The key phrase to describe In the Night Wood, I think, is atmosphere. Like any good novel centered around Victorian themes, this book is eerie, mysterious, full of nature elements that are more than what they seem. The pace at times was rather slow - this is more of a steady buildup than heavy action - but the uncanny secrets that Charles Hayden have yet to unearth feel compelling enough to keep flipping the pages.

I have quite a few problems with this book, which is unfortunate because the premise sounded pretty good. It tells the story of Charles and Erin who move to North Yorkshire from the USA following a tragedy and their subsequent entrenchment in the legend of the Night Wood. Firstly, this is a story that had potential, but the execution was not great. There were some very passages that were very exposition heavy and a lot of the dialogue was very stilted. Also, I felt that the narrative just hit a lot of obvious Gothic story beats, without trying anything new or original. My main issue, however, was the treatment of the women in this book. There is a lot of gaslighting, which was unpleasant and the female characters just left me with an unpleasant taste at the way they were depicted. It seemed that they only existed as counterpoints to our protagonist and were not fleshed out or given motivations of their own. All in all, I was just disappointed with this book.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Great build up and dark discussion of grief and loss and folklore. Really love the writing of this author.

This marvelous cover drew me in but the story couldn't hold my attention. Modern gothic horror and over all, well written, but not a genre that I like very well and that was the inherent problem.

I think the greatest thing In The Night Wood has going for it is that it's really two stories in a way - Charles and Erin's story and the story "written" by Caedmon Hollow. I thought using excerpts from the fictional children's book was a very meta way to introduce sections of the book, and I almost wish I could read that book because Bailey's writing seemed strongest in those sections. Unfortunately, most of the book focuses on Charles and Erin and for me it dragged in sections. I spent a lot of the book wanting to smack Charles in the back of the head and that, I think, distracted me from enjoying the mystery and horror aspects of the book.

The book isn't very long but it still felt too long to maintain the eerie atmosphere it was going for.

I loved this book a lot! I really liked the characters, the world building and everything about it! It was super refreshing and I just really loved the writing in this book. My only issue was that it was a little slow at times so I hard to put it down a few times, but overall it was really good, really spooky.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review, so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book.
In this contemporary fantasy, the grieving biographer of a Victorian fantasist finds himself slipping inexorably into the supernatural world that consumed his subject.

Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles Hayden hopes to put his life back together with a new project: a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children’s book, In the Night Wood, and forebear of his wife, Erin. Deep in mourning from the loss of their young daughter, they pack up their American lives, Erin gives up her legal practice, and the couple settles in Hollow’s remote Yorkshire mansion.
In the neighboring village, Charles meets a woman he might have loved, a child who could have been his own daughter, and the ghost of a self he hoped to bury. Erin, paralyzed by her grief, immerses herself in pills and painting images of a horned terror in the woods.
In the primeval forest surrounding Caedmon Hollow’s ancestral home, an ancient power is stirring, a long-forgotten king who haunts the Haydens’ dreams. And every morning the fringe of darkling trees presses closer.
Soon enough, Charles and Erin will venture into the night wood.
Soon enough, they’ll learn that the darkness under the trees is but a shadow of the darkness that waits inside us all.
This was my first book by this author. It was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
4.5 star rating!

I won't go into a description, it would take too long, and I'm sure you can read the blurb yourselves (I have faith in you!). There's a whole lot of slow burn, then BAM! Ending upside your head! I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it's mostly a good thing, but at times the slow burn could've burned a little faster. Overall, though, the tension built nicely, just a few bits of lag. One thing that bothered me was Charles' childhood introduction to the book within the book, In the Night Wood- what happened after the funeral was never explained, and I kept expecting it to come up again later in the story; it felt like a loose thread. Some reviews I've seen complained the ending seemed rushed; I didn't have that problem with it, it seemed well paced to me- it seemed realistically fast-paced considering what led up to it. I did enjoy this book quite a bit, and would recommend it for when you're in the mood for something creepy and gothic.

IN THE NIGHT WOOD was my first novel by Dale Bailey but I'm sure it won't be my last!

Within the pages of this dark fiction narrative is a fairy-tale like story, but no "happily ever after" ending is promised. A couple inherits an old manor located in the countryside of England, on the edge of a large, dark wood. Amidst the grief and guilt they feel due to a recent family tragedy, Charles and Erin feel like a move might be the very thing they need. But of course, in true fairy tale fashion, things go horribly awry. Will they be able to start the new life they needed? You'll have to read this to find out.

I'm trying not to give too much away while attempting to impart to you how much I enjoyed this book. There's a mystery about an old tome, (IN THE NIGHT WOOD) and its author. There's a mystery regarding the caretaker, whose job contract binds him to the house itself, not to the people in it. Lastly, (of course!), there's a mystery regarding the deep, dark wood and the creatures that may or may not live there.

While hoping to unravel all of these mysteries, the threads of guilt and grief remain and are woven throughout the fabric of this narrative. At times, the level of grief is so deep it seems like it will drown the lives of Charles and Erin completely.

Lastly, I need to mention the language and beauty of the writing. There are all kinds of literary references, some I picked up on and some I did not. The best part of which is you don't need to be familiar with all of the literary allusions to enjoy this gorgeously written story.

IN THE NIGHT WOOD is a slow burn of a mysterious, Gothic, fairy tale and one I enjoyed immensely.

Recommended!

You can get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2S2Ps2R

*I received an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

Not able to review since I lost it on trouble with my Kindle. Couldn't download to Adobe. Their trouble all begins with a book. They are both fascinated with it as children and later go to the estate of the writer to begin live anew after the death of their daughter. The wife is haunted by visions of her daughter. The husband refuses to entertain the idea. In a new place where the owners of the estate fall to tragic circumstance, will they be able to heal and find their way back to each other?

In the Night Wood was a creepy book with an ancient wood that hides a mysterious evil. Mostly though, it is depressing. Dead children and a grieving couple are the heart of this novel that gives new meaning to the term lost. It is not a bad novel, but it is not what I expected either.

This book started off strong but then I kind of lost interest at the end. I really wanted to love this book, I just couldn't get into it. The ideas are interesting and encompass everything I love about books, fairytales, dark woods, books, magic, and monsters but it just didn't click with me for some reason.

First of all, the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous, and thankfully the rest of the book isn't much behind. I loved reading this one, it was perfect combination of dark fairytale, folklore and family drama, The atmosphere this book created was incredible, I felt like I was right there. The writting was really good, it read almost itself. This book was a little scary and sad, but also very lovely. I could only recommend.

A couple torn apart with grief over the death of their young daughter pulls up roots to start again in the English mansion they’ve inherited. With it comes the heritage of In the Night Wood, a fantasy written by an ancestor. What secrets do the woods contain? The village? Were the events in the book somehow derived from reality? The plot is rather predictable with interesting passages, but none of the characters are particularly endearing.

Very good book. Loved the characters and world building! There were a few moments where I found the story to be moving a long a little slow, but they definitely didn't last very long. Definitely a to-buy!

In the Night Wood is a contemporary fantasy with a strong premise that unfortunately fell flat for me in the end. It had moments of magic and intrigue, but these were somewhat rare when packed between a--at times--seemingly non-existent plot.

When Charles Hayden was a young boy, he stumbled upon a book called In the Night's Wood, a children's fairy tale book that, as many fairy tales tend to do, carried with it much darker themes and frightening images than most children would appreciate. This imagined book is where the story begins, how Charles eventually meets his wife, and how he eventually ends up living in the house of Caedmon Hollow the author of the infamous book itself.

The made-up children's book In the Night Wood is the most interesting part of this entire storyline, along with the forest surrounding the Hollow estate. These elements are where the book shines with an unexplainable darkness tinged with magic and myth. There is a mystery at that heart of this story that Charles explores, a mystery that I found myself drawn to and looking forward to uncovering. At the beginning of various parts of the story, Bailey would insert an extract from the fictional In the Night Wood fairy tale that I loved and that I wish I could just sit and read in its entirety.

Another positive component to this book is Bailey's writing itself, as the prose itself is consistently beautiful throughout the entire book. I knew from reading only the first few pages that whether the plot and characters were good or not, this book would still be well-written, and that is something that did hold true. I highlighted many passages within In the Night Wood and truly enjoyed Bailey's prose.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story wasn't quite as engaging as those aspects. The story is as much a character study of Charles, his wife, and their marriage as it is a story about Caedmon Hollow and his story--if not more. I struggled with this because I do enjoy books that focus heavily on characters, but in this case it was simply too repetitive and monotonous for me to enjoy. I was hoping for much more to discover in this book, and instead I was met with a rather dry account of a grieving couple--not a bad thing, but not how this book was advertised.

Charles and his wife, Erin, are struggling with Charles' previous affair, the death of their young daughter, and now their struggling marriage that is the result of the former two events. I fully understand that losing one's child is a devastating, tragic event, and it's understandable that these two would be struggling. However, too much of this narrative was concerned with relentlessly commenting on their daughter--and not even on new things about their daughter, but rather the same ideas, the same images, the same sentiments. It was simply too monotonous to fully enjoy, and I became tired of Erin's stubbornness to accept any help offered. I wanted a little bit more development or insight rather than the same things mentioned over and over again.

The ending was both satisfying and lacking at the same time--I appreciate how things were wrapped up and the conclusions that were reached, but it also seemed to happen much too quickly. The story doesn't really have much forward motion throughout the book, so the climactic ending was both too long coming and too quickly taken care of. I wish that there had been a bit more content in the middle of the story to better prepare the story for the ending.

Parts of this book I really loved, and parts were just tedious to get through. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a slower paced back that still packs in some dark, imaginative fairy tale elements.

I liked this book. I wish that it wasn't quite so drawn out, as it caused me to lose interest and put the book down in between tense scenes. The characters are relatable and the story is heartbreaking but also somewhat satisfying in the end.

https://lynns-books.com/2018/11/14/in-the-night-wood-by-dale-bailey/
In the Night Wood is a book that I finished with mixed feelings. On the one hand I loved the gothic premise, the idea of an old mansion and an enchanted forest. The writing is really impressive and there are so many bookish quotes and references that you couldn’t throw a stick around these pages without hitting something of note. It’s also a relatively quick read and I can’t deny that the idea of the dark forest that seems to almost have a mind of it’s own left me deeply intrigued – not to mention a huge antlered beast.

So, why the mixed feelings. In a nutshell the main protagonist was really difficult for me to like – in fact I didn’t like him at all. He’s a raging MCP who felt massively out of sync with the modern world in which he’s living. I think this is the closest I’ve come in a long while to having the irrational urge to throw my kindle across the room.

The book gets off to a good start. We learn of Charles who since being a young boy has had a fascination with a novel named In the Night Wood. The book, written by a Victorian author, has gained a cult like status, it’s creepy and almost sinister nature belying what appears to be a children’s story at first glance. Time moves on apace and Charles meets a young woman, unbelievably a distant relative of Caedmon Hollow – the legendary author of Charles most favourite book, it seems fated that the two should fall desperately in love.

Time then moves forward again, things have spiralled out of control for Charles and his wife. Their young daughter dies in a tragic accident and at the same time it becomes apparent that Charles has been having an affair with one of his fellow academic colleagues. He takes a leave of absence from work (at the polite but insistent request of his superiors) and his situation looks dire indeed until his wife unexpectedly inherits Hollow House and the two leave America to take up residence in the huge dusty mansion that will become their home. For Charles this spells the start of a new beginning. He’s writing a biography about Caedmon Hollow and what better inspiration could he hope for than living in the author’s own home, surrounded by the dark forest that plays such a huge role in the original tale, plus who knows what he’ll find lurking in those old closed up rooms?

You have to admit this has a great premise and there are plenty of inspirational moments during the read. I liked the author’s style although I think he can occasionally become a little more wordy than is really necessary. There is atmosphere and folklore thrown into the mix and even a quaint little village. But, Charles just got on my last nerve. I can’t lie. And, maybe it shouldn’t matter, but I couldn’t get past it. I would explain why but frankly that direction would just lead to a massive rant which I don’t think would be helpful. Suffice to say Charles changed the read for me and every time I started to sink into the story he would say or do something unbelievable or ridiculously maddening and tear me straight out of my wormhole.

So, was this a bad book? No it wasn’t, but at the same time it ultimately wasn’t for me. On a different note, whilst this book didn’t quite work out I would certainly like to try more by this author.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This was a dark and eerie and amazing story that haunted and entertained simultaneously... I have a 5-year old daughter, and wasn't sure I'd be able to read about the aftermath of such a child's death. But Bailey has such a deft facility with language that I found myself sucked into the story almost against my will and could not stop reading. There are victims and perpetrators in this book but mostly there are accidents - tragic accidents in which foolish mistakes are made that can never be unmade, often as a result of human weakness and fragility. It's a devastating story as a result, but so marvelously contrived that I was hooked from the opening lines despite the devastation I left in my wake from page to page. It's a quick read and all the more startlingly horrible for its sparse prose. Bailey is definitely on my watch list after this one...

My Rating : 4🌟

This book was such a refreshing read for me!!! Though I had few issues with it, the writing was wonderful, I loved how the plot progressed and the ending was amazing!! I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of thrillers, or just looking for some spooky read!! It's definitely worth it!