Book Review: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a creepy, dark YA fairy tale.

Alice knows that fairy tales aren’t real, even though they have been a major part of her life growing up. Her grandmother is the author of a collection of brutal and dark fairy tales set in the fictional world of The Hinterland. She publishes the book and then shuts herself off from the world in her hidden estate.

Alice and her mother have been on the go for as long as she can remember. They rarely stay in one place for more than a few months, but when Alice’s grandmother dies, her mother thinks that they are now free to live their lives in one place. One day Alice finds that her mother has disappeared, taken by people who have a striking resemblance to the characters in her grandmother’s stories. Alice turns to Ellery Finch, a classmate and Hinterland superfan to help her find her mother and track down her grandmother’s long list estate.

I got this book in the March Fairyloot box and I’m so glad that I did. It was something that I wanted to read but wasn’t planning on picking it up too soon. I’m happy I picked the right month to try out Fairyloot. I loved this book.

I’ve always been a huge fan of fairy tales. Add a dark twist to that and I’m all about it. This novel had so much packed into it, dark fairy tales, mysterious elements, creepiness, everything I love.

The story was imaginative and whimsical. I loved that there were fairy tales throughout the story. I think the fairy tales were definitely my favorite part. I would love to see a book published with all the tales from Hinterland.

I enjoyed the characters alot. I thought they each brought something special to the story as a whole. I loved the fairy tale characters so much. They were dark and twisted and I was right in my element.

I really liked the friendship that grew between Ellery and Alice but I wish there was more of them. I also wasn’t really satisfied with the way things were for them at the end. The whole end of the novel just felt incomplete to me, which is why I am so excited that there is going to be a sequel. I can not wait for that!

I also really loved the world. The Hinterland was amazing. It reminded me of a darker Wonderland and I was definitely all about that.

I can’t really say too much about The Hazel Wood because I think it would spoil too much, but I highly recommend it so definitely check it out if you haven’t yet.

I gave The Hazel Wood 5 stars.

Keep reading…Lola