May 2, 2012

Review: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Title: Hemlock
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date: 5.8.2012
Pages: 400
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Werewolves
Series: Yes (Hemlock #1)
Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: A+

Summary (from Goodreads):
Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Review:
I’m a huge fan of the paranormal genre, especially when it has an element of romance thrown in for good measure. I did not, however, expect to fall so completely and utterly in love with this novel. Hemlock completely took me by surprise, forcing me to frantically flip through the pages until the wee hours of the morning so I could see how it all ended. Kathleen Peacock is a name you’re going to want to remember guys; she’s here to stay.

Mac is one of the best, most compelling heroines I’ve read. She’s strong and capable, tenacious and vibrant. She has this emotional vulnerability that makes me want to hug her as I cheered for her. And I loved the boys—Kyle and Jason are great in their own right. I waffled nearly the entire book over who I wanted Mac to end up with. Jason has the bad boy thing in spades, and even when he was being an ass I still adored him. Kyle stole my heart, though. He’s just … epic, for lack of a better word. While I saw the twist to the triangle coming, it didn’t detract from the story at all.

I absolutely love this spin on werewolves. Werewolves have sort of become the new vampire, and I felt the genre was growing stale for a while until I read this. I love the concept that Lupine syndrome is a known “disease” that the public acknowledges and tries to battle. Peacock creates a sense of fear in the community because of the Lupine syndrome that is palpable. Like with every disease, people fear what they don’t understand.

I cannot endorse this book enough. I’ve already preordered my copy, and I recommend you do the same. This series is going to be phenomenal.

10 comments:

  1. I haven't read too many werewolf books but this one sounds so different and amazing! I'm sold! Can't wait to read it! :)

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  2. wow, I'm so glad you liked this book so thoroughly! I'm really excited to read it now! I had seen it around and it looked interesting, but wasn't sure what to make of it, but I've been hearing really good stuff about it so am super excited now! Great review!

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  3. Yay yay yay! I'm dying to read this one even though werewolves aren't usually my cup of tea. I've seen such positive reviews!

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  4. Great review! I finished this one not that long ago and I LOVED it! I was surprised at how good it was. Glad you liked it too!

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  5. I loved this book too!
    Usually with a love triangle I can easily pick a side, but Hemlock I just can't choose. Kyle and Jason are just both so awesome.

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  6. Love triangles tend to ruin books for me, especially if they are done badly. The only ones I really like is when the choice is really difficult (and not obvious)and it looks like Hemlock might fall under that one. I'll give this one a try.

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  7. Now I'm even more eager to read this book. Great review :)

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  8. I'm like you. I've been holding off on this one because I'm kind of tired of werewolves but maybe I'll read it now :)

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  9. I like reading your review. This book sounds great, especially there's a paranormal creature that i love, shifter (werewolf).
    This one would be on my tbr list ^^

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  10. I have yet to read any werewolf books from the YA genre and I cannot wait to dive into this! Great review

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