I didn't know it was possible for the world of <i>The Hazel Wood</i> to get darker, but it did. <i>The Night Country</i> takes all that is good and adventurous about that book and twists it around, then turns out the lights.

Alice has been irreparably changed by her time in the Hinterland. (Naturally.) She is jaded and wary now, and very alone. She avoids the other "characters" and remnants of the Hinterland in New York, not wanting to get caught up in the danger and drama that comes with being an ex-story. But her plans go awry when someone begins brutally murdering Hinterland refugees in an method that makes it look like they've been killed by Alice Three Times, and Alice is the only one who can clear her name.

Meanwhile, Finch (sweet, sweet Finch) is still in the Hinterland, witnessing it's dismantling from the inside, and trying to find a way back home - back to Alice.

I love this world that Melissa Albert has created. She takes the idea of the dark fairy tale and perfects it. I am definitely looking forward to more from her.

Amazing!! This follow-up to The Hazel Wood is everything I hoped it would be and it even leaves a door open for another book to follow.

Please note: This is NOT a stand-alone book. You will need to read The Hazel Wood to really appreciate this sequel.

Thank you yo NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available on January 7th, 2020.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. Unfortunately, I can only muster a like. The thing that originally drew me to The Hazel Wood was the creepy, dark feel of the fairy tales (I’m still dying to know the story of Twice-Dead Katherine). This book didn’t have that feel for me. The sense of something lurking just outside of view wasn’t there. While there are some messed-up story characters, they were much more straight-forward, which lessened their impact for me.

The plot is interesting, continuing with a new threat to the Hinterland, and the ex-stories who have left the Hinterland behind. Alice is one of the few ex-stories who has managed to eke a normal human life for herself, and many others resent her for that. Also, there’s a small matter of some ritualistic-looking deaths, and no-one knows who is responsible, or who will be next.

If you have read my review of The Hazel Wood (which you can find here), you’ll know that my biggest complaint was that the relationship between Alice and Ellery felt a little one-note. Again, in this book, the relationships fell a little flat. I think that’s just a character development issue that will improve as Melissa Albert continues to write, which I hope she does. Even though I didn’t love this book, Melissa Albert is a creative voice and I look forward to seeing what else she comes up with.

I adored Hazel Wood, and this sequel is also excellent. It continues the story of Alice along with others from the first book and additional Story characters who have slipped into the 'real' world. In Hazel Wood Albert created a series of fairy tales and an even darker fairytale world that felt as if it had always been there. With The Night Country she expands this world in a way that is rich and fascinating.
A more complete review will follow upon publication in January at variegatedpixieyarns.wordpress.com.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me receive an e-arcin exchange for an honest review.

When i saw this on Netgalley, i thought to myself that i was never going to be accepted into reading this book. Then i was. This books seems to be shorter than the first book but i didn't find any issues with that. This book is like The Diviners meets The Alchemist and it was good for what it was. I enjoyed this book a lot, but as you can see i rated this 3 stars. One word: ENDING. That ending really sucked. The Spinner seemed so intense but then ended up being beaten by a cheap way that i've seen executed in a better way in children's cartoons. It also turns into a romance which i really didn't like.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, I received an eArc of this book in exchange for a honest review.

The Hazel Wood was an amazing book. It was laden in atmosphere and surprise. I am happy to say The Night Country is the same way, but a bit different. Instead of taking place mostly in The Hinterlands it took place in our world. It was an engaging story once more and totally worth the wait.

This book was essentially told in two POVS. Mostly from Alice's but some from Finch's as well. Finch of course is not in our world. He is having his own adventures. He meets other people he goes on adventures with and yet he also misses ice and his home. Alice is busy trying to adjust to her new life, a d it is very interesting. Alice is a unique character. She's strong but also weak and she doesn't really know what she wants. I like Alice as a character. I think she's great because she is made of contradictions. It was enjoyable being back with Alice.

There are a few other characters like Sophia, and Daphne that we meet in this book along with Ella. They all have roles to play and Alice’s interactions with them are all different. This book didn’t boast a huge cast of characters but it worked for the few that it did have.

This book was slow paced. There are pieces of action sporadically in the book, but overall the main focus is on Alice and her feelings. It’s as if she’s on a journey of self discovery in between trying to figure out who is murdering stories. Alice's struggle with her place, who she is and its relation to the murders makes for a fascinating plot. You’re never sure what is true and what isn’t, because they are stories after all. There is something to be said for creating a plot that has a dual purpose. It was well done and I liked it.

I think like the first this book is going to be hit and miss for some people. Some are going to really love it and for others it’s going to bother them. Partially the writing style I think.

The writing style is incredibly descriptive and inner focused at parts. This can make it incredibly slow. I will admit at some parts I started to zone out because I was having trouble focusing. But I read it in pieces and it helped. The writing is good, don’t get me wrong. It evokes atmosphere and feelings. I enjoyed it for that reason.

Overall it was a great story and I really liked it. I think Albert is a fantastic storyteller who always draws me in. A really fantastic story all around. I think there is something to be said for doing a totally new riff off fairytales. I am so excited to see what Albert has in store for us next.

Dark and gritty full of twists and turns this book was quite the surprise because I didn't realize there would be a sequel to The Hazel Wood. I found myself swept away by the haunting fairy tale stories of the Hinterland in The Hazel Wood, and in this book it was nice to revisit characters and the feelings the first book evoked. Told after the events of the first book, Alice is adjusting to her life back in the world she was raised and Ellery Finch is lost to another world, having his great adventure. Plagued by a feeling that things are not exactly settled, Alice starts to question the world around her and the world she left behind. Dark, emotional and full of twists, this second book by grabbed me and didn't let me go until its conclusion. I adored the first book but really felt this one was even stronger! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for your honest opinion.

Better than the first book, and darker. What is the Night Country? How do you get there - or maybe the question is, can you get there? Finding out the answers is most of the fun, but sadly getting those answers is a bit of a chore thanks to the pacing (whole chapters virtually stop things dead). There are some great ideas here and I wanted to spend more time in the bookstore with Alice OR travelling with Finch. Smoothing out the action and pruning some of the hotel and scenes of people sitting around would have helped.

eARC provided by publisher.

I thought The Hazel Wood was hard to follow, but liked the ending enough that I wanted to see if I could connect better with the sequel. I definitely enjoyed The Night Country more, although I still found parts of it hard to follow. I again really liked the way the book ended and feel that there’s definitely an audience for this book.
Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A continuation of the story from The Hazel Wood. Alice Proserpine is back in New York City after escaping the Hinterland. But something (or someone) is coming for the survivors. And Ellery Finch is in a dying world, and trying to get back home. A dark, twisty fairy tale with unforgettable characters.

The Night Country did not disappoint! Alice finds herself living in NY with her mother, finding a job in a book store, and missing Finch, but not Hinterland, until...
What is a Night Country, you may ask? “A world built on carnage and sacrifice, made to order”
Highly recommend! Must read The Hazel Wood first!! PG13 rating for language
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!!

The Night Country is a satisfying conclusion to Albert’s The Hazelwood. Readers get to discover new worlds and revisit the same world that captivated in the first text. The Hinterland may be dissolving, but the Hinterlanders are finding new ways to adjust or not in The Night Country. Readers get to follow Alice, Ella, and yes, Ellery Finch, along with some old favorites from Book 1 (Janet and Ingrid) through New York and the Hinterland for one last spell-binding, Spinner-weaving moment of life, love, and humanity.

4.5 Stars

Following up the perfection of the first book would seem near impossible, but Melissa Albert delivers a dark and magical stunner yet again. Hinterland is the type of magic that the world deserves and it delivers as the magical cast-offs infiltrate and our favorite characters struggle to stay ahead of all the twists.

The plot of this sequel is still fluid and twisty and travels in unexpected directions but there were times I was completely clueless about the goings-on. The Hinterland is mysterious and hard to pin down but all the vagueness felt super vague to me, mostly in the middle of the story. I put the book down for a bit and finished it later. The last fifty pages pulled me back into the story and the ending was perfect for me.

Fans of The Hazel Wood and it’s strange darkness will delight in this book as well. I liked Alice better as a character in this one and loved Finch even more. Albert is an interesting writer and I will read whatever she writes next especially if the book cover gods are as generous to her. This book is gorgeous.

The sequel to The Hazel Wood didn't disappoint! I liked it a little bit better actually. The lush, descriptive writing created an awesome dark tale. Couldn't put this one down and was bummed when I completed it. Definitely will be rereading this one and buying a copy to add to my bookshelf. A gem of a book!!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of The Night Country that I was given in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was so incredibly excited to get the ARC of this book. I was in love with The Hazel Wood and have been counting down to the release of book 2. I absolutely couldn’t wait to see what would happen next in the lives of Ellery and Alice.

I am relieved to report that book two did not disappoint. The use of fairytale to build a new storyline was even more richly developed. The tension between Alice and her mother, Ella, was even more complicated and explored in more depth. It was honestly just more of everything good in book one. I cannot praise this book highly enough. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, and Flatiron books for the opportunity to read and review The Night Country.
I was amazed that The Night Country was just as unique a gem as The Hazel Wood. It is hard to write a second book that is equal to or better than the first in a series, but The Night Country is a dark gem. Alice is back in the real world attempting to adjust into a "normal life", but finds that nothing can truly escape magic. A beautiful fantasy novel that makes you fall in love with fairytales all over again.
#TheNightCountry

I'm not sure I've ever been as fond of a world as I am Albert's. What would read as a sort of magical realism is twisted and made sinister with a fairytale lens, and I can't get enough of it.

I enjoyed The Hazel Wood, along with many of my high school readers. I was excited to see this title available on NetGalley. I felt like the book moved pretty quickly and expanded well on the characters and storylines in The Hazel Wood. Nice combination of real-world/fantasy. A lot of my students loved Finch's character and they will not be disappointed with this sequel.

Fans of The Hazel Wood will not be disappointed by the sequel. Alice is graduating high school and has every intention of living a normal life, however, her Hinterland past does not make that easy. There have been murders which are working ever closer to Alice herself. Then it seems like the Hinterland blinks out entirely, leaving all of the former stories searching for answers. Answers come to Alice in the form of letters from Finch that find her mysteriously wherever she is. Finch is living his own dark adventure as the Hinterland dies and he escapes to new worlds. Many questions are answered in this volume, which does feel final for the characters. The writing is not as lyric and beautiful, but the plot is fast and the action is dark. Several new stories are introduced, which will make readers eager for the forthcoming Tales From the Hinterland collection. A must for all fans of the original.