Nightshade Review

Author: Andrea Cremer

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Pages: 452 (ARC)

Publisher: Philomel

Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+
Where I Got It: Around The World Tours

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?
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As I'm sure you know, there is a lot of hype surrounding Nightshade. A lot of undeserved hype, if you ask me, since this "novel" is completely atrocious.

...I would slap anyone who said that. Hard. The hype for Nightshade is very well deserved!

(Let me apologize in advance for using a lot of synonyms for "REALLY FRICKING AWESOME".)

The plot, you know, werewolves. Sure, it's been done before, but not like this. Andrea Cremer completely dived into the normal werewolf story, twisted it, added some more magical elements and Keepers, whose rules must be followed at costs, and came out shaking her fists triumphantly. It also did something that very few paranormal books have done: it made me think. The plot was fast-paced, with twists and turns at every corner that I didn't even anticipate since I was still absorbing the last twist!

Calla was just so awesome. Seriously. I want her as my best friend (not to replace my best friends, just as one of them ((yeah, I know my friends read this blog, so I need to make sure I do not offend them). She had every quality you want in a protagonist: strength, humor, logic, independence...I cold go on. Point is that she rocked. She has two love interests, Shay and Ren. Ren; the sexy, arrogant guy that Calla has been matched up with since birth. Then there's Shay; the rebellious, amazing new guy that makes Callla question everything she's ever known. I am definitely Team Shay. I won't say anything more about the love triangle though, cause I don't want to ruin it for anyone. Each member of the pack--meaning Calla and Ren's combined pack--had their own personality. Sometimes, when reading a group conversation, it's hard to keep track of who's saying what, but you could tell just who was speaking just by what they said in Nightshade. The characterization was brilliant!

Andrea Cremer is an author to watch. And stalk. Her writing was fresh, descriptive, and addictive. She really made Nightshade all it could be and then some.

The ending. I...I...NO. It was SUCH a cliffhanger! It made me question everything I'd thought true! I have no idea if it is physically possible to wait for Wolfsbane, book two. Overall, this is one to pre-order. Like, NOW. It was sexy, addictive, fast-paced... I loved it even more than I'd expected to!

How kid friendly was it? There were mentions of drugs and sex as well as swearing.