#dpotf

[laequiem]

Thank you Queen

[yourfaevorite]

Endless WIP! Idk if I’ll ever finish them 😞

Hazel

Val

Corny

Luis

[bigbookslilreads]

Book Review - The Darkest Part of the Forest

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Publication dates: January 2015 Read by me: August 30th to September 5th 2019 Full review on Goodreads. Recommended to: fans of urban fantasy, fae, supernatural romance, royalty, political intrigue, strong female characters, heavy tabu themes, the dark side of society, low fantasy, coming of age stories, mystery. Rating: 4 stars.

Blurb (adapted from Goodreads): Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking. Until one day, he does…

What I liked

Writing, which I would consider in-between the Modern Faerie Tale series and The Folk of the Air in tone. It is not as grungy or grimy as in MFT, but feels slightly more fantastical and, even, realistic;

World, this coexistence between humans and fae in a small town where it is just considered a fact of life is so interesting and something I had not encountered before!

Inspiration in the old German faerie tale of Snow White, but with the twist of the one being trapped being a fae boy with horns. Yes, please.

Characters and their struggles, with Hazel being unapologetically ‘sexual’ but also a tough warrior of the forest. Other aspects dealt with that I loved were gift vs curse, neglectful parents, changelings, perceived evil & normalisation. Plus gay rep!

Romantic partners, Holly has a way of making me care about them in all her books!

What I didn’t like

Lack of depth, which is much more evident in Holly’s earlier works in this fae universe. The books just seem too short to really deepen the character’s (romantic) relationships. The most glaring example here was Ben x Severin, which even though I appreciated, I thought it was very quick and superficially explored.

Plot didn’t leave me very intrigued. I figured most of the twists pretty early on (though it felt like that was intended), so I had no real pull and was left pretty uninterested in the potential repercussions of the main group’s failures.

[ezra-autumn]

I don’t think there’s a mentioned costume change between Severin wearing Ben’s clothes and this scene and I like to imagine him all scrappy in human street wear during this fight.

some fanarts for Darkest Part of The Forest by Holly Black

[ace-artemis-fanartist]

The changeling and his knight in The Darkest Part of the Forest.

[ofmythsandmists]

the darkest part of the forest + couples: hazel evans/jack gordon

“I don’t want anyone normal. I don’t want anyone safe. I want you. I have loved you from almost the first moment I saw you, wild and fierce and brave, running through the woods, your lips stained purple from blackberry juice. I figured that just made me like everyone else loving you, but that didn’t keep me from doing it.”

[laequiem]

Pie-eyed piper

Severin and Ben attend Balekin Greenbriar's "coronation", and Ben lets himself get tempted by faerie wine.

Fandom: The Darkest Part of the Forest - Holly Black, The Folk of the Air - Holly Black

Characters: Ben Evans / Severin with brief mentions of Taryn Duarte, Locke and Balekin Greenbriar. 

Rating: General

Word count: 844

Short fluff I wrote on my bus ride home for International Fanworks Day 2021. 

Read on ao3  • masterlist

Ben knew better than to drink faerie wine, especially at the coronation of Balekin Greenbriar, king-to-be and well known Prince of Debauchery. Severin had briefed him about other courts, especially drilling into his head information about the higher court of Elfhame, so he knew about the oldest prince's reputation. But when he saw other non-glamoured humans amongst the crowd, he felt somewhat safe. One of them, the softer-looking half of a set of twins, even drank wine given to her by a fox-faced faerie boy, no question asked. She even ate their food, hors d'oeuvres lathered with everapple jelly and cakes sprinkled with golden dust.

While Ben was not stupid enough to eat faeriefruit, especially with nobody he knew around, he let himself be tempted by the wine.

Only one glass , he thought naively. But the servants kept coming, refilling the chalice as he drained it. Soon enough, he was tapping his broken fingers on the cup to the rhythm of the music and faeries drifted towards him.

One of the court musicians came over to hand him a lute, and Ben gladly started playing. The crowd around him grew and it was a matter of time before his sister found him, muttered a curse under her breath and left in a hurry to find Severin.

 Ben kept drunkenly playing the lute, paying no mind to the faeries dancing and singing around him. He didn't even notice the ones at his feet, giddily running their hands up his calves. There was only him and the music, the notes calling to him, begging to be played.

"Benjamin Evans," a familiar suave voice called him out of his trance, "stop this at once."

Ben beamed up at his boyfriend. His sleeping Prince looked good in everything—regular human clothes, nerdy shirts he picks up off the floor when he needs to quickly find something to dress and, of course, completely naked. Yet, seeing him in regal court wear was always a sight to behold. He looked every inch the prince—now Lord—with whom Ben fell in love with. Golden jewelry hung from his horns, his hair was perfectly curled in all the right places, his clothes pressed and clean. If he weren't already madly in love, Ben would fall for him again. 

"Sevy! Come dance," he said, his hands still playing by their own accord.

"Ben, we talked about—oh," Severin frowned and crossed his arms, "Ben, are you drunk?"

"Mayyyyyyybe," Ben said guiltily. 

Severin sighed and looked at the gathered crowd. They were mostly just dancing, it could be worse. With a raunchy enough song, Benjamin could force anyone who listens to strip. He could feel the pull of it in himself—the irresistible urge to dance to Ben's piping. He fought it and extended a hand towards the musician.

"I'll dance," he said, "but with you."

Ben's smile grew larger and he finally stopped playing, delicately laying the lute on the floor before taking Severin's hand. Around them, the gathered folk seemed to come back to their senses, looking around in confusion. Benjamin got up and immediately stumbled forward into Severin's extended arms, giggling the whole time. The revel around him was a blurry mess of colours, so much that he could not stand still. With another sigh, Severin crouched and slipped his arm under Ben's knees, lifting him in his arms. 

"Sev, that's not—hic— that's not how dancing works!"

"We can't dance if you can't even stand."

Ben let Severin carry him out of the main hall to one of the empty rooms. The Alderking's son set him on the bed gently and brushed a red curl off his face.

"Sober up, Benny" he whispered kindly, "we'll dance afterwards." 

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Ben's heart skipped a beat at the smile Severin gave him. Even after years together, it still felt improbable that he loved him. He knew everything about him, all the terrible, selfish thoughts that plagued him since he was old enough to talk. The glass casket had been his place to confess, unaware that Severin heard everything. He told him of school drama, of all his fights with his sister, of his crushes on teachers, his first kiss. He told him how he broke his hand, that he misses music but can't get himself to play again. Hell, he even made out with boys on top of the casket. He cringed every time he remembered, yet Severin assured him that he did not see how any of this was embarrassing. That it was charming, adorable, and that he would look forward to the awkward boy's visits. 

Severin leaned forward and kissed his freckled cheek.

"I have to attend the ceremony, but I will be back as soon as I can," he brushed his knuckle to Ben's jaw, "then, we will dance as long as you wish."

Ben's eyelids drooped as Severin let his hand travel to his hair, lightly scratching that spot on the back of his neck that makes him purr. He fell asleep with his prince watching him.

[ofmythsandmists]

the darkest part of the forest + couples: ben evans/severin

“I love you. I love you like in the storybooks. I love you like in the ballads. I love you like a lightning bolt. I’ve loved you since the third month you came and spoke with me. I loved that you made me want to laugh. I loved the way you were kind and the way you would pause when you spoke, as though you were waiting for me to answer you. I love you and I am mocking no one when I kiss you, no one at all.”