The Hazel Wood was just about everything that I wanted it to be. It was dark and shadowy. Romantic and yet somehow lacking substantial romance. It was endearing yet vengeful. I had a hard time putting it down and stayed up way too late many nights over the past week to see what was coming next.

Our main character Alice is a bit hard to like at times, but I respect that as it made me somehow be more in her corner as she traipsed through the labyrinth of stories and memories. She was more real to me because she wasn't perfect and I loved the bit of darkness inside her. Finch was also a great character, I think his compassion really evened out Alice and her darkness. I especially loved how the focus of this novel was Alice and her "coming of age" of sorts and most importantly, her relationship with her mother. The fact that Alice felt like home was with her mother wherever she may be was really heartfelt and I enjoyed the fact that the fight Alice needed came from that love.

Melissa Albert certainly knows how to write. She has a knack for the fairytales for sure. I could feel the chill of the fog, and see the light of the Grandmother Moon. Overall I was blown away by how well the author painted these (sometimes dark) pictures. Though it was incredibly atmospheric and at times a bit unnerving, I certainly didn't find this novel to be creepy at all. It reminded me a bit of Stardust by Gaiman or The Book of Lost Things by Connolly and seeing as how I loved both of these novels immensely, that is some high praise.

Each quick observation mentioning a character and their Story had me wanting more. A book of short stories by Albert from this land would be snatched up by me in a second. I would also love to see where a certain character ends up when he or she went on to discover "other worlds." Hear my plea, Ms. Albert, please give us more!

The Hazel Wood is absolutely recommended. There is no doubt that it is one of my favorite books I have read this year. I can't wait to see what this author writes next.

This is a more modern unique take on a fantasy that gives a Barker like narrative into a window of another world. The narrative begins in a charming manner for the disenfranchised, which quickly webs a storyline that is unique and unpredictable.
Character construction is at odds with the subject in tow which subdues the reader enough to question whether or not this is a rabbit hole into a psychedelic trip or whether or not it was all imagination. Which leads to an ultimate non conclusion.

Creepy, well written fantasy novel with hints of Seanan McGuire. Alice has been running from bad luck all her life. When her grandmother, author of a book of fairy tales with a cult following, Alice's mother thinks it's safe to stop running. Eventually the bad luck catches up with them again. There's not much more I can say without spoilers, but this is am original and interesing take on the world of fairy tales.

Fabulous read! Suspense, action, fairy tales. What more can you ask for?!

I could write a very long review of this chilling, poetic riff on all things fairy tale - REAL fairy tale, of the creepy, violent, pulsing, fraught, beautiful, mesmerizing sort that you compusively read until you reach the inevitable bloody end. But Albert has already done it with The Hazel Wood. I read quite a bit of YA, year after year, and I've already grown tired of the too oft repeated trope of the feral, magical, "special" female protagonist who has to discover her true powers and rescue or kill until she comes into her own. Well, most of those other books are just pale shadows to the thriller read that Albert takes us on, pitting her heroine Alice through all sorts of trials. And she is a heroine, a flawed, fierce, angry one which makes you care for her all the more. This book is compulsively readable, the female relationships fascinating, the determining of identity the central theme consistent throughout. The highest compliment I can pay Albert is that she is heir to Angela Carter, who would have cackled in glee at this book. "Stay away from the Hazel Wood" warns Alice's mother, but we might as well stop reading fairy tales and again and again, we prove we cannot.

The woods is dark and deep indeed in The Hazel Wood. Alice and her mother live a transient life, always on the move to escape the bad luck that seems to stalk them. When Alice learns that her grandmother, the author of some very dark fairy tales about the Hinterland, has died, leaving her estate Hazel Wood to Alice and her mother, she is very, very interested in finding Hazel Wood. When her mother is apparently kidnapped by people from the supposedly fictional Hinterland, Alice joins up with Ellery Finch, a school mate who is practically a cult follower of the Hinterland tales, to find her mother. But her mother's last words to Alice were a warning - stay away from Hazel Wood.

Melissa Albert has created a deliciously creepy fantasy world, peopled by characters from some very dark fairy tales. But then again, all the best fairy tales are very dark, aren't they? Albert excels at creating her own tales, based on a wide knowledge of all the best fairy tales, and also excels at immersing her characters in the seriously scary world of Hinterland. Those who love fairy tales and spine shivering writing in their young adult novels will eat up The Hazel Wood. Give this book to fans of Holly Black.

I am in AWE.
This book, this fantastic book, was exactly what I needed to both feel inspired to write again, sparked my desire to read more fairytales (even though I read WAY too many as is), and gave me the knowledgethat you CAN write a fairytale book without it feeling exactly like every other fairytale book out there.

I had the lovely chance to meet Melissa Albert last year at YALLfest, much to my embarrassment. I thought she was Laure Eve (the ONE time my facial recognition skills failed me!) and she was so kind to tell me that, no, she wasn't, but she was an author, whose debut would be coming out! She told me about her book, which I immediately added to my Goodreads shelf, and you'd better BET that the minute it was available as a galley, I requested it. I almost shed a happy tear when I got approved!

Anyways, back to the book:
It is gorgeous. The prose, the imagery, THE METAPHORS AND SIMILES. I was dying, I was marking off all of the beautiful quotes. I was a ghost as I read the ending, it killed me many a time. My love for this book has grown exponentially.

I plan on making every single one of my friends read this masterpiece. If this book was out before Christmas, you'd best believe everyone would get this as a present.

Melissa Albert, thank you for writing such a gorgeous debut. I will read everything else you write, that's how in love I am. I so hope I get to meet you again, and I promise I'll know EXACTLY who you are.

First off, received an ARC from NetGalley (THANK YOU!)

Love this book! How I wish it wasn't a stand-alone! How to explain - the concept of the Spinner taking control of The Hinterland reminded me a bit of Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas. Both depicted a dark and twisted fairy tale world. But instead of the entire world being controlled by the Story, Alice and Ella escaped and were on the run in our world. The population of The Hinterland was dark and evil - the stories did not have happy endings and the characters lived them over and over again.

I was intrigued by Althea - was she cruel or merely a victim or prisoner of her own making? Others stuck in and around The Hinterland made different choices. I would really really like to read a copy of The Hinterland (any chance of that happening Melissa Albert?).

This was fast-paced and well written. I couldn't put it down and I although I finished this morning, I am still thinking about it. I hope to see more from this author.

The Hazel Wood by @mimi_albert is a real gem and is curiously the highest rated book I've read on @goodreads with a 4.55/5. #ARCAugust

Mesmerizing and creepy, The Hazel Wood sucks you in and doesn't let you go. It's dark and brutal, but at the same time a little whimsical and hopeful. One of my favorite things is when a book talks about stories and this one does that so excellently, even making the distinction between stories and Stories. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but I can't quite put my finger on why. I didn't really know what I wanted from the ending, so I can't really say why I was disappointed at the end, just that I wanted a little bit more. That's a problem I usually have with books so I don't think anyone else would necessarily be disappointed. More than anything, though, I left this book wanting to get my hands on a copy of the dark fairytales Alice's grandmother had written - we get snippets and I may or may not have read them like bedtime stories to my fiance. I definitely recommend you pick this up when it comes out, especially if you like the darker side of fairytales.

This book is a delightfully dreamy modern fairytale. I was swept away from the first page.

Absolutely adored this dark, disturbing fantasy. Multi-faceted and gorgeously wrought... feels like a comfortable old sweater and something brand new at once.

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Electronic ARC provided by NetGalley.

It's rare that I request a book on NetGalley that I know absolutely nothing about, but this one looked so good that I decided to give it a try. I'm happy to say that "The Hazel Wood" is just as good as I hoped that it would be.

I don't want to talk too much about plot specifics because I think that this book is better experienced without knowing much about it. "The Hazel Wood" is about fairy tales, the type of fairy tales that are dark and dangerous and follow their own set of rules. Our protagonist Alice is the grand-daughter of a reclusive famous author, a woman who wrote one legendary book of fairy tales and then retired. Alice has never met her Grandmother. Instead she has spent her whole life on the road with her mother Ella, desperately trying to outrun the bad luck that seems to follow them everywhere.

"The Hazel Wood" is about stories; how we interact with them and how they influence our reality. It is about family and identity. It is also beautifully written, and frequently very creepy. This is a standalone novel--something which seems increasingly rare these days--and it does a beautiful job of telling a complete story while leaving just enough lingering to let you know that the story is still going on after the book ends. This is a great new book for readers who enjoy old fashioned fairy tales, mature storytelling, and good writing.

The Hazel Wood is vivid, brilliant, chilling, and completely satisfying. Strongly recommend for teen book clubs.