Thursday, November 25, 2010

Nightshade (Nightshade, #1)Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Before Nightshade my previous reading experience with the Werewolf/Shapeshifter genre was Shiver & Linger, which was ok but not thrilling. Nightshade though completely blew me out of the water!!!

The story centers around Calla "Cal" Tor, an Alpha female and leader of her own pack of wolf-shapeshifter Guardians called the Nightshades whose scared duty is to protect the scared site at Haldis mountain from the Searchers and follow her master Keeper's orders. Though as pretty as the Lily she was named after, Calla is anything but fragile. I think the reference "badass" comes up a few times. Destined since birth to be mated with the incredibly sexy Bane wolfpack Alpha male Renier "Ren" Laroche at the upcoming union ceremony at Samhain, Calla will help form a new Haldis wolfpack of Guardians with Ren, starting a new life together. But a whole new set of events set her off course when against her better judgment Calla saves the life of a decidedly hot wayward hiker up on Haldis mountain while on patrol. Not only does Calla break several Keepers rules by saving a human stranger's life from a grizzly bear when he should have been left to die but she also reveals her dual nature and heals him by sharing her scared blood. That is before she punches his lights out, carries him to his jeep and resolves never do something so stupid again...

Calla is resolved to put it all behind her until finds out he's the new transfer student Seamus "Shay" Doran at her school and her life becomes even more complicated than she ever thought possible. It turns out that Shay is the nephew of a Regent, a very high up Keeper and ironically Calla's charged by her new pack Keeper Logan with being Shay's "De Facto" Bodyguard, as it seems the Searchers have their eye on the strange boy. Shay had no idea as to the secret world his uncle was a part off until he met Calla and with his curiosity piqued, Shay goes on his own personal quest to find out more about Calla's world and his place in it, dragging Calla along for the ride. What they find will change what Calla thought she knew about her world forever and she will have to face one of the hardest choices in her young life.

One word to describe this book is AWESOME!!! I seriously could not put this book down from the moment I read the first page. There was action, danger, magic, romance, interesting characters and seriously hot male leads, what more can a girl want? It was interesting to read the about teenagers in a wolfpack dynamic and how they have to deal with more than just the regular run of the mill problems in their world, as the consequences of some lifestyle choices normal people take for granted can often result in a Guardian's execution. I also enjoyed the Ren Vs Shay battle over Calla and her determined yet failed attempts to be a good Alpha female and keep Shay at bay. The story was riveting and I didn't realize I had finished the book until the last page was turned.

Definitely not a book to miss and I can't wait till the next book comes out. Two thumbs waaaaaay up!!





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