The Night Country

A review. *with spoilers*

The Night Country. Where do I begin. Melissa Albert outdid herself with this stunning sequel to The Hazel Wood. Although this is only her second novel, she writes with a brilliant mind and a undeniable vision. I am sitting down to write this directly after finishing this novel because if I wait even a day, I might lose this intricately curated world with its many bends and twists. I believe it is only fitting that I give you a brief synopsis of this book ( In my own words). Alice Prosperpine escapes the Hinterland and tries, along with countless other ex-stories, to create a non-magical life for herself. It does not take long for this plan to backfire though, when someone is killing Hinterland survivors and taking away a piece of them. Two hands, Two feet, Two eyes, A tongue, A heart, and blood to cover it. Soon enough, Alice is wound up in a new tale. One of sacrifice, and new worlds, and hidden doors to them. All the while, Ellery Finch seeks adventure and maybe even a way back home. This book covers ever darker themes while delivering us a thrilling and unforgettable story. I fell into this book and was all too happy to dig myself deeper. As a reader, I only got to experience a small portion of what I can tell is a much deeper story. I was constantly on the precipice of understanding this bewitching novel and its full potential. Its story weaves through themes of growing apart and growing together while still tugging at the mind with its fantasy tropes and familiar feel. This book fits perfectly together with its original which I have just as high an opinion of. My issues while reading this book were few and far between but I do have them, as with any other literary work I have been graced with. My first complaint is that it was too difficult to follow at times. I am aware that the novel is supposed to make the reader feel as though there falling into something bigger than themselves but at times it felt a bit too big and that made the story less enjoyable for me. Other times however, I felt as though the novel were holding its breath and that made it a bit slow for me. For instance, the many times that Alice is described as feeling anxious, sweaty, jumpy or any other adjective you can come up with, she goes to get coffee, or to the bookstore to sit there for a while to do what is seemingly nothing. These areas of the book did not stimulate me the way the rest of the novel set itself up to do. Other than that I do not have any issues with The Night Country. Before I finish this up, I am going to give this book a rating out of 5 stars and give my final opinion. The Night Country gave me the falling out of family, and friends, the rekindling of love after a long time, a thrilling a dark tale to give me chills, and a story to recommend. That is why i’m giving it 4/5 stars. In my final conclusion, I think I can safely say this book is a worth any price and should be on the reading list for those people who enjoy dark fantasy, thrillers, and books that leave a resonance in their wake. I will be hard-pressed to forget a book such as this, and hope that any of you reading this, decide to plunge into the dark world that is The Hazel Wood, and The Night Country.