Satan Reviews- Books: The Darkest Part of the Forest

The Darkest Part of the Forest

Holly Black

Indigo

Warning: Spoilers



At first this book didn't really grab me. I guess it wasn't boring or poorly written, it just wasn't very exciting. It seemed to spend a long time world building and establishing a past for Hazel and Ben, especially on their parents ignoring them to the point that could easily be considered abuse and other adults then turning a blind eye.

I'm pretty sure over 50% of this book was flash backs, it wouldn't have bothered me as much if they didn't repeat the same points over and over again with different circumstances.
1) Probable child abuse
2) Hunting of the Fairy folk
3) Ben and his music.
4) A combination of all three.

The romantic subplots were briefly touched and then we were bombarded with it all at the end. We all knew that Hazel would end up with Jack with a tag line featuring the phrase "true love" but I feel as if that tag line applied more to Ben and Severin's relationship because it had more of a link to the fairy tales this book loved, which was a pleasant surprise. I was fully expecting there to be an annoying love triangle with Hazel, Jack and Severin, but I was given this gift. Yay for positive, if a little too low-key, representation for gay men. It's a shame there wasn't more of it as I was more invested in Ben and Severin's relationship all thirtyish pages of it than Hazel and Jack's relationship because it wasn't your typical hetero nonsense

The villain felt a bit flat. They had no real motives other than they were an arsehole and a terrible father, but he wasn't the only terrible parent and they weren't vilified at all.

I swear nothing happened for most of the book. There was lots of world building for the first two thirds of this book and then all hell broke loose in the final third.
I feel as if the hatred towards Jack is the same kinda thing X-Men face as fictional minorities who aren't actually minorities if you catch my drift. They're treated as minorities even though they're white, straight, cis and able-bodied, so in some ways really aren't. I also feel as if this town, considering they've apparently been dealing with the fairy folk for years, have no idea how to deal with the fairy folk. They have a set of rules that they all seem to ignore from time to time, it makes you question how they're mostly all still alive.

Hazel can apparently do no wrong, according to the author. Her only faults seem to be recklessness and the ignorance of other's emotions when appropriate. She doesn't seem to care about any of the boys she kisses which is fair enough, but would you honestly snog your friend's ex even if they told you to? Honestly? You really wouldn't think that would cause tension between you and your friend at all?

Overall, this book was meh and first and got a lot better the closer it got to the end. This is probably because the amount of flashbacks decreased the closer it got to the end. Although the ending was a little anticlimactic, but it did tie all loose ends together.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.