Title: The Night Country
Author: Melissa Albert
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan Publishing)
Date published: January 7, 2020

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

Note: This book is part of a series, so there may be spoilers for a previous book/books in the synopsis below.

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…

⤖ My Review ⬻

I actually wasn’t too sure what this book was about until I picked it up and started reading. And before I go on, this is a good thing! It means that it didn’t matter what the book contained, but I wanted to read it because Melissa Albert had written it and it had some connection to The Hazel Wood. After reading The Hazel Wood, I wasn’t sure if the story had ended or whether it would continue. Then, I heard that we could get a collection of short stories/fairytales that were mentioned in the book. I was very excited for this and well…I thought that that’s what The Night Country was.

So, when I started reading The Night Country, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a continuation of The Hazel Wood! I had been wondering what had happened to the characters after the end of the first book, and while I was excited about the short story collection (which, it seems, Albert is still writing!) it was no continuation or explanation for what happened after The Hazel Wood. There’s not much else I can actually say about The Night Country without spoiling things other than that it felt like a very natural way for the story to develop, that the dark and lush elements (and tone) were the same as in The Hazel Wood (which is one of the things I enjoyed most), and that I’m happy with how the story played out!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Melissa Albert is the founding editor of the B&N Teen Blog and an editor at B&N Reads. She reads books, worries about strangers’ dogs (they look thirsty), and gets mad at people who block the escalator. You can find her on Twitter @mimi_albert.

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⤖ Let’s Chat ⬻

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS!