The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Rating:★★★.75

Review:

This book needs a new synopsis because the story I thought I was getting and the actual story I got were two different things. I felt cheated out of some magic because I expected more magic throughout the entirety of the book when sadly we didn't start to see any magic until a little past fifty percent of the way through. I hate that it took so long for the magic to take off but at the same time I still liked how the story started, just not for this book. The first half of the book did a good job giving us background on Alice and her mothers but it stretched on longer than needed. 

Alice is okay as a character, unlikable but relatable. She can be annoying and selfish, constantly voicing her anger issues as if that's supposed to scare people away or as if it can be used as an excuse for her outburst. I wish Finch's character had more to go on and more to do in the book. I also feel like he was forgotten about and his development lacked. 

I loved the thriller like elements that were thrown into this story; characters going missing, the paranoia, and the look-over-your-shoulder feeling you get in the pit of your stomach. The world building was wonderful as well, I just wish a little more was done when we reached the Hinterland. There I wish Melissa Albert went the extra mile because I know the Hinterland could have been so beautiful & creepy if it was described in better detail. At the end the tales started mushing together and I was unimpressed with the "shocking secret" because it was obvious from it first being mentioned in the story. 

I enjoyed this but I don't know how I feel about a book two. I kind of like where book one ended, I feel like it pretty much wrapped itself up, and I'm okay with stopping my Hazel Wood journey here.