THE HAZEL WOOD By Melissa Albert

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Published by Flatiron Books on 1/30/18
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 365
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

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.

Short and Sweet

Alice and her mother Ella have always been on the road trying to avoid the bad luck that always seems to be after them. When Alice’s grandmother the infamous author Althea dies on her estate the Hazel Wood, Ella thinks that their luck will turn around. Unfortunately Ella is kidnapped and Alice goes to the one place she’s never been, Hazel Wood to save her mother. Alright lets get into this review. Alice is our main character and she’s always been on the move and her mother has never explained why these things are happening to them. Alice’s grandmother Althea wrote a book of dark fairy tales and Alice has never read the book, but when her mother is kidnapped Alice enlists the help of Ellery Finch who is a super fan of all things Hinterland. What I liked the most about this book was that Althea didn’t retell classic fairytales that we all know in love she wrote new ones that were dark and had a life of their own. In the book some of these characters make appearances outside of Hinterland. I liked that some of their stories were actually in the book so that we can learn more about them. There was also an interesting twist that took place during the end. Now on to the things I didn’t like so much. The beginning of this book was really slow and I thought there would be more fantasy elements but those were mainly 2/3s into the book. I also didn’t like Alice much she had anger problems and her treatment of Finch was awful. I felt so bad for Finch he was just trying to help Alice and she would either snap at him or dismiss him altogether. I thought the ending was okay and I did enjoy the fairytale element, but I’m still not sure if I would read the sequel.