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.

- Goodreads -

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is one of the books I've was dying to read, between the cover and the blurb, I thought this was going to be an easy home run for me, but now that I've read it, I've got mixed feelings about somethings. The main problem I had with it was that it fantasized kidnapping. It's a big part of the story, I just didn't care for the dreamlike feel that was written about the kidnapping. The only other problem I had with this book was that the balance of it was a little offbeat; other than that it's an enjoyable read.

The world she's written is great, the mix of dark and light. The way the stories within this book plays into the world is one of the best parts of this story. The mixing of a fantasy world into the real world is one of my favorite themes to read about. The characters fit together like puzzle pieces that play well off each other. Melissa's writing is beautiful, that's my favorite part of this book, and I will for sure be reading other books by her. It takes a bit to get into this story but it's still a good read.

I received a NetGalley ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn't in any way influence my opinion on it. So, this is a 100% honest review by me.