I tried to get into this book and it just wasn't for me. I found the story very confusing and it jumped around too much for me to really know what was going on, and it was this way straight from the beginning for me. I did not finish. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this arc.

I loved The Vines! It reminded me of American Horror Story: Asylum, and the best of CreepyPasta all mixed into one. The writing was deft and sparse, emotional at the perfect moments for maximum effect. This is medical horror at its best; realizing how close this book dovetails the true history of medical experimentation in America makes it even scarier.

What can I say? I read this book in one go. But... it left me wondering, gasping and shaking my head.

Yes, the topic is great and interesting - historical mystery set in real place sprinkled with real historical characters. Also, there a tropes of scy-fi, fantasy and a lot of psychological thriller. Moreover, the writer's personal story is af it was written on me. I identify and understand her on so many points it made me cry.

However, I need to be truthful to myself, I did not like this book. I found it patchy, jumpy and a bit too much of everythings. It was so much on 'screwed values' that it became screwed itself.

The Vines is the story of interconnection between long line of docters and their research. It it the story of good and evil and everything in between. It is about 'the vines' that hold us together and pull us apart.

Was this story scary? OMG most definitely. Was this story heart-wrenching. Yes, even more so. What I failed to pin point is the author's position. It was very fluid, if you ask me.

I believe there will be those who will sing praises to this book. The timing of it is perfect - COVID19 madness and havoc. But, may be even more so because of what is going on in my state of Victoria with all the 'covid-related' tyranny, I found this book off-putting.

I was really enthralled with Elena's spirit from the beginning. This story is written with so much grace, however I do believe the magic and the surrounding world could have used a little bit more development. Enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden is one hell of a story. I would never guessed that this was her first book. She dwells deep into the dark history of North Brother Island in 1907 and throughout the years. The cruel and inhuman experiments that were performed on the patients. The isolation that the patients must have felt. You can definitely tell she did her research with this book. The details of the isolated island. The crumbling buildings. The scientific details that actually had happened.
Reading this during a pandemic, makes you really connect with Cora and the isolation and despair she must have felt. I would highly recommend this book.

I heard few good things about this book and it piqued my interest in reading this book. I saw reviews from people who liked the setting of the book but I didn’t actually like the book though.So, I ended up DNF. The story was little confusing and was a bit hard to catch up and it ultimately lead to lose interest.

This is eerily realistic to what we are living through in the current pandemic.
I found the history and medical side interesting but struggled with the characters and found myself getting a bit confused with the overall plot after a bit.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book,all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am sorry. I wanted to like this and tried really hard to read it, but I just couldn't. I ended up DNF. I don't mind a bit of back story weaved in but this seemed almost all back story and I was confused. Because it seemed like the main character was living in like a modern city that was fine but then was traveling and it was over grown and like apocalyptic.

I was really intrigued by the concept of The Vines but personally was left disappointed.

Cora as a character and her narration of her life is interesting and gripping. Narration from the point of view of the other characters just didn’t vibe with me, none of them are likeable or very well fleshed out. Cora’s story was at first riveting but then it started to get repetitive but with even grimmer forms of awfulness. It’s basically a long drawn out descriptions of awful acts carried out by vile, awful men. To the point where it started to get almost unbelievable with how lucky these men were to avoid any forms of real tragedy or be any forms of justice while all the women in the story had to suffer some form of awful plight. I understand that awful things do happen all the time around the world especially to women but at times it did just feel like the author was trying to shock more than actually tell a gripping story. It also started to feel very long and repetitive, now knowing there a sequel I feel this was almost used as filler which should never be done with such a topic. There was no real relief or building of any real relationships which could of been done nicely considering it didn’t all have to told in one book. We kept hearing about all these strong relationships either good or bad being built but we didn’t see any of it apart from in forms of devastation and misery. I found The vines a page turner for the first 40% when picked up but I had no real interest in doing so and found myself thinking multiple times of reading something else. Now knowing it’s part of a series I really wish I had put it down because there was no real closure and it made what I did read feel even more drawn out, I unfortunately won’t be picking up book two.

I loved reading this, even though it was about contagious viruses/diseases and we are plagued with that currently. I am anticipating the release of the next book since there is a cliffhanger. It appealed to me with references to history, medical advances, etc.

Reading this book during the pandemic will make you question a lot of things about the world we live in. The book also gives us a glimpse into the past and how prior pandemics have been handled by doctors and hospitals. I love that the setting is a real, abandoned hospital. The plot kept me interested throughout the book because you weren't really sure where Nolden was going to take you with it. I really enjoyed getting to know the character of Cora as well as Typhoid Mary. Though some of the male characters felt like they ran together and I had a hard time keeping them apart. Good mixture of history, science (scifi?) and mystery.

In an interview with Jungle Red Writers (Feb. 25, 2021) Nolden commented on how the themes
from her cancer blog, " disease, fear of death, isolation, loss of a child, and infertility, but also of survival, courage, healing, and hope." became the dominant themes of her unsettling compelling novel The Vines. This well researched historical novel takes the protagonist Coraline from her arrival on North Border Island in 1902 to 2007. How is this possible? Cora is a human enigma. Originally sent to the Riverside Hospital, a notorious place of death located across from Manhattan, her body is able to survive the most deadly of viruses, including typhus and Ebola among others. Her body also refuses to age, thus her appearance is only changed by the scarring left from the ever intrusive surgeries performed by a family of doctor scientists. Determined to find how she is able to survive, they have placed her into a Kafkaesque world where she is perpetually isolated. Eventually Cora must live alone on North Border Island. How she learns to live within this human hell makes for a compelling drama that begs for a quick sequel.

The violence mentioned is both psychic and physical sometimes bordering on horror fiction. It was a hard book to read; in my opinion it is not for the squeamish.

Recommended

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and Freiling Publishers in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was an enticing thriller that I could not put down. I loved the flow and I can not wait for another book. The characters in this book were fabulous and creepy. If you are looking for a new title to read this year check it out. The mystery and so vivid its a must read!

I really liked the idea of this one and the cover is so beautiful it drew me in immediately but the story was so slow I couldn't get into it

This was an excellent, fast paced book with an interesting plot and intriguing characters.. I enjoyed the history and mystery of the story, The quarantine/contagions illness aspects were interesting, especially given the times.

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC both through NetGalley and through a giveaway on GoodReads. The giveaway from GoodReads was accompanied by a letter from the author, Shelley Nolden.
To be written by a person who has endured so much…..
To be written in a time that pre-dates the Covid-19 pandemic……
Shelley Nolden could be labeled a psychic, but she surely is an amazing author.
The Vines captured my attention and didn’t let go until the last page… which leaves you needing to know more. However, she wraps up these events nicely enough, for now.
This suspense novel still has me shaking my head at how uncanny the topic is.
Is there a Cora out there? Is she the secret to our safety?
Eagerly awaiting the next novel….
Thank you to Shelley Nolden, NetGalley, GoodReads, and Freiling Publishing for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

I read the first few chapters of this book and will not be finishing it. This felt like a poorly written YA novel, although not marketed as such. As the story begins, it felt like the author tried too hard to grab the reader. As the story progresses, characters are introduced with awkward descriptions, and the writing doesn't flow in a cohesive manner.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

The Vines refers to the remains of Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island, north of Hell Gate in New York City’s East River. The timeline alternates between 2007 and 1902 where Coraline McSorely was sent with her sister Maeve when after recovering from measles they contracted typhus when Cora accepted a toy from an infected child. Unfortunately, Maeve’s body was unable to fight yet another attack on her immune system.

In 2007, Finn Gettler returns from serving in the Peace Corps in Africa and obsessed with learning what secret ties his family still has with the restricted island. His grandfather Dr Otto Gettler was dedicated to eradicating diseases. Over 100 years later, his father Rollie and brother are secretly conducting research initiated Otto ignoring all legal and ethical implications of their actions. They are driven by the desire to cure his mother Sylvia from the devastating effects of Lyme disease.

What I found most fascinating was the real story about North Brother Island and how the history was woven into the novel providing credibility. The island was purchased by the town of Morrisania (located in the Bronx) in 1871, and was home to a tuberculosis hospital built by the Sisters of Charity. In 1885, New York City acquired the island to build a new hospital for the treatment of infectious diseases. The diseases that were treated here varied as new germs invaded the city - they included smallpox, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and polio.

In 1904, the steamship General Slocum burst into flames in the East River resulting in over 1,000 deaths. It also became renowned for “imprisoning” “Typhoid Mary” Mallon, whose asymptomatic typhoid infection caused many people to become sick and die. She worked as a cook and was allowed to leave island if she agreed to avoid contact to further infect people. Not believing she was infected Mary found work as a cook where once again it was discovered that she indeed was a carrier of this deadly disease. They ultimately had to quarantine her until her death from pneumonia in 1938.

The historical aspects of the story provided depth to the characters and the ability to visualize the vine covered buildings abandoned on the island after a failed attempt to use it for a substance abuse rehabilitation center.

The story becomes twisted with secrets and lies so incredulous that one has to wonder what occurred in such hospitals during this time era when the world endured the 1918 flu pandemic and then WWI and WWII during Nazi invasion.

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?

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The blurbs sound very very promising but again and again, it fell flat for me. I have a hard time continuing and finishing this book. It was a big slum and yeah, a 3 stars for this book.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has a lot of twists and takes some time to figure out who’s the bad guy and who’s the good guy. It’s not a topic I read about often, so it was a more unique book for me.