Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Rating: 
Type: Paranormal
Trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane, Bloodrose (+ Rift)
Author | Amazon | Goodreads

Calla is the alpha female of a shape-shifting wolf pack. She is destined to marry Ren Laroche, the pack’s alpha male. Together, they would rule their pack together, guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But then, Calla saves a beautiful human boy, who captures her heart.

Calla begins to question everything – her fate, her existence, and her world and the orders the Keepers have asked her to follow. She will have to make a choice. But will she follow her heart if it means losing everything, including her own life?

 

My Review

I’ve finally had some time to finish reading this book after wanting to for so many months! It’s been on my TBR list forever. I’d heard so many good things about it and it was recommended to me by many people, so I was really looking forward to reading it. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book based on werewolves (or “Guardians”, as they’re called in this book), the paranormal books I’ve read have mostly been based on other paranormal creatures so it was kind of a new experience. I enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading the next one – I mean, hello, it’s a paranormal love triangle… How can I resist?

Calla, the young alpha “Guardian” (werewolf) of the Nightshade pack, is destined to marry Ren, another young alpha Guardian of the Bane pack. The guardians serve witches, which are called the Keepers. The Keepers have been in an eternal war with the Searchers, who used to be Keepers as well but divided many centuries ago. Then there is the new kid Shay, who is human but is the nephew of a Keeper.

At the beginning of the novel, Calla saves Shay from a bear by giving him her blood (which has healing properties) and by doing so violates the pack law. In doing so, she revealed she was a Guardian but she didn’t think he’d remember it. Regardless, I just didn’t understand why she would do that?! It seems a huge thing to risk for almost no apparent reason! As you’d expect, he turns up the next day at school and things get awkward because he clearly remembers. This is only the beginning of Calla’s (boy) troubles, because obviously she is betrothed to Ren and when Shay starts to fall for Calla things get complicated. Oh, and lets not forget to mention that the Keepers could possibly be lying about everything that they’ve told the Guardians about their history… I’m not going to go into anymore detail because I’ll just spoil it! 🙂

A lot remains a mystery in the story and from what I’ve read in other reviews, the second book is a bit of an infodump so I guess that’s when I’ll understand what’s actually going on. In terms of characters, I thought that Calla was weak for an alpha – I just found her vulnerable, gullible and incurious. I hope she grows up a bit in the next book! 😛 On the other hand, Ren, in all his dark sexyness and his territorial/dominating personality exuded alpha. Shay was attractive in a different way to Ren – firstly, he had blondish hair as a stark contrast to Ren’s dark hair, and he is extremely mischievous and playful. He made Calla question things, which is good, but he also pushed her to do things she didn’t want to do and put her in a lot of positions that put her in danger. Even though Ren is known as a womaniser, it’s clear that he really cares for Calla and respects her as a Guardian and a person (even though that may only be because she’s the only female to not seemingly be attracted to him!). I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Ren.

I’m totally torn between the two guys, I honestly don’t know what I’d do! :O I’m sort of leaning more towards Ren at the moment, but we’ll see when I finish the series… It was an enjoyable read, not mind blowing but I did like it and I’m looking forward to reading the next one! 🙂