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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
The story of the island was really good, especially if you come packing knowledge about Lake Superior before reading. I don’t think the storyline of the romance fit in very well, it felt underdeveloped for 3/4 of the book. Possibly it’s that there wasn’t enough substance built in the beginning to help you “care” where that part was going, but it also was intertwined in odd places. It would have been nice to see the birds play a larger role throughout the story, giving signs or looming eerily, since that’s a major part of the ending.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First book I've read by Kelley Armstrong, and this one HIT hard, it was heartbreaking in a way things rarely are, I definitely cried. It's not for everybody, but I know anyone who reads it would agree that Nate deserved SO MUCH MORE.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault
3.5 stars - rounded up.
Armstrong definitely knows how to write a page turner. Hemlock Island kept me up reading past when I should have been asleep. Because once you hit that point of no return, you just have to keep going.
A fan of her Otherworld and Rockton series, I was excited to read Hemlock Island. And it's a nice standalone story. I would not say that it was a "scary" horror novel as much as it as a whodunit and figuring out the mystery and untangling the web of lies that have been told between the characters before the novel even started.
And even Armstrong couldn't keep her romance meets horror meets supernatural flair out of this novel.
My irritations were in how Garret was portrayed as SUCH a jerk at the beginning and then he seemed to be trustworthy-ish the rest of the novel... and her inclusion of Madison as a non-binary character (I think). I am all for LGBTQ presence in novels - but it was thrown out so haphazardly as an insult from Garret at the beginning and then NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN even as an insult later in the novel that it felt included just to include it for inclusion's sake. And THAT felt out of character and weird for Armstrong.
Armstrong definitely knows how to write a page turner. Hemlock Island kept me up reading past when I should have been asleep. Because once you hit that point of no return, you just have to keep going.
A fan of her Otherworld and Rockton series, I was excited to read Hemlock Island. And it's a nice standalone story. I would not say that it was a "scary" horror novel as much as it as a whodunit and figuring out the mystery and untangling the web of lies that have been told between the characters before the novel even started.
And even Armstrong couldn't keep her romance meets horror meets supernatural flair out of this novel.
My irritations were in how Garret was portrayed as SUCH a jerk at the beginning and then he seemed to be trustworthy-ish the rest of the novel... and her inclusion of Madison as a non-binary character (I think). I am all for LGBTQ presence in novels - but it was thrown out so haphazardly as an insult from Garret at the beginning and then NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN even as an insult later in the novel that it felt included just to include it for inclusion's sake. And THAT felt out of character and weird for Armstrong.
I love Kelley Armstrong, i have read her other series many times over and appreciate her as a writer. This book however disappointed me. Maybe it was the romance or interpersonal secrets that threw off the vibes for me. I also went into it thinking it was a strictly horror book with no supernatural elements like her other books which was a mistake. Anyways I still love this author just maybe not this title.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I don't read a lot of horror, but once in a while once grabs my attention. Hemlock Island revolves around Laney Kilpatrick, an English teacher and thriller author who is recently divorced and is grieving her sister who lost her battle to cancer. She is raising her 16-year-old niece, Madison, and reluctantly renting her vacation home on a remote island to strangers. Things get out of control when the renters call her in the middle of the night to inform her that there are blood and nail marks all over the guest room's closet. Laney goes out to the house with her niece Madison. Her ex-husband, Kit, also shows up with his sister, Jayla. And then, we have Sadie, a former friend from high school, and her brother, Garrett, who is now a cop. There is so much tension in the group, but we gradually learn about their relationships and secrets. Then one of their group goes missing - and they find a severed hand.
Hemlock Island sucked me right in. There is a killer on the island, there must be. Of course, this is horror, not mystery, and what Laney and her friends discover gets creepier and creepier. Have you ever played Spirit Island? It's kind of like that.
I will say I was a little disappointed in the ending. Not in the supernatural that Armstrong worked into the plot, which I was expecting. Sometimes I just want authors to go a little further with what they're doing - kill the character we're hoping doesn't die, give us that plot twist that actually surprises us. Armstrong doesn't quite do it, so we get a pretty happy ending, given the potentials. Once again, I don't read a lot of horror. Maybe we need the happy ending to compensate for the pain and torture the characters go through?
Anyway, it's a good, spooky read for the season.
Hemlock Island sucked me right in. There is a killer on the island, there must be. Of course, this is horror, not mystery, and what Laney and her friends discover gets creepier and creepier. Have you ever played Spirit Island? It's kind of like that.
I will say I was a little disappointed in the ending. Not in the supernatural that Armstrong worked into the plot, which I was expecting. Sometimes I just want authors to go a little further with what they're doing - kill the character we're hoping doesn't die, give us that plot twist that actually surprises us. Armstrong doesn't quite do it, so we get a pretty happy ending, given the potentials. Once again, I don't read a lot of horror. Maybe we need the happy ending to compensate for the pain and torture the characters go through?
Anyway, it's a good, spooky read for the season.
I just finished Hemlock Island By Kelley Armstrong and here are my musings.
Laney has no choice but to rent out her vacation home, a place she loves, to strangers. The island is the only thing she received in the divorce. The latest tenants left the island screaming after discovering blood all over a closet and nail marks on the door…. Like someone tried to claw their way out.
Going to inspect what is going on, Laney with her teenage niece and find hex circles and bloody bones…. When Laney’s ex Kit and his sister arrive to help, along with an old friend of theirs and her brother who is a cop, they find more than they bargained for.
After finding a hand and the caretaker of the island missing, their nerves are on edge. When Sadie goes missing, tensions rise and everybody is holding on to their secrets. Learning that someone or something has destroyed their only way off the island, they soon come to realize that none of them will make it off the island alive.
I got chills reading this book. Hardcore chills. The whole atmosphere of the island was super intense and I loved all the descriptive prose that delivered the imagery to my brain! I felt like I was walking around there in my mind.
I really liked the character development although the childhood issues seemed really idiotic until we got the big twist! Then it all made sense. I didn’t much care for Sadie and the brother but I understood what their part was eventually.
I loved the supernatural elements in this book and adored being kept guessing. I didn’t figure it out until it was all revealed and was blown away by the ending. I sat up late to finish it and part of me hopes this doesn’t stay a standalone. I would love more on the history of the island and how it came to be…. What happens to Laney…. Or a prequel!!
Loved the family drama and the dark secrets… This book really ticked every single box for me.
If you love horror with a mystery thriller mashed in, this has to be your go to…
4.5 stars!
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Laney has no choice but to rent out her vacation home, a place she loves, to strangers. The island is the only thing she received in the divorce. The latest tenants left the island screaming after discovering blood all over a closet and nail marks on the door…. Like someone tried to claw their way out.
Going to inspect what is going on, Laney with her teenage niece and find hex circles and bloody bones…. When Laney’s ex Kit and his sister arrive to help, along with an old friend of theirs and her brother who is a cop, they find more than they bargained for.
After finding a hand and the caretaker of the island missing, their nerves are on edge. When Sadie goes missing, tensions rise and everybody is holding on to their secrets. Learning that someone or something has destroyed their only way off the island, they soon come to realize that none of them will make it off the island alive.
I got chills reading this book. Hardcore chills. The whole atmosphere of the island was super intense and I loved all the descriptive prose that delivered the imagery to my brain! I felt like I was walking around there in my mind.
I really liked the character development although the childhood issues seemed really idiotic until we got the big twist! Then it all made sense. I didn’t much care for Sadie and the brother but I understood what their part was eventually.
I loved the supernatural elements in this book and adored being kept guessing. I didn’t figure it out until it was all revealed and was blown away by the ending. I sat up late to finish it and part of me hopes this doesn’t stay a standalone. I would love more on the history of the island and how it came to be…. What happens to Laney…. Or a prequel!!
Loved the family drama and the dark secrets… This book really ticked every single box for me.
If you love horror with a mystery thriller mashed in, this has to be your go to…
4.5 stars!
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
