Hemlock Hardcover – May 8, 2012

I really wasn't sure about Hemlock. It had an interesting idea behind it, but I felt like the werewolf storyline could really go bad. It had the potential to end up kind of cheesy and unbelievable. Somewhere between the first few chapters and a third of the way through the novel, all my fears were gone and I was hooked. I stayed up way too late to finish this book, but it was completely worth it.Mackenzie lost her best friend Amy to a werewolf attack five months ago. The wolf was never found and without a sense of closure, Amy is haunting Mac's dreams. Jason, Amy's boyfriend at the time, has turned to drinking and bad life choices to forget. Kyle, the last member of their group, has tried to be there for his friends, but he's had to deal with Amy's death as well. When there's another werewolf attack in town, the past is brought back up and the three of them must face secrets that threaten not only their friendships, but the town as well.Mac is a perfectly flawed character that works to overcome her demons. She's not a strong fighter or the best thinker, and she lets the past cloud her judgment, but she fights as hard as she can for those she cares about. She isn't softhearted, but she is sympathetic to the werewolf plight, even though one killed her best friend. She knows one is not a reflection of them all and she believes they still deserve to have rights. She's worried about the people she loves leaving her because her mother left when she was a baby and her father took off a few years later. She keeps everyone at a slight distance so it supposedly won't hurt as much when they leave her. All of these little pieces come together to create one of the best characters I've read in a Young Adult novel.Jason and Kyle are the not-really-a-love-triangle counterparts. Mac cares for both of them, but it is obvious where her heart lies, at least in Hemlock. Jason's idea of honoring Amy's death is revenge. He loses himself in the bottom of an alcohol bottle and vows to destroy the creatures that destroyed Amy. Kyle feels responsible for Amy's death and beats himself up over that guilt every day. He doesn't self-destruct, though, and vows to never let something like that happen to someone he cares about again. Each boy takes drastically different paths when it comes to how they deal with Amy's death. Having these two complete opposites was interesting to read and made for some extremely tense moments.Hemlock completely surprised me. I really was not expecting to find myself so invested and involved with these characters. The ending has me needing the next book and I'm very happy I waited to read Hemlock because I don't have to wait for Thornhill. This is a fantastic read that blends the real world and the world Peacock has created perfectly. This is an amazing start to what I hope is an equally amazing series.

***ARC provided by HarperTeen for review***To be honest, I've never been a big fan of werewolf stories. The only book I've ever read about werewolves is Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, and it didn't capture my attention enough to keep reading the series. When Hemlock first came across my book radar, I was instantly captivated by the dark and beautiful cover (aren't I always? Jeez, does that make me a shallow book cover person?) and the title. Upon reading the synopsis and discovering it was about werewolves, I was still intrigued by all the praise and rave reviews to take a chance on it.The existence of werewolves has been announced by the government and anyone infected with the Lupine virus is sent out to werewolf camps. Mackenzie Dobs, otherwise known as Mac, lives in the town of Hemlock which has been hit with a string of murders caused by werewolves. The latest murder was her best friend Amy. Amy, her friends Kyle and Jason-who was also Amy's boyfriend all blame themselves for Amy's death. To make matters worse, Amy is constantly haunted by nightmares about Amy who is very mean to her in her dreams.Soon after, Hemlock is invaded by an extremist group of werewolf hunters called Trackers who are vicious and relentless in their search of finding werewolves. The leader of the trackers takes an immediate interest in Jason. But how far is Jason willing to go in order to find Amy's murderer and how many people will he betray in the process? Meanwhile, Mac is determined to find the killer, with or without any help. But she underestimates just how dangerous the Trackers could be. The more digging Mac does, the more she discovers some shocking secrets about the people closest to her. Is anyone she cares about what hiding something, and how exactly do these secrets tie into Amy's murder?Hemlock was fast-paced and intense, I was completely hooked in by the first chapter! It's gut-wrenching and emotional and you will find yourself completely sucked in all of characters, not just Mac. Mac, Kyle and Jason are written so well that you can't but connect with them-and love them. Kathleen was able to create one of the most cruel and evil bad guys that I have ever read about. Although the romance wasn't the main focus of the story, Hemlock had one of the best love triangles! Both guys were intense and had some serious issues but I found myself rooting for both of them and I still am undecided as to who I was Mac to end up, which hardly ever happens to me! Above all, Hemlock was a story about a group of friends who are desperately trying to figure out who killed their friend, which also happens to include werewolves. With plenty of action, secrets, betrayals, suspense and some great romantic tension, Hemlock will be sure to capture your attention and the ending will make you wish you had your hands on the second book of this trilogy!5 out of 5 sparkly stars!Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Hemlock: (Most of my favorite quotes were too spoilery...)-"What's your next trick gonna be: predicting my period?"Kyle shook his head and let out a nervous laugh. "Trust me, Jason and I figured that out years ago-totally out of self-preservation."-Panic crushed my chest and I knew I looked ridiculous-worse than David facing Goliath with a slingshot...Hi slaughter echoed down the alley, sending shivers down my spine.I tried to remind myself that David had won.-"Very Nancy Drew.""I don't remember Nancy Drew ever having to deal with werewolf murders," I muttered, suddenly gloomy.-It was official, my life belonged on the CW.*** of my reviews and author interviews at:Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed Read more

I loved the story behind Hemlock. Humans know werewolves exist but they're afraid of them due to a string of brutal killings. Plus, the Trackers have smeared them to the public,making them out to be thoughtless beasts. Mac's best friend, Amy, was killed by a white werewolf and throughout the book, Mac has dreams about Amy. It reminded me of Veronica Mars, where Veronica sees her friend almost like her ghost is haunting her, so that was cool. Throughout the whole book, Kyle, Jason and Mac's are trying to figure out what really happened to Amy and who's responsible for killing her. As the book progresses, we learn that Kyle and Jason are both in love with Mac. The only thing is, Kyle is a werewolf and Jason is her dead friends' ex-boyfriend.If I was just rating the book based on the story alone, I would give this book five stars. The only drawback with this entire book was Mac. She's not special in any way. She is also very clumsy is constantly tripping over her own feet when the situation is most dire. She cries constantly and the fact that she had been friends with Kyle and Jason for three years and had absolutely no clue either of them liked her is unbelievable. I actually loved Jason, and had hoped by the end of the book Mac and him would get together. I also had hopes that in the sequel, Thornhill, Mac and Jason would get together, but from the reviews I've read, it doesn't happen. =( Anyway, this book was good but had Mac been less whiny and tougher, it could have be fantastic.

I’ll be completely honest and state right now that I never imagined I would enjoy Hemlock as much as I did. The idea of werewolves was enough to get my attention, but I was worried it wouldn’t KEEP my attention.However, Peacock’s debut novel had me captivated right from the very first paragraph. High praise indeed considering I’ve spent the last two months doing that frustrating thing of reading the first chapter of several books in a row and then reshelving them all with a disappointed look on my face.So why did a book that I was so hesitant about completely and utterly grab my attention? It’s the characters, the setting, the plot and something I really didn’t expect – a love triangle that didn’t make me want to dig my own eyeballs out with a rusty teaspoon.Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Dobson is the main character and I loved her. Loyal almost to a fault, braver than she realises and having (mostly) overcome her traumatic childhood, she’s a heroine that I liked and admired but also felt sympathy for. She has moments of weakness, but she works hard to overcome them and fight for what she believes in, therefore making her very relatable.The love triangle worried me initially. There’s reliable, strong Kyle and loyal bad-boy Jason, both of whom I really liked, although I had to admit that I don’t have a soft spot for bad boys so I was completely on Kyle’s side (almost) the whole way through. The paranormal element is perfectly done – it’s blended into the world rather than being a random paranormal event that is just happening in a particular town or location, and Peacock’s ability to convince me that Lupine Syndrome is plausible really made plot work for me. There’s also a very strong mystery element, and although I actually figured it out pretty early on, I didn’t care – it was really the journey that the characters went through that I enjoyed the most.Incredibly readable, addictive and successfully conquering multiple genre’s, Hemlock is definitely a book you should read if you enjoy paranormal, mystery or young adult novels. It’s right up there for one of my favourite books of 2014.

Lupine Syndrome - also known as 'the werewolf virus' - has been on the rise across the country. Attacks in Hemlock have also been on the rise. Amy is not the first death in town... will she be the last?Recently werewolves have been outed, no longer are they something of fiction or nightmares. No, they really exist. A fact that Senator John Walsh is in support of. Right up until one kills his grand-daughter, that is. Amy was a beautiful young girl with her whole life ahead of her. She had her loving boyfriend Jason, her best friend Mackenzie - all until that day her life was cut unnecessarily short by the white werewolf.Mac's life was turned upside down that day. Little did she know things could get a whole lot worse. I know, you're thinking "what could be worse" Right?! But trust me, things got decidedly worse when the Trackers came to town. The Trackers are an extremist group, called into town to hunt for the werewolf. They are working alongside the police, hoping to bring Amy's killer to justice. I'm just not so sure their brand of justice is the same as mine.Mac knows that the Trackers have come to find Amy's killer. She just can't help but not trust them. There's something about them and their leader, Derby, that hits a nerve.So, wanting to put an end to her dreams where she is haunted by visions of Amy, Mac decides to investigate for herself. Little does she know that the circumstances surrounding Amy's murder would up-end her life even further. She uncovers secrets about the people she loves and holds dear. Secrets that throw her into a maelstrom of violence and bitter betrayal that will see her own life put in harms way.I loved this story for many reasons. Mac was just the kind of MC that I love. She's feisty, she's tough and when confronted with an amassing amount of evidence that all is not what it seems, she is like a dog with a bone and she will not let it go until she uncovers the truth.Throughout the whole story, I couldn't help but admire Mac's strength, loyalty and hard-headed attitude. She may have been a little naive in some instances, and she may have been kept in the dark by those closest to her. But that doesn't stop her from being one of the best female leads I have seen in YA. In fact her foibles endear me to her just as much as anything.Along with a great MC and a gritty storyline, there were also some other little bonuses in HEMLOCK. For instance, Kyle. *Swoons* I heart Kyle. Big time! He was the kind of guy you'd be happy to call your best friend. The kind of guy you'd want backing you in a fight. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with him from pretty much first sight.There's other characters to like, some to hate and some that trip you up when you least expect it. I knew who the killer was before it was revealed, but even then, there was another surprise in store that shocked me to the core.I finished HEMLOCK with a lump in my throat and tear tracks down my face, so I warn you now - have tissues at the ready.Being Kathleen Peacock's first novel, I didn't know what to expect from her as an author. What I found was she has a unique style all her own - making her sky-rocket straight onto my favourite authors list.The writing was fast-paced with an elegant fluidity to it that meant I was absolutely swept away and easily lost chunks of time whilst I was reading. I'd pick it up and upon putting it down I would wonder how on earth it had got to that time when it felt like I had only been reading for 5 minutes.Sometimes I find stumbling blocks within books that it takes me a while to get my head around. But HEMLOCK wasn't one of those books. There was nothing that needing explaining, no barrage of information that attacked you from on high. It was a provocative storyline that prompted questions about love, trust, lies and prejudice. All in all, it was a beautiful story that left me sated yet all at once thirsty for the next installment in the trilogy.For anyone who likes a good supernatural mystery - this book is a MUST read.

Good

Great item! Prompt service! Will deal again!