Waiting on Wednesday (15)

"Waiting on Wednesday"  is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's WoW is . . .

Hemlock by Kathleen Peackock


Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. 

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. 

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. 

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.


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I'm kind of stunned that I haven't featured this one yet.  I believe I've been fangirling over this book for several months now, yet somehow, it's never appeared in a WoW.  For shame, Lexie, for shame.

Honestly, why I want this so badly? It's a combination of the usual three. Gorgeous cover, fantastic premise, and really awesome word of mouth.  

The cover is undeniably lovely.  Yes, it's the typical "girl in a dress," but it's dark and haunting and I love it.  I would be ecstatic to have this on my shelf.

The premise? Equally dark and equally entrancing.  A world where werewolves are known and hunted, where it's an increasingly common infection, where a girl must run for her life and investigate her best friend's murder.  I've seen my fair share of werewolf novels since the paranormal craze hit, but never one quite like this, and that is serious praise.  An original, awesome concept, particularly in paranormal, is something I seriously respect nowadays.

And finally, the reviews.  The reviews, for goodness sake.  My friends are in love with this.  Complete, head-over-heels in love. Even those who don't typically fall for the werewolf genre adore absolutely adore this book.  When people are shouting its praises from the rooftops, I'd be an idiot to ignore them.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave a link in the comments!