Hemlock

This story is very interesting, and fast-moving. And while it's well-written, there are some big problems with it.

One being that it's very obvious, from about 1/4 of the way through, who the "bad guy" is. While I didn't get all the details right at that point, I knew who the white wolf was very early on. While the other wolves identities were surprising, the big reveal did nothing for me.
Also, Mac makes a big deal early on about how she never cries in front of people...she then proceeds to cry in front of EVERYONE all the time. Why mention it? Is it supposed to make her crying have more of an impact? It doesn't.

There is a love triangle in this book. A very forced one. While "Hemlock" does a great job looking at hate cultures it doesn't do a good job with romance. Kyle loves Mac but in order to protect her, he's constantly trying to leave. I HATE the "I have to leave you to protect you" defense because it just forces the girl to then go after the guy and put herself in more danger. And Jason's character early on is interesting, but quickly devolves into the brooding love who she's not interested in.

And while I hate to say it, one of the biggest issues is that this book is very "Twilight" but with werewolves instead of vampires as the primary supernatural character. Girl loves boy who is supernatural and worried he'll hurt her. Her other best friend loves her, too, and while she likes him, it's not the same. Lover boy leaves, girl chases, other boy broods and yells. And I'm not usually one to compare books to other stories, but the similarities really jumped out at me for this one.

There is also a lot of graphic violence in this book. It didn't bother me, but it should be noted that this book may not be for younger readers.

This is a library read for sure, and I'm not sure if I'll read the next in the series.

The plot is well made and the world is very well constructed. Great werewolf book and perfect for supernatural book lovers.

Mac is a strong heroine who is willing to do anything to find out who/what murdered her best friend and keep her other friends safe and around. Sometimes she does not make the safest decisions but is not willing to give up on her friends. I loved all the characters and how they were written. They all felt like normal teenagers who are dealing with normal issues that can be applied to everyone.

If you're looking for a hint of romance and some chills you've found the right book. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. Because you can't put it down, not even when your mom tells you to go to bed. You just say another chapter till you finish the book. Hemlock is a non stop novel to where you can't sleep at night for crying yourself to sleep. There is a lot of voice and action in it. I can't wait to read the 2nd book!

The main character Mac is sweet, loving, daring and protective. Mac’s best friend Amy had died, this has changed her life for eternity, Amy had been killed in an alley, she had been killed by a werewolf. Jason and Amy had been in a relationship when Amy had died so now Jason wants to go out and find the werewolf that had killed his girlfriend.

Not all werewolves are harmful in Hemlock, one of Macs friends, Leah is a werewolf but she does not cause any harm. If you are wondering how they turn into a werewolf, there are only 2 ways to catch the disease called lupine syndrome. You can only get it from a bite or a scratch from a fully or partially transferred werewolf.

Personally my favorite character is Mac, Because she doesn't care what people think, and she's not afraid. Another reason why I love her so much because she is… I don't even know How to explain how powerful she is! Jason Is another one of the main characters along with Kyle and Amy (but a werewolf killed Amy) To go into depth about the characters Jason wants TO get revenge on the werewolf. JUst thinking of that, I think that Jason is Very protective over his property. But then Mac wants kyle to smack some sense into Jason because Mac doesn't want Jason getting hurt oh yeah did I mention Jason is a alcoholic and he gets in fights a lot?

Therefore this heart beating chill giving and a hint of romance you've got the best 5 out of 5 book you could ever read this book had me up at night because I couldn't put it down.

Half way through and I love it !

Half way through and I love it !

Half way through and I love it !

Like many other readers, I have to credit Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga for initiating me in the ways of paranormal romance. Prior to meeting Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, I never would have dreamed of venturing beyond my realm of realistic fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. Twilight opened my eyes to a totally different genre than the ones I was used to, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Though I've expanded to paranormal fiction, I have to admit my experience within the genre has been decidedly lopsided. I’ve gobbled up countless vampire novels, but the werewolf side of the house has been noticeably anemic. Hemlock is the beginning of my attempt to balance this out.

In Kathleen Peacock’s novel, the world is coming to terms with the existence of werewolves and dealing with the fear and prejudice that go along with this. Strict rules regulate werewolves, requiring that anyone who becomes infected by lupine syndrome, the disease that triggers a transformation from human to werewolf during periods of stress, anger, or other intense emotion, reports themselves within 30 days. At that time, the werewolf forfeits their assets and basic human rights and is relocated to a rehabilitation camp, where they must live out the rest of their lives “quarantined” from the rest of the population.

In the town of Hemlock, the general fear and mistrust is exacerbated by a rash of brutal werewolf attacks. When Amy, teenage granddaughter of a U.S. senator, is savagely murdered, the senator calls in a group of hunters known as the Trackers to help maintain order in the town and apprehend the wolf responsible. The group has its roots in white supremacy groups, so as you can imagine their methods and ideology leave something to be desired.

Amy’s best friend Mackenzie wants justice for Amy and the other victims, but she doesn’t agree with the Trackers that justice means the eradication of all werewolves. When it becomes evident that the police and the Trackers are more committed to furthering their own political agenda than actually solving Amy’s murder, Mac decides to take matters into her own hands and launch an investigation of her own.

I haven’t read enough werewolf books to truly gauge how Hemlock stacks up against its peers, but it didn't strike me as particularly awe-inspiring. It’s a decent book, and I enjoyed Peacock’s writing style, but the plot is extremely predictable, and the mystery didn’t really wow me. The book also lacked the depth and weight I'd been expecting from a book about murder and prejudice and hate.

One thing I did like about Hemlock was watching the evolution of the characters' relationships. When Amy was alive, she and Mac were part of a happy posse that included Amy’s boyfriend Jason and his best friend Kyle. After Amy’s death, the relationship between the three survivors understandably changes. Jason’s guilt and grief drive him into a self-destructive downward spiral, and Mac’s determination to help him out of scrapes causes friction between her and Kyle. Grief, secrets, prejudice, and vastly differing opinions about the Trackers’ mission test the trio’s limits and strain their friendship.

I always find it fascinating to read about relationships where people try to operate as though nothing’s changed when it obviously has. It was interesting to see Mac try to reconcile the Jason and Kyle she knew and loved when Amy was alive with the Jason and Kyle who are left behind after Amy's death. The "new" Jason spends a lot of time getting drunk, getting into fights, and basically being a dillweed, but Mac can't help but remember the great guy he used to be before Amy’s murder. She can't stop herself from caring about that Jason, and this is what keeps her in his corner, even when he’s acting like a jacka**.

This is another thing that I liked about Hemlock: it doesn’t glorify being a “bad boy” like a lot of other YA novels do. While I’m all for fictional troublemakers, it’s a nice change to see a book that sends the message that dealing with drama and danger isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Jason is rich and gorgeous, but the fact that he's undependable and self-absorbed detracts from his appeal. As one character points out, “Someone needs to tell him that the drunken and tragic antihero isn’t all that sexy in real life.”

If it weren’t for the relationships in Hemlock, I probably wouldn’t have given this book more than 2 stars. As it stands, though, I feel like the trilogy has good potential, and I look forward to seeing the plot and characterization taken to the next level in the sequel, Thornhill.

This review can also be found on my blog, http://AngelasLibrary.com.

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock is my dirty little secret. I don't want to lose you... but it's a novel about a world where werewolf-ism is spreading across the world. On top of that, part of society is adamantly against werewolves and werewolf rights... sound familiar to today's issues of equal rights? It is easily relatable to the human rights we are fighting for every day.

After Mackenzie's best friend Amy is brutally murdered by a white werewolf, she finds her small group of friends spread apart. Her best friend and secret love interest Kyle and Amy's boyfriend Jason are reeling in the pain of Amy's loss, but not all in their friendship was hunky-dory as Mac thought. Amy's apparition haunts Mac until she cannot handle the mystery anymore... she has to find Amy's killer.

This novel... SO MUCH FUN TO READ. Such a silly concept, but I loved it. Mac is real and kind and through her suffering a true fighter. Great characters, fun story arc. Lots of twists and turns. Definitely suggested to fans of supernatural YA novels.

-Sarah
http://nobodyputssarahinthecorner.com

HEMLOCK is a surprisingly touching book full of the sort of mystery that will have you guessing until the very last pages. If you find yourself jaded by the sheer number of (and lack of originality in) werewolf books these days, Hemlock may be the book to reel you right back into the genre.

The plot of Hemlock is easily explained by reading the summary above. To say much more than this would spoil the surprises that the author has in store for you. Hemlock is a story about the secrets that people keep and the lives that these secrets ultimately affect. In the town of Hemlock (that the book is named for) everyone is keeping a secret. I love how Kathleen balanced the paranormal elements of the story with a mystery that unravels at a surprisingly fast pace. Plus, such topics as how the werewolf virus came to be in this world and the segregation that has occurred because of it are explained in vivid detail.

Hemlock takes place in a contemporary alternate world, parallel to our own. The setting alone will make you believe that this story could easily occur today, despite the fantastical werewolf elements. In fact, although they are very much at the forefront of the story, the werewolves seem more like a piece of the puzzle (perhaps the driving element) rather than what the story is actually about. Also, something that may shock you about about the story is the amount of emotion you will experience by reading the details of each of the character’s lives. Kathleen has created a set of characters who are each damaged in their own little (and for some, extreme) ways. Mackenzie, the protagonist, is at once a flawed, realistic and extremely likeable character. Her own personal tragedies are not limited to just the death of her best friend and I admire her strength and her determination, despite her unfortunate loneliness. I also appreciate the fact that, while there was a “love triangle” of sorts, you still feel fairly certain of where Mac’s heart belongs. Yes, even the love triangle is one of the most realistic I have ever read in fiction, as Mac’s feelings are based on realistic thoughts and emotion.

Topics such as alcoholism, prejudice, class lines and more are all explored in Hemlock. In fact, I found myself comparing the characters, Kathleen’s writing style and her subject matter to that of Shine by Lauren Myracle, which is a surprisingly similar (and just as riveting) contemporary novel. That is a complement, since Shine was one of my top reads of 2011.

I have a feeling that Hemlock has securely placed itself among my top reads of 2012.