Nightshade

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is a riveting read – a delectable and compelling tale with everything that a good story should have: breathtaking romance, beautiful setting, vivid and unique characters, danger, sacrifice and tough choices.

Calla Tor is a young Guardian, an alpha female and the leader of the Nightshade wolf pack. Guardians are shapeshifters, who can magically turn into wolves anytime they want. They are sworn to protect the Keepers and must abide by their rules. In return the Keepers provide them with anything the Guardians need to live comfortably. There are also Searchers. The Keepers and the Searchers used to be one, but then something happened that caused a schism between them and they’ve become sworn enemies.

In the mountain town of Vail, where Calla lives and attends school, there are two Guardian packs: The Nightshades and the Banes. The Keepers have, however, decided that a new pack should be formed and assigned to protecting the sacred site, a cave named Haldis. The new pack will be consisting of five young Guardians each from both Nightshades and Banes and it will be formed with the union of Calla and Ren. The ceremony will take place on Calla’s and Ren’s 18th birthday and after that the two alphas will lead the new pack as mates.

Calla has always been prepared for her destiny. She accepted it and never even considered revolting against it. She knows what is expected of her and she understands that this is the way things are meant to be. She trusts the Keepers and their wisdom. And she genuinely likes her future mate, Ren. He might be famous for dating every girl at school and he’s not exactly what you’d call a stable boyfriend, but with their union getting closer with every day, he started acting more responsibly. The future doesn’t seem all that bad at all and Calla is content with the way things are. Everything changes when, during one of her routine patrols around Haldis, she runs into Shay. Shay’s life is in danger. Attacked by a bear, he’s only moments away from being ripped into pieces. Not thinking about the consequences, Calla steps in and saves the boy’s life. This decision will change her life forever.

Not a single thing about the Nightshade world is explained to us at the beginning of the story. Andrea Cremer doesn’t waste time trying to fill us in. You won’t find long, boring passages laying out the mythology of this fascinating world. Right from the very first page you’re thrown right into the middle of the breathtaking action and, as you go deeper into the story, you gradually learn more and more about the world Andrea created. It wouldn’t work in most of the cases, but with this particular story it works like magic. It makes this book so delightfully addictive and gripping that once you start reading, you won’t be able to pause or cast it aside.

Calla is a very likable protagonist, and well drawn, as are Cremer’s other characters. She’s strong, brave, faithful to her pack and family, smart and sexy. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself and for the people she cares about. Above all, she’s not a winy character. The girl really has to go through a lot. The Keepers have long decided how her future will look like, they dictate her every move and even her life partner has already been chosen. Calla has no say whatsoever in what goes on in her life, she can either follow the Keepers’ orders or die. And despite all that, there’s not a single moment when you hear her complain, she doesn’t have mental breakdowns and you won’t catch her feeling sorry for herself. She understands that she has an important role to play and she accepts that responsibility with grace. Well, at least until Shay shows up!

There is not a single thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book. It’s emotionally satisfying and incredibly compelling. Full of twists and turns, well paced and rewarding, it’s exactly the kind of book I’ve been craving for. The chemistry between both Calla and Ren and Calla and Shay is simply fantastic, it's definitely one of the best love triangles I have ever read about! The plot of this phenomenal page-turner is well thought out and full of surprises. What else could you possibly ask for?

Nightshade stands out from the broad palette of Young Adult books. Dear aspiring writers, please learn from Andrea Cremer, this is how you write books!

a review by kayleahNichole

Nightshade??? Yess!!

I practically fell in love with Nightshade! It was absolutely AMAZINGG!!!!! Calla is always doing something for otyhers. Its kind of obvious that her and Ren arent very into eachother at the beginning. Then it almost seems as if they do. Is it destiny playing a part?? Until she see's the boy she saved, at her school. he is a new student and when she thinks things cant get any worse. They do.

Reader reviewed by Kayla

When I first saw this book in Goodreads giveaways, I just had to have it (I was going mostly off of the cover but who could blame me?). I had no money to buy it myself so I was entering every single giveaway I could find for this book. I must have entered about a dozen all together; I didn't win a single one. Finally, Christmas arrived!

As much as I wanted the book, I shamefully waited three months before actually picking it up, and then when I began reading I worried that I was in for a great disappointment. The first 1/3 of the book started out so slowly and I wasn't nearly as into it as I thought I'd be. Plus, I didn't like Shay that much. I didn't hate him, but for someone who I knew would end up the winner in this love triangle, I wish I could have been more attracted to him. As it was, I am most definitely Team Ren. While I hate the fact that he was pretty much a manwhore up until the month before his planned wedding with Calla, I could see that he truly loved her and that he would be faithful to and respectful of her once they got together. It's really going to break my heart when he gets thrown aside (which I know he will).

<i>Nightshade</i> became much more interesting in plot once Calla and Shay started to do some investigating into the past history of the Keepers. Cremer knows her world really well. It's so detailed (though I really could have done without the patriarchical society part of it-the way the male leaders treated the women grated on me a lot). I became very invested in the story and caught up in the game. Then, just a little over halfway through, I was really thrown for a loop.

*Major Spoilers*

I cannot believe that Shay was changed into a wolf so soon. I expected it would happen eventually, but I didn't think it would come about until the last book, during the climatic point in the Witches' War. I wonder if Cremer has some significant reason for changing him this early on. Oh, and while I have the spoiler tag going, let me just say that I guessed Shay would be the sacrifice during the ritual pretty quickly, so I unfortunately missed out on that shock when Calla discovered him in the woods. Really great twist, though. I look forward to learning more about Shay's role in all of this and his so-called destiny.

*End Spoilers*

I'm excited about the second book of the trilogy. It's just too bad that they changed the cover styles, but I'll get over it.

Reader reviewed by iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

Read the original post at iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

Reader reviewed by Ruthie

This has been yet another paranormal book I've been avoiding. I really, really don't like romances, they depress me, not to mention paranormal romances where the main character is stuck between two guys, one supernatural, one human. But this book was different.

Warning Spoiler Alert Ahead!

I hate doing reviews with spoilers but this simply couldn't have been avoided. Cremer made this book unique. The background of the werewolf Guardians and the Keepers have never been done before. For once, I loved the werewolf boyfriend just as much as the human one. Also, Calla doesn't just love Shay because he's human. Before he turns werewolf, she is perfectly prepared to marry Ren. Only after Shay turns and they go through a crap load of Hell does she realize she truly loves him. As for me, I LOVED this book and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Reader reviewed by Lia

Calla has to marry Ren, the alpha of the Bane pack on her 18th birthday to create a new pack through the union of an existing one. As  a Guardian, she has to do as the Keeper's say, until she meets Shay, who makes her question the Keepers. Together they unearth secrets the Keepers have hidden from the Guardians and find more than they bargained for.

This book was a interesting take on werewolves. There was a whole hierarchy with the Keepers (witches) at the top, then the Guardians (werewolves), and then the humans on the bottom. I had fun reading this book as I tried to connect all the pieces, and I actually guessed right, before the author revealed the climax. The pack interaction was interesting, and I loved Ren!! I can't wait to read Wolfsbane, the second book. This book has plenty of action, romance and intrigue, so paranormal fans will love this.