Friday Reads: Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock!!

Happy Friday guys!

This Friday for me means going back to work after a few days off, so not the same kind of Friday that you all might be having! Still, I only work today and then tomorrow night shift and then I'll have a few days off again, so YAY!

For today's Friday Reads I have a book that came highly recommended from my dear blogging friend Alyssa from The Eater of Books and that should have been my December book for the Alyssa Recommends shelf, but that I failed to review until now and didn't even manage to finish in December either! I will still be choosing and reading another book for my Alyssa Recommends book for January!




Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Hemlock is one of those books I've had in my TBR list for a while, but since it is also one of the Alyssa Recommends book, I finally decided to go ahead and read it!

And I must say it was a very different kind of werewolves story. The story starts at an already complex point, when werewolves have been in the open for a while and they are considered dangerous and monstrous and prejudice is rampant and the government has set up confinement camps (and maybe it's just me but that reminded me of Nazis and Jews and their camps).

This is more than just a paranormal story since it's got a murder mystery that is more than just a simple murder mystery with very deep implications. Actually I think that's what defines this book, nothing is as simple as it might seem at first, even if it doesn't seem simple. There are layers upon layers to everything, from the characters, to their relationships, to the plot!

When I first started reading I wasn't sure what was going on, with Mac still grieving the loss of her best friend and how there seemed to be a certain tension with the two other best friends, so much that I feared a love triangle. But then everything started getting more tangled and more clear at the same time! You start to see that Lupine Syndrome is dangerous but it is also used as a political weapon and a way to gain power by some. And with all the layers that we uncover in this book, I still feel like there's much more to dig up in the books to come, and that is quite exciting!

Mac is a very interesting main character, with a tendency to trust but keep people at arm's lenght sometimes, or as Kyle said to treat others as she's expecting them to disappoint her or abandon her (paraphrasing, since that's not the exact quote). Mac has been left behind by important people in her life and she seems to be expecting it from everyone she comes to care for. She's also a bit rash, impulsive and headstrong, but she's fiercely loyal and also doesn't let ignorant prejudice drive her. And frankly she needs to shake that town to get some answers instead of waiting for things to happen.

Kyle and Jason are the two guys that completed the quartet of best friends. Jason was Amy's boyfriend and he seemed to be involved with her death, since she was killed by a werewolf, he feels like joining a vendetta against werewolves, but as usual, everything is more complicated than it seemed at first! They are the two guys that at first seemed to be candidates for a love triangle, but thankfully it never really turns out this one, not truly.

I'm really pleased that I finally digged into this one and I'm looking forward to reading Thornhill next, since I cannot wait to discover more layers to the story, both of the murder and of the Lupine Syndrome. Very well deserved 4 stars for this one!



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The Rising by Terra Harmony: Guest Post & Giveaway!!

Hello everyone! This week I have a special guest over in the blog, she is Terra Harmony the author of The Rising, a paranormal story that mixes Mermaids and Werewolves.

She very generously offered to write a guest post to tell us why did she decide to mix such different creatures and also will be giving away 5 copies of the book for 5 lucky readers!! 

Mermaids and Werewolves – A match Made in Heaven? 

First, a big thanks to Pili for having me as a guest on her blog! Pili mentioned how intrigued she was with the combination of mermaids and werewolves in a book. I think that is one aspect that draws some readers to the book…and let's be honest, it may send some readers packing before they get the chance! So, why did I decide to use both in my story? 

Because I like a challenge. 

If you've read my other books in The Akasha Series, you'll know that I'll drive you to despise a character in one book, but then try to make you sympathize with him in the next. Writing, for me, is a hobby and I try to make it fun! So when I wanted to write a series focusing on a fantasy creature, I had to get creative. Vampires – have been done. Angels – too…feathery for me. Elves – too short. Fairies – meh, maybe later. 

But mermaids – YES! Werewolves – have also been done, but never like this. 

I really, really want to delve into thedeeper connection between mermaids and werewolves, but I can't without ruining the book for you. Though I can let you in on a few secrets. The werewolves once served as protectors for the mermaids when they came ashore to mate and give birth. The relationship turned sour, and the werewolves revolted in a night that became known as the Maiden's Massacre. 

Let me tell you, each creature undergoes a transformation – and those transformations have more similarities than you may realize. Each creature is also tied to the cycles of the moon, just as our oceans are. The first book of the series goes into this, though it focuses on the mermaid society more than anything. The second book will reveal a lot of the werewolf society, and I can't wait to reveal the contrasts! 

Respond below – what are some of your favorite fantasy creatures, and what pairings would you love to see? 

 The Rising: Book One of the Painted Maidens Trilogy 



Fifteen-year-old Serena is the youngest member of a dying race. The increasing acidity of the ocean is destroying her home, slowly eating away at the once thriving underwater landscape. But since the night of Serena’s birth, it is an outside force that most threatens their dwindling
population. Werewolves, who once served as protectors for mermaids in the Kingdom of the Undine, now seek to eliminate all who dwell in the ocean—and Serena is about to find herself right in the middle of the deadly conflict.

Given the title of Werewolf Liaison, Serena is determined to make things right for her people. When she ventures to The Dry, she meets Liam, the werewolf with hazel eyes, and her whole world gets turned upside down. As Serena discovers the real history between werewolves and mermaids, she is left wondering who her true enemies are.

 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Rising-Painted-Maidens-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00GGNQUCC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1383782988&sr=8-2&keywords=the+rising+terra+harmony
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/367009
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rising-terra-harmony/1117192595?ean=2940045332002 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18300412-the-rising

 

About the author:


Terra is author of the eco-fantasy novels in the Akasha Series, 'Water', 'Air', 'Fire' and 'Earth', as well as the Painted Maidens Trilogy. Terra was born and raised in Colorado but has since lived in California, Texas, Utah, North Carolina, and Virginia. Terra has served a 5½ year enlistment in the Marine Corp, has earned her bachelor's and master's degree and presently runs the language services division of a small business.
Terra currently lives in a suburb of Washington, DC with her husband of 14 years and three children.







E-mail: terra.harmony11@gmail.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/terraharmony
Blog: http://harmonylit.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/harmonygirlit
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/terraharmony/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/101033059595962307629/posts

Thanks a lot, Terra!

And here's the giveaway!! I decided to try Rafflecopter since I think it's easier for me to manage and for you guys to complete steps!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Reads: ARC Review of The Rising by Terra Harmony!

As the final review for this week's Friday Reads another ARC review that will count towards my NetGalley November challenge!


The Rising by Terra Harmony

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I requested The Rising on NetGalley because it sounded like quite a different take on the paranormal. I haven't read any books about mermaids before cause they usually don't sound appealing enough to me, but werewolves are quite common paranormal creatures, but I don't think I've encountered a book that mixes both the way The Rising does.

The Rising was quite a pleasant surprise, it was a very engaging book that not only had a different and unique premise, but also managed to tell a good story in the first book of a trilogy. This is a world were Undines (that don't like to be called mermaids) and werewolves were once allies and after a bloody massacre in which many Undines perished, they became enemies. This has had very dire consequences for the Undine society, so much that it's threatening the very existence of their race.

Selena is our main character, an Undine of the last generation born and a loner. She doesn't seem to fit in with normal society with her experiments and her excursions to The Dry. She finds herself in a very difficult position and is assigned the task of being the new liason with the werewolves. She knows it'd be very dangerous but she didn't know she find out more than she could have ever imagined!

The book has a few twists, some that are easier to anticipate than others. It is quite a good first book, with enough world building to prepare the stage for what's to come, with a few surprises there to make things a lil more interesting. With its own action and climax in the end and without a cliffhanger! It leaves tension and questions unanswered to look forward to in the next book, and I will be eagerly awaiting to read it!

A little undecided between 3.5 and 4 starts.





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