Publisher: Orion
Format: ARC
Published: 5th February 2015
Number of Pages: 272
Book: ARC*
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Faerie Tale, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Action-Adventure, YA
Recommended
Age: 13+
Contains: Violence, Swearing, Alcohol References
Author's
Site: Holly Black
Faeries. Knights. Princes.
True love.
Think you know how the story goes?
Think again…
Near the little town of Fairfold,
in the darkest part of the forest, is a glass casket. Inside lies a sleeping faerie prince that
none can rouse. He’s the most
fascinating thing Hazel and her brother Ben have ever seen. They dream of waking him – but what happens
when dreams come true? In the darkest
part of the forest, you must be careful what you wish for…
Review:
“Hazel
had seen a surfeit of faeries awfulness, but she was still lured by stories of
its beauty and wonder. She'd hunted them and feared them, but, like the
rest of Fairfold, she loved them, too...”
In the town of Fairfold, humans live
alongside the fae. The fae pray on naive tourists, but those who live in
Fairfold know the real danger of the faeries' magic.
Hazel and her brother Ben were born in
Fairfold to forgetful artists. As children, their imaginations reigned
supreme – they went on quests, fought monsters and even killed fae. But
what they did most of all was dream about the horned boy with pointy ears in
the glass coffin.
The boy has been there for as long as
anyone can remember, sleeping, never waking. Hazel and Ben used to dream
about him – about rescuing him, about him falling in love with one of them,
about how he is a prince and that one day he will wake up.
But then he does. He disappears from
the coffin. And everything changes.
A monster stalks the town. Wishes turn deadly. Panic spreads.
And the Alderking hunts for the horned boy - for the one who broke the curse...
I have been so excited for The Darkest Part Of The Forest – like,
ridiculously excited. So excited that I was terrified even the amazing
Holly Black wouldn't be able to live up to my hopes. Oh, how foolish I
was to worry! Holly, as always, blew me away. She delivered a
faerie story with a difference, something dark and beautiful and enchanting and
dangerous. It was intoxicating, addictive and so brilliantly Holly
Black! And I just... I freaking loved it.
Hazel was such a complicated character – I
was so, so impressed with the amount
of characterisation Holly managed to fit into one girl in one book. Hazel
was a character that really grew on you; you started off thinking that, yeah,
she was pretty cool, but by the end you were blown away by her strength and
bravery and foolishness and love and stubbornness and badassness.
Ben, I adored. The gay big brother
with a difference and a dark secret that broke your heart. He was so
sweet and clever and funny. I loved him! And I loved watching him
and Hazel, watched them get close all over again. He was an awesome
brother!
Jack – oh, I was so torn about him for
ages, because he wasn't really in the book that
that much. But then there was this chapter from his perspective and... I
totally fell for Jack. He made so
much sense and my heart hurt for him. He was complex and sweet and
funny and brilliant. Totally love him!
And as for the Horned Prince – or Severin, to
use his real name. Unfortunately, I found it hard to read Severin without
thinking Severus... Oh well. Severin intrigued me and I think I may
have become almost as infatuated with him as Hazel and Ben were. I really
don't know what it was about him, but I fell for him. He was... a prince: noble, loyal, brave, caring...
I loved him.
None of the characters in this book were
perfect – they were so far from it. And that just made me love them more.
Well, 'cept for the Alderking. Hated him. Wasn't fond of
Jack's elf mother either. But other than that, brilliant!
Holly Black is one of the most versatile
authors when it comes to writing style. She can write excitingly and
simply, like in Spiderwick. She
can write snark and angst, like in Curse
Workers. And she can write beautiful, simple and otherworldly prose,
like in The Darkest Part Of The Forest.
This writing... it was so very beautiful. Seriously: there was so
much backstory, so much description, but it was all just so beautiful and
perfect and enchanting that it was just... effortless, to learn it all.
This plot... it was just so unexpected!
I literally never knew what to expect. Just like the Folk, it was
unpredictable and freaking addictive. I couldn't get enough. The
action sequences, the fighting, were amazing.
The way Holly racked up the suspense was genius, wrapping fae magic up
with mysterious happenings, a mystery, fighting and an Alderking. It's
safe to say that I freaking loved it.
I adore the world Holly created so so much.
She's a master of writing fae – seriously, a freaking black-belted,
multi-award-winning master – and
The Darkest Part Of The Forest might
be my very favourite of her faerie tales to date. The idea of this town
living on the edge of a forest inhabited by wild fae was amazing – especially
when you added the horned boy in the coffin, the tourists coming to see the fae
and the fae doing all kinds of cruel things to the tourists because Fairfold
residents were off-limits. Yes, a fascinating, terrifying, beautiful,
breath-taking world indeed!
The
Darkest Part Of The Forest was pure magic – and far
exceeded even my highest of expectations, also managing to be something totally
different than your usual YA faerie book. In fact, it was the best
possible faerie tale imaginable; enchanting, magical, addictive, stunning,
unexpected, twisty. Full of fey, changelings, knights, kings, monsters,
friends and a very odd town, The Darkest
Part Of The Forest has left me both utterly satisfied and yet thirsty for
more of this special blend of magic. And, really, can you ask for any
more than that?
Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5
4½ Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
Happy Reading
Megan
* This
book was received from Indigo in exchange for an honest review
**
Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished
book
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