Such a weird, wonderful book. A forgotten victorian writer, a grieving academic and a creepy fairytale book are the main elements of a fantastic story, incredibly well crafted, just a bit slow in the pace.

The synopsis of this book had me expecting something completely different from what I encountered with this story. That being said I really enjoyed this slower adult fantasy.

At only 224 pages I expected to be able to finish this in a sitting or two. This is not a tale to be sped through. Rather it sits heavily on your mind and is meant to be sipped and savored rather than devoured. Long after putting this book down I would find it creeping back into my mind, its fantastic mix of fantasy, mystery, and family drama drawing me further in.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which Bailey introduced the fantasy elements into this book. They were not overpowering and the degree of certainty, or rather uncertainty, that they truly exist always matches the perspective of Charles as he muddles through his own tale. There is never a feeling of we as readers know more than the main characters of Charles, Elaine, and to a lesser degree Silva.

Another point that I was worried about after I began reading was whether or not the death of Charles and Elaine's daughter would make this an overly heavy, depressing read. At first this was the case but as the story progressed I never felt that the drama and sorrow were overly played out the way that some stories dwell on the death of a child so that there is nothing else. It was an important part of the story, but realistically handled in the way each parent handled their grief and how that does not always look the same even between partners in a relationship.

This would be a perfect read for adult fans of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince or The Darkest Part of the Forest as well as readers looking to recapture the magical writing of Katherine Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale) or Naomi Novik (Spinning Silver and Uprooted).

This story centers around Charles, a failed husband, father, and scholar who has a slight obsession with a Victorian children's fantasy author, Caedmon Hollow. Charles' wife is a long distant relative of Hollow, and after the death of their young child, they leave the States to stay at Hollow's remote English estate which his wife has inherited. While there, Charles digs deeper into Hollow's life on the grounds of writing a biography. What he finds is an eerie link to another world that may prove to be more than they bargained for. I really enjoyed the concept of this story. I felt the writing was very atmospheric and that you could really picture being in this small Yorkshire village, but overall I felt it was very slow. The bits that had to do with Hollow and the supernatural were interesting, but it just took a lot of time to get there. I felt like I had read the majority of the story before anything really happened. I was hoping for a dark, engaging Victorian-inspired story, but it just left me wanting just a little bit more.

At 35% I am DNFing the book. It is not for me. The characters are shallow, selfish and honestly need a good psychologist to help them cope with their loss and problems. I do not mean that the book is bad (it's actually quite well written, but writing alone cannot save it) - it just isn't for me.

I received a free e-copy of In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey from NetGalley for my honest review.

A tale about a couple, who is grieving the death of their young daughter. They move to a remote estate in England that the mother inherits, to escape the reminders. Some very strange and eerie things begin to happen. The couple begins to see thing. Are they really seeing these thing, creatures or are they so grief stricken they are seeing things. A very dark, eerie fantasy.

Every page of In the Night Wood was a balm to my soul. How could I possibly say that about a dark story involving infidelity, child death, attempted murder, and drug/alcohol abuse? Because Dale Bailey is masterful, that's why.

Dark stories like this are my favorites. They challenge me to look beyond real life to find the things that lie beneath it, those base emotions and actions that remind us humans are still animal creatures despite our abilities with logic and reason.

The prose is winding and eerily beautiful. I enjoyed all of the characters, each adding their own nightmares to the larger one surrounding them. Every scene is a dark one and is marred by each character's personal hauntings. Demon faces work their way in and out of each setting, reminding the reader of the thin veil that exists at Hollow House and within the Eorl Wood surrounding it.

Don't expect redemption at the end either. I think the ending is perfection because it stays true to the tone of the entire book instead of caving to the fairy tale mantra of 'happily ever after'. It was surprising too with its hellbent sprint to the climax, a rare quickness to the story that I think suited it well.

There are times when the story itself seems confused but it's not. The delusions of the characters, throughout the span of time, add to the shifting, warping nature of the story. The book, and the story, has its own demands that it foists upon the reader. I liked this a lot but I can see where other readers might be put off by it.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this book. This dark fantasy is a true treasure to those who like the haunting side of things and I highly recommend it to those who like to step into nightmares over running from them.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the author Dale Bailey for the opportunity to do so.

I found i couldn't relate to the characters and found it detracted from the story. This isn't to day the story is bad just wasn't for .me.

When I read the discription of In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey I thought this was going to be a great fantasy book. So I have to say I was a little dissapointed when there was hardly any fantasy element ín the book.

We follow Charles and Erin Hayden after the tragic loss oh their daughter. They move tó England. Because IT turns out that she is a descendant of the guy about whom Charles wants to write a biographie. Such coincidence. The book deals mostly with their grief. It's sas and I felt sorry for them but this book was supposed to be fantasy. There is this creepy wood next to the house and I liked the way Mr. Bailey succeeded ín making me creep out but sadly that was all.

I am giving 3 stars because I liked the idea and the Horned King.

One of the most creepily atmospheric books I've read in some time, Dale Bailey's übergothic In the Night Wood did not disappoint.

The lead character, Charles Hayden, is not an especially likeable person. I'm not sure whether this was intentional, but it's ultimately irrelevant in that one can nonetheless feel for him in his grief over his dead child. Charles' wife, Erin Hayden, is ostensibly an equal lead character and also has POV sections, but she lacks Charles' complexity, instead functioning as, basically, grief personified. She is little but a big ball of grief, and a sort of cipher for Charles to play off of.

There's a fascinating "literary mystery" in this book, wound up in the Haydens' personal tragedy and family history. I love the idea of the book within this book, and how the snippets of the former are is written as if it could have been an actual Victorian children's story. I love how it wriggles into Charles' mind, and apparently the minds of the local townspeople, in such a sinister way. I love how even though the narrative leans towards the legitimately supernatural, it's still more or less left to the reader to decide (like all the best Gothic novels!) whether to go with this interpretation, or whether to believe that the weird stuff is some kind of mass delusion, exacerbated by the legitimate insanity of grief.

What a magical, fantastic and wonderful fairytale book! Hope this book will be also translated into German? It was a great pleasure reading it and thank you so much for this magical opportunity!!! Poetically written and a very special ghost story ... You can´t escape out of this book ;-) ... It will came out October 9th! Watch out!

Not your average fairy tale story, In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey. A married couple who started off happily being pushed apart by the death of their child brought back to a house that has special meaning to both of them with a mysterious forest encroaching, that some say is haunted.

I requested this from Netgalley because I have read and enjoyed Bailey's short fiction. I never know how it will go then venturing into novel-length fiction, but this was really good - atmospheric, tightly plotted, emotionally affecting and satisfying. I respect when an author creates a beautiful beginning for a love story and then is realistic enough to admit that, given enough time, the most devoted of lovers will become susceptible to boredom and unfaithfulness. The underpinnings of betrayal, tragedy and the hope of forgiveness give a solid emotional heft to the story, while the folkloric and fantastic elements are woven into a nicely-building, suspenseful story. Recommended.

When I was about 10 years old, my aunt bought me the book The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. That book was part of a series of the same name that told of a family in England who were pulled into a supernatural fight between good and evil forces. It became one of my favorite series, and I still own those books to this day.

At various points throughout that series, the children see a large stag, and sometimes a man astride a horse wearing a helm with a stag’s horn upon his head. As I remember it, in the series, these sightings are evocative of the natural world, which does not fight with mankind on the side of good, but nevertheless seems to inherently stand against evil.

I bring up The Dark is Rising, because this book reminded me of that series. It is the story of a couple who moves to a house in the English countryside after the tragic death of their young daughter. The house is surrounded by a forest that they are warned is dangerous.

The parents are trying to hold their marriage together in the aftermath of the husband’s infidelity and their daughter’s death. They each begin seeing visions of a man wearing stag horns in the woods near their home, and mistake children in the nearby village for their dead daughter. However, the trouble within their relationship, and their own pain keeps them from acknowledging these visions to each other. At the same time, a young girl has disappeared from the nearby village, and the entire book is diffused with a sense of foreboding and evil which emanates from the surrounding woods.

Although the book’s finale is set firmly in the rational world, there is still a strong thread of the mystical and unexplained throughout the story. The man in the woods with the stag’s head is, in this book, a figure of evil that casts a shadow over the entire story, and although he also evokes the natural world, he is most definitely a dark figure.

I found this book scary and suspenseful, sad and hopeful. I am sure my enjoyment stemmed partly from the way it took me back to those books that I loved so much as a child, but I still think it stands quite well on its own as an eerie fantasy that still has one foot planted firmly in the reality of everyday life.

In the Night Wood tells the tale of a couple, grieving from the death of their young daughter, escaping to the wife's ancestral mansion in northern England. Both Charles and Erin see the image of their dead daughter wherever they look, and both see a mysterious horned figure looming in the woods beyond their home. This is a dark, spooky story that has some pacing issues. I wanted more excitement a little earlier in the story and for the tension to keep me going, but instead it felt more like a child's roller coaster than a thrill ride. That said, it's a beautiful tale, and the novel will appeal to anyone who has a deep love for Gothic fiction.

I have received a free copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children’s book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow’s remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn’t dead. As you can imagine dark and creepy things occur. In the primeval forest surrounding Caedmon Hollow’s ancestral home, an ancient power is stirring. The horned figure of a long-forgotten king haunts Charles Hayden’s dreams. And every morning the fringe of darkling trees presses closer. In the Night Wood is a fairy tale inspired dark mystery that foists upon the reader a foreboding feeling of unease as the author dangles unsettling clues along the way. I would recommend this book to those who liked The Hazel Wood, but In the Night Wood was more darker and creepy.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. for the arc of this book.
This book is a strange compelling read, about grief, old wives tales and hope, I did enjoy reading this, but it’s a heavy read.

I was immersed in this gothic tale. Charles Hayden and his wife move to England after the death of their daughter where Charles is embarking on writing the biography of Caedmon Hollow writer of Victorian children’s book. The story of a horned man who takes children as the scary book begins to happen in real life amid dealing with tragedy the story takes a fantastical horror turn . However this book realistically deals with death and how each of us reacts differently. An original gothic tale that belongs on any gothic fans shelf

In the Night Wood is a wonderfully atmospheric read. If you like contemporary stories with a bit of creepiness and a bit of fantasy, you should give this one a go.

What a fascinating novel - an excellent blend of traditional literature and fantasy in an entangled plot, reminiscent of Del toro’s gothicism and the forbidden forest of Harry Potter. I really loved the way the plot played out and the effort put in to the detail, but I felt like the book missed out a little due to the sort of shakiness. Awfully explained by me, but I felt like in some areas it wavered because it was not clear how it reached that point or why something happened. None the less an excellent story and one that surely will please many fantasy fans!

This is a book with great description, but not quite enough characterisation. The setting was rendered perfectly. The trees, the house, the bar, all were described in such perfect detail that I really felt I was there. The plot was a bit too slow moving to really keep me engaged, and I felt that some parts were a little repetitive. I really enjoyed the mix of fantasy and reality, however. It made this feel like a really deep psychological read, rather than simply gothic.

It was a good book, I enjoyed it, but overall I think it lacked proper pacing and could have used a bit more characterisation. That's all personal taste though, so it's definitely a book I'll be recommending.