Dark YA Fantasies: The Cruel Prince & The Hazel Wood

In The Cruel Prince, Jude is a human being raised in the High Court of Faerie with her two sisters, one of whom is half-faerie. While she is desperate to fit in with the cold and cruel Fae, she is tormented by the beautiful Prince Cardan and his friends. Her twin sister begs her to keep her head down, but Jude doesn't like to take things lying down. As she is drawn further into the politics of the royal family, she'll risk her life even further to protect her family and ensure the future of the High Court. 5/5

In The Hazel Wood, Alice grew up on the road with her mother, bouncing from place to place. But, no matter where they run to, bad luck always seems to find them. When Alice's mother goes missing, she realizes that their problems might not be of this world. The answer may lie in the dark fairytales that Alice's grandmother wrote, earning her a small but loyal following of those lucky enough to get their hands on her book. Alice teams up with one such fan, Ellery Finch, to find her mother and learn the truth about this fairytale world. 4/5

Both of these YA fantasies were released earlier this year and they really lean into the darker side of fairytales and magic. I did not expect to like The Cruel Prince as much as I did - I'm not usually big on fairies, but Black created really fascinating characters who drew me in as I waited to see what would happen to them. The Hazel Wood started strong with an interesting premise, but I thought it kind of fell apart at the end. 

In short, these are both great books but if you're only looking to read one, I'd recommend The Cruel Prince.