Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel, 452 Pages (October 19th 2010)
From: the Publishers, Thank You!
Synopsis: Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything— including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?
Review: 3.5 Stars - Nightshade – book one in the series by author Andrea Cremer is full of originality. Her characters stand out and are strong among the story and the myth, her version of werewolves and pack life are wrapped within a magical world. With Nightshade, there is no doubt in my mind how this book, author and series are a hit among fans of the YA paranormal genre.
The main characters in Nightshade are Calla, Ren and Shay. Calla is a strong female lead that’s being torn at from two sides. The two sides being – One, the rules and how things within the pack are suppose to be. And two, the truth. In her world there are werewolves, guardians and searchers. I was a bit confused about the relationship between everyone and who was who and who did what until futher on into the book. However, I can say that the werewolves and guardians have a somewhat beneficial relationship. Calla’s search for answers and how she comes to terms with what she finds out will leave you wanting more. Her relationship with her friends, pack family and the two guys – Ren and Shay are the icing on the cake. And yes, it’s another one of those, ever present in YA titles, love triangle.
Now, let’s talk about Ren. Is he the bad guy he plays in the pages? Or is there a good guy somewhere in there? Getting to know Ren had me questioning and going back and forth and we do find out more about this as the book comes to an end. His part in the events that happen are far from over, it’s just a matter of time before we know exactly what’ll happen.
Then we have Shay, good’ol book lover Shay. He’s the guy in the story who falls fast and hard for the girl – Calla – who is off limits, so to speak. He’s a book guy, a cross between cute and geeky, which if you ask me are two ingredients on the road to making a pretty great guy.
The push and pull of the love triangle can sometimes be frustrating, cheering for this guy, or that guy. Cremer has written it so it’s not all consuming. There’s more to the story then will she pick this guy over the other.
I will admit that there were a few rough points to reading Nightshade. During the beginning I felt lost as to whom was who when it came to werewolves, guardians and searchers. As I mentioned above, I didn’t understand the difference to each and it wasn’t until I was further into the story that things became clearer. The rough bits became less and less the further along I read which made up for it all.
The story had its fair share of fast and thrilling events and those last few pages, wow! I’m so ready for Wolfsbane!
All in all Nightshade turned out to be a great original take on werewolves, with characters I was happy to have met and look forward to learning more about. Cremer has found a nice warm spot within fans of YA genre and if you are one who hasn’t checked out this book yet, and love a good tale about werewolves, be sure to give it a go!
FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.
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