4.25 stars

I’ve been reading (adult) fiction from this author since I was way too young for her work; my mom was reading one of her supernatural series for a while, and I managed to get my hands on a few of the novels. All of that is to say that I’ve been a fan of the writer for quite a long time, and this book reminded me of why. It started out feeling like a gothic suspense story, but there was a turning point where it quickly moved from thriller to supernatural horror. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, and some parts of the ending were a bit bizarre and surreal, but I still quite enjoyed it all. I also definitely want to go back and reread some of the author’s earlier works (and, bonus, she’s local to the area where I was born and raised!). Overall, this one was a win for me.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
I really enjoyed this horror novel. While it starts off with small things, the creepiness factor grows until you can feel the fear of these characters on this island. This group of adult friends and one teenager were just going to investigate what the renters of this island are doing, and it turned out, a lot more was going on. I liked the pacing of and the heart pounding plot. This felt like a quintessential horror book perfect for fall. I don't need such rich character development in a quick paced horror like this; I want to be scared along with the characters and also be conjuring up a potential solution for what is causing their issues. I did that during this whole book and was left satisfied with this unique ending.
I will add the narrator, Angela Dawe, did such a great job capturing the atmosphere of this story and really made each character come alive. It was an excellent performance.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.

Laney was gifted Hemlock Island from her ex-husband and she has been renting it out a la VRBO / Airbnb. After she learns that renters have vandalized the island in different ways and bloody bones and hex circles were found, she show up to check things out with her niece, Madison. Soon, Laney's ex-husband, Kit shows up as well. He has his sister, Jayla, with him, who used to be Laney's best friend. Lastly, Sadie and her brother Garrett show up - more people from their high school days.

Suspicious events begin happening around the island. Sadie leaves the house and nobody can find her. Secrets unfold throughout the story that affect past, present, and future events for the characters. They begin finding bodies and body parts across the island. Who is doing this them?

2/5 stars -- When I initially read the description of this book, it sounded like a good horror book akin to 'And Then There Were None.' I didn't realize that there were supernatural elements involved (think - ' Cabin in the Woods'). The mystical aspects took away from the rest of the story for me. The ending was anti-climactic and even comical in parts. The build-up to the reveal was decent, but then fell flat.

This story was like a locked door mystery meets the exorcist and I am here for it. The story starts off a little slow as we learn some of the backstory of the characters and the island. However, once the story kicks off, it is a non-stop ride of twists and turns. I felt like I was there with them on the island and I needed to keep reading to find out what happens next. Another great standalone novel from Kelley Armstrong.

Angela Dawe does a great job narrating this novel.

After an upset guest the owner of a private island Airbnb returns to look at a gruesome prank left behind by one of the previous guests….unless it wasn’t a prank at all. Isolation and eerie Hemlock Island is the perfect location of an escape just don’t get stranded.

I had a fun time listening to this book. It was spooky and gruesome. Had me guessing the whole time. There were some moments that just didn’t do it for me. There was a comment about “a black man” that made me uncomfortable when the main characters were trying to catch their friend. I was not a fan of the twist or voice for the creature.

Armstrong is the contemporary Canadian author we need. I am absolutely a fan of her unique voice and gripping narratives that leave me turning pages, or in this case, listening on 2x speed, of her books.

Hemlock Island ropes you in to a mysterious story that leaves you wonderingm like the main character, if you're imagining things, or if something more sinister is afoot. I loved this book. It balanced precariously leaving you wondering if the satanic circles and severed hands were prompted by malicious murderers or evil spirits, and when it tipped off balance I was thrilled at the incorporation of the paranormal. I liked the characters a great deal, and I thought the book was the perfect amount of mysterious.

As per usual, as a Canadian reader I was thrilled at the little shoutouts I could see that felt Canadian to me. I liked hearing about Lake Superior and cottage life that felt familiar to me.

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

My goodness this was dark and twisty and I really enjoyed it. I loved the characters and the their histories being intermingled and gradually revealed. I did, however, figure out all the histories & circumstances and even the "bad guy." Annoying but not enough to make the book unenjoyable. I really did enjoy it and kinda feel like it coulda been a sequel to Ferngully for some reason. Maybe I'm just crazy.
Will definitely read more by this author.

This was the first book I have listened to by Kelly Armstrong. This was a very interesting book. I think readers will enjoy this one during Spooky Season. This will pulling you in from the beginning and will keep you wanting more. I definitely didn't see the twists coming!! I found this to be really entertaining . I will definitely be recommending this book!


Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.

Well this was downright creepy! I did not see this book ending up where it did. Definitely not for the faint of heart as it was quite gruesome, but absolutely a perfect choice for spooky season. I did have some issues with/questions about the big twist, which is why I’m giving this 4 stars.

I loved the spook factor of this book - it is the perfect read to kickstart my creepy Fall reading! Part lock-room mystery, part horror (yes, there is some mild gore in this one), part thriller/suspense - this book had it all. I really liked the characters and thought they had a depth that a lot of stories in this genre can sometimes lack. I loved the setting as well, and the author did a great job bringing it to life. Some parts of the story did feel unbelievable or forced, such as Laney finding the time to tell her niece a life-changing story about their family while something/someone was terrorizing the group. Overall, this was a fun read!

Laney Kirkpatrick has a house on an island in Lake Superior. To be able to afford it, she has been renting it out as a vacation home. She doesn’t like having strangers in her house, and now she’s got to go to Hemlock Island because strange things are happening there. She meets her ex-husband and some friends there so they can figure out what is going on.

This was such an atmospheric read. I loved the setting of a house on a remote island in the middle of a lake. The weird things happening there have off such eerie vibes, and I was invested from the beginning to know what was actually happening on the island.

The beginning of the book was a slow burn with the pace picking up in the last third. We get to know the characters in the beginning, and the book is more focused on their relationships and something that happened in the past that all the characters elude to often. I think it was supposed to be a major shock once Armstrong revealed what happened to Laney, but I didn’t think it was necessary to the story at all.

There were some creepy moments in this book which I really enjoyed. I liked the paranormal aspects, but honestly, I didn’t love the ending. I’ve read many reviews where people loved it. It just wasn’t for me. I found it rushed and a bit over the top.

I listened to the audiobook, and I enjoyed the narrator, Angela Dawe. She brought suspense to the story and really brought the island itself to life!

Overall, I loved the setting of the book and how atmospheric it was. I thought there was too much drama between the friends and some unnecessary things thrown in that took away from the horror part of the story. I would have liked a bit more spookiness in the beginning so that the ending didn’t feel so rushed. For this being the author’s first horror novel, I thought she did a good job, and I look forward to reading more books like this by Armstrong.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

Title: Hemlock Island
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Narrator: Angela Dawe

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this audiobook through Netgalley.

Oh my goodness, I love this book! It is the kind of mystery/thriller/paranormal book that you can really sink your teeth into! I was addicted from the start!

There are enough ways to guess what is really going on that you can find yourself playing detective 50 different ways - which is awesome!

The plot: A woman’s ex-husband left her and divorced her, but she got to keep the island he bought for her. The hitch? How could she afford the upkeep on a teacher’s salary? So, like many property owners - she rents it out.

Then she receives the newest renter complaint of blood found on a door. A prank? She goes to the island to investigate with her niece, her ex-husband & his sister, a cop & his sister. 6 people altogether.

Little things start to go wrong, and then bigger things, and then bigger… like a reverse Matryoshka doll.

The suspense is spine chilling in the best way. Five stars, two thumbs up.

Author: Already a huge fan, and this book just adds to the sparkles in my eyes

Narrator: Super fantastic! I loved her narration. She’s narrated a ton of audiobooks, but I think this was my first time listening to her, and her narration was perfect! Top-notch, five stars all on her own! A true delight!

Imagine the perfect home with all the bells and whistles on your very own island. Sounds perfect, right? This is the setting for this fast paced thriller by Kelley Armstrong.

Laney has been renting her vacation home to strangers to help her financially as she struggles as a writer, teacher and guardian to her teenaged niece. Her ex-husband gave her the island home as a wedding present and let her keep it in the divorce. The problems start when renters report strange things—vandalism, hex circles and bloody bones. After the latest complaint Laney heads to the island with her niece and is surprised to see her ex, Kit and his sister, Jayla, another old high school friend Sadie and her brother Garrett, a cop. All head over to the island with the determination to figure out what is happening and help Laney. Obviously this is a recipe for disaster as they find themselves stuck on the island without any way to leave or get help. Things start to go from bad to worse when they discover a severed hand.

This is a quick read with lots of jump scares and gruesome elements. It reads like a scary movie with annoying characters, sophomoric drama and an unbelievable backstory. It sucked me in from the beginning and was a fun ride. I wasn’t a fan of the big secret in the book, i don't think it was really necessary and it negatively effected the flow of the story. The narration was excellent.!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Just in time for spooky season!

Laney Kilpatric is the owner of Hemlock Island, a gift from her wealthy ex-husband. In order to earn money she must rent it to to vacationers. Renting it out has come with a variety of issues such as broken objects, fires and hex circles. One day it gets out of hand when a couple discovers blood and scratch marks in one of the closets. Laney, her niece, her ex-husband, her ex-husbands sister, her ex-best friend and her ex-friend’s cop brother arrive on the island to figure out what is going on. What they thought was a prank gone wrong turns into a bigger mystery when a dead body is found. Laney and the crew must figure out who or what is trying to kill them while managing their past secrets.

I was intrigued by Hemlock Island right from the beginning and finished the audiobook in a day (I like to listen at 2x speed). The book is fast paced. I almost wished the beginning was a little slower to build anticipation and create connections with the characters. Since the book was fast paced I didn’t form a bond with the characters and didn’t really care about their fate.

This book mentions the pandemic often. It takes place in a post pandemic world. Laney and her husband eloped very quickly in 2019 and spent the pandemic together. Unfortunately their marriage didn’t make it and they filed for divorce. Since the pandemic was brought up often I thought it would play some sort of role in the mystery of the island or even why the couple gets divorced but it doesn’t. Personally I’m tired of reading about the pandemic and think it wasn’t necessary to include that aspect. It didn’t add anything to the story.

There are a lot of twists and turns in the story. I can honestly say that the ending caught me off guard (but not in a good way). The ending seemed far fetched, yes I know it’s a paranormal book, and honestly a little silly. I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of the book up until the big reveal.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio. The audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe. I thought the audiobook was really well done. I enjoyed the narration and found it easy to listen to.

Happy pub day to HEMLOCK ISLAND by Kelly Armstrong. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @macmillan.audio for the audio-ARC.

Unfortunately...this one did not work for me. I felt like the story had an erratic pace, the characters were somewhat one-dimensional, and my least favorite, the narrator generally was telling you what happened or what you think instead of letting the story lead you in that direction.

I liked the idea of the story and started out with lots of notes about the characters but it went downhill from there - so this one was not for me. I DNFed at about 80% which was way longer than I should have!

I have heard this author tries out lots of different genres and styles so maybe this one just didn't work for her? Or at least me..

I should DNF books a lot faster but I have some serious FOMO for unfinished stories. Someone send help! 😵‍💫

How quick are you to DNF a book?

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#bibliophile #bookreview #dnf #booksta #bookstagram #booklover #netgalleyreviewer #netgalley #booknerd

This book was wild! It definitely gave me The Blair Witch Project vibes and I absolutely loved that. It was dark, creepy, ominous, suspenseful, and overall just a harrowing read. There are supernatural/paranormal and occult elements. There’s drama, secrets, isolation, complex relationships between all the characters. It doesn’t take long to get to the crazy stuff and I love it when books put us right into the action.

I so appreciated that the characters actually made rational, smart decisions (instead of the cliché idiotic panic that happens a lot of times in horror), all the while coming up with theories and possibilities for what was happening. I never could guess where this mayhem was going to go. I loved the characters’ banter and personalities. The dialogue and monologues actually made me feel as though they were real people.

The audiobook is excellent! I will definitely be checking out what other books the narrator has done. Her voices for the different characters fit them perfectly, and the way she inflects the tone of the story really upped the suspense and kept me rapt.

Highly recommend this book! Can’t wait for everyone to read it just in time with spooky season!

Kelley Armstrong is basically a one-click read for me. The minute I saw Hemlock Island as an option on NetGalley, I was thrilled at the opportunity to read it. Then when the audio popped up, I couldn't snag it quickly enough. I'm happy to say that neither disappointed. This book was everything you could want in a mystery/horror novel coupled with the trope of being stranded on an isolated island with no way to escape. Laney is raising her niece on her own after her sister passed away. She's divorced from Kit, who she still cares deeply for and can't seem to move on from. Kit is wealthy and gifted her with an island when they got married. It's the one thing she kept when they divorced and she loves it. But it's difficult for her to maintain it on her teacher's salary, so she rents it out for a good portion of the year to help subsidize the maintenance expenses. But lately there have been strange things happening and she receives a phone call from her most recent renters telling her they found blood in a closet and abandoned the home and island. Knowing she needs to investigate it herself and see what's truly happening there, Laney heads to the island to investigate but along the way, she runs into Kit and his sister who insist on tagging along to help. Things definitely aren't what they expected when they get there. Including the addition of two more people they didn't expect to join them. You have to wonder who's responsible for the creepy events taking place there. And as scary as things are initially, it only gets worse. This book definitely is high on the creep factor and is clever on the why. I enjoyed it quite a bit and flew through it while toggling back and forth between the ebook and audiobook. AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: This was really good. It was well narrated and creepy as heck. I think it made the book even better personally and would recommend listening to the audio, 4 stars Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook. I voluntarily chose to read/listen and review both and the opinions contained within are my own.

For me, this one was okay.

I have seen so many outstanding reviews for this book. I wanted a banger to kick off Spooky Season, and I heard this one was going to deliver.

Unfortunately, I felt like I was reading more of a drama with about 20 pages of thrills and horror. I can see why a lot of people enjoy this book, since it contains a lot of discussion about topics that are very important. But I wanted a freaky, scary, ghost story/whodunnit. I feel like I didn't get that.

Please do not let this deter you from reading it. This is what is so great about Bookstagram - we all have such different opinions and preferences in books. This one is popular for a reason. The author did a great job with the setting, characters, and the overall concept of the book. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley for my gifted Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I am not normally a fan of scary/horror books but I am a fan of Kelley Armstrong plus my library book club is reading this book for October so I was game. This book was very gory and more suspenseful than I usually like but I really enjoyed it. The characters were varied and most of them were likeable. The entity that was causing the mayhem was very creepy but I liked the way it resolved. Nothing freaks me out more than when the creepy thing is left to wreak havoc on the world. I can't really say too much more without spoiling the story but you will not regret reading this book.

The narrator was great and made it just that more suspenseful with their performance.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this audiobook copy. It was very much enjoyed.

Hemlock island walked the line of thriller w/unreliable narrators and horror so well! I really enjoyed the creepy atmospheric vibe that was perfect for the spooky season. It's definitely a quick read/listen too! Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC!