Review: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Series: Hemlock #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Expected Publication: May 8th, 2012
Source: Edelweiss
Format: eARC
Pages: 400

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

With its captivating mystery and interesting take on a world that has to deal with werewolves, Hemlock turned out to be an incredibly addicting start to a series I can't wait to continue. Despite its paranormal elements, this novel has a very realistic feel to it which makes it very easy to connect with the characters and be afraid of the things that might happen to them.

More detailed:

I've been wanting to read more and more werewolf-novels for a while now and put Hemlock onto my to-read list immediately after reading its summary for the first time. Then, more and more very positive reviews started to appear on various blogs and my need to read it got even worse. Luckily my expectations for Kathleen Peacock's debut novel were met: it's fantastic.

We're introduced to Mackenzie, or just Mac, during a horrible part of her life. Her best friend Amy has just been killed by a werewolf and Mac's life as she knew it starts to unravel slowly. I absolutely adored how real Mac seems to be. While she continues to fight for everything and everyone she believes in, she isn't exaggeratedly kick-ass - there are still moments when she feels as though her complete world is breaking apart and I loved her for it.

There are many other characters involved in the mystery of Amy's gruesome death and while some of them will surprise you positively, others will rip your heart out and make you wonder "why the hell you didn't see this coming." What I love most is that you can't sort these characters into black or white - evil or good - categories: even the most awful character has a reason for his behaviour, which makes every characterization very realistic.

The love story is another aspect which sets Hemlock apart from other, similar-sounding Young Adult novels. I don't want to tell you too much, but I was more than happy to find out that I didn't have to deal with yet another brooding but handsome new guy at school (no matter how often I already fell in love with that plotline in the past). Mac's love story is refreshing but heart-breaking and I loved every second of it.

All in all, I wish I could force everyone to read this book. Since I can't, I can only recommend you to pick up a copy of this bittersweet tale of grief, friendship and slowly blossoming love. I devoured Hemlock as fast as possible and am waiting impatiently for its sequel now, hoping that I'll find out soon which turns Mac's life will take in the future.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Read the first 91 pages of Hemlock.

Have you read Hemlock? What did you think about it?
Do you plan to read it?
Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #27

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

The first book I'm reading this week is The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda. I've been intrigued by its cover and synopsis for a very long time now, but after 30% in I'm not really sure what I'm thinking about it. It's interesting, but a bit... weird.

Goodreads Summary:
Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

Since I had to download The Hunt onto my mom's iPad (there was no Kindle version available on NetGalley), I can't carry it with me everywhere I go, so I've also already started reading Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock. And I love it so far! Really hoping to finish this one as well during this week.

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

And in case I have a bit more time, I'm hoping to at least start (hopefully finish though) Until I Die by Amy Plum. Sooo very excited for this one - I actually featured it as my Distractive Obsession on Saturday.

Goodreads Summary:
Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

In My Mailbox #47

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

Last week's interesting posts:

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Review)
Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter (Review)

Interview with Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil

Velveteen by Daniel Marks (Waiting on Wednesday)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (Cover Comparisons)
Starters by Lissa Price (Cover Comparisons)

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The books I received last week:

Gifted:
Fever | Torn

For review:
Until I Die | Dreamless

Arise | Hemlock | Unraveling | Something Strange and Deadly

Fated | Velveteen | Flirting in Italian | The Wicked and the Just

Huge thanks to Michelle from Much Loved Books for sending me Fever and Torn! Also thanks to HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for these awesome review copies.

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I still cannot believe how awesome my week was when it comes to books. I've been dying to read all of these and now I have a hard time deciding what to pick up next. I want to read all of them - immediately. Too bad my semester break's now over... I'd love to spend all of my days reading these awesome books. :D

What did you get in your mailbox?

Carina