Format: audiobook, Genre: romance, psychological thriller, mystery

What a great read! Another excellent story from @KierstenModglinsuthor! Maggie moves back to her small town home to start over after ending her long-term relationship. She buys a house and strange things start happening when she’s alone. She struggles with who to trust to help her: her childhood best friend, the old flame that broke her heart, or neither of them. I loved Maggie as a protagonist! She really wanted to make some changes about herself to prevent past patterns from reappearing. I liked that see her stumble a few times falling back to her old ways and watch her gracefully acknowledge those mistakes and reset. There were so many twists and revelations around every corner. I was constantly engaged and wanting to know what would happen next. I listened to this one in 2 days-always had my earbud going! I really enjoyed the narrator, @britpressley. I sometimes have trouble keeping track of male characters with a female voice actor, but this was any easy listen!

Thank you @NetGalley, #KierstenModglin, and @dreamscape_media for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy audiobook for an honest review!

#NetGalley #DreamscapeMedia #mystery #PsychologicalThriller #romance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #TheMidNOCBookClub

Thank you to Kiersten Modglin, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for this Audiobook.

Wow, this honestly exceeded my expectations. Brittany Pressley is an amazing narrator and you can feel the emotion in her voice. The story itself kept me on the edge of my seat. I really liked Maggie. She was a strong FMC. One of my favorite tropes is fake dating, so that was a huge plus for me.

After seeing so many bookstagrammers rave about this author’s work for the last few years, I was so excited to be granted my request for the audiobook edition of her latest, Hemlock.

I loved how this book seems like a thriller, but it uses elements of a mystery or suspense story and blends them with dark romance. It all comes together so well and keeps the reader hooked from chapter to chapter. This author writes these creepy, suspenseful scenes that keep you engaged in the core mystery of it all, but then builds the story up around the tangled love triangle and ratchets up the spice. I don’t read romance, but some of these scenes had me thinking maybe I should 😉

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Kiersten Modglin for this free audiobook in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was fantastic and kept me glued to my air buds to find out what happened next. The ending was excellent.

KMod hits it every single time, and this one may be one of her best yet! When I was given an audio ARC of Hemlock, I was so excited. Ever since reading The Arrangement Series, I've been a huge fan. Kiersten always delivers the most interesting thrillers with the perfect amount of twists and just a hint of spice! The narrator was incredible in the audio version and really brought the characters to life. I typically listen to my audio books on 1.25x speed, and I was able to do that without losing the feel of the story. Now excuse me while I find more collaborations between KMod and this amazing narrator. I can't get enough!

Thank you, Kiersten Modglin, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley, for providing me with an audio version ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not your typical Kiersten Modglin and that’s OK. This was more romance than thriller but don’t let that stop you; there’s still enough twists and turns in this one to make it more thrilling. I saw a few things coming but that definitely didn’t take away from my enjoyment. It’s not as fast-paced as the others but it’s well worth the read.

A beautiful love triangle romance with a thriller twist! I loved this story so much! Kiersten Modglin killed it once again. Might be my new favorite of hers. I’m obsessed with the romantic aspect of it. It didn’t at all take an away from the suspense and I was still guessing the entire time!

When Maggie moves back to the small town that she grew up in, she purchases her dream home that needs repair. Maggie soon discovers that the one who got away lives next door, and her guy best friend lives in the town as well. Scary and unexpected things start to happen in this house. What happened in the house in the past? I enjoyed the thriller and paranormal parts of the book, but I did want them to be a bit more terrifying. I never understand when there are books where multiple men are obsessed with and “will do anything” for the main character, Maggie. Eye roll. I know the romance part plays a large piece of the story, but I didn’t really feel it between Maggie and any of the men. The twist at the end didn’t surprise me. I do love books though that allow the reader to try to solve what is going on. This was a fast paced, fun read that engaged me throughout.

I really enjoyed this book. The story unfolded in a then and now type narration that I feel really added to the cliffhangers of each chapter. It made you want to keep going to find out what happened or would happen next. Kiersten Modglin never disappoints and Hemlock is no exception. Definitely give this book a go!

Hemlock by Keirsten Modglin. Whew.. this book had me hooked from the first sentence. The narrators were fantastic! I could not stop listening. There were tons of twists that I was not expecting, which is pretty typical for Kiersten Modglin books. This audiobook has been one of my favorites this year, it got me through a long to do list over the weekend! Loved, loved, loved this book! Thanks Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ARC.

Kiersten Modglin returns with her 40th novel, HEMLOCK —a chilling suspense of a woman who returns to her hometown, buys a new home that seems to be haunted, and comes face to face with the two men she thought she left behind.

OK, most of you know I dislike romance novels (nor do I read them). However, I thought this was a psychological thriller, and of course, one of my favorites was narrating the audiobook Brittany Pressley, so I got through it. As always, Brittany delivers an outstanding performance.

Meet our protagonist, Maggie Ellis, who left her small town, Myers, thirteen years ago and never wanted to return. After she inherited money from her mom's death and broke up with her boyfriend, she purchased an old house on Hemlock Street. She thought it looked cozy and was ready to settle down. But there are so many things that need repairing.

Soon after moving in, strange things began happening. She does not want to be scared off. She is independent and wants to love it.

We meet two men who were a part of her past and, like the hemlock plant, toxic! Things happened years ago, and there was a lot of miscommunication; someone interfered and changed the course of her life.

Clayton (disliked) has been her best friend for years but left her years ago to chase his dreams in Nashville. He did not ask her to go.

Then there was Tucker (liked), the bartender who helped her fake date to make Clayton jealous when Clayton returned with a new fiancée.

A love triangle: We get parts with both guys, past and present, and the creepy house. Tucker lives next door, is now a contractor, and owns his own business so he can come to her rescue.

Clayton is not trustworthy, whinny and his music career did not go as planned. He did not want her, but now he does not want her with anyone else. Maggie cannot see it even though he is manipulative.

From past to present, we soon learn why these strange things are happening, which wraps up in this romantic suspense meets haunted house mystery.

I thought it was long and drawn out and felt Maggie must be blind not to see what was happening.

fake dating
love triangle
creepy house with a sinister history
dark secrets
past & present timelines
suspense & mystery
romance

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC review copy for an honest opinion.

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Pub Date: Dec 5, 2023
Audio: 5 Stars (performance)
Story: 3 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Dec Newsletter

What it started as a 5 star book slowly made its way to a 3.5 stars.... I thought this was a psychological thriller but it was more of a romantic book than anything else. I even thought for a moment that there was some paranormal stuff going on and unfortunately it wasn't. I have to say though, that I was very surprised when we find out about the origins of Maggie! that was an unexpected curveball ,that I wish it was taking advantage off.

I knew from the beginning Clayton wasn't a good guy so it killed me to see Maggie going like a puppy after him whenever he called her. I wish we would have seen more of Clayton's real character through Maggie's eyes. This would had made it a better psychological thriller than it really was.

I love Brittany Pressley as the narrator and how easy was to follow her throughout the whole book! The way she portrayed each character was great!

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC in exchange of my honest opinion.

KMOD does it again! I liked the romantic suspense with the thriller themes in this book! I wasn't prepared for all the twists and turns, but that's why I love KMOD's books! I did enjoy the narration for this book as well! I highly recommend this story!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Maggie has just bought the house of her dreams... no matter that it is in the town she vowed never to return, where her mother just passed away, and that it needs more than just a little work. Despite the tragic passing of her mother, Maggie is excited to be back in her hometown, and hoping to make a new start alone...That is until she realizes who her next door neighbor is...

As Maggie works through the upgrades to her new house she is forced to revisit her past love life, as well as try to understand why her new house is so creepy... As she navigates both her love life and her new home, things get interesting as the truth of both come out.

This story certainly kept me interested, and I appreciated the twist at the end explaining the emotions Maggie felt toward the house. The novel covered a lot of ground while flipping between the past and current timelines, as well as two very different aspects of Maggie's life (her creepy house, and her love life). But nevertheless, the book flowed well, and was easy to follow. I personally got a little annoyed with Maggie's indecision around her love life as there was ever only one obvious choice (duh!).

The audio version was well produced, and had a clear narrator that was easy to follow, and enjoyable to listen. I would recommend!

Maggie left her hometown thirteen years ago, vowing never to return. However, when she breaks up with her boyfriend right after her mom passes away, she decides maybe it is time to go home. Maggie buys a house in her hometown that she has always loved, but she finds homeownership to be way more than she expected. It also doesn’t help that the one that got away is her next-door neighbor. Her best friend is also living in town. Both guys want to be there for her, but Maggie doesn’t know which guy she wants.

Kiersten Modglin is an auto-read author for me. Anything she writes, I read. This one is different than her typical psychological thrillers. I would call it romantic suspense. I’m not usually a romance person, but I found myself enjoying this love triangle. Of course, K-Mod does not disappoint with the twists and turns and the final reveal. The audiobook was great! I really enjoyed the narration. I highly recommend it to K-Mod fans and those that enjoy romantic suspense! I give it 4/5 stars.

This one was... interesting and also disappointing.

My first thoughts - I love Kiersten Modglin's writing. I was drawn into the idea of a thriller/romance mix and she did not disappoint.

I love a dual timeline and on audio, they can be hard to follow along with. However, this was not. It was easy to tell, especially with the relationships between the characters, whether we were in the past or present. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles but when paired with fake dating, forced proximity, I really enjoyed it. The relationships between Maggie & Clayton compared to Maggie & Tucker was like night and day. I literally spent the whole book wondering if it work out how I hoped (vague to avoid spoilery).

It was going to be a 5 star book but then the ghost/haunted house didn't work out how I hoped so star deducted. I love a good ghost story and that aspect of it just bummed me out. The narrator, Brittany Pressley, deserves some of the stars because she was a fantastic narrator.

Thank you to LibroFM, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest reviews.

This was such a unique premise for a story and my first by Kiersten Modglin. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, another twist came along.

The love triangle between Maggie, Tucker and Clayton had me hooked from the beginning and I had my thoughts about how things might end up between the three early on.

What I did not predict was all the things Maggie would uncover while trying to learn more about the history of her house. Talk about a plot twist!

Brittany Pressley did a great job as narrator in bringing Maggie’s characteristics to life. I would listen to her books again!

If you’re someone who likes romance, suspense, and a bit of “what, what?!”, I recommend giving Hemlock a read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kiersten Modglin and Dreamscape Media for an advance copy. These are my honest thoughts.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this audiobook.

I will be honest and say that in the past, I haven't loved this author. I decided to give this one a try because the premise sounded interesting and it was longer than some of her other audiobooks that I listened to.

The narration was fantastic and kept me engaged.

I liked how the genre was a mix of thriller and romance. It had a lot of the classic romance or romcom tropes, but was also an engaging thriller.

I thought that I had the book figured out about halfway through it, but then it took a turn I wasn't expecting. I was pleased that even though it was unexpected, the plot twist still made sense.

I try to pick up any KMod book that comes my way. Even though I haven’t loved everything of hers that I have read, I know it’s going to be entertaining and keep me sucked in. This might be my favorite so far!

I wouldn’t classify this as a thriller, more of a romance with some haunted house elements thrown in. I am not a big romance reader but I loved this one. I really wasn’t expecting it to end the way that it did, and it was great. This book truly has something for everyone - a little spooky, a little spicy, a little twisty.

The narrator is fantastic, I highly recommend the audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Hemlock is a suspenseful romance book that has some elements of a thriller but is just too slow of a burn to be a thriller for me.

Maggie buys a home in the small town she grew up in. An old boyfriend Tucker is her neighbor and her best friend Clayton, a country singer still lives in this small town.

The story goes back and forth between the present and 13 years earlier. In the past timeline, Maggie wanted to be with Clayton but the timing never worked out. She starts to fake date Tucker to make Clayton jealous but that grows into more.

In the present day, Maggie is experiencing a lot of strange events in her house and she always has a feeling she is being watched. There is also a mystery surrounding the history of the house.

Honestly, I was bored through a good portion of this book. The past timeline to get all the backstory on the three of them was needed but I was not invested in it. It was the mystery of the house and the history that made this book a must-read. Those twists were not at all what I was expecting.