Author: Andrea CremerRelease 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.
Great review. I loved this book too. I can't wait to read more by this author!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to read another supernatural book that makes you think weeell pick up The Society of S!
ReplyDeleteI started reading this book a few hours ago and I cannot put it down! I can't wait to learn more about this mysterious Shay guy. Ahhh I'm loving it! Thanks for this brilliant review, it's made me want to read it even more.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling I'm totally going to be Team Shay. Can't wait to read this book! Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteA new BFF and it makes you think? Sounds awesome. I gotta try this. Great review.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for this book! Everyone's giving it 5 stars, and it sucks that I have to wait so much to read it (I'm in Arg)!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like Shay too ;)
I got Nightshade at BEA. Because of your review, I think I'm going to have to read it sooner!
ReplyDeleteI love the whole series. It's awesome. Yeah, I'm glad my mom didn't try to look up or read Nightshade because there's definitely mature content. And awesomeness.
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