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 pointy 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 and a hero is needed to save them all, Hazel tries to remember her years spent 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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I enjoyed that this book had one foot in the real world and one foot in the magical world. These sorts of books are the books that really get my imagination going because they feel so real! I also like that it is a stand alone novel, and I didn’t have to commit to a whole series.
Holly Black is known for her twisted tales of the fey andThe Darkest Part of the Forest doesn’t disappoint. In this town everyone knows that the fey exist and they know not to deal in their business. All except tourist who visit and occasionally one or two goes missing. Don’t want to reveal more, but it is definitely worth reading.
At first it took me a minute to get into this, and I wasn’t sure… But! Once I was in, I was in! Also, can I just say that I totally envisioned the Horned Boy looking like Daniel Radcliffe in Horns!
Loved Hazel and Ben! Teens acting like teens is always a plus! Can I also just say I want to carry around Jack in my pocket. He was so adorable and …
Holly Black triumphs by blending the fairy realm with modern life in a charming, terrifying way. Her work speaks to the primal instinct that draws us back to childhood fears and nightmare landscapes by exploring terrifying realities in modern metaphors and iconic imagery.
“The Darkest Part of the Forest” features a strong female lead with an …
This would’ve been a great YA book even without the fairies: a story of siblings growing up in a dysfunctional family and surviving through the power of stories. With the fairies, it was excellent. Having read Cruel Prince first, this felt at times like a rehearsal of the idea of the human girl knight and her fairy prince, but with more likeable …
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This was an awesome standalone fantasy about the fae. Hazel was such a strong character. I loved her brother Ben too. The Horned Prince was a great character too. The story was intriguing. I would love to read more from this world.
I DNF’d this book 25% of the way through.
Unfortunately, I just don’t think Holly Black’s writing is for me.
This story is about a pair of siblings who have grown up around a mystery. An elven prince (they assume) has slept within a glass coffin in the woods for years. The local youth have parties out there, dancing, drinking, and making poor …
Any holly black book wins my heart.
Somewhere between a 3.5 and 4. This is a cute book. I like it as a Disney-like fairytale in comparison to The Cruel Prince being more Grimm’s Fairytales. The writing is great, the characters are likable, the plot is very Holly Black with twists and turns. It’s also clean — I don’t think there was a single swear word. It’s a book I look forwarding …
Hazel and her brother Ben live in a small town next to a forest where the Folk live – and their town regularly gets visits from the Folk, so everyone knows to leave out milk and to wear protective charms. And if tourists get snatched by the Folk? Well, then they were acting stupid.
Until the boy in the glass casket is awoken and even more …
I’d gone through 5 disappointing books and felt a reading slump coming on before I came to this one, and WOW! This is such an amazing read, I can’t even describe it. Holly Black is truly deserving of being called the queen of fae. They are terrifying. Plot-wise, I often thought I knew what was going to happen and then *surprise* no I didn’t. I …
Could’ve been a great read. Unfortunately, I won’t read novels supporting homosexuality. A main character was gay and that was disappointing. Sorry, Holly Black, I was really looking forward to this unique read. Really disappointed. 🙁
I loved this book so much I wished to be part of the story.
Actual Rating 3.80
I was a bit iffy when I started reading this book and wasn’t sure I was going to like this story all that much. But it very slowly grew on me and ended up not being half bad. I didn’t love it, but I felt that the story was unique and Holly Black has a way of creating the most interesting stories that are different than anything …
One of my favorite stand-alones from Holly! Great escape book!
I love Holly Black. The woman’s spawned an empire writing edgy urban fantasy for young adults. Born in 1971 in New England, she captures the mythopoetic allure of that landscape in her stories. I discovered her books a decade ago:
Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (Simon & Schuster, 2002)
Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie (2005)
Ironside: A Modern …
One of my all-time favorite books!
I loved the urban/fae spin. I had a few questions with some of the choices of the book, but mostly I really enjoyed it.
I loved this so much! Dare I say more than The Cruel Prince?
I really didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this, and I kind of preferred it that way. I can see why they call Holly Black the queen of Faerie!
Her writing pulled me in from the very beginning. It had a very magical feel to it. You can tell that she did her …