ends. The prose is heavy in metaphors to the point that the first half seemed far too long.

While many have described the book as a dark and creepy fantasy, I think it may have been a little overhyped - it's more of a weird version of Alice in Wonderland. Interesting, but not for me.