GoodRead - The Darkest Part Of The Forest

Ok, I am writing this in 2014 (the last of 2014, I think) but am leaving this to now due to the request from the publisher so, while I am writing this in 2014, you have to request that my opinion MIGHT have changed (if it has, I will note it at the bottom) but this is my reaction within a few hours of me finishing the book...

In the forest of Fairfold, there is a boy that sleeps in a glass coffin, never woken for generation. But this boy isn't a typical boy - he has horns on his head, ears as pointy as knives. He is a fae, and the town of Fairfold lives side by side with the fae. It's an uneasy existence - tourists believe in the seemingly harmless but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be. Her and her brother, Ben, know how to stop them.

Or used to.

One day, something shocking happens to the town of Fairfold: the horned boy wakes up and is gone. Both Hazel and Ben, both who were in love with the sleeping fae when they were children, have to find a way to save him and the rest of Fairfold. But something is happening. Something dark. Hazel spent most of her childhood pretending to be a knight and now, this is it. Her moment to be a knight in shining armour. But will it be enough?

This is my first real Holly Black - yes, I know I audiobooked White Cat, the first book in her Curse Workers series, but this is the first time I have read her - and I found myself feeling oddly mixed on this. There were things I really enjoyed over it but one or two things I found grated on me.

Let's start with the positives. I really enjoyed the story - I liked the idea of how a town would be if it had to live alongside the fae. What would the people be like and how would they cope and carried on with their "normal".

It was refreshing to have a fairytale-type story where we have a young strong female taking the lead and you have an LGBT characters and romance (which wasn't forced down your throat!). And with The Darkest Part of the Forest having a dark twist, it's not something you'll see in a Disney film anytime soon...

But, I had problems. Well, I had two problems. And am pretty certain these are "me" problems. The first was the writing style. For some reason, I didn't click with it in a way that other people have. And I'm not sure why. I liked this story, but I couldn't settle with Holly's writing.

My second issue is Hazel. I didn't like her for a while. It was over half way before I felt I could warm to her and understand why she did the things she did. But by then, I had wondered if the story would be better told from Ben's point of view or Ben's best friend, Jack. But once I got use to her, I liked reading her but, for me, it took a while to get there.

So while it wasn't a perfectly dark fairy-tale liked I hope, I think Holly Black fans will really enjoy this and I am intrigued to try another of her books... maybe The Coldest Girl in Cold Town as I know several book blogger pals who LOVE that book a lot!