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Category: Mysteries

Review: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

[ 4 ] May 3, 2012

Reviewed by Elizabeth Talbott

Werewolves are part of the new reality and are humans infected by a disease known as lupine syndrome. The second a person is infected, they lose all rights and privileges as people and are sent to camps to keep them away from humans. Many werewolves hide undetected among humans, but transformations are sometimes unavoidable due to emotions and bloodlust.

A murderous white werewolf is on the loose in Hemlock. It killed Mackenzie’s best friend Amy and a few other girls along the way. The Trackers, an extremist anti-werewolf organization, come to Hemlock in an effort to catch the werewolf, but they also cause a lot of trouble for the citizens. They view themselves as above the law and pretty much do whatever they want without consequences. Mac decides to investigate the murder herself since the Trackers are absorbed with harassing people and the police does nothing. She gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers secret after secret about Amy’s boyfriend Jason, her best friend Kyle, and Amy herself.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading Hemlock. I’m usually not a fan of werewolf books because good characters are inevitably changed into insufferable jerks. This actually wasn’t the case with Hemlock and the world created by Kathleen Peacock is different than the usual fare. The public is aware that werewolves exist and they immediately lose all rights as people when their existence becomes known. The driving force behind the werewolf camps seems to be primarily fear. Fear and the need for protection also allow the Trackers to take over and do whatever they want. The Trackers’ actions become more and more violent and reprehensible as the book goes on.

The characters were also more than I expected. The back of the book described a typical YA love triangle, but it was far from a girl mooning over two guys and waiting three books to choose one. I really liked Mac and sympathized with her. Unlike many YA heroines, she was strong, fiercely loyal, and full of heart. The two young men in her love triangle were both admirable and annoying in their own opposite ways. So many surprising revelations came out about these characters and all the twists and turns made the book that much more exciting.

Hemlock was surprisingly a very good read and I can’t wait for the next installment!

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Elizabeth is a student at Cal State Long Beach. She laughs a lot, loves cats, and lives for music and books. You can read her blog here: http://titania86-fishmuffins.blogspot.com/.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Katherine Tegen Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Perception by Kim Harrington

[ 2 ] March 29, 2012

Reviewed by April Kirkland

Clarity, a.k.a. Clare, is not a typical teenage girl and she definitely does not come from a typical family. Each member of her family has a special gift: her mother Starla is telepathic, her brother Periwinkle “Perry” is a medium and Clare’s gift is retro-cognitive psychometry. In layman’s terms, that means that she can sometimes get visions of actions or emotions from the past when she touches an object some else has touched. Her gift comes in very handy in the family business, “Readings By The Fern Family”. But, one thing, or person, that Clare cannot see is the one who is stalking her…

Clare has to find out who this secret admirer is and exactly what their intentions are. They obviously know about her and her gift so how can she find out who has been lurking in the shadows?

Perception was well written and kept me on the edge of my seat. It had just enough twists and turns to keep me guessing without feeling overly done.

Perception is the second book in the Clarity series by Kim Harrington. That said, I did not read the first book and did not feel that I was missing any key essentials to the story. There were a few descriptions of past events that let me know just enough to be able to follow this story correctly.

I really loved Perception and will probably go back and read the first novel just to find out some of the past behind one of my new favorite characters. I highly recommend the book to any fans of YA novels with mystery and suspense.

Rating: ★★★★½ 


April is a stay at home mom and wife. She lives in a small county in Alabama famous for its peaches. She loves to write poetry, read, and paint, and is also an aspiring author.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Point. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

[ 2 ] March 22, 2012

Reviewed by Megan Saldecki

Sylvia – Vee – Bell can do something extraordinary, yet she sees it as a curse. She can fall asleep, “slide” into other people and see things through their eyes. This is how she knows that a teacher sneaks drinks, that her sister cheated on a math test, and that Sophie didn’t commit suicide. Sophie was murdered.

Faced with this truth, Vee has to learn how to use her curse and turn it into a gift. She has no one to confide in – she cannot bear to see the same reaction she saw in her father’s eyes when she told him and he didn’t believe her.

Vee has to find a way to make the truth come out and also keep her secret hidden.

Slide sucked me in from the synopsis and kept me interested until the end. I loved every minute of this fast-paced mystery.

Vee is just like any normal girl, yet she has one thing that sets her apart from everyone. She thinks of her gift as a curse; she has to be extra careful around objects people could have left an “imprint,” or an emotional essence, on. She also has to be careful at school, so she isn’t seen as more weird than people already think she is.

I felt that Jill Hathaway really brought Vee’s struggles with her secret – with keeping it from other and keeping herself awake – to light. The plot was absolutely wonderful. It was fast-paced and I found myself practically tearing the pages from the spine in order to find out who killed Sophie. The result was something I was thinking about just a bit, but it was still totally surprising! I also loved that even though there’s a sequel, everything in this mystery was wrapped up nicely, so that there is no waiting for book two to tie up loose ends. It also most likely means a different mystery, which sounds like a great thing to me!

Overall, I loved Slide. It was mysterious and terrifying at times and just the type of novel I wanted to read. I highly recommend it for fans of mystery thrillers and paranormal romance!

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Meghan is a 18-year-old book blogger. She likes to read and write in her spare time and would like to become a published author one day. She plans on going to college soon.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Balzer + Bray. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell

[ 1 ] January 30, 2009

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova (Luxury Reading)

I am normally not the one to pick up young adult literature, but What I Saw And How I Liedpeaked my interest since it was such a departure from Judy Blundell’s famous series. (She penned the Star Wars books under her pen name, Jude Watson)

It is hard to sum up What I Saw without giving away the whole book, but here is a purposely vague outline. Set in 1947, What I Sawis narrated by Evie Spooner, an awkward 15-year old, living with her mother, Beverly, and recently-returned-from-war stepfather, Joe. Joe Spooner is a soldier turned businessman who married Beverly despite his mother’s advice; Beverly Spooner was only too happy to find some stability after raising Evie on her own. As for Evie, she languishes in the shade of her mother’s gorgeous looks, and yearns to grow up despite Beverly’s attempts to keep her as a child for as long as possible. Am impromptu trip to Florida seems like the ideal family vacation, until unexpected events disrupt their lives and change them forever. Hidden discontents are brought to light, secrets uncovered, betrayals recognized and Evie is propelled into adulthood by the lies around her.

What surprised me about What I Sawwas how much meaning Judy Blundell was able to pack into this quick read. She masterfully created the 1940′s setting – from the prejudices and the notions about the right vs wrong behavior, to the full-skirted dresses cinched at the waist. Blundell also excelled at getting across Evie’s longing – for love, for acceptance, for being treated as an equal – and her strong resolve when her world comes crashing around her. And of course, it’s the suspense that kept me reading into the wee hours of the night. Each sentence felt like a glimpse of the final outcome, but not quiet, and kept me wondering how the story would turn out.

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