Book Review: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Series: Hemlock Trilogy, Book #1

Published: May 8th, 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

404 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Young adult paranormal mystery/romance

Acquired this book: Gift from Molli at Once Upon a Prologue

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Synopsis: Mackenzie and Amy were best friends.

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 boy-friend, 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 spell-binding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

 

Hemlock is a dark and compelling story with a bit of everything - action, suspense, and romance - woven with a dynamic cast of characters.

I’ve read several werewolf novels, and I particularly liked the concept of Hemlock - werewolves were people infected with lupine syndrome from either a bite or a scratch, and if they were identified as being infected, they were sent to internment camps for the rest of their lives so they couldn’t infect anyone else. I thought it was an interesting, unique spin on werewolf lore. I loved that the weres were ‘out’ - people knew about them, and that they were a real threat. I also thought the Trackers were a great addition - the bad guys that were supposed to be good guys, saving people from werewolves, but they had their own menacing and often deadly agenda. Their presence added to the overall dark and tense feel of the book.

As for the characters, they really made this book. Mac was a very genuine, relatable character. Her emotions really rang true, whether it was fear, worry, happiness, or love. My heart ached for her as secrets and lies were uncovered, and she had trouble knowing who to trust or what to do. She was strong, smart, independent, stubborn, and loyal, and I really felt like I connected to her.

The other characters were just as compelling - Jason, Amy’s haunted and broken boyfriend; Kyle, Mac’s best friend who has a secret of his own; Tess, Mac’s cousin/guardian; and Amy, who despite being dead was a large presence in the story through memories and Mac’s nightmares. She was Mac’s best friend, but Mac slowly learns that there were a lot of things she didn’t know about Amy, and it added to the mysterious feel of the story.

While I’m not one of those people who is fanatically opposed to love triangles, sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t; in the case of Hemlock, it definitely worked. Although I was rooting for Kyle from the beginning, there were moments when things were revealed that almost had me wavering. Both Jason and Kyle have their good points, but I think Kyle - sweet, protective, and loyal - is the type of guy Mac needs in her life. She’s certainly strong enough that she doesn’t need anyone to save her or ‘take care of her’, but I think if she did, Kyle would be the perfect choice. As for the love triangle itself, I think it was really well done. It wasn’t forced or irritating the way some triangles are, and the romance wasn’t in your face - it felt natural.

A fantastic debut in a trilogy that’s sure to be a hit, Hemlock is gripping and memorable, and is sure to enthrall fans of paranormal, romance, and mystery.

On a side note: I’ve been trying to get my mum to read YA for quite awhile now. When Hemlock arrived, she read the synopsis and thought it sounded really good, so as soon as I was finished reading it, she read it and loved it. I’m still in shock!

Have you read Hemlock? What did you think? How do you feel about love triangles? What are some of your favourite werewolf books?

 

Book Review: Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Series: Claire de Lune #1

Published: May 18th, 2010

Publisher: Simon Pulse

336 pages (hardcover)

Genre: YA paranormal romance

Acquired this book: From the library

Challenge: 2011 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

Warning: may include spoilers

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Synopsis: Torn between two destinies?

Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.
As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Well…I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the concept and thought it was original – people know about werewolves, although their identities aren’t known except inside the packs. Only women are werewolves, and it’s passed down through the generations. Nice change from the whole 'Alpha male' thing. It was an interesting mix of paranormal, suspense, and romance.

That being said, Claire wasn’t my favorite character ever. Actually, to be honest, I didn’t really love any of the characters. I didn’t hate Claire by any means, but she spends a lot of time going over the same things – she’s not human anymore, she’s a werewolf, it’s so hard to keep it from people, she pushes away her best friend (who really annoyed me by the way – she was a stereotypical boy-crazy, self-absorbed teenager) because her friend's problems are insignificant in comparison and because Claire can’t talk to her about her own problems. I also found it a bit odd that Claire accepted things so easily – it was like 'happy birthday Claire, and hey, guess what, you’re a werewolf, surprise!' I would have freaked the hell out personally, even after seeing proof with my own eyes. But that’s just me. It also kind of bothered me that when Claire says ‘oh my god’ her mother corrects her and says ‘goddess’, and even though that happens several times, she never explains why, but Claire just accepts it without question. Sorry, but if I'd been taught to believe something my entire life, and then was told 'no, believe this' I'd question it. Plus, I think it could have added more to the story.

Claire’s mother was an extremely unlikable character. She definitely gets the worst mother of the year award. She’s so self-absorbed that she barely seems to care about Claire at all, and Claire basically can’t do anything right. But, I kind of enjoy characters who are genuinely unlikable because it’s a sign that the author did something right – when a character evokes genuine emotion from a reader, whether it’s love or hate, it shows a well-written and well-formed character. Does that make sense?

Anyway, all that being said, the romance junkie in me enjoyed the budding relationship between Claire and Matthew. It was all very innocent and sweet. To me, that’s how first love feels – you’re awkward and unsure, but have these sweet little moments. And Matthew was a great guy, just what Claire needs. It always felt like there was a little something missing between them, and Matthew was kind of freakishly perfect, but it worked.

Overall, I think that if this book had been about 100 pages shorter and had cut out a lot of the filler, it would have been more enjoyable. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I’m sure there are many, many people who will enjoy it though, so it’s worth a read, especially if you enjoy books about werewolves and teenage angst. I’m not 100% if I’ll read the next book, Nocturne, but I’ll admit to being just curious enough that I might eventually read it.

Book Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Series: Fairytale Retellings #1

Published: June 7th, 2010

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

324 pages (hardcover)

Genre: YA paranormal romance

Acquired this book: From the library

Challenge: 2011 Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

Warning: may include spoilers

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Synopsis: Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend-but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

What I thought of Sisters Red:

Sisters Red is like a sick, twisted version of Little Red Riding Hood. I don’t often read darker stories – it’s not that I don’t enjoy them, it just sort of works out that way. This story was dark, disturbing, had its nasty moments, but all of that made the story. The action and tension had me on the edge of my seat, constantly wondering what was going to happen. I’m an incredibly slow reader, but I zoomed through this book, especially the last quarter or so, because I couldn’t stand not knowing what was going to happen (if you’ve read this book, see spoiler at the end of the review to see what I’m talking about).

This story was so unique, and the characters were terrific. Scarlett is scarred and damaged in more ways than one. She’s a girl on a mission, and nothing and no one is going to stand in her way or stop her.

Rosie wants to assert her independence and show that she’s strong enough to fight on her own. She wants to have a life outside of hunting, but feels that she owes her sister her life because Scarlett protected her from the wolf that killed their grandmother. She struggles with guilt and a desire to have a life beyond the hunt.

I loved the romance in this book. Silas is just incredible. I appreciated that he and Rosie didn’t get together right away, and they don’t go into it lightly. It wasn’t an instant romance, so it was fun to watch it build, feel the tension between them, and wish they would hurry up and just be together!

This book really had a bit of everything - action, romance, suspense. I can't wait to read Sweetly!

 

SPOILER ALERT - highlight black part to read spoiler: I was about halfway through this book when I went to update my status on GoodReads and accidentally saw something someone had written as a comment on a review for this book, and it led me to believe that someone dies. I panicked. I loved the characters, and didn’t want any of them to die, but kept creating these scenarios in my head. When I figured out that Silas was the Potential, and then it was revealed, I was so sure he was the one who was going to die, and I felt sick. It would have to be either Rosie or Scarlett who killed him, and I honestly almost stopped reading because I didn’t think I could handle it - I loved him so much! I thought the death might even be Rosie or Scarlett - that one of them would be killed be a Fenris, or that Silas would change and kill one of them. I thought it might be one of those books where someone dies for the greater good, or because it ‘has to’ happen for the story to progress. There was part of me that thought ‘no, they’ll figure it out, there’ll be some twist’, but after reading what I thought was a spoiler, I just couldn’t see how it was going to happen! Did anyone else who read this think one of the characters was going to die?