Nightshade
(Nightshade # 1)
By: Andrea Cremer
Pub. Date: October 19, 2010
Publisher: Philomel
Pages: 452
Source: Bought
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?
How the hell did I wait so long to read this book?? It has everything I could want in a book-action, romance, love triangles, history and deception. The perfect mix for an amazing book!
The book begins with Calla, female alpha of her pack saving a human boy from a bear, something that she is not supposed to do. She figures that she will never have to see him again, so she doesn’t have to worry about her secret being spilled. It turns out that the new boy in school, Shay, just so happens to be the human boy she saved. Now, Calla has to deal with the ramifications of her actions. To make her life even more complicated, she begins to have feelings for Shay, even though she is supposed to mate with Ren, male alpha of another pack.
Nightshade had such an intense love triangle! I love Shay, and the more we learn about him, the more I fell for him. On the other side of the triangle is Ren. He comes off as being a jerk, but really he isn’t! He is so sweet and caring, and I loved that about him. It’s hard for me to choose whose side I am on, and it must be impossible for Calla!
Calla was such an awesome protagonist! She is strong and loyal and what drew me to this story in the first place was that it was a female in high authority who fell for a human boy, instead of the other way around! I love that she was willing to put her family and her pack before anything else, even her own wants and needs.
Overall, Nightshade comes highly recommended and I think it is one of those books that could be enjoyed by everyone. I am so excited to read the second book in the series, Wolfsbane, out now!
I thought this book did a better job than most in creating a love triangle where the pull toward either side was pretty strong. So often I read books where it's patently obvious that she'll pick A over B but this one was more equal (for the record though I prefer Shay; Ren's too controlling and jerky).
ReplyDeleteI still have this one waiting for me to read. I bought the book when it first came out...so now my cover won't match..
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it so much, I will have to read it soon!