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Tw: corporal punishment, nazis, unconsented human experimentation, experiments on animals, cancer, terminal illness, poor living conditions, death, attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, sexist comments, use of word freak, use of work Indian, drug overdose, rape (repeated), medical procedures

Where in the heck do I begin with this book? The synopsis doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this complex, multilayered book. I felt such a plethora of emotions; I couldn’t even begin to list them all. When I requested this book, I thought it was going to be just a basic story and I’d give it no more than a 3.5 star rating. Boy, was I wrong and I need to stop judging books so harshly.

What I thought was a basic story ended up being so much more. The depth and the story that all three characters, Cora from the past, Finn and Lily from the present, had just astounded me! While I personally enjoyed Cora’s story more, Finn and Lily’s story was still very interesting.

What really made this book good was that even though there is sympathy for Finns’s family and why they are doing what they were doing, Nolden makes sure you feel all the sympathy for Cora. There is a truly heartbreaking reason why Finn’s family is doing this awful thing but you remember to place your sympathies firmly with Cora. Even when she does some questionable things, you understand why she does what she does. You don’t judge her at all. That is excellent story writing, in my humble opinion.

Overall, this was a great book! It took me a little bit to get into it. I had to get into Cora’s story for me to truly be interested in it. But once I read her story, I was hooked until the very end. I loved this book so much and the ending has me beyond excited for the sequel. I think it’s going to be way more darker than what this book offered and I am living for it.

On a small island in the East River off the island of Manhattan a hospital for contagious diseases stood for many years, witness to the death or survival of its residents. Cora and Maeve, her sister, are brought there in the early twentieth century. Maeve dies; Cora lives and lives and lives on. In 2007 the hospital is gone, leaving an overgrown island of abandoned buildings and a youthful appearing Cora who has never left. She has become an experiment for a family of research physicians using her asymptomatic body as a Petri dish of contagion. Unable to stay alive off the island, she somehow remains ageless. Her story is one of pain and isolation, receiving few human kindnesses. The story of her tormentors, the Gettler family, is one of cruelty, selfishness and sadism. I found their story confusing at times and Cora’s hard to believe. Shelley Nolden’s work demands a sequel; I don’t know if I am interested.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF, couldn't get through this one. Jumped around too much in time, couldn't connect with the characters. A lot of stilted conversation by characters. Tried to read it for 5-6 weeks, made it halfway.

Should also note that the NetGalley app couldn't properly open this one, and the epub version was also problematic.

I was drawn to this book based on the description however, I was unable to finish it. The time jumps make the story confusing to follow. The characters were hard to connect with and I had a hard time keeping interested in the story as a result. Overall, this was not a book for me.

I really enjoyed this read! I loved the mix of historical drama and thriller/mystery with a bit of sci-fi/horror tossed in for good measure. The story and characters really drew you in. You really wanted to know more and more about everyone you met along the way.

Finn is the odd man out in a family line full of doctors, but while he has always believed them to be benign in their practices he discovers that their research had not always been benevolent. Finn discovers a note that leads him to North Brother Island, an off limits island off the coast of New York that has long been closed but was once used for a number of medical purposes, but its original intent being quarantine for those carrying infectious diseases in the early 1900s.

This island is where he meets Cora, the only remaining resident of the seemingly abandoned NBI. Cora is not all that she appears and she holds a secret family history lesson for Finn that is horrific and captivating.

This story does have a sequel so prepare yourself for a cliffhanger!

Kind of freaky to read this right now since we're in the pandemic, but it's an engaging story about how the quest for a cure has consequences. What is fascinating is that it takes you back from decades of history between the characters Finn and Cora, showing the depth of the story particularly on the scientific angle.

I love medical horror and going into this book, I really wanted to love it. However, this one really didn’t cut it for me.

It really could have benefited from better editing. The dialogue felt unnatural. The characters were insufferable, one-dimensional caricatures, and the story handles the heavy moral dilemma of human experimentation in the shallowest way possible. The sentence structure was overall clunky, and with awkward exposition dumps, the story drags on to a whopping 800 pages.

Unfortunately, I felt the story was irredeemable, so I DNF’ed at around one-third of the way in.

Thank you to @netgalley for the eARC of The Vines by @shelley_nolden - it was a twisty whirl of a medical/historical/thriller/family drama with a little paranormal. I thought it was a mix of genres in the best way!

This book did not go in the direction I thought at first, and kept the surprises coming. It was heartbreaking, disgusting, horrifying and wonderful all at the same time. With an ending that I did 💯 not see coming! Pub date 3/23/2021, I definitely recommend. I’m going to be looking for more from this author.

Synopsis (from the publisher): In the shadows of New York City lies forbidden North Brother Island, where the remains of a shuttered hospital hide the haunting memories of century-old quarantines and human experiments. The ruins conceal the scarred and beautiful Cora, imprisoned by contagions and the doctors who torment her. When Finn, a young urban explorer, arrives on the island and glimpses an enigmatic beauty through the foliage, intrigue turns to obsession as he seeks to uncover her past—and his own family’s dark secrets. By unraveling these mysteries, will he be able to save Cora? Will Cora meet the same tragic ending as the thousands who’ve already perished on the island?

The Vines intertwines North Brother Island’s horrific and elusive history with a captivating tale of love, betrayal, survival, and loss.

#bookstagram #thevines #netgalley #reading #2021books #historicalfiction

Hmm..this didn't quite do it for me, but it didn't not do it for me either.

Finn discovers a woman, Cora, living on North Brother's Island in the remains a hospital that used to house patients sick with pandemics and plagues like the Spanish Flu and Smallpox. How long has she been living there, and what are the secrets surrounding the island and the woman that Finn's family is desperate to hide?

This was like a mix between a medical mystery/thriller and historical fiction. I thought the information on North Brother's Island was super interesting. At first I wasn't sure if it was real or a fictional island made up for the purpose of the story, but as I delved deeper into this book it became clear that this is an author who does their homework! Everything about this book felt well thought our and researched, from the medical jargon to the historical facts. In fact, one of my favorite things about this book was the amount of research I ended up doing into the pandemics, places, and facts that were mentioned throughout the story. It really ended up being a deep dive into the history of North Brother's Island for me.

Reading this book in the middle of a pandemic was also pretty timely. But I did have some issues with the execution. The book really dragged in parts for me. In fact, the book as a whole seemed a little too long. By the end of the middle I was just getting tired of it, and ready to finish. Never a good sign.

I also didn't love the multiple timelines, which is weird because the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue had similar dual timelines (one that stayed pretty firmly in one spot and one that jumped around), and that really worked for me. It just didn't work for this story. It kept taking me out of the moment. What ended up happening is that it took me a long time to finish because I stopped being excited to go back to the story.

Overall, I didn't hate the book and I didn't love the book. It was a solid 3 for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Freiling Publishing for the ARC!

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the setting, pace of the story and the mystique. Can't wait to read more .

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Unfortunately this was a book I did not finish. I felt the story dragged on and I had lost interest. I was often confused by the different perspectives it was told from, and I had to look back to previous pages.

dnf @ 30%

This one unfortunately just was not for me at all. It started out promising but it started dragging way too much (its length is the biggest issue here).

Loved reading this story! Cora is a victim of abuse by generations of the doctors in this family. One of the sons,, Finn is sympathetic to her situation. He hopes to help Cora. There is drama, and adventure and hope. Will Cora ever be able to have a normal life? She is friendless and loveless.

told from three different perspectives across a century, the vines recounts the story of cora mcsorley, cursed with magical immunity to the world's deadliest pathogens and trapped on abandoned north brother island, new york, and finn gettler—the great-great grandson of the doctor who first experimented on cora and made her a prisoner of the gettler family. the novel jumps back and forth between cora, whose tale begins in the dawn of the twentieth century; finn, who finds her on north brother island after stumbling upon his family's disturbing past; and lily, finn's girlfriend, whose history (and finn's family) makes her reconsider her place in finn's world.

this is an endlessly dark, unforgiving book, but not at all in a gratuitous or exploitative way—there's little in the way of graphic violence, which i appreciated. i was pretty confused for a good chunk of it (the beginning was particularly rocky) but eventually settled into the story and found it enjoyable nevertheless. i thought it raised a number of super harrowing questions about morality, ethics, and the common good—with a pressing commentary on fascism, nazism, and purity to boot. the prose is fairly precise and readable, but definitely requires some editing, and the dialogue is not nearly as strong. i wasn't aware of this until finishing, but cora's story is interwoven with the real-life historical events that occurred on north brother island at riverside hospital (including typhoid mary's stay there!).

one of the primary issues i had with the vines was its character-building. although i sympathized with all the characters i needed to sympathize with, i didn't think they were fully realized—finn has odd priorities, cora is inconsistent, and some (particularly rollie) have unclear motivations. despite spending the entire book with them i'm not sure i could definitively describe any of their personalities. lily's point of view seemed superfluous, as if it was only included to make space for her in a future narrative. further, cora's magic—or whatever you'd call it—was never explored, or even theorized about, enough for my liking, especially considering the entire plot revolves around it. i'm also not sure i agree with the choice to end this on a cliffhanger; the sheer number of loose ends left me dissatisfied, and i think wrapping up at least one of them would have done the trick.

overall, i was pleasantly surprised by this! i'd be willing to pick up the next one. 3 stars.

The plot of this book was captivating! But also kinda horrifying to read about in the back drop of a real pandemic. Also it has quite a few trigger warnings (abuse, kidnapping, torture). I also hated the cliffhanger ending since I did not know this was going to be a series. That being said it kept me entertained and I will pick up book 2 to find out what happened.

Thanks to Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers for an Arc.
Exceptional
The story is set between the years 1904 and 2008 on North Brother Island NY.
NBI is the home of the Riverside hospital, it houses patient’s of all the incurable Contagious diseases such as Measles, Typhoid, tuberculosis and small Pox.
Here is where we start our Journey with the Gettler family, hell bent on trying to eradicate and find vaccines for these Diseases. Our modern day global pandemic is also a reason for the Gettlers to eradicate pathogens.
Truly an amazing story and the sorrow, pain and heartache of a woman is at its centre.
Highly recommended, Very enjoyable. Loved it.

A book that comes close to our lives in 2020. Cora is stuck on North Brother Island, where quarantines and experimentations happened for decades. Finn lands on the island and wants to help the beautiful woman he finds there, but he must first work around his family's interest in her.

This book was horrifying and riveting, disturbing and fascinating. I could not put it down. I loved the characters. I hated the characters. It was a train wreck waiting to happen as soon as I read the first page. The moral dilemmas aside, this book challenged me. It took all of my thinking and prejudices on what is allowed in the medical field and tossed it upside down. Helping society vs the individual right is no easy task and the author rode that line like a master. My head is whirling and my emotions are shattered. I don’t know which character to hate anymore. I’m all mixed up. Well done!

Based on the real North Brother Island that housed a quarantine hospital in the early 20th century, this story adds an additional story about a mysterious woman named Cora who has many secrets. Finn finds her when exploring the island and slowly learns of his family's involvement with her. The story was interesting especially in light of Covid 19. My heart broke for Cora from the the loss and trauma she suffered from Finn's family in the name of medicine. I disliked the cliffhanger ending and wanted to know how it would finally end.

The Ultimate story of isolation and survival….

Thank you to NetGalley, Freiling Publishing and the author, Shelley Nolden for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. What a unique and creative book. The author wove together elements of a medical thriller with historical fiction and a little dash of science fiction to create a rich and interesting story that is shockingly relevant to today’s current events. Finn is the youngest member of the Gettler family, and the only family member for generations who is not a medical doctor and researcher. For years the Gettler family has immersed itself in researching communicable diseases and their cures. Finn’s great grandfather, Otto, and grandfather, Ulrich, were each the head physician of the now defunct medial facility on North Brothers Island, just across the river from New York City. The medial facility was used in the early 1900s as a quarantine for those with the most dangerous facility – it was once home to Typhoid Mary. Finn is aware that his family’s history relates to the ruins now standing on North Brothers Island, but the family is still mysteriously tied to the island. Finn kayaks to try to learn more about the family obsessions and secrets. There he encounters a beautiful and enigmatic young woman named Cora whose body is covered in a heartbreaking network of scars. She is enraged by Finn’s presence on the island and notes her hatred for the Gettler family. They have been doing her harm all the way back to Otto’s generation nearly 100 years ago. Finn is puzzled – how can that be? From here, the narrative splits to fill in Cora’s back story, starting when she first arrived at the island, while Finn works in the present day to try to unravel the secrets hiding in his family’s history.

It’s clear that the author, Shelley Nolden, completed a considerable amount of research for this novel. The history of North Brothers Island as a medical quarantine and research facility is true and fascinating. It gave me a lot to think about in light of the current pandemic and the question of medical ethics. The conditions, the daily life of patients there – where is the line between patient and inmate? The Gettler family has been researching for years in an attempt to develop vaccines to stop some of the world’s deadliest diseases. But how do you balance a person’s own rights versus the greater good of the community that will result from an effective vaccine or treatment? Nolden tackles these questions in a setting of beautiful, descriptive imagery. I was fascinated by the idea of vegetation slowly reclaiming the island, turning the buildings into wild ruins, all within a stone’s throw of the hustle and bustle of New York City. And could a person really live alone in the resulting wilderness, undetected by authorities, for decades? This book was full of interesting characters with complex relationships. There was plenty of action and the plot moved along at a good pace. I think it would make a great movie, and I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers or historical fiction. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Add it to your TBR list and look for it in March!The Ultimate story of isolation and survival….

Thank you to NetGalley, Freiling Publishing and the author, Shelley Nolden for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. What a unique and creative book. The author wove together elements of a medical thriller with historical fiction and a little dash of science fiction to create a rich and interesting story that is shockingly relevant to today’s current events. Finn is the youngest member of the Gettler family, and the only family member for generations who is not a medical doctor and researcher. For years the Gettler family has immersed itself in researching communicable diseases and their cures. Finn’s great grandfather, Otto, and grandfather, Ulrich, were each the head physician of the now defunct medial facility on North Brothers Island, just across the river from New York City. The medial facility was used in the early 1900s as a quarantine for those with the most dangerous facility – it was once home to Typhoid Mary. Finn is aware that his family’s history relates to the ruins now standing on North Brothers Island, but the family is still mysteriously tied to the island. Finn kayaks to try to learn more about the family obsessions and secrets. There he encounters a beautiful and enigmatic young woman named Cora whose body is covered in a heartbreaking network of scars. She is enraged by Finn’s presence on the island and notes her hatred for the Gettler family. They have been doing her harm all the way back to Otto’s generation nearly 100 years ago. Finn is puzzled – how can that be? From here, the narrative splits to fill in Cora’s back story, starting when she first arrived at the island, while Finn works in the present day to try to unravel the secrets hiding in his family’s history.

It’s clear that the author, Shelley Nolden, completed a considerable amount of research for this novel. The history of North Brothers Island as a medical quarantine and research facility is true and fascinating. It gave me a lot to think about in light of the current pandemic and the question of medical ethics. The conditions, the daily life of patients there – where is the line between patient and inmate? The Gettler family has been researching for years in an attempt to develop vaccines to stop some of the world’s deadliest diseases. But how do you balance a person’s own rights versus the greater good of the community that will result from an effective vaccine or treatment? Nolden tackles these questions in a setting of beautiful, descriptive imagery. I was fascinated by the idea of vegetation slowly reclaiming the island, turning the buildings into wild ruins, all within a stone’s throw of the hustle and bustle of New York City. And could a person really live alone in the resulting wilderness, undetected by authorities, for decades? This book was full of interesting characters with complex relationships. There was plenty of action and the plot moved along at a good pace. I think it would make a great movie, and I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers or historical fiction. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Add it to your TBR list and look for it in March!