Series: Hemlock #2
Published by Katherine Tegen (9.10.2013)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.
The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.
Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.
My thoughts
I absolutely LOVED Hemlock (I gave it 5 stars!), and have been jonesing for the sequel for months and months. But for some reason, it just didn’t have the magic that the first book had for me. It was still good, but I was disappointed in some small way with it.
My main problem was that I couldn’t connect (seems to be the theme these days, doesn’t it?) as well as I did with Hemlock. I enjoyed the story, but I wasn’t invested in it and I didn’t care much about what happened to the characters. I wasn’t impressed with the characters much at all, actually.
I have to admit that Mac vastly improved since the first book. She was kind of weak in Hemlock, crying and throwing up too many times for my liking. But her strength in this one was exactly what I like in a lead. She stuck around at the werewolf camp by choice, enduring the horrors that the weres did just to stay close to her friends.
“Regs aren’t supposed to care this much about werewolves.”
“All werewolves start off as regs,” I countered
I did really love the compound/camp setting. And of course, the werewolves. I looove weres, and for me you really can’t go wrong with a were story. The bigotry toward the weres was still very alive in the sequel, and the camp to ‘cure’ Lupine Syndrome was horrible. The way they were treated was awful: like animals. Their human side was disregarded and they were viewed as nothing more than animals that needed to be fixed.
Sadly, this book wasn’t memorable. Even now, less than 24 hours after finishing it, I’ve already started to forget details. Despite the awesome setting and having werewolves, the story didn’t really stand out for me. I’m sad to say that this book did not wow me like the first book did. I will still read the 3rd book though, to find out what happens!
Plot: 3.5/5
Premise: 4.5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 1/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Aww, only 1/5 for the feels? *cry* It sucks that this did not work for you like the first one did. I seriously hate when that happens :(
Lovely review, Jessi! <33
Yeah =/ I’ve had some serious issues connecting to anything lately! It’s awful!
i haven’t started this series yet, not sure i really want to know either so i will wait a little because it does have were in it and it something i love so perhaps but others have priority first
thank you for this honest review
You should definitely still try it, I thought Hemlock was very good! I think being in a reading slump lessened my enjoyment of the second book a bit.
I SO know what you mean by not feeling or connecting to the book. I’ve had that experience with so many other books, and now I’m a little worried for how Thornhill is going to turn out for me because I also loved Hemlock. I’m glad that Mac grew stronger in this book, and that the compound setting was well done.
Fantastic review, Jessi! <33 I'm sorry this one wasn't as amazing as you were hoping it'd be, but I'm still glad you ended up loving it!
Hopefully you don’t feel the same way! It doesn’t help that I’ve been in a reading slump lately. =/
UGH to second book syndrome. Just UGH.
*hugs*
Inky
I SECOND THAT. >.< <333
Oh man, it always sucks when the sequel doesn’t live up to its predecessor! >< Or when a book you're on the edge of your seat for, just isn't memorable!
And like Mel pointed out, only 1/5 for feels?? :O For me, if my feels were so low, then I probably wouldn't have given the book such an objective rating! xD
But fantastic review, as always Jessi! :D
It really does! I think the feels mostly has to do with me and not the book, because I’ve been in a reading slump lately =/ The concept was still good enough to make up for it though!
Thanks Emily :)
<3
Boo! I’m sad you didn’t like this one! I definitely still want to give it a shot. Maybe it will work out better for me as I won’t go into it with as high of hopes :)
I still liked it! It just didn’t WOW me like the first one did =/