Monday, December 13, 2010

Book Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade
Publisher: Philomel
Release Date: October 19, 2010
My Source: Library
My Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Summary:
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 didn't catch my eye at first. It looked good, but nothing special. The summary hardly does the book justice. For me, it was just another paranormal that I was looking forward to, but not dying to read or anything.

Well, then it was released and suddenly a bunch of 5 star reviews starting popping up everywhere. Five stars? I could hardly believe another werewolf book could be this good. Am I getting cynical about books? I hope not.

If I am, Nightshade changed all that for me. I was expecting something good, but Nightshade blew me away! This book was amazing! Best paranormal book of the year and it really made me want to be a werewolf, or should I say, Guardian.

Calla is the alpha female of her new wolf pack, and she kicks butt. But then she falls in love with Shay, a human, but soon learns there's more to him than she originally thought. At the beginning I didn't really connect with Shay too much and I thought their relationship moved a little fast. But as the book progressed, I started to love him!

Ren is the alpha male Calla is supposed to be with- under the orders of her pack's rulers, the Keepers. Unlike Shay, I liked Ren from the very beginning. I honestly think I could go either way- Ren or Shay. They were both great male characters. I can't wait to see more of them in the future!

The plot, though a little predictable (the second half especially), reminded me of a good dystopian. Plenty of suspense and aboslutely impossible to put down. It ended with a cliffhanger- something I sometimes love and sometimes hate- this time I think it worked very well. I can see a great set-up for the next book already.

I'm so glad I read this. I've been in a bit of a slump, disappointed in a lot of YA paranormals. But this book was everything I've been looking for in other books and just couldn't find.

I finished this 450-page book in 2 days...it was impossible to put down. Definitely deserves 5 stars! I'm going to be buying this one and reading it over again before the next book comes out. :)

4 comments:

  1. Great review! I have to admit, I've been kinda iffy towards this book because it hasn't been something that jumped out at me, but your review really makes me want to read it! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy :)

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  2. I always see this one at the store and have considered getting it, but wasn't sure how it would be. Your review really makes me want to check it out. There's something about a big fat book that's comforting. And that cover is gorgeous. And I'm a sucker for love triangles. It's sad.

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  3. Can you recommend me somebooks because it seems like you have a really good taste of books.

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  4. Can you recommend me some books because you do have a great taste of them!

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