"In The Night Country, Alice Proserpine dives back into a menacing, mesmerizing world of dark fairy tales and hidden doors. Follow her and Ellery Finch as they learn The Hazel Wood was just the beginning, and that worlds die not with a whimper, but a bang."

-Welp, If you read my first review on book one, you would know that I loved the first half of the book, and haaaated the slow dragging of the second half of the book. Night Country is the second book in the series. The story takes us to where is Alice Two Times in New York with her life after Hinterland. Book was very slow and writing was very slow. I couldn't get into it. Book was really a Meh for me.

The Hazel Wood was one of my favorites when it first came out. I loved being transported into a world that existed right beneath our noses. When it was released that there would be a second book I had to get my hands on it. Thank you to Netgalley for granting me a copy. The Night Country was exactly what I needed in a follow up story line. I'm not going to say it was better than the first but it is definitely on the same level. Albert produces another amazing story with characters that will stay with you after you've read the last page.

I volunteered to read this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This author has done it again with the sequel to The Hazelwood. I enjoyed the Hazel Wood and i have enjoyed this book as well. It is well written and the characters are described well. This story will let you feel as though you are walking alongside the characters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. There is language in this book.

Alice is back! With the help of Finch, she managed to find her way back to her world and defeat her grandmother's legacy and the Hinterland. But when she escaped, so did the survivors of the Hinterland. Alice is trying to set her life on a normal path, one that lacks magic and has nothing to do with fairytales - but when something starts hunting down the Hinterland survivors - Alice can't ignore the signs that something nefarious is at hand.

Drawing on the darkness that fairy tales stemmed from, Melissa Albert absolutely knocked this sequel out of the park! I'd go as far to say that I liked it better than the first novel.

I gotta say, this one was an interesting follow up to The Hazel Wood. Between the Hinterland beginning to die off with Finch in it and Alice trying to acclimate to life in NYC as an ex-story, things definitely stayed interesting. I was a little sad to see how much Alice had changed since leaving the Hinterland. She had no more of her usual snarky spark since the ice from her story all but left her.

It's weird but nice to see a level headed Alice trying to simultaneously dodge a story murderer and deal with the drama that comes with the NYC community of ex-stories while balancing her actual human life somewhere in between. Again the tone and language of the story was really entrancing and poetic, and I really liked that it was consistent with the first book.

Something I didn't quite like as much was how happy the ending was. I was really expecting something a little more grim, but to each their own on that topic. I wasn't mad though, it was kind of nice that Alice and Finch finally caught a break from all the bs. I'm giving it 3 stars for the consistency of the tone and the interesting world building, although I do wish the stakes were a little higher.

I'm such a huge fan of Melissa Albert and love the Hazelwood series. Her ability to blend mystery and romance is magical. I've recommended this book twice on my podcast, What Should I Read Next? to two different guests with different tastes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 STARS

Wow. Such a unique story. I liked this one even more than the first book. Very dark, eerie and mysterious. I felt the beginning was a tad bit slow, but from about 20% in, the story picked up and I couldn’t put it down.

Very well-written. Great world-building, and I loved the different POV in this sequel. I liked Alice a lot more in this book. She knew herself better, and was much more confident in who she was and her decisions. I loved this ending WAY more than the first book. Overall very well written and both books flowed together well. Highly recommend.

Much thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

“‘You still think you live in a world where girls will lie down for you and show you their throats.’”

“‘Now lie down, and show me your throat.’”

After escaping The Hinterland and her story, Alice is back in New York with her mother, just trying to make a new life for herself away from the magic and fairy tales. But after time paces, Alice finds herself drawn back to the ex-stories of The Hinterland as random murders begin targeting those who have escaped. With no explanation as to why, Alice tries to hunt down the culprit. While worlds away, Finch is in the Hinterland and it is tearing itself apart. With so many stories leaving, black spots and wastelands begin consuming what is left of the magical and eerie world. As he looks for a way out, and possibly a way back to his world, Alice and Finch’s paths come closer and closer together to crossing again.

"Little mouse

Scratch scratch

Hasten to your home

Lock and latch, do up the catch

And pray that you’re alone

Little spider

Twitch twitch

Run to steal the gate

Weave and sew, stitch stitch

Pray it’s not too late.

Alice is back, and things are as creepy as ever."

So it has been two years since Alice returned to the human world (is that what it’s called?) and she has turned her life into one of productive normalcy. She spends time with her mother Ella, works at a quirky bookstore and hangs out with her best friend Sophia. Well, technically Sophia is Hinterland and had that whole fun tale about stalking Death (you go, girl) but you get the idea-Alice has turned a new leaf. Gone is the angry, murderous, black-eyed frost princess! Or…so we think.

“‘Look at me,’ I told him. ‘Look at your destruction.’”

In this installment, Alice is having difficulty completely forsaking her Hinterland side. As much as she wishes to leave that side of her life in the past, for her sake and Ella’s’, Hinterland seems to seek her out wherever she goes. Suddenly random murders begin happening, with each victim having a limb missing from their bodies. A left hand, a right hand, left foot, right foot, eyes. Oh yeah. Super fluffy stuff, huh? But what makes everything ten times worse, is that the killings begin to resemble traits from Alice’s old abilities of frost.

Dun Dun Dun.

Alice is a bit more tame in The Night Country, but we get to see some of her old side spark back to life as well. I’m not going to lie, I do miss the old sassy and fairly angry Alice who wanted to scratch everyone’s eyes out, but this version is nice…if you like that “tame and reformed” type of thing. Basically the entire book follows Alice as she struggles with her identity and tries not to get killed. Sinister creatures from Hinterland now run rampant through New York, toying with humans and going unseen. But no matter what Alice does, she can never escape Hinterland. Because she IS Hinterland.

Though there are Hinterland creatures where Alice is, we really don’t get to witness a lot of the magical and strange imagination that comes from that world. Thankfully, the story flips over to Finch and we get to partake in his world jumping. As Hinterland starts to crumble, and people begin to panic to find a way out, Finch meets a traveler who promises to help him get back to his world after they do a bit of world jumping. He agrees, and THIS is where we really get to see the creative side of this author again.

“There were patches of sky where the stars moved like living fireworks, creeks where girls with corpse-colored skin and dirty hair sang like bullfrogs and watched him through hungry eyes.”

I am still so impressed with how the author comes up with tales within a tale, and ties everything together so flawlessly. It is so much fun picturing these worlds and strange creatures in my mind. A place of huge walls of books that contain thousands of stories, and gadgets like a pen that sends messages right to the desired recipient or a mirror that would show you what your true love was looking at. The world building through each door is so creative and wondrous, and all I want is to see these stories come to life in movies!

Without giving too much away, I’d have to say this was a very enjoyable sequel to The Hazel Wood. Though Urban Fantasy isn’t really my thing, which is more what this book falls under, I found it to be a great story but not as addicting as the first book. Don’t get me wrong though, it was full of eerie and creepy happenings and I was loving the dark atmosphere that New York found itself in. It was twisted and murderous, which I love. But, I still think The Hazel Wood was my favorite of the two because it was like diving straight into a fairy tale.

I’ll leave you with this gem:

“I’d opened my eyes and found Finch standing in front of me, looking at me like I was a door, too.

The kind he wanted to walk through.”

I loved the first book so when I saw this one was available to review, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Let's start with the cover...ughhh. I love this! It gives you a sneak peek at what's to come here. We see glimpses of many different stories. Stories you'll love!




Melissa's writing is dark and enticing, pulling you in. Much like The Hazel Wood, The Night Country does not waste any time throwing the reader into a mess of action. Too often the sequel of a book falls just a little flat. This is not the case. I think I actually liked this one more. The plot was well thought out, this book more than one story. Instead, this is a story of stories...stories that grow and fall, end and begin. It is amazing and I love how the tales were twisted together. It is a tale of the collapse of Hinterland. I never once felt like the story was dragging, it moved seamlessly.




Finch is someone I was really happy to learn more about here. The boy who never came home... He is so good and sweet at heart but handles everything thrown at him. I will admit that I was a little disappointed that the romantic arc didn't end the way I thought it would. However, I love it at the same time. I'm not a huge romance person but I actually think I missed it a bit. It was refreshing to not have it shoved in your face though.  At times I did question the timeline of the story. It is said to take place after the first book. It seems almost as if it is occurring alongside the first book but we see this from Finch's POV. He really was my favorite character. I think there is a lot of potential here to make novellas of each story. We read of these tales defeating things, coming to the real world but we don't know the characters of the story. Sure, you could use basic popular tales but I'd love to really see some short stories exploring the lives of the other characters.




New faces and old accompany us through this dark tale. We really see the author's almost poetic writing style shine. With relatable characters, a fast pace, and a twisting plot, this is a wonderful read. It makes a bittersweet sequel to the first book. I do wish there were more dark, gothic, creepy tales here but it doesn't take away from the story.

While I seem to be in the minority, I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Hazelwood. I enjoyed it, but there was something missing and the ending felt rushed to me, so I was a little hesitant to jump at the chance to read its sequel, The Night Country. Overall, I thought The Night Country was okay. I still think the entire concept is brilliant, Albert’s writing style is absolutely stunning (some of those phrases could knock you out), and the general plot was intriguing, but this book felt super surface level to me. I never got the feeling of being absorbed into this world as I did in the first book, and I felt very disconnected from the characters throughout. While the overarching plot was interesting, a lot of it felt muddled and jumpy which only added to the disconnect. I also wish there was a more concrete explanation, or discovery, of how the rules of the magic systems in this universe worked. It oftentimes didn’t feel like there were any, which left me confused as to how certain things happened. The concept of this story is just so clever and I wanted to be able to delve deeper and fully immerse myself into it, but something held me back from being able to do that. I have enjoyed my time with The Hinterland, but this one felt a little lackluster to me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Melissa, and Flatiron for an advance copy of The Night Country.

Quite the glow up from The Hazel Wood, which I really struggled to get through. The idea was so cool but the execution wasn’t there. That’s the main reason that I requested the sequel on Netgalley - 8 wanted a redemption song and I got one.

This book is a full length sequel but it feels like a novella, in the best way. Not much seems to happen, but a lot does. We get more backstory, more character building, more stories from The Hinterland and a satisfying ending.

My Thoughts : I'm always skeptical about sophomore books regardless of how good or bad the first one was. However, I did set the expectation bar a bit high on this. My fault. It wasn't bad, but at the same time it missed the mark for me on so many levels. I thought maybe because I'm not the targeted demographic. I thought perhaps I should have refreshed my memory by rereading The Hazel Wood . I even thought, that perhaps I wasn't as smart as the average bear to get it. Welp, my darlings none of those thoughts were valid. Unfortunately, The Night Country just did not strike a cord with me. At all.

The Night Country picks up with Alice graduating from high school. The last thing I remember from The Hazel Wood was Alice riding a bicycle, in theory, out of the Hinterland. It's never explained how Alice and Ella (Alice's mother) reunite. In book 1 Ella is kidnapped, but I don't remember there being any mention of why. I can only assume that it has something to do with Alice. In The Night Country there is some mention of some dude that kidnapped Ella, but . . . yeah, that's it.

Do the characters seem real and believable?

LOL! When, I saw this question, I had to laugh. Let's talk about this for a quick moment. The characters are ex-fairytales. Except for two, Alice's mom and the bookstore owner. So, no, unfortunately the characters did not seem real and/or believable. I felt there was a deliberate attempt to keep them that way. They escaped the Hinterland to New York, which is another level of weird. I find it ironic that New Yorkers thought that these ex-stories were weird. They were not of this world, but they couldn't get back to their world and many of them weren't really coping.

Plot- or Character-Driven?

The Plot. I wish I could tell you what that really was about, but I can't; so we're just going to let that go. If I figure it out I may update this. But please don't hold your breath.

There was definite Girl with the Dragon Tattoo vibe going on when Alice was on the train. Someone attacked her and she got all ninja on them. I will have to say, for me, that was the best part of the book.

It was definitely character-driven. Most of the characters are static. However, we do see a change in Ellery Finch and a little in Alice.

And, I tell you, that damn Alice-three-times got on my last nerve. I didn't particularly care for her in the first book, but I chalked that up to teenage angst. And, I didn't like her in this book either. I had hopes that she would have grown up at least a little after her Hinterland experience, but nopity, nope, nope. She's still stubborn. She doesn't listen. It's all woe is me. She's still a brat. She's still annoying as f**k. Now, I know this is Alice's story, but I was really hoping she'd get killed or run away and Sophia would become our main protagonist. But we can't have everything, can we?

Speaking of characters. In the first book, The Hazel Wood Ellery Finch was a character I really liked and was killed early on. I was pretty pissed at that, because I felt he was going to be the character that redeemed the book. In The Hazel Wood we did see a little more of Finch in the Hinterland, but not enough to even remotely flesh out his character. Albert brought Finch back in The Night Country. Yay. Not yay. Not yay one little bit. He was an ex-pat to the Hinterland and apparently taken in by some ladies (can't remember their names). I thought for sure Finch's story would be fleshed out some more. But nope. It was discovered that he's been in love with Alice and somehow he's able to get letters to her from the Hinterland to our world.

My favorite character in the Night Country is Sophia. She's a firecracker, a bit odd (but all ex-stories are), no nonsense and if you don't want your feelings hurt don't ask because she's going to tell you like it is or even if you don't ask. I definitely wish I had more of her. A lot more.

How well did the author build the world in the book?

Alrighty then, here we go. The world was NOT built. So, The Night Country wasn't actually brought up until Chapter 26 about 67% of the way through the eARC. In my humble opinion that's pretty late. I kept wondering what is this so-called night country. I kept looking for clues as to what it was or it's whereabouts, but alas nothing. Goose egg. Zilch. Zero. Zip. And, then Chapter 26 happens and we get one line to explain it all.
That world is called the Night Country, and in its fertile air children rebuild their kingdom as they please, simply by dreaming it up.

Well, I have to admit that's pretty succinct. It's mentioned a few more times, but . . .

Anyway, Ellery, Ellery Finch who is killed early on in The Hazel Wood and is an ex-pat of sorts in the Hinterland even tells his traveling companion he doesn't get it. Now yes, this was another part in the book that I thought I was a bit dull or just don't get the fairytale premise because I did not get this whole Night Country business either. And the other times it was mentioned, I have to admit that I didn't particularly care what it was or where it was.

Would I recommend this book?

Yes and no.

Yes, if you're into dark YA fantasy that has pseudo-fairytale characters.

Would I read anything else by Melissa Albert?

Absolutely, I think she has potential. For me this was not her shinning moment. I do think this story had potential, but the execution left a lot to be desired. And, I would love to see how she and her writing grows.

The Night Country is a lush sequel that somehow trumps the Hazel Wood, even though I did not think it was possible. Alice's adventure in this book reflects on what she has been through in her life while continuing her story in a true and exciting way. This series will always be a favorite of mine!

The Hazel Wood reminded me of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and this is more like Fables, where fairytale creatures are now trying to eke out a normal life in New York City, and not wholly successfully.

I really enjoy the overall vibe of these books; they're creepy and dark and when Albert tells one of the Hinterland stories it truly feels like I'm reading a real Grimm-like fairytale.

However, like in The Hazel Wood, this one took me a while to get into. The ending, once we learn what a Night Country is, is pretty action-packed and exciting; but the bulk of the book, where Alice is trying to figure out the mystery to all these murders, just kind of seemed to stall. There isn't really the typical murder-mystery feel here until the end when the clues all of the sudden seem to come together. It's kind of...lackadaisical? Much more is spent on Alice's inner turmoil than the actual mystery.

That said, I really enjoyed Ellery's side of the story and wished we spent a bit more time learning about his adventures. They're all just kind of alluded to. Future novella maybe??

I did enjoy the originality and uniqueness of this sequel. I did not enjoy it as much as the first book in the series, but it was still good. It made sense that our heroine would be affected by her time in the Hazel Wood and would have to readjust to her new life. She seemed to make some really strange decisions, though, and several times I found myself wondering, "Why is she doing that?" All in all, I did like this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Hazel Wood.

Amazing follow up to the first book. The author is amazing at creating a new world, which the reader can fully emerge themselves into. The characters were very well developed making it much easier to continue reading and need to know more and more. It had some deliciously dark and creepy aspects, which I of course loved! Highly recommend to those who love an amazing fantasy!
Will make sure to buzz it up!

The Hazel Wood was a fantastic fantasy fairytale setting that I couldn’t help but love. It felt a little juvenile at times but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and love what you are reading. Melissa did a great job sucking me into the story again and again with her words, world, and characters. It was very hard to put down once I had it in my hands, when my lunch break was over when I originally read it, I was so mad. So when I heard she was making a second book to go with the Hazel Wood I was super excited. The Night Country was everything I loved from the original book and so much more.

Leaving the Hinterland gave so much more to the story especially when they turned up in New York, which is where I am from, and I love when fantasy novels are placed in my area. It gives a new dark feeling to what is just a simple New York and I love it. Finch and Alice continue on in the story in such a fantastical dark way that it makes everything so bright, if you get what I mean? The words, the story, the plot are so great that I can’t help but keep praising Melissa’s writing style. The story does not deviate from the darkness and it doesn’t try to be something new in the sequel which I find fantastic.

I love how the fairytales are interwoven into the story in creative and different ways as I get tired of the same thing over and over again. The Night Country is definitely a book to read and I will make sure to continue suggesting the series to my students whenever they are looking for something a little dark but very well written.

After escaping the Hinterland, Alice believes that she is free of the horrors that haunted her past and made it impossible to plan her future. Graduating from high school was never something that Alice thought she would do, but as the ceremony commences, she is reminded that as stories destabilized in the Hinterland others made it through doorways to New York City. Pulled back into Hinterland business, Alice learns that someone is killing her fellow ex-Story members by freezing them. Alice becomes the primary suspect, so she embarks on a quest to figure out what dark magic is causing someone else to kill ex-Story characters. Meanwhile, the Hinterland is disappearing, so Ellery Finch embarks on his own quest to find his way into other worlds and perhaps even make it back to New York City before it's too late.

To start, I did enjoy The Hazel Wood though felt there were some flaws, and therefore, I was curious where Melissa Albert would head in the second installment. I was not disappointed. In fact, I thought The Night Country added depth to Alice's and Ellery's stories in ways that I had not anticipated.

One challenge I had with The Hazel Wood was that it seemed to have a bit of a pacing problem. I really wanted to spend more time in the Hinterland and it took over half the novel to get to the Halfway Wood and the Hinterland. While Albert rectifies pacing in The Night Country, I also wanted to spend more time toward the conclusion exploring what it means to be in another world, specifically a newly built space. However, I felt like this need for expansion detracted less from my overall enjoyment in The Night Country. This seemed to be because I had already spent time with these characters and concepts in The Hazel Wood.

The Night Country does add more dimension to Alice's journey and growth trajectory. After learning the truth and leaving the Hinterland, Alice spends a great deal of the novel searching for her purpose. Attempting to find the murderer provides Alice with an immediate aim as does learning more about Finch's movement through other worlds. Though Alice and Finch were separated at the conclusion of The Hazel Wood, their bond remains and also provides Alice with a tether to the Hinterland and her past since she is indebted to Finch for initiating her break from her fairy tale story.

Finches journey gets much clearer about midway through the novel when we hear from him directly. Albert uses dual perspectives for about a quarter of the book to offer the reader a glimpse into what Finch has been doing, particularly as the Hinterland collapses. This helps the reader see how threads converge, particularly as the final quarter of the novel plays out. Finch also uses a magical artifact to communicate with Alice, a method which also helps define their relationship. As a reader, this was helpful since their relationship was left murky at the conclusion of The Hazel Wood, particularly after Finch broke Alice's trust.

Overall, Albert has built an incredibly interesting world in this duology, one that is both familiar and also wildly unique. I am excited to read Tales from the Hinterland and learn more about several of the individual dark fairy tale stories that provide the backbone for The Hazel Wood and The Night Country.

Title: The Night Country
Author: Melissa Albert
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Alice Proserpine escaped the Hinterland with her friend Finch’s help and returned to the “real world” and her life there, without Finch. But being back among the normal isn’t everything Alice remembers. Her mother misses the magic, too, but her longing for a closeness with her daughter is more than Alice can give right now.

Especially when others from the Hinterland keep ending up dead—and missing body parts. And everyone thinks Alice is to blame—except her friend Sophia and her mom. But Alice is determined to find out who is killing Stories, no matter where she must go and who she is up against.

I think I liked The Night Country even more than The Hazel Wood. These are dark stories about dark fairy tales and the prose is mesmerizing—and dark—enchanting the reader with every turn. Alice is an awkward character at best, but you love her all the same, and the mystery and magic from the Hinterland is dark, terrifying, and fascinating.

Melissa Albert is an editor and an author. The Night Country is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review.)

"What are we now, but the lost children of a dead world?" Thanks to main characters Alice and Ellery in the first book of the series The Hazel Wood, the Hazel Wood is dead, so what comes next? According to this latest tale, it is a life of the 'stories' (ie. young people aka characters from Alice's grandmother's original storybook who escaped when Alice and Ellery destroyed the Wood) as they try and find their way through a dark, yet oh so real, New York City. Without a clear review of the first book, I did find this second one a bit confusing at first and had to do some major reconnaissance to gain some knowledge; yes, I should have reread The Hazel Wood but one doesn't always have time, right? The 'stories' are struggling with real life, and some of them are winding up dead - who's doing it? Could it be Alice with the ice cold blood, or someone else? Where is Ellery and how is he going to involve himself in this story? I enjoyed this latest dark fairy-tale-esque book, but less so than the first.Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.