Author: Andrea Cremer
Published: October 19th 2010
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
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?
I have
never been a fan of wolves, but I absolutely
adored Maggie Stiefvater’s The Wolves of
Mercy Falls trilogy and when I stumbled upon this series on Goodreads, I
was interested. Then I found it on sale on The Book Depository
and for 3-4€ I couldn’t pass up the opportunity and purchased the first two books
immediately. I’m so beyond glad I did, because Nightshade was
surprisingly great and original!
“The relationship of a girl and her favorite novel can be complex indeed.”
The society of
the Guardians (wolves) and the Keepers (witches) and the complexity of it all are
thrilling and different. Calla is an alpha of a young Nightshade pack of 5
wolves, including her, and even though she goes to high school, she’s about to
be united with another young alpha from Bane's pack – Ren. She is scared a
little, but she knows that this is the right thing to do and it is the only way
to provide the safety of everyone. Until she disobeys her masters and saves a
human boy by revealing her true nature to him. From there, the secrets Calla must keep just keep on coming.
The plot
moved on really quickly and yeah, I guessed a few things beforehand, but it
didn’t bother me. I found the world building and the layered characters way more
important. It was a nice change to see a girl being the predator and telling
the story rather than having her be an easy pray to her love interest. Being
in Calla’s head was entertaining. Some of her decisions made me roll my eyes,
though, but I guess none of us are perfect. I enjoyed learning about the packs' history and about the relationship of the Guardians and the Keepers, discovering it with Calla was more than a thrilling experience.
Then we have the infamous love triangle. There are so many books
with love triangles, but Andrea Cremer did a fantastic job in showing us the
pros and cons of both of the lads and I get why Calla was so torn between Ren and
Shay. However, Shay was a bit dull for my taste and he was so annoyingly good and perfect that even though I’m certain that I know the final outcome, I’m still kind of team
Ren. He is such a strong individual and perfect to lead a pack of young reckless wolves, but he is vulnerable and tender when it comes to Calla. I think Wolfsbane will change
my mind, but for now it’s definitely team Ren for me. Go underdogs! Wohoo!!
“Ren watched us as he leaned casually against the table, holding a pair
of scissors. I'd never seen a classroom tool look so dangerous.”
I really
enjoyed this book and I will definitely read the prequel series as well. It was completely different from what I expected, but since I didn't expect to like it as much, I was pleasantly surprised. This
book was enough for me to get interested in this world and these characters, who practically made the story, and
I don’t regret the time I spent reading about this fascinating, action packed, captivating and
twisted world Ms. Cremer has created. I can’t wait to read Wolfsbane.
Recommend to all smexy paranormal YA lovers!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Nice to see that even though this one had a few cliche elements you still enjoyed it as a whole. I haven't read these, and I am trying to avoid starting more series books so I don't think I'll be reading this one but happy to see your thoughts on it. Sometimes it's so good to go into a book with low expectations because then the book can take you by surprise! Great review!
ReplyDeleteYep, it was pretty decent! I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I actually put off reading it, but then thought wth, I'm just gonna go with it and see what comes. Oh, and don't even start with this series talk -.- It's so annoying that EVERY book out there seems to have a sequel. What in the world is going on?!
DeleteYAY! So glad you enjoyed this one Siiri! I did as well, though I never did pick up the remaining two books in the series. I have no idea why. I think I got distracted by too many other books and then I fell behind and never got caught up. I'm a huge fan of the two prequel books though, so I definitely do want to go back and read these at some point. I think I was all about Shay in this first book, but most of that was due to the fact that I sensed he would win in the end, so I didn't want to pick Ren for fear of him losing. I don't know how it ends though, so maybe I should switch allegiances anyway...:)
ReplyDeleteI know you liked the prequel series, that's one of the reasons I picked this one up. I had them and thought if you really loved the prequel ones, then these cannot be as bad as I thought they were and I was pleasently surprised. Andrea Cremer is great at this wolf-y and witch-y thing. I didn't know I could enjoy something like this so much. I think Shay will win, too, because it seems like that's what this series is about - Calla and Shay, but I so hope something changes and Ren will come out on top. He is the top dog, why not be the top guy;) LOL.
DeleteI loved Nightshade so much when it released. I was soooo Team Ren, and agree about Shay: nice but boring. And it's weird, but I have no desire to read the rest of the series b/c of the love triangle.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you loved this. Great review!
YAY! Team Ren all the way!!! I know it's like.. I don't see that chemistry there with Shay as much as I see with Ren. I really enjoyed Nightshade though and I will definitely read Wolfspane, I just need to wrap my mind around things and when I'm ready for heartache and all that love triangle stuff, I'll pick it up immediately. Thanks, Andrea!
DeleteThat is always the problem with love-triangles for me. I pick the underdog :') Perhaps that is why I dislike most of them, haha.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of this book. Wolves are a great subject and I'm happy to hear that this story managed to bring something unique! :) I'm definitely going to read this book. Great review.
Mel@thedailyprophecy.
Bhahaha! I have found myself rooting for the underdogs more and more, but it's not always the case. However, I like Ren "the underdog" so much more in this book. He is full of life and energy! I see your problem, though;) It was surprisingly awesome, I didn't expect to like it so much. I hope you'll enjoy it, too and I cannot wait to see what you think, Mel =)
DeleteThis love triangle bothered me. I am not a big fan of Love triangles though. I liked this series, but haven't really had a desire to read the prequel series. Great review! I'm glad that you enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteI was so torn with this love triangle, but it was one of my firsts besides Twilight I think. I read the 2nd, but haven't read the prequel.
ReplyDeleteBrandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog