Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

October 19, 2010

Philomel

From 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?

My Review:
Nightshade is an addictive read that grabs you from page one and doesn't let go until the very end. This isn't your typical werewolf book and Cremer has a very unique take on them. I loved the idea of the Guardians and Keepers! While I had some confusion as to their history in the beginning, it is eventually explained. I really loved the whole cast of characters, even though I had a problem with a few of their actions. Nightshade is a wonderful debut that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Calla is a tough girl who knows how to handle herself. I loved that she already knew about her heritage and that half the book wasn't spent with her trying to figure it out. She is a great alpha to her Nightshade friends and cares for all of their well beings. Calla doesn't like the fact that her life is basically being decided for her but has to go along with it. The Keepers rule over the packs and they have to obey them in all matters or suffer their wraiths (literally). Calla is promised to Ren of the Bane pack and even though there is some serious chemistry between them, she hates that her life is being decided for her. When she saves Shay and later learns that he is involved in something way beyond her that involves the Keepers, her world is thrown off balance. She has to make some pretty tough decisions and breaks many rules in order to venture into the attraction she feels for Shay and to discover the mystery surrounding him.

Ren is such a bad boy and I fell in love with him right away! I loved how he has a tough exterior, but you could see that he truly cares for Calla and his pack. While he does mess around with the girls and enjoyed his time with them, he stops his bad habits all for Calla. He doesn't want to hurt her and is looking forward to their union. There were moments between him and Calla that had me fanning my self! Their chemistry jumps off the pages and I couldn't understand why Calla would have feelings for Shay with Ren around. Shay loves the wilderness and while he is a cutie, he pales in comparison to Ren. The attraction between him and Calla is instant and much of their time together is spent lusting after each other. I really didn't see why Calla fell so hard for him or why her thoughts always wondered to him when she was with Ren. I couldn't see Shay's appeal and was very frustrated because he was trying to lure her away from Ren.

It was intriguing to learn about the pack dynamics and the relationship between the Keepers and the Guardians. I loved each and every one of the Bane and Nightshade pack members. Well, all except Sabine. Calla's brother is a sweetie pie! I enjoyed Calla and her brothers interactions with each other and was glad that they had such a good relationship. I really hope to learn more about each member of the pack in Wolfsbane! The Keepers are really creepy and freaky. They are awful and some of their actions gave me shivers. I don't know how the Guardians put up with them because they are really scary!

Nightshade is full of action and adventure and I loved every minute of it! I hated it when I had to stop reading because there really isn't a moment in the story where there isn't something going on! The only problem I had with the book was Shay. He is one of the few reasons why I didn't give Nightshade 5 stars. I couldn't see what Calla saw in him. Other than Shay, I had a fun time reading Nightshade! This is a book that you do not want to miss!


My Rating: