Scan barcode
joannalouise's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Self harm
laurynreadsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Self harm
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: fairytale violence, self harm, swearing, descriptions of blood and gore, death of children
The Night Country by Melissa Albert is the second book in the Hazel Wood Duology. This book was just as creepy and lyrical as the first book. We get more emotionality from Alice this time instead of just rage, and we also get more insight into Ellery Finch.
We pick up with Alice three years after Ellery Finch rescued her from her own story in the Hinterland, Alice-Three-Times. When Finch broke her story, he set in motion the demise of the Hinterland itself. Other Stories are becoming ex-stories and leaving the Hinterland for the human world where they hold weekly support group meetings.
We see Alice grapple with the conflicting desires to embrace the part of herself from the Hinterland and not lie about who or what she is, and just being a regular girl and leave the Hinterland, and its inhabitants, behind. Alice gets pulled back into the group when ex-stories start turning up dead missing pieces from their bodies.
We get to see Finch on his own adventure in the Hinterland until a mysterious door appears and a girl comes through it and tells him she can get him back to the girl he's looking for. They travel between worlds through a door created by reading aloud from books, because a book is always a door.
We get some great world building and definitely spooky/dark fairytale vibe. I love the way Finch and Alice are still looking for each other and thinking about each other. The romance felt earned, since they went through some shit together last book. I love Ellery so much more in this book, we get way more of him, and he was a fuller character. I also found the idea of the Night Country, a world that is built on top of an existing world where you can create whatever world you wish, but it kills the host world.
We get a message about how just because you create a world or characters, doesn't mean they are limited to just that. The stories in the Hinterland have to live the same stories over and over again with no hope for something different. They get to look like a human, but never get to experience the good parts of it. It's definitely an allegory about free will and overcoming the the narrow track your past has out you on.
All in all an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading about these stories in Tales from the Hinterland.
The Night Country by Melissa Albert is the second book in the Hazel Wood Duology. This book was just as creepy and lyrical as the first book. We get more emotionality from Alice this time instead of just rage, and we also get more insight into Ellery Finch.
We pick up with Alice three years after Ellery Finch rescued her from her own story in the Hinterland, Alice-Three-Times. When Finch broke her story, he set in motion the demise of the Hinterland itself. Other Stories are becoming ex-stories and leaving the Hinterland for the human world where they hold weekly support group meetings.
We see Alice grapple with the conflicting desires to embrace the part of herself from the Hinterland and not lie about who or what she is, and just being a regular girl and leave the Hinterland, and its inhabitants, behind. Alice gets pulled back into the group when ex-stories start turning up dead missing pieces from their bodies.
We get to see Finch on his own adventure in the Hinterland until a mysterious door appears and a girl comes through it and tells him she can get him back to the girl he's looking for. They travel between worlds through a door created by reading aloud from books, because a book is always a door.
We get some great world building and definitely spooky/dark fairytale vibe. I love the way Finch and Alice are still looking for each other and thinking about each other. The romance felt earned, since they went through some shit together last book. I love Ellery so much more in this book, we get way more of him, and he was a fuller character. I also found the idea of the Night Country, a world that is built on top of an existing world where you can create whatever world you wish, but it kills the host world.
We get a message about how just because you create a world or characters, doesn't mean they are limited to just that. The stories in the Hinterland have to live the same stories over and over again with no hope for something different. They get to look like a human, but never get to experience the good parts of it. It's definitely an allegory about free will and overcoming the the narrow track your past has out you on.
All in all an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading about these stories in Tales from the Hinterland.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Cursing, Blood, Suicide, and Child death
More...