Book Review: Hemlock

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.

Werewolves! Of all the ideas floating around my head as to what secrets Hemlock could be holding… this was not even on the list.

Hemlock starts with a bang. Mackenzie, aka Mac, our MC, has just lost her best friend to of all things a werewolf. In Mac's small town, unfortunately, a werewolf attack is not an uncommon event. The town's people while not living in constant fear of an attack, fear the effect of the lupine syndrome. A mysterious condition that causes the change. When Mac loses Amy, all the hidden pieces of her town begin to come together, and Mac finds herself caught in the middle of a battle she did not even realize existed.

Mac was almost the perfect MC for a book like this. Good back bone. Stands up for herself now and then. And doesn't exactly fall all over herself when she meets the hunky guy (or in this case guys). Love triangles are always iffy, and when I had my doubts about this (almost) triangle a few time, Peacock does the right thing and nips it in butt. Thank you! There was plenty of chemistry between Mac and Kyle without throwing other guys in the loop, and muddling it up.

Hemlock, at its heart, is a werewolf story. But it was a bit different. Plenty of darkness with a far share of light, made Hemlock a book that I was glued to until the very end. Peacock's world building was sadly a bit off in regards to the lupine syndrome, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a blip on my radar. It is true that I still have more than enough questions about this condition, but a sequel (or maybe two) can always cure that issue.

From the very beginning, Hemlock was anything but I was expecting. For that alone, I would recommend Hemlock. But there is so much more to this book. I need a sequel… and I need it now.

Kate

Kate is the co-blog owner of The Book Monsters. I am a twenty-something year old who is passionate about reading. I currently hold a B.A. in English and am married to my high school sweetheart. We have two (cat) children, Gracie and Kit, who are total divas. I have an insane and possibly unhealthy passion for reading. You can usually find me with my nose buried in a book.

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