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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
The Hazel Wood starts something, and The Night Country almost finishes it. Ms. Albert weaves another masterful tale of Stories finding their way through worlds not quite their own, and some that are. Every twist and gasp is well worth it, and the potential for more lies just outside the margins. I’m hoping the doors on these characters are not permanently closed. Doesn’t a Spinner owe it to their Stories to continue?
3.5 stars. A lot more muddy than the Hazel Wood in my opinion, BUT, still a good book and an appropriate ending to the tale.
Yikes. This was just not very good. It dragged a lot. The book would have been better if Albert focused primarily on Alice and not on Ellery and his adventures. It really read as two stories being crammed into one. Also all of the writing was so dramatic. At one point Alice mentions how the rain feels like tongues and blood against her skin. My response, eww and really? I think this had an interesting idea. Alice is now an Ex-Story trying to be a real live girl. However, we don't get that. Just her messed up friendship with Sophia, being taken in by Daphne, and her trying to figure out who is murdering the ex-Story's. The book ended on a whimper.
"The Night Country" follows Alice Proserpine finishing up her last year in high school. Alice broke free of the Spinner and the Hinterland and can now set down roots with her mother. Too bad that something seems to be stalking the Story's that got away from Hinterland. Pieces of the Story's are being taken away to be used for some dark purpose. Alice is trying to figure out who is doing the killing to protect her mother and her friend Sophia. Ellery Finch is now loose in the Hinterland and realizing it is not all it's cracked up to be. He writes letters that magically find there way to Alice while she's investigating the murders.
Well this gets 2 stars since Albert managed to make Alice less loathsome in this one. There is one point though that she puts her hands on her mother and her mother found the black mama in her and threatened to touch her back if she puts her hands on her again. Seriously, Alice's excuses about her anger got old in book #1. I also think she was so indecisive and exhausting. Without her having a sidekick like Ellery along in this one it just made her sections start to drag. She was clueless from beginning to end. Also if you are waiting to hear about Alice Three Story real story have fun. That's still not divulged to us readers. I really wish that this book had just focused on Alice and her mother Ella. Ella fought to make sure Alice had a choice and a life. Instead of jumping back and forth between Alice and Ellery, I do think this book could have been about the love of a daughter for her mother and a mother for her daughter.
Ellery's sections were beyond boring. And I called out what happened with one of the traveling companions. I felt everything in this book was so telegraphed. Albert really needs to let go the whole Ellery and Alice love story thing. I just saw a meme going around Twitter the other day about forced couples that no one ever rooted for and man oh man that sums up these two with the quickness.
The writing was over the top as I already said. Nothing is just rain or snow or air. It's all full of dark purple prose and I was over it at the halfway mark. There's a semblance of a plot that just gets ignored for a majority of the book I felt. I don't know there was too much going on and then we were getting other Story's stories and I started to read faster since I wanted to be done.
The flow was awful. I think jumping back and forth between Alice, then letters to Alice, and then Ellery, and other characters was just a lot. The book dragged until you get to the end.
The setting of the Hinterland felt really empty this time. Probably because Ellery is walking into other worlds. The setting of New York felt off too. I wanted a twisted dark fairy tale and this book just limped along.
The ending was a big yeah I pretty much figured who the big bad was, oh good I was right. Good grief this is dragging. Oh nice it's over.
"The Night Country" follows Alice Proserpine finishing up her last year in high school. Alice broke free of the Spinner and the Hinterland and can now set down roots with her mother. Too bad that something seems to be stalking the Story's that got away from Hinterland. Pieces of the Story's are being taken away to be used for some dark purpose. Alice is trying to figure out who is doing the killing to protect her mother and her friend Sophia. Ellery Finch is now loose in the Hinterland and realizing it is not all it's cracked up to be. He writes letters that magically find there way to Alice while she's investigating the murders.
Well this gets 2 stars since Albert managed to make Alice less loathsome in this one. There is one point though that she puts her hands on her mother and her mother found the black mama in her and threatened to touch her back if she puts her hands on her again. Seriously, Alice's excuses about her anger got old in book #1. I also think she was so indecisive and exhausting. Without her having a sidekick like Ellery along in this one it just made her sections start to drag. She was clueless from beginning to end. Also if you are waiting to hear about Alice Three Story real story have fun. That's still not divulged to us readers. I really wish that this book had just focused on Alice and her mother Ella. Ella fought to make sure Alice had a choice and a life. Instead of jumping back and forth between Alice and Ellery, I do think this book could have been about the love of a daughter for her mother and a mother for her daughter.
Ellery's sections were beyond boring. And I called out what happened with one of the traveling companions. I felt everything in this book was so telegraphed. Albert really needs to let go the whole Ellery and Alice love story thing. I just saw a meme going around Twitter the other day about forced couples that no one ever rooted for and man oh man that sums up these two with the quickness.
The writing was over the top as I already said. Nothing is just rain or snow or air. It's all full of dark purple prose and I was over it at the halfway mark. There's a semblance of a plot that just gets ignored for a majority of the book I felt. I don't know there was too much going on and then we were getting other Story's stories and I started to read faster since I wanted to be done.
The flow was awful. I think jumping back and forth between Alice, then letters to Alice, and then Ellery, and other characters was just a lot. The book dragged until you get to the end.
The setting of the Hinterland felt really empty this time. Probably because Ellery is walking into other worlds. The setting of New York felt off too. I wanted a twisted dark fairy tale and this book just limped along.
The ending was a big yeah I pretty much figured who the big bad was, oh good I was right. Good grief this is dragging. Oh nice it's over.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like the story quite a bit I just felt like the last few chapters could have been drawn out and developed now. Overall, I would still recommend.
3.5 Stars
The Night Country is a better novel than The Hazel Wood in part because we are already familiar with the Hinterland and some of its characters. And we get a few more Hinterland character stories as we see the Hinterland, for want of a better word, collapsing. Alice, the story that escaped, set a precedent. Living in New York City, we see other stories who are now hiding in plain sight but still needing the occasional support group meeting. But when stories start dying, Alice (and Ella) are terrified that Alice could be next. Some of her fellow stories are worried it's actually Alice who is doing the killing. Because some of the victims are frost-damaged and... missing things. But are these murders or willing sacrifices? And what is this rumor circulating on the down-low about a place called the Night Country? If the Hinterland disappears, what will happen to Ellery Finch? And to the Spinner?
Melissa Albert continues to have a superb imagination. The pacing in this novel is improved over the first novel and the characters feel richer, in part because we know them better now, but also because I think they are more tightly written. The Night Country is a gritty, dark fairy tale place, and its origins are even darker than the Hinterland's. But I still want a bit depth more from these books. I want more about people being able to author their world. Because that's a message of hope in dark, Night Country-ish times.
I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Night Country is a better novel than The Hazel Wood in part because we are already familiar with the Hinterland and some of its characters. And we get a few more Hinterland character stories as we see the Hinterland, for want of a better word, collapsing. Alice, the story that escaped, set a precedent. Living in New York City, we see other stories who are now hiding in plain sight but still needing the occasional support group meeting. But when stories start dying, Alice (and Ella) are terrified that Alice could be next. Some of her fellow stories are worried it's actually Alice who is doing the killing. Because some of the victims are frost-damaged and... missing things. But are these murders or willing sacrifices? And what is this rumor circulating on the down-low about a place called the Night Country? If the Hinterland disappears, what will happen to Ellery Finch? And to the Spinner?
Melissa Albert continues to have a superb imagination. The pacing in this novel is improved over the first novel and the characters feel richer, in part because we know them better now, but also because I think they are more tightly written. The Night Country is a gritty, dark fairy tale place, and its origins are even darker than the Hinterland's. But I still want a bit depth more from these books. I want more about people being able to author their world. Because that's a message of hope in dark, Night Country-ish times.
I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think I like this book better than the first because I had more of an idea of the world I was entering. I couldn't put it down. I liked meeting new Hinterland characters, and I still can't wait to read the collection of the Hinterland Stories. This book left me wondering what Alice's full story was in Tales from the Hinterland so I'm super excited to read that next one. There were so many glimpses of other worlds in this book and I hope we get to revisit them in the future.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
3.5/5.0 (Spoilers)
I really love the concept of The Hazel Wood books... the dark twist on fairy tales, incorporating modern themes and technology with more traditional or medieval. The only bone I have to pick with this book is the writing style and/or editing. I noticed a few editing errors throughout the book which is not necessarily a big deal, I understand that it happens and no one is perfect. I don't hold that against any book. However, the word choice and punctuation throughout the story was very difficult to follow. the phrasing of things, while unique and interesting, was at times a little too much and the meaning of the sentence was lost. I often was reading the same sentence three or four times. By midway, I gave up doing so entirely and just skimmed over much of the prose.
The pacing of the book was a bit slow for my taste too. It didn't get exciting until the very end and not much was explained upon the conclusion. I do have to commend the use of foreshadowing and the tiny details strewn throughout the story that helped the reader follow Alice's thought process as she discovered the truth. I felt that a few important details were left out at the ending... you still don't know Alice's full tale though it's suggested that there are three of her (Alice-Three-Times), Finch de-ages her and this is never resolved or addressed, Alice and Finch just become a thing even though they both admit throughout the book that they truly don't know each other. I just felt that there was room for a lot more development of their characters. I wasn't a fan of Sophia's end either. In her letter she wrote to Alice explaining her decision to help The Spinner, she says something along the lines of "look for me and I'll be there." To me this made it seem as though you would hear from her character again, though you don't. Similarly, Death and his relationship with Sophia is discussed throughout the entire novel yet nothing ever comes of this.
I know Melissa Albert is releasing another Hazel Wood book in 2021 so of course all of these questions could be addressed then. If that is the case, excellent job to Albert for sucking her readers in and getting them hooked.
I really love the concept of The Hazel Wood books... the dark twist on fairy tales, incorporating modern themes and technology with more traditional or medieval. The only bone I have to pick with this book is the writing style and/or editing. I noticed a few editing errors throughout the book which is not necessarily a big deal, I understand that it happens and no one is perfect. I don't hold that against any book. However, the word choice and punctuation throughout the story was very difficult to follow. the phrasing of things, while unique and interesting, was at times a little too much and the meaning of the sentence was lost. I often was reading the same sentence three or four times. By midway, I gave up doing so entirely and just skimmed over much of the prose.
The pacing of the book was a bit slow for my taste too. It didn't get exciting until the very end and not much was explained upon the conclusion. I do have to commend the use of foreshadowing and the tiny details strewn throughout the story that helped the reader follow Alice's thought process as she discovered the truth. I felt that a few important details were left out at the ending... you still don't know Alice's full tale though it's suggested that there are three of her (Alice-Three-Times), Finch de-ages her and this is never resolved or addressed, Alice and Finch just become a thing even though they both admit throughout the book that they truly don't know each other. I just felt that there was room for a lot more development of their characters. I wasn't a fan of Sophia's end either. In her letter she wrote to Alice explaining her decision to help The Spinner, she says something along the lines of "look for me and I'll be there." To me this made it seem as though you would hear from her character again, though you don't. Similarly, Death and his relationship with Sophia is discussed throughout the entire novel yet nothing ever comes of this.
I know Melissa Albert is releasing another Hazel Wood book in 2021 so of course all of these questions could be addressed then. If that is the case, excellent job to Albert for sucking her readers in and getting them hooked.