Early Review – The Night Country (The Hazel Wood, Book 2) by Melissa Albert (3.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: January 7, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1250246073
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in The Hazel Wood series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
“With Finch’s help, Alice escaped the Hinterland and her reclusive grandmother’s dark legacy. Now she and the rest of the dregs of the fairy tale world have washed up in New York City, where Alice is trying to make a new, unmagical life. But something is stalking the Hinterland’s survivors―and she suspects their deaths may have a darker purpose. Meanwhile, in the winking out world of the Hinterland, Finch seeks his own adventure, and―if he can find it―a way back home…”
Series Info/Source: 2nd (and final) book in the Hazel Wood series. Received eGalley from NetGalley.
Characters (3/5): I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters. Alice is trying to live in the real world now, but her magical personality from the Hinterland keeps rearing its ugly head. I didn’t really enjoy Alice, she came off as very confused and fairly passive. Meanwhile Finch is off in the Hinterland. As the Hinterland collapses, he ends up journeying to other worlds. Finch comes across as fairly selfish, his need to explore overrides all other needs.
Story (3/5): The story was okay but felt kind of disorganized and disjointed. At times it’s a bit hard to understand what’s going on here. Basically there are a few mysteries that are being combined. Hinterlanders are being found murdered and the Hinterland itself is starting to disappear. The story goes back and forth between Alice and Finch; Alice gets involved in the mystery of the murdered Hinterlanders, while Finch is drawn into the disappearance of the Hinterland. This book does seem to wrap up the story pretty well, so I doubt we’ll see more books set in this world.
Setting (4/5): While Alice’s portion of the story takes place in the relatively boring modern world, Finch’s story was much more intriguing. I enjoyed the setting changes as Finch travels from world to world.
Writing Style (4/5): Although Albert’s writing style can be a bit ambiguous and hard to follow at times, she does a beautiful job with imagery. Her writing always comes across as very poetic. The whole story has a darkly beautiful tone to it that I really enjoyed.
Summary (3.5/5): Overall I had mixed feelings about this book (I felt similar about The Hazel Wood). Some things about Albert’s writing style are very unique and beautiful and her stories are very creative. Unfortunately, I also felt the story was a bit hard to follow and disorganized. I also never really engaged well with the characters. I probably won’t read any more of Albert’s books in the future.
