Thank you, NetGalley, Shelley Noldon, and Freiling Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!

The eerie cover and synopsis definitely caught my attention. The Vines by Shelley Nolden is a story that takes place over two timelines. In 1907, Coraline and her sister are sent to North Brother Island to be quarantined. The Gettler doctors are studying the spread of disease. Then in 2007, Finn Gettler goes to explore North Brother Island and the abandoned Riverside Hospital where he makes an unsettling discovery. There is a severely scarred woman that is living on the island and she has some horrifying accusations about the Gettler family. Finn now has to confront the secrets that may destroy everything he loves.

My hopes were very high going into this book. It is timely, as its main theme is a virus. We get to meet Typhoid Mary and see the beginnings of studying microbiology. I did love all the historical detail! I have heard of North Brother Island and the horrors that occurred there. In fact, I encourage readers to look up the history of the quarantine and those poor souls who were kept there against their will. So this book has a FASCINATING backdrop…

BUT.

I just could not get into this book. While the subject is fascinating, the execution did not succeed for me. The plot was a little scattered and the dual timelines did not come together seamlessly. While I did appreciate the author shining a light on difficulties that are experienced by the characters, I think there was too much going on to bring any real development to them. The dialogue was stilted and it made for a very slow pace.

Then, at last, there is the ending. It does leave off on a cliffhanger and makes way for book two. This book does release on March 23rd. Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

4 STARS

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.

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THE VINES was not what I expected (in the best way!) A combination of mystery, scientific thriller and a whole lot of body horror, THE VINES discusses so many important questions regarding early scientific discoveries - and the horrific ways in which these were (and sometimes are still) made.

I was fully entranced by Cora's story and the history of the very real North Brother's Island medical facility that inspired it. Nolden did an absolutely fantastic job researching and writing about the disturbing history of the island, while masterly interweaving a story of sorrow, loss and the human condition. I eagerly await the sequel!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC. THE VINES is available March 23rd!

This book is absolutely grubbing and so hard to put down once it gets you. The characters are so believable that you feel for each one of them. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I was initially intrigued by this book because of the cover and title. In fact, I didn't even read the blurb before hitting the request button for my arc.

I almost with I had read the premise, though. The title felt off in relation to the book's actual content. It follows two parallel stories--one of a woman named Cora, who happens to be resistant to certain diseases--and the family who continues to experiment on her to learn how they could use her antibodies. Now, had I known the book was going to talk so much about disease and viruses and even "the next big pandemic that'll kill everyone," I wouldn't have read it. It's just too soon. And isn't the reason I had problems with the book.

Everything just felt rushed and slow at the same time. It felt as if we hit the climax around the 50% mark, and everything else was just dragging the rest of the story out. This messed with the pacing, obviously, and I had a hard time powering through the rest. Additionally, I didn't find the story or characters that compelling, which was a real bummer. And honestly? I'm not sure how there can be a sequel, though it apparently sets you up for one.

Overall, a disappointment.

I had no idea about the actual North Brother island. I had a vague recollection about a leper colony, but no idea where exactly it was! This book takes an interesting part of history of a huge city and defined it by a family's history there..it's a novel of both evil and beauty, forgiveness and sin, and what we do to protect our children! It's an unique tale, and one not to miss if you love history!.

While I enjoyed various parts of this novel and loved Cora from the moment we first meet her in the beginning, I think this book really needs to come with a massive trigger warning. Probably half to three-fourths of this book is just describing a woman being tortured--vivisected, raped, imprisoned, and emotionally, mentally and physically abused over centuries by numerous people. If I had known this was what I was getting into, I would never have started this book. It was exceedingly difficult to read at times. The information about vaccines, historical medicine and contagious diseases was very interesting, but it was completely swallowed up by the sheer amount of inhumane horror that Cora lives through. And then--the cliff hanger ending! There was no closure!
I don't know if I'll be able to stomach the sequel, even though I am interested in what happens. This will definitely be a possible purchase for our library, but I wish the description was a little more honest about what readers are getting into.

3.5 STARS

Shelley Nolden has written a historical fiction story that incorporates suspense, mystery and thrills. This intense book is set on North Brother Island which is an actual place located in New York City. The author has meticulously researched the setting, as well as a real former hospital that actually existed at one time on the island.

If you a fan of medical mysteries and psychological thrillers, you will love this book. The story alternates between the past and 2008, and relates to the hospital that was used in the past to house contagious patients, and later as a hospital for drug addicts. The author has exquisitely researched the history of plagues and contagious diseases and her hard work really shows on the pages of this chilling novel.

The book begins with Finn who is fascinated by the island and is shocked to stumble across a woman who we later learn is named Cora. How has she survived in her own on this remote, hidden island? Finn’s ancestors were doctors on the island, and eventually, he and Cora’s pasts collide together as the full story of the island and the people who lived there is revealed.

There are lots of chillingly evil characters and some very graphic scenes involving medical and biological testing. It is amazing that the author has written such a timely story during this time of a pandemic and her Reader Letter is simply astounding! She brings a unique insight to this thought-provoking mystery.

Most of the main characters are fictional but there are also many real-life figures woven into the story. Typhoid Mary even makes an appearance! There are also real historical events described in this book. It definitely ends on a cliff-hanger and I can’t wait to see where this very unusual story goes in the future!

Dnf'd at 23%. It wasnt holding my interest and the e-arc layout of this made it really hard to read as if it was almost like a continuous thought. And it kept jumping around way too much that I kept getting confused. The premise really interested me hence why I requested this on Netgalley. I might pick this up as a physical copy though and try again to see if it was maybe just the format of the e-arc that made it hard.

I’m not sure what I just read, but I’m not sorry I read it. It was definitely strange reading about someone living through other historical pandemics while living through one in our own time, but I think that made it even better.

Cora lives all alone on the abandoned North Brother Island, within view of Rikers Island, in rotting buildings that were part of the now abandoned Riverside Hospital, which historically held people with a variety of contagious diseases in isolation from the rest of New York. Cora has them all -- smallpox, typhoid, and scarlet fever to name just a few -- but she is symptom free unless she tries to escape the island. As soon as she leaves, she starts dying, so she's trapped, which makes her especially susceptible to abuse at the hands of her captors. For decades, generations of doctors from a single family have tried to figure out what makes her unique, treating her less like a human being and more like a lab rat. That is, until Finn arrives on the island, trying to uncover the truth behind his family’s secret research and the horrors of what's been done to Cora.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I picked this one up. I thought it might be a ghost story or have supernatural elements, but that’s not the direction it went. It can probably fit into science fiction, but that only describes a small part of it. Historical fiction, mystery, thriller. This one is a mish-mosh of genres. But it actually works.

Because the author bounces us back and forth between Cora in the past and Cora in the present, we can see how she changes over time from a naïve girl to a hard, tough, woman who doesn’t trust anyone, especially not someone from Finn’s family of doctors. The timeline jumps are what make this book really work, and I especially liked reading about Cora in the past.

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of the Holocaust/Dr. Mengele piece of the story -- I’ve read too many survivor accounts to enjoy having it snuck into fiction writing without warning -- but it does help define which side of right many of these characters are on, including some of the ones we are supposed to like.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this book, although know it ends on a cliffhanger and a sequel is in the works. Usually, I like to read a series all at once since I don’t always trust myself to remember the details, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one, and I hope it drops soon. I really want to find out what happens to Cora and Finn.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Freiling Publishing in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden is part mystery and part science fiction, set in New York state.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Freiling Publishing, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
In 1902 Riverside Hospital on the North Brother Island off the coast of New York City,  served as a quarantine station for outbreaks of measles, typhus, tuberculosis and scarlet fever.  During this time, Dr. Otto Gettler was one of the main physicians.  He would do anything to find a cure.  One of his patients was a girl named Cora.

In 1952, Riverside Hospital was serving as an experimental rehabilitation hospital.  One of its returning physicians was Dr. Ulrich Gettler (Otto's son).  He had taken a brief hiatus to work in Dachau, but returned to Riverside to renew his experiments. One of his patients was a woman named Cora.

In 1992, Riverside Hospital was closed, but still the Gettler's visited.  Both Dr. Rollie Gettler (Ulrich's son) and his own son, Dr. Kristian Gettler, continued the original research.  Their patient was named Cora.

In 2007, Finn Gettler is trying to find out why his family has been so involved with Riverside. He has always been kept out of the loop. Although the island is currently off-limits to everyone, and designated as a bird sanctuary,  Finn sneaks onto the island.  There he finds a woman named Cora.


My Opinions:   
First, North Brother Island does exist, and is now a bird sanctuary.  In the past, however, it really did house Riverside Hospital which started out as holding smallpox patients, and eventually other patients requiring quarantine...like Typhoid Mary who actually stayed there.  Eventually it was an addiction center for teens.  There was also a steamship wreck (The General Slocum) off the coast.  So the author wove the past history of the island into her story, and it worked well.

However, let us remember that this is a fiction novel, so you will have to leave some of your beliefs at the door, and know that you are venturing into the unknown and somewhat unbelievable....a bit of science fiction rolled into the story of a woman abandoned by society.

The writing was good, and the story interesting.  I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but this was good, because both the research and story was good.

Character-wise,  most of the Gettler's were quite easy to hate, but I truly loved Cora.  She was such a heroic yet tragic figure.  Her story was told by going back and forth between the years (and the different Gettlers)  until we had her whole life story.  Finn was okay, and his mom was great!  Sometimes I felt the characters were a little stilted, and most of the time I felt their so-called "for the good of society" was just an excuse for torture and abuse.

But most of my complaints are minor.  Yes, I felt the book was too long, parts dragged.  As well, it wasn't until the end that I discovered that there would be a sequel.....I usually like to know that going into the first book.  However, that is more the publisher's problem than the authors.

For a debut novel,  Shelley Nolden did well.

Holy chit! Not sure if this is based upon a real story or not. But, it certainly has that jibe to it! After the year we've all lived through... just thinking about all of the pandemics and pathogens over the years that have put folks in the survival of the species mode... and I don't give a feck who lives, just as long as I do! Will we sacrifice the one for good of all? No brainer. Of course, we will. Everyone wants to think that they'll be the one that survives and all of the other poor bastards will perish. We'll shed a tear or two... but, inwardly... we're happier than hell that we survived another day on this blue planet! The only thing one has to wonder about... who's crazier? The person who can save mankind with whatever has set them apart from all the rest... or the folks who want to control who can turn a dime on that awesome gift.

Rating: 3/5 stars.

“The Vines” by Shelley Nolden is a historical fiction mystery. I was rather intrigued by the premise of the novel, and kept hearing good things about it. I usually only read historical fiction if I have an interest in the setting. Being Canadian, I will admit I am not fully versed in American history and geography, and I had no idea North Brother Island existed before reading this book. After reading the author’s note at the end of the novel, I went and did further research for my own interest in the fascinating and sad history of this real-life locale.

Personally, while I can see why a lot of people love this book, I was not a huge fan. While the mystery itself was intriguing, I found the plot to really be dragging in places. The writer has a very reflective writing style, often going back and referencing memories of the past to try to flesh out the characters and setting more. This got monotonous quickly, as I prefer a more active and present writing style. I found the beginning of the novel was a little muddled and confusing, and soaked with too much reminiscing. Those two factors made it very tough for me to stay engaged in the novel.

There are a lot of medical references in the novel. I am not a doctor and have not studied medicine at all in school, so I am just speaking from my own personal observations and knowledge. While I love medical thrillers and learning about medicine, it felt at times like the author was just throwing key words and terminology in as just filler or fluff, in an attempt to make it seem more legitimate and timely. Coronaviruses were referenced, which made sense as the book was set in the mid-2000s, after the SARS outbreak. Despite being set over a 100-year time span, some major illnesses related to viruses, bacteria or parasites were referenced very few times or not at all, including HIV, malaria, and influenza. It seemed odd to me that the intense research that some of the characters were producing seemingly ignored such debilitating and prevalent diseases.

As expected in historical fiction novels, not everything that happens or is referenced to in this novel is true. I appreciated that in the author’s note at the end of the novel, they delineated which characters were based on real people, and which were fully fictional. My issue was that a lot of the plot points in the novel were so far-fetched that it was almost ridiculous, moving closer to a fantasy story than historical fiction. Also, a few of the characters just felt like caricatures in the way that they were described and their personalities. None of the characters were appealing to me, making it hard to relate to their stories.

I want to take a moment to address the author. Reading the note at the end of the novel, I was very touched reading her story of strength and resilience, and wanted to commend her for using her experience to write this book. While it was not for me personally, I am sure that it will be enjoyed by many. I would recommend it for hardcore fans of historical fiction novels that genre bend into mystery thrillers.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

Thriller featuring an abandoned hospital, home to years of human experimentation and quarantines....? Yes please! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I ended up giving this book three stars because I was able to foresee some of the twists, and the writing style grated my nerves at times... other than that, I had a fun time reading this book. It’s especially eerie considering the current outbreak we are living through.
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Mystery/thrillers are not my go to genre, but the horror elements saved this book for me. This book comes out in just a few days, so keep you eyes on lookout if interested!
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Thank you NetGally and Freiling Publishing for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. Release date is March 23rd, 2021!
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The setting is North Brother Island in New York. This place actually exists and you find some interesting information online about the medical facility there as well as info about Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary. The author incorporated Mary Mallon in as a character who is quarantined at the facility due to her illness. She interacts with our main character Cora.

The story involves generations of doctors in the Gettler family and spans over a 100 year period. There is more of a horror element to the experimentation the doctors perform on Cora and through it all, Cora lives alone on this island for decades. Cora's blood has qualities which make her immune to disease. Medical ethics are certainly in question in this book.

The back and forth chapters in the different timeframes was confusing at first. The book starts with Finn Gettler sneaking onto the island and seeing Cora. He is well aware of his father and grandfather's medical research but he doesn't know of the heinous experiments performed on this woman. There are surprises about Finn's family and while I did finish the book, there were some times I almost made it a DNF and moved on.

If you are engaged with the story then you'll be pleased to know there will be a followup book. I personally won't be looking to continue the storyline.

Publication date is March 23, 2021 by Freiling Publishing. Genre: historical fiction; mystery; thriller
Much thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions expressed here are mine.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a medical adventure novel that includes historical aspects of an island off the coast of New York that housed Typhoid Mary (also a character in the book). The gripping medical tale of torture over generations is simultaneously compelling and horrifying.

3 stars

I'll be completely honest - I almost DNF'd this book after the first 50 pages.

Nolden is taking on a lot in this book and the veritable dump of information that characterizes the first tenth of the novel ends up being frankly overwhelming. However, once we have our first flashback, Nolden finds her stride in creating an intriguing and very topical piece of historical and medical fiction.

In telling the story of four generations of doctors and a mysterious woman whose blood holds the secrets to eradicating disease, The Vines is very much a novel for the current pandemic. The questions that it brings up are essential as we contemplate how we move forward and what we will do if another pandemic occurs. I had purposefully been avoiding any literature that deals with disease, but I found this to be an pretty engaging read with well-researched historical details and intense action despite the hurdles at the beginning!

Thank you to NetGalley and Freiling Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is chilling. This isn't labeled a horror novel, but the real life treatment of and the experiments done to the patients of North Brother Island were truly horrifying. This book give us a glimpse of the island's dark history while also seamlessly weaving a present day tale that highlights the ripple effect of destruction caused by the gruesome experiments conducted there.
Couple that with reading this book during a pandemic, and it's even more jarring and unsettling. Waverly Hills has nothing on North Brother Island, and I wish more people would write about this haunting place.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Vines is an intriguing mess of a story. It covers generations of doctors and secrets. There is a long history of disease coupled with lies throughout each character. But I trudged through this mess of a story just to be disappointed in the ending because there is absolutely no reconciliation of the problems that drove the plot. I am sad that it takes a second book to finish the story because I feel like this one was much longer than it needed to be and still wasn't finished.

this book was grate I enjoyed every second of it. it kept me invested the hole time and i did't want to put it down

This one was a bit of a slow starter for me but once I got into it, the pages flew by. It is so clear that the author did a ton of research on not only the island itself, but also the events and people in the span of time the book discusses. The back and forth of the timeline was a bit frustrating at times but overall this was a really good book. I really feel for Cora and can’t imagine how this will end in a HEA for her. I am definitely looking forward to the next book to see what is in store not just for her, but the rest of the characters as well! I would definitely recommend this book!