Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Series: Standalone
Author: Holly Black
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Pages: 328
Format: ARC
Received: Borrowed from my lovely co-blogger Rachel, Thank you!
Published: January 13, 2015 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Stars: 4/5
Book Description:
Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for. Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking. Until one day, he does… As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
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Review:
Holly Black is definitely an auto-read/buy author for me. The Darkest Part of the Forest is beautiful and strange. It is unlike any book that I have ever read. This was definitely reminiscent of the Spiderwick Chronicles that she co-wrote and I adored this book. I loved that it was a standalone and wrapped nicely.
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a mix of paranormal and fantasy in that the people in this town, Fairfold, know about the Faerie realm and the two races live together, far from harmony but with an understanding. This story follows a pair of siblings, Hazel and Ben, who are entranced by this sleeping Fae prince. The story evolves as the prince is awoken and an evil is set loose on the town.
I loved Hazel and Ben. They were wonderfully dynamic and had such interesting backgrounds. We had a full picture of their home life and why they did what they did. Both characters are diverse in certain ways and defied the norm for YA. Hazel deals a lot with slut shaming and Ben is gay. They weren't what this story was about though but just parts of themselves that they had to deal with along with faeries.
The romance was really great in this book. We have both main characters in relationships that was written so well. Ben and the Prince was just perfection. I loved Hazel's romance as well but it was also great to see a heroine in YA being able to stand up for herself in ways that she didn't need a male, especially in a paranormal genre.
This is Holly Black we are talking about. Anything she writes will be phenomenal. the plot was fantastic and it weaved together brilliantly. It was one of those shockers when you realize what was actually going on the whole time. The Fae and fantasy aspects again were brought to life splendidly and made this book truly magical to read. The tone was one of the best parts of the book because it was beautiful, dark and strange.
I highly recommend this book. You must read it!
Have you read The Darkest Part of the Forest? What did you think? Is it a book you are excited to read?
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a mix of paranormal and fantasy in that the people in this town, Fairfold, know about the Faerie realm and the two races live together, far from harmony but with an understanding. This story follows a pair of siblings, Hazel and Ben, who are entranced by this sleeping Fae prince. The story evolves as the prince is awoken and an evil is set loose on the town.
I loved Hazel and Ben. They were wonderfully dynamic and had such interesting backgrounds. We had a full picture of their home life and why they did what they did. Both characters are diverse in certain ways and defied the norm for YA. Hazel deals a lot with slut shaming and Ben is gay. They weren't what this story was about though but just parts of themselves that they had to deal with along with faeries.
The romance was really great in this book. We have both main characters in relationships that was written so well. Ben and the Prince was just perfection. I loved Hazel's romance as well but it was also great to see a heroine in YA being able to stand up for herself in ways that she didn't need a male, especially in a paranormal genre.
This is Holly Black we are talking about. Anything she writes will be phenomenal. the plot was fantastic and it weaved together brilliantly. It was one of those shockers when you realize what was actually going on the whole time. The Fae and fantasy aspects again were brought to life splendidly and made this book truly magical to read. The tone was one of the best parts of the book because it was beautiful, dark and strange.
I highly recommend this book. You must read it!
Have you read The Darkest Part of the Forest? What did you think? Is it a book you are excited to read?
I haven't read any Holly Black yet but the more reviews I read for this one, the more I think it'll be my first book by her that I'll read. I am not usually a big fan of faery books, but this one sounds intriguing enough for me to want to check it out!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Absolutely wonderful story! Holly Black has not failed me yet, and I don't see it ever happening. The Darkest Part of the Forest was an intriguing, interesting, beautifully written story and I honestly loved every single second of it!
ReplyDeleteI read this book recently and loved it!! It was a great story and I'm actually kinda sad it's a stand alone haha. It was my first Holly Black book - I def need to read more!
ReplyDelete