Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Published January 13th 2015

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 love Holly Black, she’s one of my favorite writers, so I was very excited to read this book. I loved the fact that it was standalone fantasy plus the cover is so pretty! I had seen some mixed reviews on The Darkest Part of the Forest so I didn’t have extremely high expectations. I ended up liking this book exactly how I thought I would.

The writing of this book is insane. There is hardly any books that I’ve read that can compare to the writing style of Holly Black. She has such a way with words and it’s so magical. I highly recommend checking out any of her books because she’s so talented.

The characters are so complex and well written and the story was so unique and flawless. I would compare  The Darkest Part of the Forest to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke, which is one if my favorite books of all time. I just loved the story and plot so much.

The one thing that I think could have been better was the world building. It kills me to say it but there was very little world building and I still don’t fully understand the world. At first I thought it was completely fantasy but things like iPods and Chapstick caught me off guard. I really wish there was better world building because I’m sure that the world that Holly created was beautiful.

Overall, I loved this book and would highly recommend it. The writing was out of this world and the characters were so beautiful. Ben is definitely a character that is going to stick with me for a long time. I would reread this book in a heartbeat and it’s jump right to the top of my 2015 favorites.