Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Nightshade 
Author: Andrea Cremer
Pages: 452
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Date: October 19, 2010
Buy: Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble

via Goodreads:

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?
 First sentence:
"I'd always welcomed war, but in battle my passion rose unbidden."
-Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, page 1
Calla Tor has always known what to do, and the correct thing has always been to obey what the Keepers say.. after all, they're there to guide us, right? At least, that's what Calla was raised to believe. Keepers guide the Guardians and since Calla is a Guardian, she has to follow orders. But on patrol, she finds a wayward  hiker, mauled and bleeding from an attacking bear. Going against everything she knows, Calla fights off the bear and saves the boy... by giving him her replenishing blood. She'll never see him again, what could go wrong?

Everything can go wrong, she finds out. The boy she saved, the one who saw her shift forms, turns out to be none other than Shay Doran, nephew of the top Keeper, a clueless human, and now under Calla's protection. Every since she could remember, Calla has known that one day she will united with Renier Laroche to create a new pack with them as the alphas. Only thing is... she's falling for Shay.

Stuck in the middle of duty of pack and duty of heart, Calla begins to realize that the things worth having are always going to be worth a price.. but just how much is she willing to pay? Will she realize it in time?

I loved how Nightshade was a spin off on the classic werewolf/human love story. Plus each chapter begins with a black page featuring a moon cycle graphics; rune symbols are also depicted in the corners of many pages, creating an underlying background to the story. This book was a great read, but it went by too fast.

Wins:
  • Supernatural shifters in modern setting
  • Funny situations
  • Great one-liners
  • Powerful lesson

Let Downs:
  • Cliffhanger ending
  • Almost too many need-to-know characters

Nightshade is riddled with shape shifting, teenage hesitance, duty versus heart, and the thrill of first love.
Cover: 5 ~ Characters: 4 ~ Writing Style: 4 ~ Plot: 4 ~ Ending: 4

Overall: 4
 Rated PG-13 for evil uncles, scary creatures, and romantic situations.

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2 comments

  1. Good Review! I gave it 4 stars on my blog too. I can't wait to read the 2nd novel!

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  2. Nice review. However, I will have to disagree with your "let downs" (as you know from reading my review ;). As annoying as cliff hanger endings are, I love them when I know another book is coming. It makes the new installment top of my to-read list and makes me feel that the series is on continuing story, not different stories with the same characters.... if that makes sense. Kind of like it flows into one. But I do hate cliffhangers in final books that never get resolved! As for the characters, I guess we just have different opinions. Sometimes I do get overwhelmed with too many characters, but I really liked it in this book because I liked learning about the dynamics of a "pack" and how that effects each individual.

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