2,5/5

Follow Finn Gettler in 2007/2008 as he embarks in a journey to unravel the mysteries surrounding his family and their involvement in a quarantine hospital that was held in a small island near New York City in the early 1900's. Finn decides to go on the island on his own accord (illegaly) and finds a young women named Cora who seems to be living on the island by herself. Dark and shocking family secrets get revealed as he continues to research the past of this island. How far is a family of scientists and doctors willing to go to find cures and vaccines for deadly and contagious diseases?

**Before I go further with my review, I have to put trigger warnings here for physical/medical abuse (off and on page), deadly diseases, quarantines, unethical scientific experimentations, and obstetrical violence.

I was very intrigued about this book. The premisce seemed very interesting and mysterious. Unfortunately, I had a very hard time finishing this book. I started it in January and finished it on April 4th. The main issue I have with this book is the execution of the writing. Finn was a pretty flat character for me and I found that a lot of the phrasing and structure in this book were off. I had a hard time following the narrative when the characters went on very long and sometimes unnecessary flashbacks. It broke the pacing at some point. I also found the back and forth through time pretty confusing. I found hard to believe the motives of most of the actions of the characters and it did not always stay true to the characters. The mystery was gone for me at about 50% of the book. I found the ending pretty plot convenient as well.

I still enjoyed some parts, paticularly the chapters in the earlier 1900's. I think the concept and the ideas brought by this book were pretty interesting overall. I did not know that those islands and hospitals existed for real and I do have to give the author the credit of the great research that has been done to write this book. It does show very well. I know that the author also had some experience with COVID-19, which makes this a more authentic read. This had a great potential. I think it's really the technical writing skills and execution fo the concept that were lacking for me overall.

I do recommend this to readers who are interested in scientific human experimentations and a discussion around scientific ethics, as well as to readers who like historical fictions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Freiling Publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Vines is a fascinating mix of historical fiction, thriller, and mystery with a science fiction and magical realism twist. That seems like a strange combination but it works really well and I enjoyed the story more and more as I read. I truly could not stop reading as I got to the last 100 pages. It’s amazing that a book that spans 106 years, from 1902 to 2008, manages to also deal with current issues so well.

The history incorporated into this story had me traveling down the rabbit hole to research things mentioned in the book. Nolden weaves together historical events and real people with a compelling fictional story of one family’s obsession with medical research and the woman who is the center of it all.

And the ending? I had no idea that there would be a sequel and now I can’t wait to read it. This is a really unique book that married historical fiction with science research and left me wanting more.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden
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Thanks Netgalley for this digital book to read.
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This book was like a mystery but also a horror show at the same time. It’s written mostly from two POVs. One is Finn, in the present day, who is obsessed with knowing the secrets his family has been hiding about their medical research project over the years. The other is Cora in the early 1900s who contracts a deadly illness and is confined to North Brother Island in quarantine with other people who are deemed too contagious.
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Soooooo this book was not for me. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good book, I think this book was written well and dropped lots of interesting little tidbits on me as well as a twist that I didn’t see coming. But it hurt my heart too much how cruel some of the characters were and I couldn’t enjoy the story.
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In my mind I’m giving this 2.5 ⭐️⭐️💫 but I rounded up on goodreads. Again, this is just me, nothing personal against the book. If you are a fan of horror then this might be a great book for you.

Ended up giving up on this book as I was not able to connect to it.

The premise is very intriguing: a hidden island with the remains of a hospital after human experimentation.
Perhaps the characters hadn't quite developed until the point I read, but they felt one-dimensional.

THE VINES is a twisted and dark bit of contagious fun! Like a historical-mystery-thriller-fantasy-sci-fi mash up of secrets and lies - and I loved every minute!⁣⁣

I’ve been down all the Google rabbit holes wondering what quarantine was like on North Brother Island. I had the unfortunate pleasure of having tuberculosis a few years ago and thank science I wasn’t banished to an island! Shout out to modern medicine!
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This decaying NYC island is the site of a shuttered hospital used for quarantines and human experiments. Cora, remains imprisoned there by contagions and some super shady doctors. When Finn discovers her, it ignites an obsession to uncover her past — and his own family's dark secrets in turn.⁣⁣
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There’s some really fun twists and turns that The Vines takes - told in dual timelines, and cleverly meeting in present day. It’s a haunting story that questions the ethics of medicine - in particular, a family of doctors who stand out in some pretty horrific scenes. But the courageous and strong-willed Cora outshines their controversial objectives and steals the story with her unwavering spirit. ⁣⁣
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A haunting story that is definitely taken up a notch reading in a pandemic - Coronavirus even makes a cameo! It’s funny how truth really is sometimes just as strange as fiction!⁣⁣

The Vines by Shelley Nolden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The idea of a mystery set on abandoned North Brother Island in New York City's East River, immediately caught my imagination. At one time people were quarantined there for contagious diseases, but now nature has reclaimed the island and designated it as a bird sanctuary. It's the perfect setting for Shelley Nolden's elaborate debut, part historical, part medical, and part supernatural story about a family who discover a woman with extraordinary immunity living on the island and perform invasive experiments over decades to learn her secret.

Finn has always been excluded from his family's involvement with Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island. Home from the Peace Corps, he decides to do a little urban exploration of the now abandoned hospital and discovers Cora, scarred and living alone amid the ruins. Their meeting is not a peaceful meeting and Finn begins to feel responsible for his family's past transgressions. Moving back and forth between 1902 and 2007 and years in between, the cruelty and horrors are slowly revealed.

Does the end justify the means? In "The Vines", every character lies and every character keeps secrets. The majority of characters are of questionable morality. Although the chapters were labelled to help the reader navigate, it took me a while to get comfortable with the Gettler genealogy. The author does a good job of describing the over-grown island and the tragic episode of the General Slocum, which burned off shore, brought that event alive.

Halfway through the story got bogged down. Sections focused on descriptions which didn't move the story forward. The ending didn't tie up loose ends no doubt because a sequel will be available soon.

In the meantime, Shelley Nolden's fantastic website has an extensive list of sources including photographs, websites, books, videos, and articles for those who are as fascinated as the author is with North Brother Island's history.

I am DNFing this one at about halfway. I am not sure why this one isn't working for me. I set it down for a week and picked it back up, I put it back down after 10 more pages. The flow is jerky and I am not invested in the characters.

Other ratings are fantastic, so it must just be me.

Wow - now this was a book that was really different which I enjoyed.

The author does such a great job of world building that I could see the island, I could see the characters and I could literally feel my body tensing up as I read certain parts.

I found myself to immersed that at times I would exclaim out loud - some real surprises.

it also made me want to research this island - is it real. It made me think about the end justifying the means.

That being said the reason I am giving it 4 stars not 5 was that as much as I found it interesting, I couldn't get the feels for any of the characters. If the main character died, I would just be like "wow", not really sad or disappointed. I didn't root for anyone.

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

The Vines has a unique premise and was intriguing at times, but I found the writing confusing and hard to follow at times. It was slow to start but I did become more interested as the book went on. Overall, I liked the switch in time in the narrative though and enjoyed the premise.

What a timely novel about viruses and pandemics. Taking place in the early 1900s and in the present day, it traces the historical use of an island in New York harbor as a place of quarantine for those with illnesses like small pox or tuberculosis. The main character inhabits the entire story with an interesting plot. The mix of historical fiction and science fiction blend well together. I was disappointed as I came to the last page and discovered the story was to be continued in a yet to be released second novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Freiling Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

North Brother Island has been deserted for years. At one time it housed patients with communicable diseases, then soldiers home from the war, and finally, teenage drug addicts. When it closed in the 1960s, it was abandoned and became a bird sanctuary. Since then, there are no tours, no access allowed, and growing up on Long Island, it had all the makings of teenage nightmares. I honestly hadn't thought about this place or its history in years, until I saw some people talking about this book on Instagram.
Cora McSorley was dealt a pretty bad hand. Sent to this island to recover from a virus, she believes she will go home soon. But her body has other plans. She doesn't get sick but anyone she gets near will most certainly die. The doctor in charge fakes her death and uses her body for scientific research. Never mind that she is treated worse than a lab animal, the other patients and staff believe she has leprosy and avoid Cora. She fights to hold onto a reason to live and her humanity.
Christian, Ulrich, and Rollie Gettler are the three generations of doctors who have literally taken everything from Cora. Her blood, her tissue, and any semblance of a normal life. When Rollie's son Finn becomes curious about his family's past, he finds Cora, the only inhabitant of the deserted North Brother Island living alone here for many, many years. Horrified by what has been done to her, he vows to find a way to help her. But it isn't that easy, as there is always another compelling reason why her body is so valuable. Medical and moral ethics are tossed aside again and again by the Gettlers. If Finn has any hope of saving Cora he will have to decide if the needs of the many are really more important than one woman's freedom and life.
It a very engaging story, but I wasn't prepared for how it would end. It seems that there will be another book, so many of the questions I had were left unanswered. Hopefully, it isn't a long wait before the next book!

4.5 stars. Wow! I did not know what I was getting with this story. For some reason I was expecting something totally different than what it was, which really surprised me in the best way. This is obviously a timely book in how it discusses diseases and pandemics. But otherwise, I LOVED how the story delved into the ethics of science and discovery and the morality of what sacrifices are you willing to make for science and for, potentially, the greater good? The ending was sooo satisfying and I was not expecting the cliff hanger.

Ahhhh! This book was fantastic. I don’t even know where to begin. This will easily be in my top 10 for favorite books of the year. Fantastic plot, characters, and extremely thrilling. Bravo!

"It is in the power of man to make parasitic maladies disappear from the globe."

There's a 22-acre island in the East River known as North Brother Island. Uniquely situated to the
South Bronx and nearby Riker's Island, this place now contains decaying buildings and is overgrown with ivy and kudzu. From the late 1880s and until about 1963, those structures were used to house quarantine patients, GIs and their families after the world wars, and lastly, teenage heroin addicts. Closed permanently in 1963, visitors are prohibited and it has been designated as a bird sanctuary. In this unique blend of history and fiction, one person has been on the island since she was brought to Riverside Hospital on North Brother in 1902 at the age of 18 due to a measles outbreak.

This is the story of a very unique young woman, Coraline McSorley, doomed to spend forever in isolation due to her unusual physical characteristics. Forced to submit to continuous tests and experiments performed in the name of the greater good, Cora has dealt with several generations of the same family of doctors who seek to use her to find a cure for the viruses and diseases that plague mankind. Isolated and abused, Cora's tale of betrayal and resilience is deeply affecting. NO SPOILERS.

An incredibly poignant story that reminds me a bit of the wonderful MOLOKA'I by Alan Brennert, I experienced so many different feelings as I read this today. Stunned when I got to the end and saw there was to be a sequel, I almost had to knock of a star because I like conclusions, but couldn't because I really enjoyed this. Of course I will now have to read the sequel. I spent time on google reading more about the history of this island and enjoyed several videos of the island as it looks today and illustrations of the way it was set up in the past. What a place! Home to "Typhoid Mary" for many years, this island holds so many secrets and tears, and it seemed like a really timely read considering the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Freiling Publishing Independent Book Publishers Association for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

Such an interesting read! Equal parts historical fiction and science fiction with a few plot twists thrown in, as well as an unresolved ending that begs for a sequel. The book opens as main character Finn is exploring the abandoned buildings on New York's North Brother Island in 2007 when he stumbles across a strange woman whose body is riddled with scars. Alternate chapters tell the story of teenaged Cora, who was sent to the measles quarantine unit on the island in 1902 with her sister. As they recover from the disease, they are infected with typhus from residents of the island's other disease wards. After her sister's death, Cora is approached by a doctor who is intrigued by some of her lab work and wants to test her further, setting into motion a lifetime of unspeakable abuse and heartbreak. The two plots converge throughout the novel, edging closer to a tumultuous conclusion.
Readers learn about disease and the ethics of research, as well as historical people and places. The references to quarantines, symptoms, and even coronaviruses were chilling yet timely.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
Recommended

•B O O K•R E V I E W•
2021 Book #37 out of 80
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THE VINES by SHELLEY NOLDEN
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars
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QUICK SYNOPSIS: A forbidden island that is used to house those with life-threatening viruses, becomes home to an immortal woman. The question, is how does she even become immortal in the first place? When Finn does cross paths with this woman, the truth about his family unravels.

TW: Grooming, Physical/Emotional/Mental Abuse

STORYLINE & THOUGHTS:
~ Nolden left me eager to read more of this story after the situations kept on unraveling as I turned every page in the book.
~ The story is woven to include the elements of suspense, thriller, and science.
~ The POV is split between the different characters and jumps between the past and present.
~ The ending of the story is definitely one to prepare for! I'm eager to read the next book in the series.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @FreilingPublishing
for this ARC Ebook. All reviews are fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
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I was really excited to read this book. I felt it was difficult to get into at first and it took me a few days but then I was hooked! Shelley Nolden is a fantastic writer and can really tell a great story! Very compelling and just draws you right in. I hope to read more from Ms. Nolden in the future!

Thank you to the publishers, Netgalley and Shelley Nolden for the chance to read this book in exchange for my review.

Where do I start? Overall, it wasn't a bad debut novel. Shelley Nolden really has a way with story telling that captures every bit of your attention. However, I had a lot of issues with this one. First, it was not at all what I expected.

This follows Cora, who has been transferred to North Brother Island. This island is meant for people who have contagious diseases. She becomes a test subject for human experimentation. I was captivated by her journey for about 50% of the book. After that, I got lost. Trigger warning for abuse of all types in this one. We do follow Finn as well in present day, who discovers Cora and what has been happening with her. There is some mystery surrounding that.

I felt like this needed more plot. As it stands, it's just one long journey of an abused girl. And overall, I did not enjoy reading it past the 50% mark. Maybe this just wasn't a story for me. I can appreciate that Shelley Nolden clearly did a lot of research on North Brother Island.

Ended up giving this one 2 stars. Also, I thought this was a stand alone, but there will be a sequel.

Overall I thought The Vines was an interesting book. Nolden was able to weave together elements of reality, the devastating history of North Brother Island, and a truly sad story of Cora and Finn. However at a few points throughout the book I felt like the story just didn't flow as well for me. I'm claiming this strictly as a personal preference and think this style would work wonderfully for many if not most readers.

3/5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Freiling Publishing for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I hardly know how to classify this novel -- it was told in two timelines so part of it is historical fiction but overall I think it can best describe it as a suspense novel -- a novel full of twists and turns and surprises that you don't see coming. My only disappointment with this novel was that it didn't wrap up totally at the end but ended with "Don't forget the unforgettable sequel to THE VINES coming soon."

When Finn finds information about experiments this his great-grandfather, grandfather, father and brother have carried out on the island, he gets curious and kayaks to the island to try to find out what secrets his family has been keeping from him. When he arrives, he finds a beautiful young woman living by herself on the island. Cora is a victim of his family who have done experiments on her since 1902 trying to find out why she has an immunity to disease so that they can replicate it and save other people. Finn is intrigued by her and the connection with his family. Throughout the novel we get Finn's story as well as Cora's history of her life. I found Cora's story to be unimaginable, the pain and the horror that she had been put through by the doctors who wanted to find a way to save people was horrific A major ethical dilemma comes to mind on how much someone should be made to suffer to save other people. The juxtaposition of Cora's history and her current life really gives the reader something to think about.

This is a well written novel. There is a lot of medical information but not enough (or boring enough) to bog down the story. There are many opposites in the story - Cora's past and the beauty of the island that she inhabits, Finn's sense of adventure and his family's treachery, inflicting harm on one person in the hope to save many. I found this novel very intriguing and thought provoking and can't wait to read the sequel.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.