I was on pins and needles this entire book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Could not figure out how this was going to end.

I enjoyed the setting of this book, a remote island. I felt that the subplots were kinda just dropped in at random times and didn’t really mesh well with the story. The story would be suspenseful and then the characters would stop to talk about their marriage or something random. I enjoyed the back stories but they weren’t placed well. It is a suspend read though that’ll have you guessing til the very end.

Hemlock Island was fantastic. I haven’t read a lot in the horror genre so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Hemlock Island has everything I love about Armstrong’s writing but is also a truly new story from her, which is exactly what I’ve been itching for. I enjoyed the little clues and being able to figure out the secrets shortly before they were revealed. Given Armstong’s body of work, I had no idea where she was headed in terms of villain. There were many potential options and they all would have been very unsatisfying. The actual villain (if you can even call it that) was totally unexpected to me and worked perfectly. I was really concerned Armstrong was going to fulfill a common horror trope, which instead she circumvented for an outcome that was even more horrifying.

Atmospheric and intense, this book reminded me of Jennifer McMahon's books as it had the same twisted, creepy vibe.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Who will make it off the island?

An isolated island with no means of escape, nail-biting twists, and platefuls of eeriness and creepiness, this book had me hooked from the beginning. Six people with a long and complex history among them, are trapped on an island and their secrets begin to unfold. I literally felt the claustrophobia and horror as somebody played a deadly game with them, creating a story that was part thriller and part horror. The author skillfully created hidden tensions among the group, causing me to frequently change my mind about the evil culprit.

I would have enjoyed this book much more without the supernatural element, despite my love for the message behind that element. I'm not really a fan of paranormal meets horror, but did enjoy the symbolic element.

Trigger warnings apply: torture, death, occult, sexual assault

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 2.97 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2.75/5
-Cover: 3.75/5
-Story: 2/5
-Writing: 1.75/5
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
-Fantasy: 4/5
-Horror: 2/5
-Mystery: 3.75/5
-Suspense: 1.75/5
-Thriller: 2/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Uuuhhhh

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

Oh god okay, let me see if I can write this review through the headache. I will start off with the good. I liked the setting. I could see where the story was at and the place it was. Sometimes the characters were really good. It was a quick read. The story had promise.

Now for the bad. Where the describing of the place was good the characters were... 2 dimensional. There wasn't much for us to really grasp on to and have a connection. Though it was quick read it was a hard one. Not only for the cringe of some characters and scenes but because of how the story was written. I do get that Kelley wanted to give when doing those scenes of things happening back to back but I think some time studying how those are done would have done the story justice. With that being said I liked the premise of the story. The concept of it all was interesting. I think if Kelley took the time to study more of the writings from people in the genre she is writing about it could do some wonders.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martian’s press for an ARC of Hemlock island. This was my first book by Kelly Armstrong and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the fast pace and closed environment. Definitely a page turner and kept me up late dying to finish.

Laney got Hemlock Island in her divorce and she loves it. To hold on to it, she rents it out until strange things start happening. When she goes to investigate with her niece, her ex, a friend, and two others they end up stranded. ARC from NetGalley.

What a ride that was! I always love a good horror book that straddles the line between gross and TOO gross. You give me some old fashioned intestines-falling-out horror and I'm turning a little green. Hemlock Island built up the suspense and the action for the first 70% of the book before crossing into horror territory, but didn't go overboard with the super gross factor.

Laney and her niece travel to a wilderness level island, to check out some complaints on the family
Airbnb. There have been some early troubles concerning "witchy" items found on the island, and it starts to built up suspicions and questions in the reader's mind. Laney and Madison meet up with Laney's ex and a couple of old friends that show up unexpectedly. One thing leads to another, they're trapped on this island and trying to unravel the mystery.

What starts out as a thriller/whodunit, begins to reveal itself as something more supernatural and horrific. Definitely giving off some Evil Dead vibes, with a pagan understory. I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. (A quick read for sure.)

Thanks so much to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy!

I love Kelely Armstrong's Rockton and ripped through Time series so I thought I would give this book a chance and I'm glad I did! It was definitely paranormal, the horror aspect was there but not blown out of proportion or anything which I appreciate, the writing of course is superb and the plot itself was fast-paced and literally kept me up all night reading because I needed to know what happened! Once again, I'm super glad I gave this book a chance because it isn't the usual type of book I read, definitely 5 out of 5 stars, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review

Canadian-author, horror, thriller, mysteries, fiction, suspense, Canada, creepy, family-dynamics, family-drama, relationships, relatives, twisty, paranormal, divorced, grieving, author, eerie, atmospheric****

The suspense just keeps ratcheting up!
The publisher's blurb drew me in but the imaginative writing kept me going. I already love the author's other stories, but this one is in a new vein. If you love horror/suspense, you can't help but take this thrill ride!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I was pleasantly surprised by Hemlock Island. It was a very atmospheric setting on a secluded island with no way to communicate with the mainland and creepy thing after creepy thing happening. Around 75% I found myself trying to speed read because I wanted to know what was happening next so bad! I did get a little frustrated with the 'secret' that everyone seemed to be in on, and was mentioned frequently but in a very annoyingly vague way. Once it landed though, I was definitely surprised.

A gritty, intense, fast-paced, riveting, artful melding of stunning psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. Edgy, atmospheric and full of dark secrets, shocking plot twists and pulse-pounding, palpable tension. A MUST for fans who thrive on superbly-written, unputdownable thrillers!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Hemlock Island is a whirlwind of a book. The action starts almost immediately into the book. Starting off light with some spooky signs to full blown demonic possession. The author spares nothing as they describe the horrific events that occur on the island. It’s almost like a car crash, you know you should look away but you just can’t. The book is a quick read that hits most of the points I want in a good thriller/horror book.
My one critique is the ending. I feel like with the gruesome nature of the book, ending it on a positive note with hope feels a bit out of place. I almost wanted another twist, to leave me with a sense of unease and lasting horror.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free and give my honest feedback and review.

A thriller that kept me up all night reading. A definite page turner. Very interesting story line. Look forward to more by this author.

I want to start by thanking NetGalley and St.Martins press for giving my the ARC of this book. I don’t read many Horror books so I wasn’t sure what I would think of this book at first. Once I got started reading this book I could not put it down at all. There were a good number of twist and turns throughout the book. Kelley Armstrong also did a great job at hinting at an event in the past that all the characters knew about but the readers didn’t. Loved how she did that to lead up to that big reveal. There were so lot of subplots in the book that I was loving. I will most definitely be rereading this once it is published and will be recommending it to anyone I can. This is a stand alone book I believe but in the end it left me wanting more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong!

Kelley Armstrong’s Hemlock Island is a disappointing and poorly paced horror/thriller that never quite comes together. In the novel, a writer travels to her remote lake home after a series of horrifying incidents occur. Together with her ex-husband, niece, and others, she must discover who or what is causing the mayhem. Armstong’s novel has so much potential, but the novel fails to build suspense, mystery, or tension. Once the characters arrive on the island, the novel moves clunkily from one plot point to another without ever leaving the reader time to process what’s unfolding or why it matters to the characters. The novel begins to feel repetitive after a few chapters. The characters are poorly drawn and the novel handles sexual in a way that is distasteful and lacking in care. The dialogue is poorly written, the island lacks a cohesive sense of place, and the horror never truly scares. I loved the premise of the novel, but little here actually works. The final reveal is bland and feels disappointingly familiar. I do not recommend this novel.

When I heard Kelley Armstrong was coming out with her first Horror novel, I was so excited and knew I had to request it!
The good: I was absolutely hooked - blew through 3/4 of the book in one night. I was also SPOOKED while reading this! Like had to watch something upbeat before going to bed, and even then I was still freaked out by noises I heard. It's been a while since that happened so I loved that I was feeling this way. The author did a fantastic job at creating a scary atmosphere and giving the right amount of gore.
The just okay: I couldn't fully connect to the characters/backstory despite really wanting to. The unspoken SA element was fine, but I guessed pretty early on what happened and would rather have had it addressed up front. I was also super frustrated with Madison a lot. I get she's a teenager and they try to be adults, but her actions were reckless and I feel like the real adults were giving her too much freedom.
I also usually love a Supernatural element, but this one just didn't do it for me. I think I would've liked it a lot more if it was understood as the underlying reason from the start, a slow unraveling of the reasons behind the actions, and not rushed into the end where it felt forced.
A solid 3.5 star (which is still good for me!) horror debut and I hope the author continues to explore this genre as I'll definitely read more!

I generally love Kelley Armstrong's writing. I went into this book with no expectations except that it was categorized as a horror story which isn't my usual read.

Laney Kirkpatrick owns a house on an island only accessible by motor boat and that's usually on calm day. Set on a Great Lake, Hemlock Island is truly isolated and of course the perfect setting for a scary story.

Upon notice from her latest renter, Laney with her 15 year old niece, (also her ward), races to the island only to find her ex-husband and his sister arriving too. The renter complained about a closet door with scratches and blood on the inside like someone was trapped in there. Shortly after her friend(emy), Sadie, and her brother show up.
This unhappy group all try to be civil to each other but clearly the "friend" and her brother have an alternate agenda, so Sadie departs in the middle of the night with their only means of transportation. Thus a great scenario for a chilling story. Add in inclement weather, weird people sightings, and did I mention, really bad weather? This culminates into a great telling with a twist.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Paranormal meets horror in this new fiction thriller from paranormal queen Kelley Armstrong.

Laney is an aspiring author with wishes for best-selling fame who is confronted by unhappy renters. A couple have rented Hemlock House, the dream home Laney received on secluded Hemlock Island from her now ex-husband Kit. Along with her niece, Madison and best friend Jayla, Laney travels to Hemlock Island to solve the bizarre events occurring on her property.

Not long after her arrival, Kit her ex-husband arrives with their ex-best friend Sadie and Sadie’s brother Garrett, a detective. In the midst of a storm the plot thickens and becomes a roller-coaster of twists and turns uncovering a deep rooted family secret.

Confronting the evil on the island Laney must face her past and balance the fate of her loved ones while safeguarding the island and her own future.

A thrilling page turner, one will become easily encapsulated in Hemlock Island and the power it beholds.