A review by whimzycal_pages
The Hemlock Cure by Joanne Burn

5.0

4.5 stars

Surrounded now by so many broken wings, who is to carry me?


A dark and compelling read.

This book is based on the true events of The Great Plague of 1665-1666. It's set in the city of Eyam where they quarantined themselves to prevent further spread of the disease. The main characters are purely fictional, however, there are some side characters based on real people too.

This book will hook you in and not let you go until you are done. It's dark and suspenseful and eery; the atmosphere created in this book is like none other. The book is paced in a beautiful way with the story unravelling so satisfyingly. There was not a moment while reading that I was bored. The characters are mysterious and intriguing. This author did an excellent job of keeping the reader interested. The way the POV of Mae was written was also very unique. I loved the use of diary entries and past memories to help slowly unwind the story. I could not have predicted where the story would go in the end, and finally finding out what the title meant was extremely gratifying.

All in all, it was a very satisfying read and I commend the author for this amazing piece of work.