Who could be behind such ghastly crimes and why?This is the sequel to the book The Hazel Wood, which I had enjoyed enough that as soon as I saw this one was published, I had to read it. However, several other ex-story characters are now also in NYC - and some of them have been murdered. Read moreĪfter her stint in the Hinterland, Alice is back in New York City and trying to be a 'normal' teenager. I think this book might have been more compelling if I didn't spend some of it a little confused. I recommend these if you're into dark fantasy and faerie stories but definitely read them back to back.

Finch's story is a little more interesting because he has a better outlook and is actively travelling into different worlds, and isn't all woe is me like Alice can get. Suddenly, in the middle of the book, we get every other chapter being from Finch's POV as he travels between worlds with a new character. There also were less characters as this centered on Alice and Sophia's friendship with the mystery plot going on in the background. This one was definitely a little more 'in the day of' rather than full of action so parts were a bit boring. Like the first book, and maybe even more because it's been so long between books, I really didn't care about what happened to these characters. I also enjoy that this is darker interpretation including some actual blood and guts. I really enjoy Albert's writing because it's whimsical without being over-the-top poetic or metaphorical like some writers can get when trying to write fairy tale type stories.

To be honest, I haven't read the first book since 2018 so I went into this one with very little memory of what happened before and relied on this book to remind me.

Melissa albert the hazel wood