THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST by Holly Black

Rating: A nutshell full of magic

Highlight of note: Holly Black's trademark creepiness meshes with a surprising amount of sweetness.

Will you read more by this author? Absolutely. This book wasn't going to change that in either direction though as I have loved many of her books before and am fervently awaiting the conclusion of a series of hers.


I don't know how I missed this book when it first came out, but I'm glad I've remedied the gap in my reading.

As I said above, this book retains Black's normal creepiness but adds something innocent and pure. Something that, oddly enough, never gets tainted. The main character is a human named Hazel who has made a deal with the Elderking that I shan't get into the details of since it isn't known at the start of the book. Along with her brother, she has spent years romanticizing a faerie prince who sleeps in a crystal coffin near her hometown. Then the prince awakens and the siblings, along with a changeling friend, find themselves in the middle of a heck of a lot of faerie drama.

I found the characters likable, perhaps more so than Black's usual offerings. There are two romances present, both of which I believed and pulled for. (And one of which was a same-sex pairing if that details important to you.) Hazel's brother was perhaps a little melodramatic, a classic tortured musician type, but it worked for him.  Faerie changeling Jack seemed particularly touching to me, quietly struggling with a duality of nature. The Elderking does lack a bit of depth as a villain, but he's given little enough page time for there to be an implication that maybe there was more going on with him and it was just never revealed to our party.

The story is strong with a plot that is cohesive and moves at a decent pace. I did feel a little disengaged for most of the opening half, but the second half pulled me along quite well. The conclusion is solid, leaving it clear that life is going on but still making us feel like we've witnessed the full story. And it ends on an optimistic note that I approved of.

Holly Black's faerie stories take place in different kingdoms but in the same world. Her current series mentioned the sleeping prince in passing and there is some hope that the characters from this book could appear elsewhere as this is something that has happened with other characters from the universe. I'm hoping to see them again, but I'm also okay with leaving them to their lives.

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Below you'll find the notes I took as I read. Clearly, they contain major spoilers.

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Notes

9% Very interesting... I wonder what stupid thing Hazel had to give in her bargain.

22% Maybe it's just me, but I don't think I'd be hanging around waiting for this horned guy. The siblings seem to be assuming he's not dangerous.

24% Wow. Kid broke his hand because he thought playing music while upset killed someone. That's extreme. I mean, he could just refuse to play while upset. Or did he think not being able to play would get the family to move?

36% A girl with plants growing out of her mouth and an uninvited kiss from a reawakened prince. Interesting stuff, although I'm not feeling overly invested in any of it. I do wonder if Severin really knows as much as he claims.

38% Interesting tidbit about Jack using his glamour on people. And having liked Hazel in the past (I thought there was something of a "I'm not going to play because I want you to actually care about me" thing going on with their kiss at the party.) I want to see more of Jack.

46% School attack was creepy as hell.

52% Whoa. Hazel's a faerie knight by night? That's groovy. And scary since she has no memory of it.

63% Jack has finally mentioned being in love with Hazel. She really should return the favor. Although that smile... Maybe he knows.

65% I'm really loving the dynamic between Ben and Severin.

72% Interesting way to defeat Sorrow in battle. I wonder what she'll do now. Is she better forever? That seems too easy.

79% A little disappointed not to see the scene with Knight Hazel. I assume that's for tension.

83% Severin's declaration of love is super-sweet.

90% I still really like Jack. :)

91% THE END (The rest of the book is previews for other works that I have already read.)
It's a good ending. A little more of an optimistic happily-ever-after than Black usually offers, but I'm more than okay with that.