ARC Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest Author: Holly Black Published: January 13, 2014 by Little Brown Books (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: 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?

*** I received a copy of this book free from the publisher at BEA for an honest view in return. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

The Darkest Part of the Forest was... satisfying. There wasn't anything specifically bad about this book but I wasn't blown away. I still did really enjoyed it however.  From the complex world, to the dark and ominous tone, to the likable characters, there was a lot to really like about it. In The Darkest Part of the Forest, Holly Black created a story that was engaging and interesting.

One of the things I liked most about this book were the characters. Holly did a fantastic job developing characters that are both unique and interesting. The cast of characters in this book is as vast as they are quirky. I'm not entirely sure who to say the main character of this book is because things are pretty evenly shared between four different people. Arguably the MC is Hazel, the tough and smart female protagonist. But that would be taking away from her brother Ben who is just as plucky and intelligent. Both characters are independant, determined, and full of secrets. Throughout the book I really enjoyed following along with them as they discovered the truth about themselves, each other, and what was happening in the town. And they were only the tip of the iceberg. There's also the faeries. There is Jack, Ben's best friend who is a Changeling and may have even more secrets then the others, and of course the mysterious "Boy in the Glass Coffin." And those are just the "good guys." (more on the "bad guys" later).

And speaking of these characters, it'd be a shame if I didn't mention one of the things I really liked about this book, the romance. It was complicated but not a love triangle. It wasn't insta-love but it was insta-attraction. It felt realistic and genuine. It wasn't entirely a slowburn, but it was the kind of romance that builds with the story and characters. And even though they didn't really get together until the end, there were some ship-worthy kissing scenes along the way.

But it wasn't all sunshine, daisies, and kissing scenes in this book. In fact it was pretty much the opposite. I mean this book was full of mystery and intrigue. The twists and reveals in this book, while not entirely shocking, did capture my interest throughout the entire thing. But what drew me in and what kept me reading however was how dark and ominous the story was, a fact that was punctuated by both the tone and world of this story. A year ago I had an extremely stereotypical view about faeries but this and many other books have shown me that faeries can be quite dark. And boy are these faeries dark, and murderous. Holly did a phenomenal job in creating a Low Fantasy world dripping with mystery and suspense. Fairfold is a town where faeries inhabit and run amok. And with that, Holly created some amazing antagonists that were deliciously diabolical. All of this worked together to create a setting and world that I loved reading about and was so captivating.

But maybe my favorite thing about this was the plot development. It was full of action and adventure and really built to a thrilling conclusion. The book was shorter than most of the books I read but with Holly's impeccable writing and plotting it was a very dense 320 pages. There was so much going on and incredible pacing. Everything slowly built to a thrilling climax. With all the big reveals and the thrilling action and fight scenes I was on the edge of my seat until the very end of the book. It was a classic fairy tale style book with "save the world" and "good versus" evil kind of vibes, but it still felt unique and creative. Holly's writing also made it incredibly visual and engrossing. I could lose myself in the story. This was the first book I have read which was written by Holly Black and while I wasn't entirely blown away, it did show me how brilliant Holly is as a writer. The plot of the story was intricate and engaging, that combined with an ominous world is something that I loved,

I give The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black a 8.5 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. The Darkest Part of the Forest is a mysterious and dark Low Fantasy with likable characters, an intriguing world, and a thrilling plot. It didn't blow me away but it was an enjoyable read that fans of Magical Realism and Young Adult Fantasy should check out.

Have you read The Darkest Part of the Forest? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!