I absolutely loved the story. My only wish is that I had re-read The Hazel Wood beforehand as I had forgotten a lot of the details of the story. However, The Night County picks up momentum so quickly that you can recall enough to not feel as if you’ve missed anything without a ton of annoying flash back sequences. There isn’t any wasted space in this book. Nothing drags on. I really hope Melissa Albert writes another book in this series, but the ending left me satisfied with the storyline. I’d highly recommend this book if you like gritty fairy tales and imagined worlds.

Albert's world of unforgiving fairy tales swells to the perfect crescendo in this sequel to The Hazel Wood. Alice, an ex-Story, is trying her best to re-assimilate to a world that no longer feels familiar, while Ellery Finch is off exploring lands unknown. Alice may have left the Hinterlands behind, but the Hinterlands isn't done with her, and as other ex-Stories are picked off one by one, Alice will have to find the end of her tale, come ice, feather, or bone. The Night Country is a star-spun world of horror and wonder you'll want to live in forever.

Melissa Albert has written a great sequel. I was excited to read the Night Country and it’s everything I hoped and more.

Melissa Albert's sequel drops us right back in her meticulously crafted, raw, scary world. Despite Alice's best efforts to try to live like a normal girl after Finch's heroics sealed her outside the Hazel Wood, she finds herself drawn into the land's warped band of refugees. When she is blamed for a string of gruesome murders, she is forced to prove that she is no longer the monster she was in her old fairy tale. Top notch!

Melissa Albert continues to be the queen of fairy tales as she spins another unbelievable one. The Night Country didn't sweep me up quite like the Hazel Wood did but it felt great returning to Alice and Ellery Finch. Melissa Albert's writing feels like coming back home and I'd devour anything she wrote.

I think having reread The Hazelwood before reading the Night Country would have helped me put the pieces together a little quicker in this one. The characterization and setting continue to be Albert's strong suit, however, the side plot with Ellery didn't feel as developed as the rest of her work throughout the Hazel Wood and the Night Country. I just couldn't see where it fit into the bigger narrative nor did it give me the feeling that the rest of the plot gave me.

Overall, the Night Country sweeps you up into the world of fairy tales where nothing is what it seems.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

I was so excited to see this book up for review on NetGalley and started reading it immediately. For anyone who was concerned about opening things up again after the relatively perfect end of the first book, don't worry. "The Night Country" serves as coda and sequel, as well as leaving the door open for future stories.

"The Night Country" follows from the ending of "The Hazelwood". Alice has been living in New York City with Ella, trying to build a life as a normal teenager, despite still having connections to the world of the Hinterland (most notably through her sharp edged best friend Sophia). As the story goes on she is slowly drawn back into the world of stories. Finch, meanwhile, has been living in and exploring the Hinterland. He has friends there, and he doesn't really have many regrets, until the day that his actions in "The Hazelwood" start to unravel the rest of the Hinterland piece by piece.

I won't say much more about the story or characters just because I think the book is best experienced without knowing too much. This is a wonderful expansion of the world and characters from "The Hazelwood", and like that book it is full of bits and pieces of stories. The tales of the Hinterland are as much horror as fairy tales (not that there's always a difference), and they are no different here. There are a lot of things here that we don't get clear answers for, but this actually adds to the overall atmosphere, filling the book with the jagged edged pieces of stories cutting across Alice and Finch's personal quests. I was uncertain what to expect from a sequel to "The Hazelwood", but I adored this book and I hope that in the future we get more of Melissa Albert's dark and dangerous take on fairy tales.

I really liked the first book so i was very excited about the sequel. I really enjoyed this book and I was very entertained throughout. I will be recommending this series to my library patrons and my friends. Great book!

This book was received as an ARC from Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a fan of fairy tale books and traveling throughout each story just like the Book Jumper, Inkheart, and Jumanji and this book definitely fit in as well. A lot of our patron did love The Hazel Wood and enjoyed every page and I know they will not be disappointed with The Night Country. This book was filled with action, drama, conflict and excitement that will leave you at the edge of your seat and wanting to jump into the book and take the journey with Finch and Alice in searching for a way back home. Our teen book club will love this book and will read it in one sitting cover to cover.

We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Being a big fan of the first book Hazelwood, and a die-hard fairytale fan, I can say this was well worth the wait! To see what happens to Alice was the highlight of my week! I have personally hand sold Hazelwood to YAs and Adults in my store, and cannot wait till the release to push this book. Out of all the retellings close or loose I have come across, Melissa Albert weaves a beautiful tapestry for Alice's story.