Title: Hemlock
Author: Kathleen Peacock
Book #: 1st of Trilogy
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publish Date: May 8th 2012
Pages: 404
Format: Hardcover
Date Read: October 17th 2013
Rating: ★★★ / out of 5
"You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."
Summary:
Mackenzie's best friend was killed months ago by a rare white were-wolf, the same one that has been terrorizing Hemlock for a while now. As a course of action, the Trackers, a gang of wolf hunters, have been brought in.
With tension rising between Mac's friend Jason, who is hell bent on joining the Trackers to avenge Amy, and Kyle, who she has just learned a the terrifying truth about, Mac must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to save the ones she cares about from destruction.
Thoughts:
I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed this one, despite my previous apprehensions. I still did not love it, though, and I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
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I think the author took a pretty unique approach to the whole "were-wolf" scenario. Or, at least in my opinion. I have not read many books with were-wolfs, so I don't have much experience to draw on. However, of the ones that I have read, they were still considered largely a myth. When getting into Hemlock?, I was surprised by the fact that people were so acutely aware of their existence. This made the story very interesting for me, and allowed for the first 3rd of the book to fly by. I thought it was a cool mix between science fiction and paranormal.
Mac, our protagonist, reminds me a lot of Tris from Divergent . She is very headstrong, and I liked her most of the time. But, then there were times were she would throw herself into the path of danger for reasons that, though admirable, were obviously too much for her to handle. All we need is Four there to set her back on track! I'll take one, too, while you're at it.
While those aspects of the story were pretty good and account for most of my pleasant rating, there was one aspect that really bothered me... The romance. I do not approve. Here is why:
If it were just Kyle who started showing his feelings for Mac, then I would approve. However, not only does Kyle suddenly start expressing his interest in Mac, Jason does, as well. Well, isn't that you're typical love triangle? I didn't think so. The fact that, only months after Amy's death, her best friend and her boyfriend are both suddenly falling for her other best friend, Mac, made me mad.
Not only this, but what also confused me was how the girl who constantly compares herself to other "more beautiful" girls in her life and states how average she is, and who has been playing third wheel (Kyle + GF & Amy + Jason &... Mac= double third wheel) for so long has just suddenly moved up on the ladder so high, so suddenly, just did not make sense to me. I really didn't care for the romance at all.
And, one more quick thing that slightly bothered me. I wasn't really a huge fan of the dreams that Mac had in which she could talk to Amy so fluidly. Though, I'm never really a fan of dreams being involved in stories unless their done a certain way. I'm just not one to believe any of those theories that dreams hold meaning.
Overall, this book really did surprise me, though, I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
1. What was your take on the romance between Mac and her two best friends?
2. Were you Pro-Tracker or more on the side of the people fighting for were-wolf rights?
On My Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/739143563
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