Review: Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock

Title: Thornhill

Author: Kathleen Peacock

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: 9.10.2013

Pages: 368

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Hemlock #2

Source: ARC from swap

Rating: A

Summary (from Goodreads):

Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.

The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.

Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.

Review:

I swear I have been anxiously awaiting this book since I first turned the last page of my Hemlock ARC back in March of 2012. Nearly a year and a half later, this book is finally out and I am still just as in love with the world Kathleen Peacock made as ever.

Thornhill picks up where book one left us … and it picks up with one of the best scenes ever. Seriously. Made my shipper heart swoon and do more tumbles than an Olympic gymnast.

Mac is just one of my favorite YA heroines—she’s so utterly likeable and relatable.  Peacock breathes a strength and resilience in her that is both admirable and believable, but never does she come off as a character who can do everything. Mac is very breakable and has her flaws, which makes her all the more loveable.

One of the big reasons I love this series is the love story between Mac and Kyle, mainly because these two went from best friends to more, so there was no insta-love here. It was something that had been building for a while before it was acted upon. If Hemlock was the book of young love, Thornhill is the book where Kyle and Mac grow up and start treating each other as equals. Yes, they make mistakes, but they don’t pout or dwell on their problems—they hash it out and move on.

Thank you, Kathleen, for a healthy YA relationship.

And let’s not forget Jason. I have been a Jason fan since the beginning. This is a series where my heart is truly torn over the triangle. Typically I treat love triangles like I would Typhoid Mary—I give them a wide berth and keep interactions with them to a minimum. This is one triangle that I’m just totally all right with because it’s so natural. And while my heart will always beat for Kyle and Mac, I need Jason to have his happily ever after.

You hear that, Kathleen? I need it.

This is a fantastic paranormal series that has wowed me from the start. If you’re looking for something that stands out in the world of vampires, angels, werewolves and other paranormal monsters, look no further than this series.

Buy: Amazon