Plunged back into the world of The Hazel Wood, it was a real experience to follow Alice once she’s been saved from her story.
The characters who’ve escaped from the Hinterland are all marked in some way, and they can see when they look at each other some of these marks. It could, theoretically, be possible for these ex-stories to live on earth peacefully. Unfortunately, someone has other ideas.
In the opening chapter Alice talks about their changed circumstances when she refers to them being prey rather than predators. Their vulnerability is evident, and when ex-Hinterlanders start appearing with body parts missing it is evident that someone is trying to recreate their own story.
Alongside this focus on Alice and just who/what she is, we also get to see Finch travelling through worlds to try and salvage his own story.
The stories are interleaved and I was left guessing exactly how they’d link until quite late on. My sympathy for Alice definitely grew as the book progressed and I loved the ending.
Though I’ve pre-ordered my copy – and can’t wait to read it again – I’m grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.