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.

Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository