So I’ve been too sick to post the last couple days. I’m still a bit out of it, but I wanted to give you all something.

I’m a reader above all else, even writing. I’ve been doing it long enough and read enough books to know how tragically difficult it is to find that perfect balance between writing, plot, and story. Which is why I’m suggesting The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert.

If you are like me and like modern fairytales that manage to capture our world while retaining the magic of once upon a time, this is your book.

This is a tale that recalls the original versions of the fairytales we know, the ones that were not whitewashed of violence, blood, or tragedy. But the author uses these things sparingly, and only where they add to the story. The main character is lovable, the language lyrical, and the story is an engine racing forward along its rails. If I have a complaint, it’s that the story spends too little time inside the wood of its namesake. I would love to see the author return, at some point, to the Hazel Wood and give us another book within this enchanting setting.

There are books I read and like enough to mention. But it is a rare and beautiful thing to find one that I will read to tatters. So rare that, outside my childhood classics, I can count them on two hands. I am thrilled to say that this is one of them. Go pick up your copy and let me know what you think!