Willowgrove (Hemlock #3)

                Hello happy readers!  I hope you’re having a great day, I’m so ready for the weekend myself.  Random facts, my vehicle accident from back mid-January that totaled my vehicle, still dealing with finger issues from the break but I’ve gotten good at adapting and most exciting…I finally got my replacement vehicle!  It’s a pre-owed vehicle and I got it within the replacement money the insurance gave and frankly I have my own vehicle again so I’m thrilled! Plus it’s pretty awesome, not super new but newer than what I had so moved up!  So personal news aside I wanted to share my thoughts on the final book in the Hemlock trilogy by Kathleen Peacock, Willowgrove.  I previously review Hemlock and Thornhill.  As this is the final book there will be spoilers for the first two books, duh.

Rating:  4.5 Stars

                The last book left off with our gang having escaped from the rehabilitation camp of Thornhill where horrible experimentations were being run.  But thankfully the crew along with Mac’s long lost dad and his were wolf pack managed to storm the compound and set everyone free.  This however has caused some serious panic around the nation and everyone is freaking out over the fear of infection.  Anyone with any type of scar is suspected.  Trackers and their fanatic followers are out in droves and Hemlock, their home town, is one major point of convergence.  Trying to stay safe while working to uncover how Thornhill was able to operate their experiments for so long trying to put an end to it and ensure no one is put through them again.  Down the rabbit hole.

                This was a fantastic conclusion and a great series.  This last book really had it all.  I was emotional and attached.  Our core group of Mac, Kyle, and Jason easily includes Serena, Trey, and Eve without question.  They are the ones you are rooting for and most concerned about and considering all but two of them are werewolves in this nightmare of a time that’s a full time job.  Things start crazy and just keep going and going.  The escalation of the public tension is insane and if you take out the whole werewolf aspect and make it any number of highly volatile social issues we are dealing with today and you could see it really happening.  That made this book real in a way I never expected, to read these events and think to myself this could easily happen is rather frightening but also made the book that much better.

                Willowgrove also delivers on characters as well.  Mac has been growing and adjusting as the series progressed but she is such a strong character.  She is determined to find answers and protect those she cares about even if what is best for them will hurt her.  You know who else grows, Kyle and Jason.  Kyle still isn’t thrilled about what he is but he does come to accept it a bit more throughout which is huge progress.  Jason finally realizes that he can’t keep hating all things wolves and assuming his friends are the exception but they are all people too, some good and some bad like normal humans.  He makes large strides there.  Serena also got more time in the story and watching her struggle with what was done to her and what she has done even if in self-defense was beautiful. 

                There is already enough going on in the story with the “infection” and the public outcry and uprising of sorts but they added in even more to make sure the story was amped up.  As Mac is determined to figure out who is behind the experimentations and hold them accountable she dives deeper into a family she that seems at the center of their group, Amy’s family.  As with anything when you start digging for one thing everything around you that you know starts to unravel.  The mystery within the story was rather great and weaved together nicely.  I was all sorts of emotions at the end of this series and that made it.  It makes you think of a larger picture and contemplate moral ambiguity and what’s acceptable loss of life to save others? 

                I would recommend this series to fellow readers and say to drive into a unique story that blends the werewolf into a tale of social injustice and human rights with just enough mystery and lots of action to keep it rolling smoothly.  Please share your thoughts below on Willowgrove and the whole series in the comments below. 

                Until next time…

Thornhill (Hemlock #2)

                Hello happy readers!  As I post this there are only a few hours left in my giveaway and I will announce the winner tomorrow at the top of my top ten post.  Good luck!  Now last week I reviewed the first book in the Hemlock trilogy here and today I want to continue on and get my thoughts and feels down for book two, Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock.  Now as this is the second book in the series this review will contain spoilers for the first book so read on at your own risk. 

Rating: 4 Stars

                So when we left off in Hemlock I was a bit peeved at Kyle.  After everything that happened and with how freaked out his girl is and knowing she has some abandonment issues due to her dad he decides to just high tale it in the middle of the night without a word.  Not pleased.  Mac has chosen to not be angry about this but determined to find him and get him back with the help of her dead best friends former boyfriend who she found out has feelings for her and was almost initiated as a full Tracker before he realized just how far they would go, oh and his best friend turned out to be a werewolf so that makes it hard to hate them all.  With only some vague ideas they set off to find him and end up in a werewolf den.  As luck would have it as soon as they find Kyle things take a turn for the worse as huge raiding parties hit all over targeting wolves.  Not about to abandon her friends, despite being human, Mac goes into the newest rehabilitation camps hoping to figure out a way to get those she cares about out and maybe discover some secrets that will help shut down the camps as a whole. 

                I really enjoyed the first book and the sequel didn't let me down.  It was just as fast paced and action packed as the first one.  We follow our core three of Mac, Kyle, and Jason but in this one we get so much more Serena which I adore.  Oh and lets not forget Amy still hanging around in dreams.  I went in thinking there was going to be a long search for Kyle but that was wrong we found him rather quickly which I think helped the book and the pacing, more for me as I was not a fan of his having left like he did.  Thornhill was more centered on the larger agenda.  Where we focused on what was happening in one small town last time and figuring out who murdered her friend, Thornhill focuses on the larger issue of the werewolves and how they are treated and what the world has turned into as a whole by taking us into the new rehab camp aptly titled Thornhill. 

                Mac is still a loveable character to follow.  She is upset at Kyle but she is trying to see things from his perspective and as she thinks she can be mad after she finds him.  She isn't trying to save all the wolves she just wants to keep her little group safe.  She has accepted her boyfriend and friend are werewolves and doesn't agree with how wolves in general are treated but she still struggles with seeing wolves and being afraid of them.  She has had a mixed variety of wolves around her from friendly, dangerous, to downright crazy making her feelings all the more real.  She has a real range of emotions and things to work through but she keeps moving.  Kyle as well has to come to terms with his own issues, he wanted to save those he loved by leaving because he has not yet come to terms with himself.  He has a monster complex. Jason is still a work in progress and at times seems more like a car crash.  Still his charm squeezes through and I still see him a bit as Logan.  While I never saw his connection with Mac as anything but friendship I could feel the tension between them, him caring more for her and her not wanting to hurt him. 

                We also get tons of new characters in this one from the staff at the camp to the huge population of wolves we grow to know.  My favorite is Eve, and not just because we share a name.  She is a no nonsense kind of gal!  She has her own opinions and views on things but she can also smell some BS and she is able to take in new information and admit when she is wrong and readjust.  Also Sinclair….she is so beyond twisted.  There are so many people in this series so far who are just straight up manic.  They are so sure they are right and nothing can stop them and anything is worth their end.  This also relates to the real world in many ways, the prejudices of people to others based on 'X' instead of being a werewolf.  Maybe the majority are not this extreme but it does make you think. 

                Anywho the action was really rolling from secret missions to keep cover inside while trying to stay alive to chases and gun fights, to the obvious wolf fights there was never a dull moment.  Between action and thinking and plotting it's an easy book to fly through.  This series also happily surprised me with the sequel book being a solid story and not just a book that got you to book three but a solid story that not only stands on its own but also contributes to the series as a whole moving into book three.  That's all for now, I'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comments.  Plan to post my review of the last book next week. 

                Until next time…

Hemlock

                Hello happy readers.  It has been an interested few days.  Real quick reminder my giveaway for a SIGNED copy of Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman is still open with 4 days left (3/7/16) so don’t forget to enter here.  Many of you may have noticed I’m trying to put a huge dent in some of the books/series I have that have been sitting around for a while waiting to be read by me I find it refreshing I mean I clearly bought them for a reason, I wanted to read them.  Last month I read through the Hemlock trilogy by Kathleen Peacock which I rather enjoyed and plan to review them all for you guys.  But today we'll just review book one, Hemlock.

Rating:  4 Stars

                I admit I’d forgotten what this series was about prior to picking it back up.  Basically it’s about werewolves.  Lupine syndrome (LS) is a known thing in the world and werewolves are not looked upon happily but treated as a biohazard basically, something most fear.  Mac’s world has been screwed up since her best friend Amy was murdered by a white werewolf.  Since her death she’s been haunted by dreams of her dead friend.  When an extremist group known as Trackers come into her town of Hemlock, it’s to combat their werewolf problem.  While some might try to hide their symptoms and stay out of the camps others develop bloodlust, what they say killed Amy.  Unable to think of anything else Mac decides to investigate her best friends murder herself and is thrown into the danger of it all.

                The story moves along pretty easily and kept me interested and I learned what was happening in this world.  A small town with its social class divide and a string of attacks that were never solved and pretty interesting characters.  Mac lives with her cousin Tess, who is pretty much a punky awesome guardian, after her criminal father abandons her at a motel.  She has a crush on her best friend, Kyle, and is also looking after Amy's boyfriend, Jason, who has taken to making some rather questionable decisions since her death.  When we meet her Mac has already been through some stuff.  She has some issues of her own but she is strong and determined.  She was relatable. 

                Parts of the plot, a murdered best friend and trying to uncover what happened in a town with a strong economical divide, made me think of one of my favorite TV shows of times past, Veronica Mars.  Jason at times reminded me of Logan, Amy to Lily, and of course Mac to Veronica!  That only made me fly through the story more, and of course there was much more to the death than meets the eye.  But watching as they uncovered it was rather fun and some of the things that happen along the way were definitely something to keep your heart pumping.   

                More than a who done it, we have the moral implications of the LS being out there.  How it and anyone infected or sympathizers with infected are viewed in the new world.  Does being infected with LS make you less human?  What is the right way to handle the infection?  So many different questions, I loved how the story played on that throughout the whole series.  What makes one human?  That's all for book one I look forward to reviewing the next two books as well in the coming weeks so keep an eye on that.  I'd love to know what you think down below in the comments. 

                Until next time…