Pretty interesting and an easy read. More romance than thriller and the “thrilling” parts were kinda all over the place. The characters were enjoyable and the ending was unpredictable which I liked. Full review on instagram

I'll be honest, I'd just about written off Kierseten Modglin as an author that's just not the right fit for me, but when I saw this one available on NetGalley, I was sucked in by the description and cover. And boy was I pleasantly surprised! "Hemlock" has put her books back on my keep-an-open-mind list.

"Hemlock" starts strong with Maggie Ellis arriving back in her hometown, moving into a house she purchased sight unseen. She's shocked to learn that her ex-boyfriend is not only still in town, but is now her next-door neighbor. During her first days in her new home, she finds it isn't just his presence that unsettles her, though, because strange things are starting to happen in her house, too.

I loved that this book was genre bending, with notes of mystery, romance, and even hints of paranormal, too. I was immediately engrossed in it and curious to find out if her house was haunted or if someone was just messing with her. There's a light spice factor with a few open-door scenes, but nothing too over the top for those who prefer to avoid it.

Y’all! When I say this book shook me… this book is easily my top book for the year, No lie! Holy moly! I cannot even put into words how invested I am in Hemlock. I even messaged the author in the middle of the book because I was just so blown away. I did this in audiobook and found myself replaying the chapter because I was like, wait did I hear that right or no way that just happened. I now have a favorite genre, Romantic suspense/thriller. If you are a fan of Verity by CoHo, you will LOVE this one (I actually prefer Hemlock out of the 2).

Hemlock has turn after wild turn, just when I think I have things figured out there’s another element thrown in. I literally went through every emotion reading this book, I cried, laughed, I gasped and I had WTF moments too. The love triangle between Maggie, Tuck and Clayton, had me on edge the entire time waiting to see what happens next. I found myself ready to choke Maggie a couple of times, like yelling, woman, what are you thinking!!

Needless to say I cannot recommend this book more. It’s a sold 8/5 stars!!

The audiobook was narrated by Brittany Pressley, she was amazing. She gave kept me enthralled the entire time. She was able to play each character with such clarity, from the male and female voices. I truly appreciate how she read as a man, some people don’t have it and kinda ruin it for me, but not Brittany. I will definitely listen to her as a narrator again!

Hemlock is a compelling and propulsive novel. And I wouldn't have expected anything less from @kierstenmodglinauthor . In the typical fashion of her other novels, Hemlock hooks you from the beginning, and you can't stop reading.. or, in my case, listening. Even to the point that I risked the safety of my phone and brought it in the shower with me to continue listening uninterrupted. (Thank you, Samsung, for making a water-resistant phone) But unlike her other mystery/ thrillers, this one has more of a romance aspect to it. And I am here for it. Believable characters, dual time, and enough intrigue to make the story interesting and enough romance to make it steamy without being in your face. I think those who are reluctant to read romance will really enjoy this one.

Now, let's talk about the narrator, Brittany Pressley, since I was provided with a free copy of an audiobook through netgalley to review. What a fantastic voice she has. Quality and tone were spot on. I swore that there was a second narrator involved to help with the characters' voices, but no, just one, I double-checked.

This is a fantastic book to pick up if you feel like you are in a readingSlump. It will not disappoint.

WOW! WOW! WOW!
Hemlock whisked me away on a journey of intrigue, thrill and nail biting suspense. I loved this book so much, It is a psychological thriller that makes you feel all sorts of emotions. The plot twist was quite shocking and the narration was pretty amazing. It is a haunting and wonderful book. and i definietly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with the audiobook ARC for this book.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. I thought this book was the best one I’ve read from this author in a while. I thought the narration was amazing. I loved this plot with the house and all the character developments. The past stories and the current stories ran together amazing. The plot twist was a shocked and helped blend the story together. The romance story in this book was also amazing.

I am a huge Kiersten Modglin fan and have read several of her books but this one takes the cake! This is my favorite one yet!
It had some romance elements which is different than any previous book I've read of hers. It was a slow burn thriller with twist after twist. Then when I thought I had it figured out....holy cow!

I can't recommend this enough!

PS- The narrator is excellent!

Part psychological thriller part romantic suspense this was great on audio narrated by my absolute fav, Brittany Pressley. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Colleen Hoover. This was actually my first book by Kiersten Modglin and definitely won't be my last! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I usually enjoy Kiersten Modglin's domestic thrillers but this Romance was not for me. I am not a fan of love triangles and I was not interested in the haunted house storyline either. I think i will only pick up her thrillers from now on. I didn't realise this wasn't a thriller based on the cover.

4 stars

I went in blind and boy, the journey this audiobook took me on. The back and forth between then and now plus the mystery of what was going on with the mystery of the house. The murder. The fake dating. Did he do it? Did he not do it? Love.

The whole dynamic between Maggie and Tucker and Clayton was written in such a way that I was tense and felt awkward the whole time. I mean, I love Fake Dating and Forced Proximity, so having those tropes thrown in just made this story perfect. I couldn't stop listening. I blew through the 15 hours in less than 2 days. I literally couldn't stop.

I docked a star only because the whole Angie revelation (to me) felt unneeded. We already had a gripping story within a story and the whole Angie thing seemed not needed and kinda muddled things for me thinking there was more that was going to happen, but nothing really came of it.

I will be recommending this to everyone I know. I've never read a Kiersten Modglin book before, but I've already got a few more picked out to read next.

WHOA! This beautifully woven tale will make it hard for you to put it down. Romantic and full of suspense, twists and turns and an ending that will have you yelling out loud “WHAT JUST HAPPENED”!! I was mesmerized by the unpredictability and beautiful way the lives of the characters were intertwined.
Two people magnetically brought together…. I want to say more but refuse to spoil it for anyone else. Read it… and then you are going to want to read it again!
Put this at the top of your TBR pile!

Suspenseful Psychological Romance Thriller, with a little bit of a haunted house! (;

This is my first Kiersten Modglin book, i will be reading more soon! Absolutely amazing!
First 5 star of December! (: Thank you netgalley & dreamscape media for the ARC of Hemlock!

Thirteen years ago, Maggie Ellis left her small town and vowed to never return.
Now, tragedy has brought her back to Myers, with chilling memories lurking around every corner.
There’s something sinister about her new home… In every room, there is strange sounds, odd smells, and bizarre occurrences only add to her paranoia... What happened here?

Hemlock
By: Kiersten Modglin
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Release date: 12-05-23

Following the death of her mother and break up, Maggie Ellis decides to move back to her hometown. The place she left heartbroken thirteen years prior. Wanting a fresh start, she purchases the home she has always been drawn to, although it is a bit of a fixer upper. She reconnects with old friends and is excited for her fresh start back home. Rather quickly, she notices something is not right in her home. Strange unexplainable things start to happen. As she tries to understand what is happening around her, she is also forced to face the issues and people that drove her from town in the first place.

Kiersten Modglin perfectly uses dual POV to really capture the reader/listener's attention. I was lucky enough to get an audio arc and it was fantastic. Brittany Pressley was an amazing narrator, between the story and her reading, I was sucked in immediately. I love thriller books and this has at the perfect amount of romance mixed in to provide a great balance. Hemlock ended up being a one sit listen for me, it was so interesting.

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was great! The jumps between past and present kept the story moving quickly and the way things were slowly and artfully revealed was so well done it had me gasping and shouting aloud “what!!?” multiple times. It gave me chills, goosebumps, and made me swoon. 😆 It was the perfect blend of a heart racing thriller and a steamy romance. I will for sure be reading more books by her!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
This was a fast paced, easy to listen to story. It felt more like a romance gone wrong than a thriller until the last 25%ish of the story but I still really liked it. I wasn't sure which romance novel trope was going to win in the end (friends to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, etc) but I was pleased with the ending. Is it a ghost story? Maybe. Is it a romance? Kinda. Is it a psychological thriller? A little. The most important thing to know is that the story is interesting and there are a few of the great twists that Kiersten Modglin is known for and I can promise you will not see (most of) them coming!

Review:
I have many thoughts on this. The first and foremost being that this is primarily a romance with a tinge of thriller towards the end, so if you are looking for your next great thriller novel, this is not it. That being said, this is an absolutely FANTASTIC book. A lot of the plot points are pretty predictable, but I was so invested that I didn't really care. I was out shopping and just wanted to get home to come back to the book.
You will hate some of these characters, you will love some of these characters, you will hate to love some of these characters, it's a great combination. The narrator is wonderful, too!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

NOTES FOR THE PUBLISHER/AUTHOR:
* This is categorized wrong. I would call this a Romance with a TINY bit of thriller. If I picked this up thinking it was a Thriller I would probably rate it a 1 star. This is super important and something I hope you fix before publication.
* The cover is not it. I actually had no interest in this book based on the cover but wanted to finish my full month of ARCs and requested it (sorry). I ended up loving it, but the cover steered me away for quite a long time. The graphics look like they were quickly made on Microsoft Paint.
* More cover related: the title looks so strange broken up like two words Hem and Lock, instead of Hemlock. This also made it hard to find on Goodreads and other sites.

This book had me UP ALL NIGHT!! The narrator was spot on, the plot had me hooked, and the ending had me swooning! Bravo Kiersten! This might just be my fav one yet!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of Hemlock!

This one was a lot different than any of her other ones that I have read.

This one is more romance novel with a little bit of thriller thrown in there. You can't skip out on the thriller with Kiersten Modglin.

It took me a little while to get into it. We go between the past and present. I did the audiobook so at first I would miss what time we were in. Maggie buys a house and weird things are happening. Weird like it is haunted and I am not a fan of books with these references but we do eventually learn more about why this house could be haunted.

We finally get some answers about everything towards the end and it is nothing short of suspenseful! Overall, another good one my her! A little longer than her others so we really get more connected to each character.

Returning to her hometown thirteen years after a hasty exit, Maggie Ellis is forced to confront the two men she loved desperately before tumultuous night and a murder forced her to flee

I love this book! It crosses 'My Best Friend's Wedding' vibes with 'Single White Female' vibes. and I found it really hard to put down. I loved the twists and turns and didn't see the big reveal coming. My only criticism is that since both the flashback storyline and the current timeframe involve the exact same people and not a ton of time has passed (I forget how old they are but like 19 v 29 or something rather than like 19 and 50), it was sometimes very hard to keep the two straight.

Love this author so much, can't wait for more from her!

Also, I LOVE the cover.

Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin
Format: audiobook
Release Date: 12/5/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

K Mod strikes again!! This book is three parts angsty romance, one part thriller, all domestic suspense and SO good!! It moves quick and had me sucked in the entire time.

I really love how well Kiersten Modglin mixes romance and thriller elements into her books in a way not many authors can. If you were a fan of The Reunion or The Missing by her, this book is definitely for you!

Brittany Pressley narrates the audiobook and she’s one of my favorite narrators ever so 10/10 perfection. No notes. Highly recommend listening to this book if you can! The audio releases next week!

Thanks as always to @netgalley for the advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review!