Book Review: Nightshade

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?

— From Goodreads

Cover Inspection:
This cover is absolutely gorgeous! From the white hair, to the glitter surrounding her eyes, simply beautiful. I’m in love!

First Thoughts:
Calla sounds like my kind of girl! Brave, willing to break rules, I’m going to like this book if it continues like this.

***

My Review:
Where do I start with my love for this book? Seriously. If I’m not careful this review will simply turn into a gushing mess and you’ll all run away, which is exactly the opposite of what I want. No I want you, dear readers, to understand why it is so important that you go and purchase a copy of this book the moment that it comes out! So I’ll try to keep my mushy fandom to a minimum. I’ll try.

I also promise that I won’t spoil Nightshade for you. You have my word!

First off I must profess my love for Calla. Oh Calla! She is everything that I love about a female protagonist. As Calla is the alpha wolf of her pack, she has an outwardly tough demeanor. She gives orders, takes charge, and even is willing to bend the rules a bit if necessary. Calla takes her rightful place among my top 10 favorite female characters of all time. I wish to applaud Andrea Cremer for her creation of Calla and her fellow packmates! From the moment I met them in the story I was hooked. There was no turning back for me, and I read ravenously right on until the end.

To keep things mysterious, I won’t tackle Calla’s love triangle too deeply. I’ll simply say that both Ren and Shay, Call’s love interests, are delicious. Did I just describe male characters as delicious? You bet I did! Each comes to the table with their own set of traits to fall in love with. Calla ends up torn between what her heart wants, and what her world dictates she should want. Classic love triangle.

The storyline is amazingly well-paced and the pages just fly by. Before I knew it, I was turning the last page and gasping in anticipation of what comes next. It was over all too soon. What I appreciated most was the delicate balance between all out action and the romance aspect. Truthfully, that balance is very important to me when it comes to feeling connected to a story. Andrea Cremer walks that line perfectly and crafts a story that I fell deeply in love with!

Vague enough for you? As I said, I won’t ruin the story! I want you to experience this for yourself. I recommend Nightshade with my highest seal of approval. It comes out in a matter of days, so mark it on your calendar and go get a copy for yourself!

Book Details
Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel
Pages: Hardcover; 464
Source: Review copy won through LibraryThing
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Final Rating: 5 Keys to My Heart
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