Review: "Hemlock Grove" by Brian McGreevy

I must say, these last few weeks of reading have been depressingly underwhelming. I have not read any books that have been bad, but none have really shook me and made me glad it was summer and I have nothing but time on my hands. Maybe it might be because I am in an awesome English class this summer where we get to read comic books and I cannot focus enough on novels, or I have had really bad luck picking what books to read, but either way, it has been kind of rough. This one in particular, Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy, is another book that I just liked, even though I thought I was going to love it. It seemed really cool, it comes from an imprint I like quite a bit, and had two very different blurbs on the back from Eli Roth and Philipp Meyer, and for the most part, the book is breathtakingly original. It takes tropes like Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolfman, and puts them in the modern gothic setting of a small Pennsylvania town. The premise, which deals with the murders of young girls being investigated by two very different personalities with really messed up back-stories, has endless possibilities. But it should not be this hard to read. The stream of consciousness narratives really are a stumbling block in moving things along, and getting to the good stuff. Not to sound unintellectual, but if a book promises these kinds of things, I expect a little less showboating than this. But the story is quite interesting once you get used to it and it is awesome when you find out each connection to classic horror. Despite its flaws, I really dug what this book was, and cannot wait for the series to hit Netflix.

Rating: 4/5