The Night Country by Melissa Albert

The highly anticipated sequel to Melissa Albert’s beloved, New York Times bestselling debut The Hazel Wood!

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.

With Finch’s help, Alice escaped the Hinterland and her reclusive grandmother’s dark legacy. Now she and the rest of the dregs of the fairy tale world have washed up in New York City, where Alice is trying to make a new, unmagical life. But something is stalking the Hinterland’s survivors – and she suspects their deaths may have a darker purpose. Meanwhile, in the winking out world of the Hinterland, Finch seeks his own adventure, and – if he can find it – a way back home…

Okay, where The Hazel Wood left me wanting (review here), The Night Country redeemed. Albert’s sequel made Alice a far better protagonist and added depth to the motivations of the stories’ villains. Maybe, even a little more sense to the overarching story.

I still enjoy the interweaving modern-told story and fairy tales that Albert brought in her first book. There was a bit more to the plot that made the interwoven fairy tales seem more critical to the story. Even better, was the balance between happy and horrible in the sequel’s ending. Even though I felt sad about some of the books details, there was enough good-spirits at the end to satisfy me when I put it down.

Obviously, you have to read The Hazel Wood to really understand The Night Country but if you did and didn’t love it, I suggest giving Albert another try with her sequel.