A fun sequel to the first book we are back with Holiday and Linden in their first year of college. However, between classes and imposter syndrome they are caught up in a murder investigation again as Linden’s High School girlfriend Greer roommate does and they are drawn into the investigation! I do feel like the ending came too fast and ended a bit too cleanly but it barely mattered since the journey to get there was so engaging! Can’t wait to
Bring this into my classroom!

I found this piece to be exceptionally well-crafted, and I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to delve into more works by this author. Given its potential popularity among our library patrons, we're certainly looking forward to adding it to our collection

I started my reading journey with Hemlock House excited. I had read Liar's Beach the year prior and was looking forward to revisiting our two main characters, Linden and Holiday. I thought the book started off promising--you get an introduction to Linden's life at Harvard (though he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, so why on earth would he need to go to Harvard??), see what problems he's dealing with (hazing from frat bros, pining after Greer AGAIN, etc.), and have the murder take place pretty much right off the bat.

However, this book could have been a stand alone not even remotely related to Liar's Beach and you wouldn't even know. You could have changed the names of the characters and it would not have made a difference. Linden is dealing with the exact same insecurities as from the first book: he's ashamed that he's poor, he's kind of obsessed with Greer even though we don't know much about her other than she's rich and average and her parents expect better, he's confused about his feelings for Holiday. But none of those things are unique to Liar's Beach or Hemlock House.

Linden and Holiday jump to conclusions then jump away from those conclusions immediately about the who and the why of the murder, and in the end, Holiday is somehow able to give a monologue about the who and the why exactly as it happened. The murderer doesn't make sense, every character takes the news calmly and in stride, and none of Linden's problems have been resolved by the end of the book either. This was such a disappointment, not to mention a mediocre book in general.

The two stars are for the promising premise at the beginning of the book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a very face paced, good second book. I loved the developers of the two main characters Michael and Holiday. Their banter kept me reading and made the book enjoyable. Other characters could have been developed more but there was enough detail to keep them straight. I thought the ending was a bit too abrupt, but their writing style would keep me coming back to read a third book if it were to be written.

A good book. I enjoyed the first one more. The ending seemed abrupt and a bit unbelievable. Overall kept my attention.

This follow up to Liar's Beach has Linden attending his freshman year at Harvard on a LAX scholarship. He tentatively reconciles with Greer, the woman he was dating in high school when they have an almost career ending car accident. He and Holiday stumble into another mystery when Greer's roommate is found dead in her bed. Things get more complicated between Linden and Holiday in this book - I really hope Cotugno continues writing this series. I want to see how this relationship evolves!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Hemlock House. I enjoyed Liar's Beach quite a bit, and I'm always up for retellings of or homages to classic tales. For that reason, I anticipated that I would like Hemlock House. I did not, however, anticipate that it would keep me guessing right to the very end. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but it's not very often that I read a YA mystery that surprises me. I'm usually able to guess the twist or the killer or the problematic event by the midway point of the book. But in Hemlock House, everything I thought was going to happen didn't pan out. I was surprised, surprised again, and then about two paragraphs before the reveal, I knew. Good job, Katie Cotugno; I am solidly impressed!

This was a fun book! Easy to read, nice little mystery. I liked the characters and setting - just wish wrap up was a little more drawn out. Feels like it happened very fast.

I adore Katie Cotugno and I will consume anything that she writes. I also love these characters. Another compelling mystery in this series.

Underwhelming sequel. The main character is whiny and annoying to me personally. He is blinded by a high school sweetheart and the way he pines after her is cringy. He is self absorbed and you can tell that the author wants you to really like him and have him be relatable, but he is just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed the story! It took me a little bit longer to get into this one than Liar's Beach, and while I enjoyed Liar's Beach more, this was a good sequel. I thought the ending was a little rushed and would have liked to seen it more fleshed out. I didn't feel like the ending made a whole bunch of sense either. I understood the motive and how it happened, but I didn't quite understand the group just easily accepting what happened and forgiving Greer pretty much immediately. I also kept thinking that Holiday and Linden were going to get together and am hoping that they do finally get together if there's a third book.

I liked Liar's Beach and this was comparably good. This author can write for sure! I loved the snarky humor here, the characters were also interesting. I'd love to read more from Cotugno.

I was not expecting this genre from Cotugno but she really proves you cannot pin her to a specific genre. The core things that she's always been good at remain the same. The characters are undeniably real and flawed in a compelling way. The story is very character-driven in my opinion, so this is necessary. I really enjoyed her foray into the thriller department.

This was an interesting follow-up to Liar's Beach. There were no recurring characters aside from Michael and Holiday, who are now in their first year of college, at Harvard and Emerson (respectively). Michael is rekindling a flame with his high school ex Greer when her college roommate is found dead in her bed the morning after a party. The police chalk it up to an accidental overdose but Michael thinks it's something more. He and Holiday start investigating the death. It's well done but nothing too surprising.

As an adult reading this, I found some of the plot obvious. I believe though a teen or tween reading this would be invested and perhaps not figure it out as quickly. The motive was a mystery until the end and I absolutely loved Holiday, she is by far the best character. Michael was okay, but is nota great detective and would be on a heap of trouble without his best friend.

A great second book to Liars Beach. We pick up with the newest mystery unveiling at Harvard. While there were a few slow parts over all it was a compelling mystery and I love the characters. I hope there will be a third!

I loved Liar's Beach so was super excited to see this one! As with Liar's Beach, I loved the characters. I don't often see male MCs in YA these days and Linden feels very authentic despite being written by a woman. I loved seeing these characters at school too. My only critique is that I'd have preferred a bitttt more of a recap on what happened in Liar's Beach. Events kept being referred to but a sentence here or there of reminder would've been helpful.

Holiday and Linden from Liar’s Beach are back and quickly get caught up in trying to solve another crime. Linden is now a student at Harvard, Holiday is at BU. There are some laugh at loud moments in this novel. It is fun to relive some college experiences with this group. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

This was a really fun read, making it hard to put down! While the ending felt a little predictable, getting there made it worthwhile - just the right amount of twists to keep it interesting without being too over the top. This is my first read by Cotugno but certainly won't be my last - perfect for all of my McManus lovers! I'll definitely be adding this to my class library. Thanks for the ARC!

A fun sequel to the first book we are back with Holiday and Linden in their first year of college. However, between classes and imposter syndrome they are caught up in a murder investigation again as Linden’s High School girlfriend Greer roommate does and they are drawn into the investigation! I do feel like the ending came too fast and ended a bit too cleanly but it barely mattered since the journey to get there was so engaging! Can’t wait to
Bring this into my classroom!