Stories lie at the heart of The Hazelwood duology. After all, much of the story in The Hazelwood and The Night Country revolved around Alice, an ex-story trying to figure out her life. Tales From The Hinterland is a collection of short, fairy tale like stories from that universe. Some of them I don’t recall having read before and others are recognizable because they were already featured in the duology or because of their characters—who should be relatively familiar by now. Some of those stories deeply impacted the events of the duology (such as the story Alice-Three-Times). Many of the stories in this collection follow the trend of darker fairy tales full of magic and hidden dangers. The writing was atmospheric and engrossing. The setting was vivid in its detail, and the endings were often reflective of the cautionary and somewhat morose tone to the stories. Be careful what you wish for never had a truer meaning than in some of these stories.

As with all story collections, I had my favorites out of the bunch. I liked all of them, but some of the standouts were Death and the Woodwife, Hansa the Traveler, and The House Under the Stairwell to name a few. All I can say is that these were truly stories fit for Hinterland.

If you liked the duology, then you’ll likely enjoy Tales From The Hinterland.

Disclaimer: This copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Flatiron Books) via NetGalley for this review, thank you!

i absolutely DEVOURED Hazle Wood and one of my favorite parts about Melissa Albert's books were these little side stories that gave more insight to the characters motivation. These are a PERFECT collection of creepy fairytale stories for anyone who is a fan of the original Grimm's or is looking for a new creepy short story.

This long-awaited volume of the full tales from Melissa Albert's duology was just as amazing as I hoped it would be. I really enjoyed reading the stories and will probably re-read the two books theses stories are referenced in.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley!

A very fun read before Halloween. I wish this book has come out between the first and second books in the series. I feel like I have to go back and reread the second book to understand all the characters now. Beautiful narration and a gorgeous cover.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Do you like dark fairytales? Do you like creepy stories? Do you like things that don’t make sense or send shivers down your spine?
Well…
Let me tell you this compilation of fairytales does all of the above. It has many stories in this book that are all from Tales of the Hinterland mentioned in The Hazel Wood. It’s quite a good read even if you haven’t read the original book. They stand on their own, although there is one story I think that will be of great interest to fans of the book. What else can I say about this book?
That I enjoyed it? That I sure did. This book was made even more atmospheric because I was reading it while it was raining. I was also entirely engrossed in the book, and unable to put it down. I didn’t even want to stop and eat lunch!
The tales were all very different and unique, but they all kept something that felt…traditional. Yet not. There is no way for me to properly explain this book, because it feels like these are the types of fairytales that Disney would have modified to be child friendly. Yet they’re not. The carry the same cadence and tone of what we consider tradition tales. It is so cool.
Let me just say I am really impressed because I loved the prose in this book. I also liked all the stories. They are the perfect ones to read on a dreary day or a dark night. They’re bewitching and I loved that about them. If you like dark things, this will probably be up your alley.
Be aware, many of these are not your typical story…
…and this is a good thing. Sometimes I wasn’t sure where the tale was doing to go, and I enjoyed that aspect immensely. It was nice to read stories that were short and sweet, self-contained but also interesting. This had all of that for me.
I think that those who liked the idea of The Hazel Wood, but perhaps didn’t love the books or the construction of them might like this.
Darkly atmospheric and riveting, these stories will draw you in and won’t let you go.

This was an interesting collection of twisted and dark fairytales. Fans of Melissa Albert’s previous books will love Tales from the Hinterland as well.

This book was received as an ARC from Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

With this book, it was very hard at first to follow along and understand at first but as you read on and even at times read between the lines everything will start to make sense and easier to comprehend. I have read both The Hazel Wood and The Night Country and both enjoyed very much and usually when I read a continued series, I usually fly right through them. This one I really struggled finishing and I can not pinpoint any reason why I did. I really wanted to like this book especially from loving Hazel Wood and Night Country.

This is why we give this book 3 stars.

A fun collection of stories from the bestselling Hazel Wood Series. This book of fairy tales is a key part of the series, and I have always wondered about them. They’re delightful. If you are a fan of Melissa Albert, pinch these up. They can also be read as a standalone.

I feel like this did for me what neither THE NIGHT COUNTRY and THE HAZEL WOOD was quite able to achieve. I loved the backbone of the author's series, all set around this fictional book of stories, but I think somehow things just never quite connected for me. I liked some bits, others would fall flat; almost like in the telling of point A to point B I would find myself lost and tangled up. But this volume? I couldn't look away.

This author truly shines in short stories. But more than that, she shines because this places the focus on what I loved most of all : her dark fairytales. Stories that are less morality and more magic, more monstruous, more real, rarely featuring happy endings or anything happy at all. Some of these are definitely better than others but overall the whole vibe, the whole concept, just works for me.

I understand from the blurb that this book is supposed to be illustrated (I'm imagining something like THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS but who knows!) and I'm sad to say my ARC did not have any hint of what those additions might look like. So I'll likely be picking up a finished copy of this in order to re-experience it all with said visuals.

This is a must for fans of The Hazel Wood series but honestly? You could have disliked, or even not read, those books and still enjoy this.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “Tales from the Hinterland” by Melissa Albert. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I initially read “The Hazel Wood” the year it came out. I’d purchased the sequel, “The Night Country,” when it was released earlier this year so once I got approved for “Tales From the Hinterland” I decided to reread the first (well I listened to it on audiobook this time). For some reason, I thought “Tales From the Hinterland” was meant to be released between the two books and after reading all three I think that still should have been the case. It felt like all the reviews I watched or read for “The Hazel Wood” had reviewers commenting on how much they wanted to read “Tales From the Hinterland.”

So “Tales From the Hinterland” is a collection of dark fairytales first mentioned in “The Hazel Wood” and is a large portion of the story throughout the two books. In rereading the first book, I felt reading “Tales From the Hinterland” around the same time helped me pick up on more references between the fairy tales and the events of the stories. With future rereads, I think readers would be able to uncover more connections and Easter eggs between the fairy tale collection and the main story.

I will be picking up a copy when this is released as I missed the little illustrations that accompanied each chapter in the main series. I hope they will be included in “Tales From the Hinterland” too.

I finished this book before starting “The Night Country” and after finishing the whole series I do feel there was something missing. While I enjoyed the dark fairytales and how they related to the main story, I found myself wanting more from the tale of “Alice Three Times.” If you’ve read “The Hazel Wood” then you probably know what I’m referring to but I’m going to try and keep things vague for the sake of spoilers. Suffice it to say, I don’t feel like we ever got the full ending of “Alice Three Times” despite characters in the main books hinting at a very dark ending. But I’ve read all the books now and we never see that ending and I’m not entirely sure why. The other fairytales of “Tales From the Hinterland” didn’t pull their punches on darkness or gore but for some reason “Alice Three Times” did. It just felt incomplete and I thought maybe in reading “The Night Country” I’d find the answer there but I never did.

I do still recommend this series and even “Tales From the Hinterland” could be read by itself and still enjoyed as a collection or dark fairytales. I don’t know about other readers of the series, but I feel like I wanted more of a conclusion from “Alice Three Times” but it never came. It’s such an important tale in the series, but it felt watered down and incomplete in “Tales From the Hinterland.”

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 Stars (how could it be anything less)

Tales from the Hinterland contains the slightly spooky stories first brought to us by, and "created" by, Althea Proserpine in The Hazel Wood. The stories were originally introduced to us by Alice of Alice Three Times and reading the full tales makes me want to go back and re-read the books again! Although you could absolutely read this book alone, I feel like you'll get the most from it by first reading The Hazel Wood and The Night Country. The first two books really created a need to know more about these stories, to know EVERYTHING about the stories contained within this book. Although we got snippets throughout the other books in Tales from the Hinterland we finally get the whole picture. Not to mention, we now have a way to keep the stories alive forever!

This is a collection of short stories. They are completely captivating and engaging. I highly recommend this book and the complete series that follows!

If you enjoy Albert’s other works, then Tales from Hinterland will draw you in. I love the collection of short stories. It was an entertaining read!

If you've read The Hazel Wood, you'll love sinking into twisty fantastical fairy tale like you've never read before.

I was immediately drawn to the cover and I have been looking forward to this book ever since reading The Hazel Wood. Several of these tales were in The Hazel Wood and were my favorite parts of that book. Tales from the Hinterland is a collection of slightly twisted fairy tales from the world of Melissa Albert's Hazel Wood series. I love story compilations like this. I really enjoyed reading this book. It not only met my expectations, it surpassed them.

I would like to thank Melissa Albert, Flat Iron Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was unique and refreshing in every sense of the word and the perfect introductory piece to Melissa Albert.

'The Door That Wasn't There' was a great starting point to this collection of short stories as I was immediately entranced by the fantasy, supernatural, and paranormal elements that were thrown together and the author's ability in making each short it's own.

With 'Tales from the Hinterland' being the first novel I have read from this author, I am looking forward to diving into 'The Hazel Wood' series to see if her earlier works resemble this creative piece.

All in all, this author has gained a new fan.

There isn't a possible universe in which I could love this book, or very nearly anything else in life, more. Tales From the Hinterland is pitch black, elegant, and, I suspect, smells vaguely of the promise of snow.

3.5 stars
I was looking forward to this ever since The Hazel Wood first came out. There were a couple of these tales in The Hazel Wood and they were some of my favorite parts of that book. Tales from the Hinterland is a collection of twisted fairy tales from the world of The Hazel Wood series. Story collections like this are some of my favorite things to read so I really enjoyed this book, it was exactly what I expected it to be.