Book Review: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

My Review:

Let me start by saying I won a copy of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert through Goodreads and I had entered to win it because the blurb reminded me a little bit of Wintersong crossed with Blood and Salt. 

Then let me say, as far as I read into it (which was only about 80 pages) it is not like either book. I saw all the advance reviews from popular authors on the ARC describing it as "creepy and captivating" and other rave reviews but to me this book was weird and bizarre - and not in a good way. 

My main issue with the book is that I couldn't connect with the main character, Alice. Her anger seemed to come out of nowhere and wasn't really explained as to why she was getting angry. There was the thing at the coffeehouse/cafe where she worked that some guy just wanted to make conversation and gosh you would have thought that was the rudest thing in the world. And her anger toward her stepfather felt misplaced. What was her issue with him exactly? I also couldn't tell if she was being friendly toward her stepsister or not. 

As for the other characters, I really didn't like any of them enough to connect with the story. You know how when you meet someone for the first time and you know you don't like them but you can't pinpoint exactly why you don't like them? That's how I felt about the characters in this story. 

I never got to the part where Alice (maybe? hopefully?) finds her grandmother's estate or her book or whatever so I can't honestly tell you how that played into the book. If I had to guess I'd tell you Alice is probably a character out of her grandmother's book and she somehow managed to pull off a "Between the Lines by Jodi Picolt" thing where somehow she came out of the book into the real world. But that's just a guess. I don't know if that's what happens or not. 

Overall, I could tell you a couple books I could compare The Hazel Wood to that it didn't live up to, but I can't tell you much about the book itself other than I didn't like it. It comes down to would I buy a FC for myself or a friend? No. 

My Rating:

No Rating (DNF)