Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

WARNING  Bad words and a little bit mention of Bella in New Moon. Not enough to poison anyone or is it…

 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.

Goodreads
Series: Hemlock #1
Published May 8th 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books

Let me start this review by saying that dear Hemlock was the very first werewolf story I approved.  It was poignant, spine-tingling and bittersweet. While I was reading the beginning of the book, it was so depressing and I had the urge to stop. Why? Because it’s in my nature to avoid novels that will choke me with angst and anguish. The double A that sometimes scares the sh*t outta me. But because all the people around my world are so hyped up about it, I indulge myself further. And guess what, damsels? I actually like it. The plot of the story was both unique and quite predictable. Predictable because…


Question: WHO IS MORE DANGEROUS, A HUMAN OR A WEREWOLF?
Audience: Definitely idiotic.
Me: Can you just answer the freaking question?
Audience: Duh!? A werewolf, of course.
*Mac comes running in holding a banner that says *
“PRO-WEREWOLF. I LOVE KYLE BECAUSE HE’S MORE DANGEROUS. “
Me:

But don’t mind me. I’m crazy. In fact, I’m Team Kyle. The greatest attribute that Hemlock can offer to its readers is the complexity of the characters’ relationships to each other. It makes the story unique. Plus the worldbuilding. And the way Kathleen Peacock conveys the voices is really stirring. I really hated the Trackers (how very original *insert dry sarcasm*) to the bones. No, make that to the bone marrow. The plot is centered on Amy Walsh, Mac’s bestfriend and Jason’s late girlfriend. It focused on her gruesome murder and the werewolves. She’s been plaguing Mac with nightmares and honestly, it scared me.  Few times I looked around the room for any signs of Amy. I was paranoid. I praise Hemlock for that. See, it sparked certain reactions and provoke my thoughts according to what I tweeted (I was flooding Twitterverse while reading). That was halfway through the book, though.

The heroine Mackenzie Catherine is a slobbering mess of guilt in the beginning a headstrong and a very loyal bestfriend. She was really devoted in finding out the culprit in Amy’s murder. What really made me respect this girl is that she views things fairly. Mac always weighs the good and the bad equally. Kudos.

Yes, a werewolf had killed Amy. But I couldn’t blame an entire group of people—even if that would have been easier. The only person to blame was the one who had killed her. One person. One werewolf.

Cringe-worthy comparison of Mac in Hemlock and Bella in New Moon that I noticed. Nothing really important but still…*shrugs*

Mackenzie:  Trey and Serena were both infected and the world I thought I had known was unraveling. Was everyone in town a werewolf and I just didn’t get the memo?

Bella: What kind of place was this? Could a world really exist where ancient legends went wandering around the borders of tiny, insignificant towns, facing down mythical monsters?

*Kidding! xD*

Now my most favorite part: The boys.  Jason is the tortured rich boy here who is arrogant.  And an ASSHOLE.  He joined the ASSHOLE Trackers to avenge Amy’s death. This by the way, turned into a complete disaster. *evil laughter in the background*

Kyle is the hot and sexy werewolf whose shifting scenes always makes me erupt like a freaking Mt. Krakatoa. I’m so biased *covers face* He is the sole reason why I rated Hemlock 3.5 stars in Goodreads. The romance is there alright and it was just the right dosage to not obscure the original intent of the characters. But it did serve a pretty important role in the story. 

*I thought he got over this already *wails* Why, oh, why?*

The ending voiced out my greatest fears.  And I definitely flew into a rage upon knowing what HE did. I shred one hanky in the process. Using my teeth. Now it’ll be one of those books again. I thought it was different. I thought Mac finally chose the One.  How wrong I am. 

*me before the hanky shredding*

To wrap it up, Hemlock is a real page-turner full of the realistic views of humanity mixed with the escapism provided by the werewolf lore. (WTH am I babbling?)Definitely one of those books in the werewolf trend worth reading. Since I stayed at 12 AM to finish it up, I do believe it’s enough to prove that this book will probably rock more of the readers out there.

“You can't lose what you never had.”              

 Jason straightened his shirt. “What’s ‘chauvinistic’ mean?”“It’s in the dictionary next to a picture of your father,” muttered Kyle.