The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert a fair four-star read. I don’t know why I was expecting so much from this read, I had eagerly anticipated it and then when I got it, it took me a few attempts to finish it. It was well written and should have been one of the better reads this year, but it just lacked that something special. It was dark in places and did have some great elements but as a character Alice left me cold, there was just something lacking about her that I couldn’t gel with, it could just be me as its only my opinion but as I was reading the book and it’s my review that’s all that really matters. I do think that this is going to be a book you love or hate, and I hope you love it, the pictures of the hardcopy I’ve seen look amazing and if you want a pretty bookshelf buy the book, but don’t be put off by my review if you want to read it do. I gave it four stars as it was so well written, it deserved it.

I am so glad I’ve had a cold this week! I’ve read so many great books and this is one of them.

As soon as this book begins there’s a certain intensity to the story that really builds as the book goes on. Alice telling her story about living with Ella and avoiding her grandmother’s fairy tale world (so far) really creates an atmosphere for the story that never disappears and it keeps you wanting more, it certainly kept me reading.

The story can seem slow to pick up but when it does it works. The writing is filled with prose and metaphor that really blends with the sort of ‘wonderland’ vibe of the story, it does feel like almost a modern re-telling in places. The characters are okay, I find Finch to be a good balance with Alice.

A creepy, dark and dramatic book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, The Hazel Wood is a book I was looking forward to, fairy tales are my thing and books like this are why. If you like books such as Caraval, I think you’ll probably like this.

This is a book of fairytale, sometimes dark and sometimes light. The main character Alice I found it hard to connect with or really like, she is confused, mixed up and I guess this mirrors how I felt about her. I most enjoyed this tale when she was with other characters, and what they bought to the mix. At times I found this book slow and the constant use of metaphor a hindrance, having said that I also found parts of the book very enjoyable especially the characters explaining the fairytale. This tale is written with opulence and layer and layer of colour, which is brilliant, but to use a metaphor sometimes over egged the pud. This would definately be a Tim Burton film with Johnny Depp and Helens Bonham Carter as the main characters. It is fantasy sometimes at its best, sometimes for me on total overload. Thank you to Net galley for the chance to read it.

The book starts off as a fairly typical YA (odd main character who always feels out of place, cute guy at school inexplicably shows interest) before taking a sharp left into Tim Burton territory. Seriously, this would make a great Burton film - it has that dark, twisted humour running throughout it. Although a little slow to start, once they actually reach the Hazel Wood, things pick up tremendously. Overall, I really enjoyed reading it and recommend to fans of authors such as Roald Dahl or Lemony Snicket.

I was lucky enough to read this book courtesy of NetGalley.
Here's me thinking the book would be similar to the 'wicked lovely' series by Melissa Marr, as it starts off light and airy and boy, oh, boy was I wrong.
This book is incredible, its dark and twisted and not at all what I expected to be reading as it depicts the evilness of fairy tails and that's all I could ever ask for really!
Highly recommend to anyone to read it when this comes out!

A triumph of a book. Marketed as a fantasy book which is not my genre at all, but the fairy tale aspect was too intriguing to pass up. I've had a fascination with fairy tales since childhood and their other-wordly nature and the sinister that often lies just below the surface are perfectly captured by Albert in this mesmerising tale. Alice is on the run with her mother. Unsure what they're running but with 'bad luck' forever snapping at their heels, they never stay in one place too long. Until now. As Alice returns from school to find her mother vanished and her step family refusing her entry to the family home, the lines between the real world and the fairytale world begin to blur. There is something very sinister about the idea of characters from dark tales populating the streets we walk down: sinister, dark and deliciously entertaining. This may end up being a marmite book, but as a non-fantasy fan, I loved it and give it a well deserved 5 stars. Another YA book hitting the target with adults too.

I was lucky enough to be offered a free copy of this book for review from NetGalley.

I accepted for two reasons:

1. I liked the synopsis. A dark, twisty fairytale with similarities to Alice in Wonderland sounded like something I could get behind.
2. I'd heard so much hype about this book that I wanted to see for myself whether it was all hype or if there was actually something there.

It took me a little while to finish this book. After making a start I became a little sceptical. I didn't find Alice a particularly relatable character, she's rude, a bit obnoxious (and whilst that's fine with some characters, especially a loveable villain) I had some trouble connecting with Alice to begin with. I also found the start a little confusing/slow and was tempted at one point to lay it aside.

However, I persevered and I'm glad that I did. As the story unfolds it becomes clearer why Alice is the way she is, that she literally has no idea about who she is, spending her entire life shrouded in mystery and running from something she doesn't understand.

I think perhaps the book could have been shorter as some of Alice's journey seemed a little long-winded and repetitive (i.e. multiple unconscious spells) and I wasn't a huge fan of (I want to say 'her friend' but I'm still not sure about their relationship) Ellery Finch who again, I didn't really like/connect with/understand.

What I did really like were the twists and turns that the story takes, the new information and surprises that are revealed to both Alice and the reader along the way. I enjoyed the whimsical, dark characters of the Hinterland and the idea of the Hinterland itself, with its refugees, the Spinner and the Stories. I would have loved for more of this book to take place inside the Hinterland, where we could have explored that world for much longer.

The imagery inside the Hinterland, the Halfway Wood and the Hazel Wood is really quite beautiful.

Overall, I enjoyed the main essence of the story and did find myself liking Alice more as the story progressed and her Story unfolded.

I think readers who particularly enjoy dark fairytales (especially fans of Alice in Wonderland) would enjoy this new take on the story. I'm also interested to see what comes next from this author, I think there's a lot more left to offer.

3/3.5 stars from me.

I loved this book! Dark, twisty and deliciously creepy, I couldn’t stop reading but really didn’t want it to end! Always the mark of a fantastic book. Can’t wait to see what else Melissa has to offer.

Alice and her mum, Ella moved from place to place whenever bad luck caught up with them. When Alice’s grandmother, Althea, author of a book about dark fairy tales passes away; Ella assumes their bad luck has passed so they settle in New York. Soon after Ella goes missing and and with the help of her school friend Ellery Finch they try to track Ella down, with each clue leading them in to the fairytale world created by Althea.

I’m not sure how I really feel about this story. I felt the first part of the story building up to Ella disappearing was quite drawn out but once Alice enlisted the help of Ellery the pace of the story quickened but once Alice arrives at The Hazel Wood (Althea’s home) the story just kind of fizzled our for me. This story isn’t for the faint hearted though as parts of it are creepy and dark. Whilst this wasn’t a bad story there was just something g missing for me but I can’t put my finger on what.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book so much! It was as deliciously dark, with so many twists and turns I couldn’t put it down.

This was a pretty good book about Alice, a girl who has spent her life travelling around with her mum, never stopping in one place for more than a few months in case the bad luck they seem to attract finds them. The bad luck comes from Alice's grandmother, who wrote a book of dark fairy stories about a fairy realm called the Hinterland years ago.

I quite enjoyed this book and although it seems to have divided other readers I don't have a hugely strong opinion of it. Worth a read. Pretty imaginative. Fairly standard portal-fantasy format. Especially recommended for anyone who likes lyrical prose, heavy on the metaphor.

The plot was quite interesting enough as I quite enjoy a portal fantasy. It was less nonsensical than I was expecting (I guess because the MC's name is Alice I was expecting it to be like Wonderland).
The pacing did seem a bit off. Alice doesn't actually get near the Hinterland until over halfway through the book and when she did it wasn't actually as scary as I thought it would be. Mediaeval setting, monsters (called Stories) that you just steer clear of as the only danger comes when you get involved in their narrative. Then at the end her Story seemed to be wrapped up a bit too quickly.

My favourite bit was the snippets of Hinterland stories we were given - I would quite happily read a whole book of those.

I've seen other reviews that have said how much the reader liked Finch and how much they hated Alice. For me it was actually the other way around. Being an arsehole isn't actually a barrier to me liking an MC - I've rooted for plenty of serial killers and sociopaths over my reading career. Alice was super unpleasant but not wholly unlikeable as at least she had a bit of backbone about her. I never really got the feeling I got to know Finch. He felt like a bit of a hipster hanger-on, which is a shame as I think he could have been developed a bit further and been made more interesting.

All in all this was okay. It would have got an extra star if Alice had spent a bit more time actually in the Hinterland.

Inventive, atmospheric & intelligent magical tale that defies easy categorisation. Very creepy & slightly disturbing at times... definitely not for the faint hearted! A strong debut.

I've always liked stories that reference fairy tales, especially dark ones, so The Hazel Wood seemed to be a good fit for me.

Alice has spent her life on the run from the 'bad luck' that follows her and her mother (Ella) around. Ella's mother (Alice's grandmother) is Althea Proserpine, the famous but reclusive bestselling author of Tales from the Hinterland - a volume of dark fairy tales featuring characters such as the Briar King and Twice Killed Katherine. When Althea dies, Ella is convinced their 'bad luck' has ended, and for a while everything does seems fine. Until Alice comes home to find her mother has vanished, someone has left a page from Tales from the Hinterland in their apartment - and characters from the book begin popping up all over the place... Enlisting the help of her friend Ellery, a huge Hinterland fan, Alice travels to her grandmother's estate, the Hazel Wood, to find out if those dark 'fairy tales' might have some basis in truth.

I loved the premise and that the character of Alice was not all sweetness and light (there is a reason for this, explained later in the book). But my absolutely favourite part was the introduction of the author's original fairy tale characters, such as Twice Killed Katherine. I would have loved to have heard more about their individual stories. Perhaps if each chapter had started with a short extract, the reader would have been more aware of who they were, and why it was important for Alice to keep away from them. I'd have also liked Alice to have arrived at the Hazel Wood a bit sooner, but it was fun spotting the classic fairy tale references and I did enjoy the story.

Readers of YA, fantasy, and dark fairy tales will love this book, but adults might find it's a bit too YA (particularly at the start) and therefore not have that crossover appeal.


I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of The Hazel Wood, which will be published on 8th February 2018.

Thank you to Melissa Albert, Penguin, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

A first novel to be proud of.
Alice and her Mum, Ella are always on the move it seems to be the only way to keep one step ahead of the constant ‘bad luck’ that plagues them.
When they decide to put down roots and stop running is when things go truly awry and ‘the weird’ catches up with them.
Ella is taken from their home and Alice turns to Finch, her classmate for support and help to find her. Their quest leads them to her Grandmother’s estate, The Hazel Wood and even further into the dark and creepy fairytale realm (The Hinterland) that her Grandmother (an elusive author with a cult following) based her stories on.

The Hazel Wood is quirky, original and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had it all, a unique plot that mixes the world of fairy tales and mystery to give a terrifyingly brilliant read.
Unlike pretty pink fairy tales this is a dark and somewhat scary read, the main character is moody, angry and is far from a princess, by the end I loved her. The clever writing made me, at first hate Alice and then adore her clever yet dark personality. The story is well paced and takes you on a journey that cannot be compared to anything else I have read. The first thing I saw was the cover and I love it, to me it says this book has a spooky mystery feel to it and it certainly didn't disappoint.
I wont even try to describe the plot because I could never give the author justice on this fantastic book. All I can say if give it a shot, come out your comfort zone and dive right in.

I was really excited when I read the premise for The Hazel Wood. Dark and twisty fairytales, mythical quests, mysterious families, dark woods, haunted houses – all absolute reading catnip. And it didn’t disappoint. Imagine if you will Gossip Girl crossed with Diana Wynne Jones with a splash of Neil Gaiman and a twist of Lewis Carroll. After a lifetime of driving across the US with her mother, Ella, Alice thinks they have finally settled down in the luxurious New York apartment of her new stepfather. And she may not get on with her stepsister, may struggle to make friends and fit in at her new private school, may hate sharing her mother with her entitled, rich stepfather but at least she’s not on the run anymore. Until, that is, her mother disappears and Alice has to venture into the Hazel Wood to find her.
A long time ago Alice’s grandmother, who she has never met, wrote a book of fairytales. The book has since become impossible to find, but the unread stories haunt Alice, and as she searches for her mother, she finds the line between fiction and reality blurring…
This is a dark, dark book. A book filled with cruelty and disturbing turns and troubling decisions. If you like your fantasy light and a guaranteed Happily Ever After then it may not be for you. But if you like inventiveness, ingenuity and originality then step into The Hazel Wood. I didn’t want to stop reading, didn’t want to put it down and envy all of you discovering it for the first time. Highly recommended.

I was intrigued by the sound of this when I read the write up, and thought it might be worth looking into. I quite enjoy a fantasy fairytale type story that deals with the fantastical in a particular manner, especially when it reels you in. From the off the vibe I got from this book made me think of one of my closest friends.

The Hazel Wood is, in a word, magical. Right in the beginning, when it starts, you wonder what it is that you are reading and where, exactly, it is going to go, and before you know it, an adventure barrels in and sweeps you off your feet, dragging you, whether you are ready or not, off into the Hinterland.

Melissa Albert builds a really good world, too. Alice is our protagonist, and her story unfolds slowly but surely, giving you bits and bobs and plenty more mystery than you know what to do with. Her search for her lost mother is conducted with the assistance of Ellery Finch, a character I quite enjoyed, as he brought a lot to the table in terms of diversifying the story. He knew things, so many things, and he was quite involved with helping Alice in her quest, and I quite liked the dynamic between Alice and Finch.

Albert seamlessly blurs the lines between Hinterland and the real world, and it is balanced so well, too. You know what is and what isn't, and yet the story cleverly weaves between the worlds, the Stories, the characters. Sometimes not too many answers are provided, which I think added to the vibe of the book, though it is something that might irritate other readers.

The Hazel Wood is a dark, magical, crazy, weird story that is bound to sweep you up if you are into fantasy edged with grim fairy tales. The writing flows and the story engages, making this book well worth the read. I can see it is something I will revisit.

Not my usual novel but it is certainly well written with a good, strong plot. Had it been in a fantasy category, I may have enjoyed it even more as I'd have known what to expect but I'm afraid I (sometimes shortsightedly) tend to stick to one genre. Sorry.

The Hazel Wood is an interesting concept - never knowing her grandmother, the author of a mysterious and successful book of twisted fairytales, Alice has forever been haunted by the spectre of what she and her mother have been running away from for all her life. When her mother vanishes, Alice ignores all the advice she's been given and plunges headlong into finding her mother, meaning that she needs to discover the secret of the Hazel Wood, where her mysterious grandmother lived and died.
Okay, so it does sound like an interesting book, but my problem with it is that it took too long to get going. Alice spends a phenomenal amount of time setting up the fact that she's a loner and she has few friends in school, but to be honest, none of that matters. Her mother's relationship history, their constant moving on when she was a child - all of this was dealt out at the beginning of the book in an information dump that made me roll my eyes massively. Also, like many other heroines, despite her mother being the only person in the world she trusts, Alice completely ignores the only piece of advice her desperate and kidnapped mother has given her, and runs straight to the place she's been told to avoid.
The dark fairytale aspect of this was, well, a little disappointing to be honest. A lot of flowery language and overt descriptions of Ellery and Alice, and not enough time spent on the actual fairytale aspects of the book. The best parts of The Hazel Wood were the stories taken from Alice's grandmother's book, Tales from the Hinterland.
I think, however, that my problem with this book is that I just wanted to read Tales from the Hinterland, not The Hazel Wood.
I struggle to come up with anything really wrong with this book, it just didn't hit the right notes for me. I was left feeling a little disappointed by the end, but there's clear potential in this writer, and I'll definitely be reading more of her work.

What I liked in this one-shot is the return to the sources of the universe of fairy tales. The Hazel wood is the home of our heroine's grandmother, who is the author of a fairy tale novel names "Tales from the Hinterland". The tales she wrote are creepy, bloody and it reminded me of the tales by the Grimms brother far from the sweetened version of Disney. And when reality and folklore mix, we get a unique atmosphere and it was one of the main things that I liked.

Alice, our heroine has lived all her life on the roads with her mother, her anchor is the latter and when she is abducted no matter what it is advised she will do everything to find her. Alice is in my eyes a brave girl. In view of the story a parallel can be made with Alice in Wonderland, but unlike the latter, our Alice seeks normality and not extravagance. Besides, she dreams of a peacefull life with her mother.

I rather enjoyed my reading, because I managed to immerse myself in the special universe of the novel. I think that is the key point for enjoying this book. As I said, the book plays on dark fairy tales and Lewis Carroll's book and I think that people who like creepy and crazy universes with a good touch of fantasy will appreciate this novel. And lastely then the pace of the book is rather great so let yourself be tempted.