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First Impression Friday – The Hazel Wood and The Night Circus

PerfectlyTolerable

First Impression Friday is a meme created by J.W. Martin where you spotlight a book you have recently started and share your initial impressions.

I didn’t have any first impressions the last two Fridays because Two weeks ago I didn’t start any new books and last week I finished the book before Friday.  But this week I have 2 books!

The Hazel Wood

by Melissa Albert

Hazel

Amazon | Goodreads

Disclaimer: The above Amazon Link is an affiliate link. If you purchase any of these books through one of my links I will get a small commission! All the thoughts/opinions in this post are mine and in no way influenced by Amazon.

Location: Page 209 of 355 (59%)

I am a little over halfway through the book, so I don’t know if this still counts as a first impression, but I am going to give my thoughts anyway!

This book started off kind of slow.  It took me a little while to get into it.  But somehow without me even noticing, I got sucked in and now I can’t wait to find out what happens! I like it a lot so far.

This is not usually the type of book I read.  I try to stay far away from anything remotely horrorish.  And I don’t like Alice and Wonderland.  But this book is actually not that scary (at least not yet) and it doesn’t seem like an Alice and Wonderland re-telling.  (Though I have only watched the movie so I don’t actually know)

I think overall I will end up liking the book.  I predict 4 stars out of 5.

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

narrated by Jim Dale

Circus

Amazon | Goodreads

Disclaimer: The above Amazon Link is an affiliate link. If you purchase any of these books through one of my links I will get a small commission! All the thoughts/opinions in this post are mine and in no way influenced by Amazon.

Location: Time 5 hours and 42 minutes of 13 hours 39 minutes (42%)

I picked this book because it was on sale and it was read by Jim Dale.  I was told that Jim Dale is a great narrator and that I should listen to one of the books he reads.  On this front I an not disappointed!!  He is a great narrator and I love his voice.

The book itself is a different story.  I am loving it but at the same time I am really confused.  The story jumps around a lot.  Both in time and location.  I have a knack at forgetting times and places as soon as I am told them.  They go in one ear and out the other.  Each chapter starts with the date and location, but I forget it even as it is being said.  This makes it really confusing at times.  Also parts of the story are purposely kept in mystery so that doesn’t help my confusion.

I am hoping that as I read more of the book my confusion will go away because I am loving the characters and the scenes! I would hate to feel unsatisfied at the end of the book because I was still confused about things, even if most of the confusion is my own fault.

I am hoping that I won’t be too confused as the story progresses and I am liking the story a lot and I am thinking it will be a 5 stars out of 5!

29 thoughts on “First Impression Friday – The Hazel Wood and The Night Circus”

    1. I think most my confusion is because I am listening to Audio book, but I am still liking it! And I didn’t get to read any of Hazel wood this weekend because I was so busy, and when I was free I listened to the Night Circus haha, but I will hopefully be able to finish it in the next day or two!

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  2. I’m so happy you are loving the Night Circus so far, even though it does get confusing! The thing about TNC is the stories is like a puzzle, the pieces are given to you as you go and at the end, when everything fit perfectly together, it just left you in awe. I love this book so much! ❤

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    1. That makes sense. I had a feeling that part of the confusion is on purpose by the Author, but also in part because I am listening to in on Audiobook! I hope it all makes sense in the end!

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  3. Oooh this is a fun meme! I enjoyed The Hazelwood too!! I was sucked in even though it wasn’t what I was expecting and I don’t enjoy Alice in Wonderland either. I still have the Night Circus on my TBR but now I know NOT to listen to an audiobook. I can’t stand being confused because i something I’m told so quickly. ❤️

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  5. I reviewed “The Night Circus” in 2011 on Goodreads, so I am surprised that in 2018 I have been seeing new reviews for the book. Anyway, for me, it is one of the few magical thinking reads that I enjoyed. But, I am noticing that most people didn’t care for it. That’s okay, it can be fun to read others’ thoughts that differ from your own.

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    1. I don’t like to read reviews from other people until after I have read the book, so I can’t say for sure, but it seems in the blogging community that most people seem to like it? (And once I am done reading it and writing my own review I like to see what other people thought as well!!)

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  8. Pingback: The NOPE Book Tag \ basically everything I can’t stand in a book – Books and Ravens

  10. The Night Circus is my 100% absolute favorite book of all time! I recently listened to the audiobook, and while I love Jim Dale’s rendition, I cannot imagine that makes it easy to follow. In the physical book (eBook or paper), each chapter begins with a clear date you can continually reference. I find it was easier when I could cross-reference the dates. Don’t give up!

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  11. oohh I’m glad you’re loving both of these!! I want to read them too.😂 I have The Hazelwood but just haven’t gotten to it yet (shame on me!) and I’ve heard the Night Circus is magical and gorgeous…although I’m a bit worried about getting confused too because it doesn’t take my to do my head in.😂But still!! Yay that you have two excellent reads on the go!

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    1. Haha Thanks 😀 I finished The Hazel Wood and didn’t like it as much as I hoped but it wasn’t awful either. I am still listening to the Night Circus and still loving it! It was hard to read them at the same time. They are both similar in that there is mystical aspects that are sort of hidden from the real world, but they are completely different and do not compliment each other at all. haha but now that I am done with Hazel Wood I can focus on The Night Circus!

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