Book Review: Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy

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I chose to use the Goodread’s book summary – due to the popularity of the Netflix show, I don’t want to give any other information away by mistake:

“The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren’t sure if it’s a man they should be looking for.

 Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a foreboding biotech facility owned by the Godfrey family—their personal fortune and the local economy having moved on from Pittsburgh steel—where, if rumors are true, biological experiments of the most unethical kind take place. Others turn to Peter Rumancek, a Gypsy trailer-trash kid who has told impressionable high school classmates that he’s a werewolf. Or perhaps it’s Roman, the son of the late JR Godfrey, who rules the adolescent social scene with the casual arrogance of a cold-blooded aristocrat, his superior status unquestioned despite his decidedly freakish sister, Shelley, whose monstrous medical conditions belie a sweet intelligence, and his otherworldly control freak of a mother, Olivia.

At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and the darkness in us all, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.”**

**I don’t really agree with this statement.

My thoughts: I am a HUGE fan of the show. I have really enjoyed seeing the creative differences McGreevy did in transition from book to screen. I do agree with many of the reviews on Goodreads, I felt the show was a lot better than the book.

That aside, the preface was poorly written and McGreevy is a huge one for overwriting. My mind would get frustrated with the lack of punctuation and sentences that didn’t make sense. It seems ideas were all over the place and it was rare for a connection to be made.

However, there were a few gems scattered throughout the chapters. My breath would be caught by descriptions of the moon, or of the gothic beauty of Hemlock Grove. There are many bits in the story that are full of wonder and you can’t help but be sucked into the mystery in this town.

The book left me wanting more answers. It really has the potential to be a great book, but there are many bumps and sidetracks that keep the reader turning pages but we aren’t given any real answers, which is a letdown. The book is just as jumbled as the show. I highly suggest watching it because it’s just such a mess with your head – and addicting to watch! I feel that the book has the better ending, explanation wise, but it is so worth watching too.

Has anyone else jumped on the bandwagon and blown through the Netflix Original Series in three days like me? What do you think about it? Would you consider/have you read the book as well? Please let me know your thoughts, I’m kind of a fangirl about the hot mess!

Racing Snail

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Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio’s Conservatory, Las Vegas, Nevada. 2013. 

September Purchases

I went off the grid this month:

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Oh yes, I bought some second, oldish magazines! Love me some Martha recipes and I’ll never say no to anything Halloween! Lots of prep time this year!

I also bought a new dessert cook book:

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1001 cookies! This should keep me plenty busy next year!

What have you bought this month?

Freshly Published: September

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally HERE! September is a fantastic month for freshly published books! (not to mention that Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep is out this month too!)

What’s currently in process at my local library? The one book I’ve been waiting MONTHS for!

Rogue by Gina Damico (Croak #3)

Rogue cover

Lex is a teenage Grim Reaper with the power to Damn souls, and it’s getting out of control. She’s a fugitive, on the run from the maniacal new mayor of Croak and the townspeople who want to see her pay the price for her misdeeds. Uncle Mort rounds up the Junior Grims to flee Croak once again, but this time they’re joined by Grotton, the most powerful Grim of all time. Their new mission is clear: Fix his mistakes, or the Afterlife will cease to exist, along with all the souls in it. 

The gang heads for Necropolis, the labyrinth-like capital city of the Grimsphere. There, they discover that the Grimsphere needs a reboot. To do that, the portals to the Afterlife must be destroyed…but even that may not be enough to fix the damage. Things go from bad to worse, and when at last the fate of the Afterlife and all the souls of the Damned hang in the balance, it falls to Lex and her friends to make one final, impossible choice.

Here’s the rest of the heavy hitters for this month, they’ve got a lot of press and look fantastic!

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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From the author the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. 

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

 

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill (All Our Yesterdays #1)

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“You have to kill him.” Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. 

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

 

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

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Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

 

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (Goddess War #1)

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The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.
 
Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

At the publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

That’s it for this month! I can’t wait to get my copies from my library! Have you gotten your hands on any of these titles yet?

Book Review: Reached by Ally Condie

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Please note this is the third book in the Matched series and does contain spoilers.

For my review on the first book, Matched.

For my review on the second book, Crossed.

They are all waiting for the Pilot.

The Pilot will be the one to save them.

Xander, Cassia and Ky are tied together, tighter than ever before. When the Rising makes it’s move and the Pilot stands above all else, is this truly what kind of world they are wishing to create?

But when the unsafe need to be saved, the world runs rampant. With no help near and judgement lurking, it’s a race to find a cure.

People start to die and hope dies with them.

When Ky falls ill, will Cassia have the strength to live without him if they don’t find the cure in time? As Xander continues as the bystander, he must make a choice for his future.

Time is running out.

Welcome to the free world.

I’ve been such a fan of this series, but I felt the finale was clichéd and expected. However, the ending didn’t turn out as I expected, which I think is a good thing. I think Condie gave her hardcore fans what they wanted. She stayed true to her characters and the series, but I can’t help but be left wanting more. Not more in the series, but more of an ending. More drama, more explosions, more something. Not a little perfect Tiffany’s wrapped gift.

I’m glad I stuck through until the end. I have seriously loved how paper becomes much more than just an expensive currency. The limited use of words and how the ability to learn how to write being outlawed are bits of the books that people need to be paying attention to now.

They’re the bits that will become our future if we’re not careful. I do love this series, when you stop and think about the small things within the books, there is so much hidden that we need to be aware of for the future. It’s not as far off as we think. 

Thirst

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The Strip. Las Vegas, Nevada 2013.