The Hazel Wood

Lesson learned, Universe: I'll stop hyping books so much in my mind, so I won't feel crushed when they turn out to be monumental disappointments ...... kind of like THE HAZEL WOOD.

“When Alice was born, her eyes were black from end to end, and the midwife didn't stay long enough to wash her.”

THE HAZEL WOOD follows the story of two teenagers, both desperately trying to fight their way into fairyland—a magical place whose inhabitants are literally the stuff of nightmares. But while the concept sounds positively chilling, Melissa Albert fails to deliver on almost all counts. This book isn't even half as creepy as it promises to be & too many of the scenes in it were stretched out for absolutely no reason. Alice and Finch just keep bickering with each other (in a misguided attempt at sexual tension??) & driving around the woods without any real gameplan. Even the gorgeous prose couldn't make up for the lackluster plot & I quickly found myself skimming through the book just so I could finish it already, damn it.

Overall, THE HAZEL WOOD just wasn't for me. If you're craving fairy tales with dark twists, I'd probably suggest Seanan McGuire's EVERY HEART A DOORWAY, or SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS (an anthology, spearheaded by April Genevieve Tucholke) instead.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.