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smolcap23's review against another edition
4.0
Many of the complaints I see about this book is that the protagonist, Alice, is unlikeable. In my opinion, it served the story well. The fairy tales were really weird, which I enjoyed. I do think this book suffers a bit from having so much of it take place in the real world, to the point where the ending seemed rushed. Overall I was invested though. Pretty solid.
emersonjwright's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nightwithbooks's review against another edition
Another strange read. Not my cup of tea I guess...
debchan's review against another edition
4.0
i see you books about books, i see you books about angry women, i see you books that unsettle you. i see you The Starless Sea. i know this was released before the starless sea but i read it after so i'm biased with my preconceived opinions.
to preface: i didn't want to read this book. i never imagined a future where i would have read this book. whimsy, dark fantasy, with what sounds like insufferable main characters? no thank you. but then i was at the library, perusing the shelves. i wanted an easy book to read, something short to get me back into the rhythm of it and i picked this. i never expected i would actually sit down and read it cover to cover in one sitting.
i've said i start book at 3 stars and go from there. i started at 4 stars for Long Live Evil and regretted it. i started at 2 stars for this book bc i was so cynical and boy was i wrong.
the prose was lyrical and a bit haunting. no it didn't take the time to wrap an atmosphere around you or bring you slowly into the narrative. it was just how it was supposed to be, grabbing you and dragging you in kicking and screaming. there were a lot of references to pop culture which only vaguely bothered me so that's a win for melissa albert. the pacing was probably my lowlight. the acts were broken into 3 stages: intro, road trip, falling into the rabbit hole. and yet the intro zoomed past me, the road trip lagged and i didn't quite care for it, and the rabbit hole felt aimless, wandering around (which is exactly what i assume albert wanted to do so perhaps this point is useless).
alice: on my knees to apologize to her. i definitely lumped her in with naive thoughtless characters who are too kind for their own good. girl was not kind! she was always angry, suspicious, and driven forward by her insane brain. i loved alice! i love main characters who hold their own survive over everything else, who are practical. idk if practical is the right word here since this is all fairytale but in a magical way then. capable is perhaps a great way to describe her. me when it was revealed alice was plucked from her own story as alice-three-times: oh yeah it's all coming together. truly flabbergasted bc everything just clicked together
finch: this man was so annoying to me at first. because ofc he goes by finch and not ellery. ofc it's finch and not his other last name which was djon - yeah like the mustard. it was truly my first time reading when the male love interest was the manic pixie dream trope. but to be fair to him, he was usually normal like he's talking to alice and is all like "how about you get over it." like it was so weird sometimes he was that superfan puppy and other times he was so normal (and suspicious). thank you melissa albert for subverting his trope though!when it was revealed he had "betrayed" alice this whole time. when he "died". when he stayed in the hinterlands and rejected the male love interest role. i was stunned. like omg go girl fr???
this book had such an unexpected ending and i'm a big fan of it. i see there's a book 2 so i'll have to see what other adventures alice goes on. i see finch is there too hmmm.perhaps not subverting the male li role after all? albert got it so right with the sister relationship alice had with audrey: the bickering, the tea spilling, the meetup years later where audrey subconsciously knew exactly what alice didn't want to hear. give us more accurate siblings in books! (ok, not the sis part but everything else).
just some things i didn't quite enjoy. i really hate when a character sits down and spells out their tragic backstory to another character. this was my exact comlaint in Long Live Evil. because i just don't know how realistic that is. "i'm Tragic because a happened, then b happened, and then c happened." i still like finch, don't get me wrong, but alice's past was revealed in flashes and partially dragged out of her while this guy is just spilling everything about himself to someone he only really got to know the day prior. my other debatable point is the way all these businessmen are portrayed. not defending them bc harold seems like an awful person. but too often i see authors, especially fantastical ones, completely bash the corporates, like he only cares about the shareholders, the appearances, the business deals. like umm as a business major, they kind of are important if you want to keep your job and living! and why are they all just haters of reading? like yes the job is important, but we're also people too. let businesspeople love reading, it's not only for the artsy creative people! (see on the contrary: finch's dad and harold's dad weren't just businessmen they were ultra wealthy so maybe albert is making a point that attaining that type of wealth and wanting more kinda blinds you to the arts? like those type of people would only care about the shareholders? i mean ik we have a horrible image but not all business majors and people are dead inside. lots of us like reading!).
there's one plot pot i don't really understand? what was the point of taking a photo of alice and finch and then putting it inside the book at the booksellers?? like i'm assuming katherine and the other boy did that but why? to bring alice to the hazel wood bc she was already set on going there? i mean it was creepy af but idk why it happened.
liked this so much more than i thought i would. genuinely, kept flipping pages, so invested. the ending felt a little lacking of the tenseness but it was just a minor thing. the creepiness throughout the book was so palpable and alice was an extremely compelling character. definitely an unexpectedly pleasant read!
to preface: i didn't want to read this book. i never imagined a future where i would have read this book. whimsy, dark fantasy, with what sounds like insufferable main characters? no thank you. but then i was at the library, perusing the shelves. i wanted an easy book to read, something short to get me back into the rhythm of it and i picked this. i never expected i would actually sit down and read it cover to cover in one sitting.
i've said i start book at 3 stars and go from there. i started at 4 stars for Long Live Evil and regretted it. i started at 2 stars for this book bc i was so cynical and boy was i wrong.
the prose was lyrical and a bit haunting. no it didn't take the time to wrap an atmosphere around you or bring you slowly into the narrative. it was just how it was supposed to be, grabbing you and dragging you in kicking and screaming. there were a lot of references to pop culture which only vaguely bothered me so that's a win for melissa albert. the pacing was probably my lowlight. the acts were broken into 3 stages: intro, road trip, falling into the rabbit hole. and yet the intro zoomed past me, the road trip lagged and i didn't quite care for it, and the rabbit hole felt aimless, wandering around (which is exactly what i assume albert wanted to do so perhaps this point is useless).
alice: on my knees to apologize to her. i definitely lumped her in with naive thoughtless characters who are too kind for their own good. girl was not kind! she was always angry, suspicious, and driven forward by her insane brain. i loved alice! i love main characters who hold their own survive over everything else, who are practical. idk if practical is the right word here since this is all fairytale but in a magical way then. capable is perhaps a great way to describe her.
finch: this man was so annoying to me at first. because ofc he goes by finch and not ellery. ofc it's finch and not his other last name which was djon - yeah like the mustard. it was truly my first time reading when the male love interest was the manic pixie dream trope. but to be fair to him, he was usually normal like he's talking to alice and is all like "how about you get over it." like it was so weird sometimes he was that superfan puppy and other times he was so normal (and suspicious). thank you melissa albert for subverting his trope though!
this book had such an unexpected ending and i'm a big fan of it. i see there's a book 2 so i'll have to see what other adventures alice goes on. i see finch is there too hmmm.
just some things i didn't quite enjoy. i really hate when a character sits down and spells out their tragic backstory to another character. this was my exact comlaint in Long Live Evil. because i just don't know how realistic that is. "i'm Tragic because a happened, then b happened, and then c happened." i still like finch, don't get me wrong, but alice's past was revealed in flashes and partially dragged out of her while this guy is just spilling everything about himself to someone he only really got to know the day prior. my other debatable point is the way all these businessmen are portrayed. not defending them bc harold seems like an awful person. but too often i see authors, especially fantastical ones, completely bash the corporates, like he only cares about the shareholders, the appearances, the business deals. like umm as a business major, they kind of are important if you want to keep your job and living! and why are they all just haters of reading? like yes the job is important, but we're also people too. let businesspeople love reading, it's not only for the artsy creative people! (see on the contrary: finch's dad and harold's dad weren't just businessmen they were ultra wealthy so maybe albert is making a point that attaining that type of wealth and wanting more kinda blinds you to the arts? like those type of people would only care about the shareholders? i mean ik we have a horrible image but not all business majors and people are dead inside. lots of us like reading!).
there's one plot pot i don't really understand?
liked this so much more than i thought i would. genuinely, kept flipping pages, so invested. the ending felt a little lacking of the tenseness but it was just a minor thing. the creepiness throughout the book was so palpable and alice was an extremely compelling character. definitely an unexpectedly pleasant read!
drkeely's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Couldn't put it down but also spooked myself...
dizzydork's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
jozilynn's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think audiobook was the best format choice for me for this book. I was following along great and kept waiting and waiting to get to the hazel wood (which takes half the book). It was almost like a switch was flipped and as soon as the hazel wood was actually in the book I had no idea what was going on and couldn't grasp what was happening. Over all it was a good book I just got lost at the back third.
voelve's review against another edition
This is my second time reading this, and it's just so forgettable. There's a character death about 2/3rds through the book that I think is meant to shock the reader, but neither this nor my first time reading did I really feel like it had the emotional impact I think must have been intended. Which is disappointing, because I think it's a cool move to try to pull, but eh.
blurrypetals's review against another edition
2.0
This book is absolutley exhausting. At least, as much of it as I could manage to stomach was exhausting. I listened to 5 hours and 46 minutes of the 10 hour and 30 minute book before I became too frustrated to sit idly by and started skipping through the rest to see if things got any better. I feel like I made the right decision, because none of it seemed to get any better, so that is how The Hazel Wood has become my first real DNF of 2018.
I'm coming to realize I have a very low tolerance for fairy tomfoolery. I think it might be a good rule of thumb going forward for me to stay away from stories about the fae unless they're written by Cassandra Clare or Holly Black and, even then, they're not always guaranteed home runs. I also would like to put my tentative seal of approval on Peadar Ó Guilín because of his hauntingly lovely book, The Call, but I'm reserving a permanent seal of approval until I've read its upcoming sequel, The Invasion, especially because I feel like The Call was perfectly wrapped up.
I digress. Let's talk about this incredibly disappointing book.
I wanted very, very much to love this book. I wanted the contents of the book to be as gorgeous and wonderful as the incredibly well-actualized cover. I wanted to be swept away into an epic and special story and, in the end, I was let down in nearly every aspect of expectation and hope I had before starting this.
Alice, our protagonist, is completely insufferable. I did enough skipping around to find out why she acted the way she did, but it did nothing to make her any more endearing to me because I had already suffered through a little less than 6 hours and a bunch of skipping around. It didn't recontectualize anything significant enough for me to forgive the way she was written. Her inner voice was the actual worst.
The only saving grace was Finch, but Alice thought so poorly of him whenever she thought about him or spoke with him, it just sucked all the energy out of their dynamic. He's also apparently not in the second half of the book very much, so even if I had stuck it out, I wouldn't have been very happy with that.
Another complaint I have is the fact that Alice only ever referred to her mother by her first name, Ella. If this were written in the third person, it would be fine, but it's in the first person, so there's no excuse for this weird decision, especially considering how close we're told Alice and Ella are supposed to be (and we're told, of course, not shown). I think I could count the times I heard Alice say "my mother" or "mom" in the six hours I listened to on one hand. It was incredibly strange and made absolutely no sense.
This just ended up feeling like one big, long bad mood and I ended up feeling gross and sad because of it. I just wasn't feeling this one. It wasn't completely without its charms. As I previously stated, I think the cover is near-perfect. Rebecca Soler narrates the audiobook and, just as she is when she's reading Marissa Meyer's work, she's in top form (except for this uncomfortably loud gulp someone failed to edit out: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfhkI6gAadC/ I laughed so hard I had to go into the ladies room at work to calm down). The writing is actually very good, it was just the content of it that I wasn't a fan of. If you enjoyed it, that's great, but I'm perfectly content sitting this one out, fam.
I'm coming to realize I have a very low tolerance for fairy tomfoolery. I think it might be a good rule of thumb going forward for me to stay away from stories about the fae unless they're written by Cassandra Clare or Holly Black and, even then, they're not always guaranteed home runs. I also would like to put my tentative seal of approval on Peadar Ó Guilín because of his hauntingly lovely book, The Call, but I'm reserving a permanent seal of approval until I've read its upcoming sequel, The Invasion, especially because I feel like The Call was perfectly wrapped up.
I digress. Let's talk about this incredibly disappointing book.
I wanted very, very much to love this book. I wanted the contents of the book to be as gorgeous and wonderful as the incredibly well-actualized cover. I wanted to be swept away into an epic and special story and, in the end, I was let down in nearly every aspect of expectation and hope I had before starting this.
Alice, our protagonist, is completely insufferable. I did enough skipping around to find out why she acted the way she did, but it did nothing to make her any more endearing to me because I had already suffered through a little less than 6 hours and a bunch of skipping around. It didn't recontectualize anything significant enough for me to forgive the way she was written. Her inner voice was the actual worst.
The only saving grace was Finch, but Alice thought so poorly of him whenever she thought about him or spoke with him, it just sucked all the energy out of their dynamic. He's also apparently not in the second half of the book very much, so even if I had stuck it out, I wouldn't have been very happy with that.
Spoiler
I skipped through the second half of the book and, on top of all that absence, it turns out that he simply decides to stay in the Hinterland after all, which is just...like? Okay? Nice job tossing any character development Finch might have had out the window by not having him take what he's learned back to the real world I guess. I think it would have been more fitting if Alice had stayed instead and Finch had returned. It also seems weird and dumb that we didn't see any reasons why he decides to stay, other than the fact that he's in love and just sorta feels like it. It's dumb and weird and I'm just so glad I didn't waste my time trying to finish this.Another complaint I have is the fact that Alice only ever referred to her mother by her first name, Ella. If this were written in the third person, it would be fine, but it's in the first person, so there's no excuse for this weird decision, especially considering how close we're told Alice and Ella are supposed to be (and we're told, of course, not shown). I think I could count the times I heard Alice say "my mother" or "mom" in the six hours I listened to on one hand. It was incredibly strange and made absolutely no sense.
This just ended up feeling like one big, long bad mood and I ended up feeling gross and sad because of it. I just wasn't feeling this one. It wasn't completely without its charms. As I previously stated, I think the cover is near-perfect. Rebecca Soler narrates the audiobook and, just as she is when she's reading Marissa Meyer's work, she's in top form (except for this uncomfortably loud gulp someone failed to edit out: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfhkI6gAadC/ I laughed so hard I had to go into the ladies room at work to calm down). The writing is actually very good, it was just the content of it that I wasn't a fan of. If you enjoyed it, that's great, but I'm perfectly content sitting this one out, fam.
gabrose's review against another edition
5.0
Alice’s grandmother writes fairy tales. And they have come to life. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a stunningly incredible novel that will knock your brain around in your head and let you fly away to magical places. Namely, the Hinterland.
Alice has lived a life on the road with her mother for years, their bad luck chasing them from town to town. Alice has never known her grandmother, nor read her collection of dark fairy tales all set in a place called “Hinterland”, but when she dies alone in her estate called “The Hazel Wood”, Alice’s mother says they can stop running.
But then Alice learns just how bad her luck could get. Her mother is kidnapped by those who say they come from the Hinterland, and the warning message left by her mother says “Stay away from the Hazel Wood”.
With her mother missing and Alice having nowhere to go, she has no choice but to team up with Ellery Finch, a superfan of her grandmother’s stories and travel to the Hazel Wood, and then into the realm of her grandmother’s stories to find her mother.
The Hazel Wood is without a doubt one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. The world that Albert creates is something that everyone desires to join and never wants to leave, while at the same time being something they never want to escape into our world.
Every second I spent reading this I dove deeper and deeper into the Hinterland and its subjects. The stories within the story are things that I would read completely separate from this book, and the fact that they all play a part in the greater storyline is awesome! I personally cannot wait to read the short stories Albert has supplied, which, by the way, are actually the ones Alice’s grandmother wrote in the book.
Albert’s ability to write such incredible imagery is something that I as a reader find wonderful and extremely hooking, allowing me to visualize everything she describes so perfectly. As a writer, I find her imagery something to admire and it certainly is a goal I would hope to reach.
The characters are relatable, and all unique. They don’t follow the stereotypical storyline, which makes it so much more realistic and is something that I absolutely love, because I am unable to predict what will happen, unlike with so many other novels. Each character has their own flaws, and realistic ones at that, and while they are diverse, it is not in such a way that made it seem like Albert was trying for that.
Albert has a true gift for writing and I can only wish I could someday possess the talent she has. I am excited to read the next book and I know that it will be absolutely amazing! This was without a doubt a five star novel!
Alice has lived a life on the road with her mother for years, their bad luck chasing them from town to town. Alice has never known her grandmother, nor read her collection of dark fairy tales all set in a place called “Hinterland”, but when she dies alone in her estate called “The Hazel Wood”, Alice’s mother says they can stop running.
But then Alice learns just how bad her luck could get. Her mother is kidnapped by those who say they come from the Hinterland, and the warning message left by her mother says “Stay away from the Hazel Wood”.
With her mother missing and Alice having nowhere to go, she has no choice but to team up with Ellery Finch, a superfan of her grandmother’s stories and travel to the Hazel Wood, and then into the realm of her grandmother’s stories to find her mother.
The Hazel Wood is without a doubt one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. The world that Albert creates is something that everyone desires to join and never wants to leave, while at the same time being something they never want to escape into our world.
Every second I spent reading this I dove deeper and deeper into the Hinterland and its subjects. The stories within the story are things that I would read completely separate from this book, and the fact that they all play a part in the greater storyline is awesome! I personally cannot wait to read the short stories Albert has supplied, which, by the way, are actually the ones Alice’s grandmother wrote in the book.
Albert’s ability to write such incredible imagery is something that I as a reader find wonderful and extremely hooking, allowing me to visualize everything she describes so perfectly. As a writer, I find her imagery something to admire and it certainly is a goal I would hope to reach.
The characters are relatable, and all unique. They don’t follow the stereotypical storyline, which makes it so much more realistic and is something that I absolutely love, because I am unable to predict what will happen, unlike with so many other novels. Each character has their own flaws, and realistic ones at that, and while they are diverse, it is not in such a way that made it seem like Albert was trying for that.
Albert has a true gift for writing and I can only wish I could someday possess the talent she has. I am excited to read the next book and I know that it will be absolutely amazing! This was without a doubt a five star novel!