The Darkest Part of the Forest

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black

Initial Thoughts: That was really good.

I wasn't really sure what to expect. I like books with the fae, but the last book by Holly Black I read did not leave me with a great impression of her work. She had mixed modern day and the fae and it just seemed strange to me. This book sounded interesting, but I was a little worried that it would have that same strange mix. And yeah, it mixed modern day and fae, but in a different way that worked beautifully. The characters were fun and totally human (figuratively, at least). They had problems and doubts and hopes and dreams, they wanted to change things but didn't know how or were too scared, they made mistakes and stupid decisions, but they were so real. The only character I didn't quite connect with or understand or figure out (I'm not quite sure of the correct phrase for how I dealt with the characters) was Severin. I'm not sure that I fully grasped his motives or feelings or thoughts or whatnot, but he is fae, so I guess that is actually rather fitting and thus his character was well-written. I do like how the relationships all worked out. I was a little confused by a little piece of the ending. So, Jack's dad is mortal, right? That's why his mom hid him away was because the Alderking had taken a fancy to her but then she went off and dallied with a mortal and he was angry and she wanted to spare Jack from the Alderking's wrath. But near the end when Hazel is eavesdropping, his mom starts to imply something about who his father is, but he wouldn't let her finish. Was she trying to say that it was actually the Alderking after all? That with both the king and Severin out of the way, Jack would be next in line? I was a little confused and they didn't give a full explanation, though it did say that Severin embraced a changeling like a brother, which seems almost to imply that yes, the Alderking was maybe Jack's father. If anyone has an actual answer, I would love to know it. I hate not knowing things.

Rating: 5/5. I really enjoyed reading it and stayed up much later than I should have because it was just so hard to put down. I don't reread standalones a lot, but if I did, this would potentially be one of them.