Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

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.

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Source: Edelweiss

Thoughts:

When I first started blogging I loved Paranormal Romance, but my love for it quickly began declining to the point where I rarely ever read it anymore. When I read the summary for Hemlock I thought it sounded like every other PR out there...but boy was I wrong! 

I thought the plot for Hemlock was going to be predictable, but Peacock has done a fantastic job of keeping readers in the dark. There were so many unexpected twists and turns that I hadn't been anticipating and I was completely shocked when the revelations came to light.

There is a love triangle...well, sort of. I say sort of because both Jason and Kyle like Mac, but Mac only likes one of them and is oblivious to the way the other guy feels about her. I just hope Mac sticks with the one she likes and doesn't start developing feelings for the other, because in my opinion he's a jerk (although I admit I did feel sorry for him at times) and love triangles annoy me to no end.

I love that the author portrayed the werewolves as dark and vicious. It's a refreshing change from the way other YA books have dealt with them - it added realism to the story and made it more enjoyable to read.

Mackenzie is the definition of a strong and independent heroine. She doesn't need guys to come to her rescue as can be seen in the scenes where she tells the guys off for thinking so.

The characters in Hemlock all felt very realistic, my favourite is the guy Mac ends up kissing - he's caring, protective, and swoon worthy!  

"It was official, my life belonged on the CW."

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