Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black-- Restarting October 20th 2021

[Lee]

Maddison wrote: "Chapter 16 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ There was a lot that happened and I'm still not feeling it. I feel like I should be shipping people at this point and it's just not happening. (hide spoiler)]

[Lee]

Finished - I feel like I definitely missed a lot because I could never get into it. I thought I would like this more than I did and I'm left a little disappointed. I thought a town with faeries would be really interesting and it never was for me. (view spoiler)[ I'm glad that everyone ended up with who they wanted too and were happy. That's a positive to take from this. (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 1st of July 2018

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[Riddhi]

Well, it's 1st July in India.
So I am starting. Ari, you can read at your own pace.
13% (view spoiler)[
The first two chapters were a little slow.
I feel like Jack might turn out to be her love interest later in this book.

The 3rd chapter seems interesting. I am amazed by Holly Black's writing prowess.
The tourist encounters described here are surprising.
I can't believe she would put Jack's chewed gum into her mouth. Ewww.
(hide spoiler)]

[Riddhi]

Chapter 3
(view spoiler)[
God! That note was sorta creepy.
And the last line of chapter 3, "But the milk glubbed out in thick chunks. It had already gone sour."
Something bad is gonna happen.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapters 1-3 (view spoiler)[ I like that there's no pretense in this book. They just jump right in with the fair folk. However, I do like the mystery of what price Hazel has to pay and what it is for. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ I can't imagine how her brother wouldn't feel responsible for her having to give up seven years of her life even if he never asked her to since it is being wasted now by his not playing. I would at least feel guilty. (hide spoiler)]

[Riddhi]

(view spoiler)[ I too wanna know.
I am eager to see what happens when Ben finds out about Hazel and Jack.
Also, the price she has to pay in those 7 years.
(hide spoiler)]

[Sierra]

25% (view spoiler)[ I'm very curious to find out why hazel is so worried all the time. what did she do? I cant believe she lived there and still bargained with one of the folk there. I feel like the name hazel found is the guy in the caskets name, ainsel. (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[ I wonder why ben is sneaking around.. oh that's why lol. I cant believe that hazel didn't notice she was missing an earring how will she explain that when she cant remember some nights. we finally have a name and the name isn't what I thought it was its severin very interesting. well I wasn't expecting severin to just kiss her there lol (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[ I wonder what the dream meant that hazel just had. is she a faerie? I feel like jack might like hazel, I wonder if he is going to tell her. oh wow severin is truly a prince his father is the alderking. HA I knew jack liked hazel. severin slept in bens bed hmm interesting. so there is like two hazels, one during the day and one during the night kind of controlled by the alderking. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ well that was rude of jacks mother to just kick him out like that without knowing what happened and all that. so all the dreams hazel has been having were true it was her 2nd self. finally hazel had told jack she liked him. now the alderking is dead killed by hazel and she is cursed well that's not going to end well for her. that ending was nice I'm glad ben and severin are together and seem happy and severin is now king, and I'm hoping that jack and hazel are happy and they are together, and everything went somewhat back to normal or as normal as it is going to get. (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

7% (view spoiler)[ Hilarious! I'm sure most people have had a date that they'd have loved to do that. (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

15% (view spoiler)[ Is it wrong of me to worry more about a dog than when people are in danger? (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

22% (view spoiler)[ Yep, you can learn pretty much anything on Youtube... even sword fighting! (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

25% (view spoiler)[ LOL! And here I had just talked with someone yesterday about Tawny Kitean in Here I Go Again.... But way to make me feel old Holly with the "mom" in the story thinking of the 80s and the kids reading this will never get the reference. (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

73% (view spoiler)[ And that would be why you don't do deals.... what you think you are agreeing to is never what happens. But 7 years at the end of your life isn't that appealing either so it's no wonder Ben is getting so mad. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 6
(view spoiler)[ How do they think they are going to get a faerie with food? Anyway, I'm more curious about Jack than Hazel or Ben. I want to hear more about his time with his other family. I hope he is discussed more. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Carrie wrote: "25% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Ha I thought that too. Any teen reading this book would have thought that Holly Black just made that up. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 12
(view spoiler)[ I love all the little superstitions that are in this book. It's like this town is its own little world. The kids even make protective trinkets in kindergarten. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Carrie wrote: "15% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Nope. I was so sad when she said the dog had died. It was just trying to protect her. Also, you know the people aren't going to die. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 13
(view spoiler)[ I'm so glad Jack isn't a jerk like his mother. I wonder what he would have been like if he were raised with her. I do kind of feel bad for how he wasn't returned to her. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 15
(view spoiler)[ What a backstory for a monster. I never would have guessed that. Or that Severin would be sorry for it. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 18
(view spoiler)[ Heck yeah! Totally on Jack's parent's side right now. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Carrie wrote: "73% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I think Ben is also mad because she did it for him- sort of. Obviously, she just wanted to keep hunting, but ideally, he wanted to go to the school too. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think there were some places that got bogged down with details, but I really liked how this was different than most other fairy/faerie books and the diversity of the characters. Also, Hazel got to be the champion of the story, which we don't see much. Usually when a girl is the hero, it's because they are self-sacrificing or something. She's just a badass. Really liked the whole book. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 1-3

(view spoiler)[Enjoying the writing so far. This is my first Holly Black book and I'm kinda hooked.

I love the mix between contemporary and fairy tale fantasy in this world. I get that the prince in the glass coffin is a nod to Sleeping Beauty, but the forest is giving me Hansel and Gretel vibes.

Interested to see where the story goes and if Ben finds out that Hazel tried to kiss Jack. Could be a bit awkward. Also, chewing someone else's chewing gum that they've already chewed? Disgusting!! Eww. (hide spoiler)]

[Raven]

A bit late to the party but I am gonna start now.

[Ari]

Chapters 1-6 (view spoiler)[I like the worldbuilding though I find the pacing a bit lacking, but maybe it’s me. The gum thing? Gross >.< Also, why did the dog have to die? :( (hide spoiler)]

[Ari]

Chapters 7-12 (view spoiler)[I want to know more about Severin! And Jack is a very interesting character, too. I’m worried about Hazel going to the revel, though. (hide spoiler)]

[Ari]

Riddhi wrote: "Chapter 3

God! That note was sorta creepy.
And the last line of chapter 3, "But the milk glubbed out in thick chunks. It had already gone sour."
Something bad is gonna happen.
"

Yes, I thought the same!

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 4-7

(view spoiler)[Soooo it's all gone a bit weird. Not that that's bad, I just wasn't expecting Hazel and Ben to be monster-hunters at such a young age.

Something that's bothered me is the whole situation with Ben's first(?) boyfriend, Kerem. Hazel knew exactly what she was doing, and what exactly was her game plan when she snuck into Ben's school? She didn't go into confront him, and yeah just because she was flirting with him previously that doesn't mean he can kiss her, but why was she flirting with him? I predict some trouble between Hazel and Ben as we go through the book, especially if she keeps kissing, or being kissed by his friends and ex-boyfriends. (hide spoiler)]

[Ari]

Chapters 13-18 (view spoiler)[Whoa I did not expect Hazel serving the Alderking during the night for five years! Nice twist. Jack and Hazel kissing? YAS. (hide spoiler)]

[Raven]

15% (view spoiler)[I was expecting something exciting, but I am kind of disappointed. Hazel going around kissing boys sounds so stupid. Also, she ate the gum that Jack did?! That is really gross. Some things are repeated a lot, and the story is going hella slow. I wanted a fantasy, not a romance wrapped with fantasy gift paper. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 8-12

(view spoiler)[So we've finally met the sleeping prince, who isn't actually sleeping anymore. And he's kinda rude. Although I suppose you'd be a little rude too if you've been in a coma for all those years, and someone smashes you out of it, and there's murderous faeries trying to kill you, and your sword's been taken away. Am I right in thinking a love triangle is about to happen? Please don't let a love triangle happen.

I kinda want Hazel and Jack to get together. There's been hints that maybe Jack's been crushing on Hazel too, and if so, why did he push her away at the beginning? Maybe he thought she was making a decision while she'd had a bit of alcohol in her system, and he didn't want to take advantage. And maybe it just wasn't the right time. Either way, can we maybe not have all the pining for each other, and have them just kiss properly already.

However, I do think that maybe (I've used that word a lot, haven't I?) Hazel has some magic in her too, and I think her magic will involve kissing. Just a thought. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

Chapters 13-Finish

(view spoiler)[I'm a little disappointed with this book. I think I went into this book believing that it would something totally different from what I got.

I wanted more fantasy and magic, and less romance. Less romance shoed in that didn't fit. There was just a lot of stuff that didn't feel right to me. And I didn't like the happy ever after ending, where everyone got the happy ending they wanted. I know this is fairy tale inspired, but come on.

Also, I found the plot to be really confusing. But that might have just been me.

Overall, not a good start for my venture in Holly Black's books, but we'll see. (hide spoiler)]

[Raven]

50% (view spoiler)[ Finally, the story picked up. I don't think the flashbacks are really necessary though. (hide spoiler)]

[Raven]

75% (view spoiler)[ The characters feel hollow and the story is progressing only in terms of romance, not plot. I wonder how they will come up with a solution to keep Severin and save Fairfold as well. (hide spoiler)]

[Raven]

Finished (view spoiler)[ I didn't really enjoy this. Too much romance, though the last quarter of the story somehow kept me a bit engaged. I don't mind romance, but it was so sudden, that I just couldn't ship it. The characters were hollow, and I found it a bit hard to comprehend the reasons for their actions. It had potential, but it fell flat. I was glad Ben and Severin ended up together though. (hide spoiler)]

[Ari]

Chapters 19 - End: (view spoiler)[Okay, I really enjoyed this book. It took me a while to get into it but I found the second half of it quite intriguing. I like the characters and it was overall an interesting read. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

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Date changed. Restarting October 20th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Courtney]

Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[ That note they found in the acorn was creepy. I dont think it was for Ben though. Maybe Hazel? (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 1
(view spoiler)[ I love that everyone just knows about the Folk. There isn't any build up or big discovery. It's just normal there. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 2-3
(view spoiler)[ I can see how Ben had been blessed and cursed. It would be great to have that kind of talent if you wanted it. I can only imagine going to someone's house on a date and finding their ex. Awkward. I love the descriptions of the Folk and their 'pranks' (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 4
(view spoiler)[ Imagine the guilt of knowing that your sister gave away seven years of her life. i want to say that it was dumb of her, but she was only ten. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ Okay, Jack sounds hot (silver eyes!) until he starts talks with those riddle warnings. That's creepy. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Courtney wrote: "Chapter 3 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yeah, I thought Hazel as well. She seems like she is more involved with the Folk. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 8
(view spoiler)[ Why does it not sound even a little bot smart to go hunting the Folk? Hazel and Ben were lucky they survived their childhood. (hide spoiler)]

[Courtney]

Ashley wrote: "Chapter 2-3
[spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ Yes that was very awkward. (hide spoiler)]

[Courtney]

Chapter 12 (view spoiler)[ That would have creeped me the heck out. (hide spoiler)]

[Courtney]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[ Well that wasnt very smart Hazel. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Chapter 10
(view spoiler)[ I feel bad for Jack. He's so lonely and Hazel just wants information from him. I really think he should have gone back with his mother. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashley W]

Courtney wrote: "Chapter 12 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yes! I think they handled it really well for a bunch of scared teenagers. (hide spoiler)]