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Sunday 7 November 2010

NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer

She can control her pack, but not her heart....

While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies throats. And she wouldn t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves.

But Calla s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all...

Let me start with: Wow! Just wow. Yes. If I had to sum up this gorgeous book with only one word, that would be it. It's an amazing story that kept me glued to every page.

Calla is a werewolf. Except, in this world werewolves are called Guardians. They are the bodyguards/warriors of the Keepers. The Keepers are witches. But that's not all there is in this fascinating paranormal world. There are also some very scary incubi and succubi, a horrid thing called the Fallen, some other very creepy monsters, and Searchers. Searchers are the enemies of the Keepers, and that makes them the enemy of the Guardians too.

The story starts with Calla. She's the narrator of this book and lets you in so deeply into her very soul that I was captivated by her every word. She started out being just like every other wolf who is expected to walk the line and take orders from their superiors, but eventually becomes a bit of a rebel who starts questioning just about everything she's taught to believe in.

Calla's also an Alpha female, which means that the Keepers have chosen an Alpha male for her. On Samhain, Calla and Ren will take part in the 'union'. They'll become mates and will join their separate packs--Nightshade and Bane--to form one, called Haldis. She might not love Ren, but she finds herself spending more time with him for the sake of the pack. Of course, that's made difficult after she saves a human boy who's about to get attacked by a bear. This boy--Shay--starts going to their school, and keeps approaching her. As much as she wants him to stay away, she's also drawn to Shay. Even if it's easy to get caught up in Ren's seductive web.

Torn between two very different guys, she starts to separate her life into pack and Shay. With her pack, she's helping them form a bond that pleases the Keepers. And with Shay, she starts to discover love and spends countless of hours doing research and finding out that the world she lives in isn't the way she always believed it to be. This leads to uncovering a lot of secrets, and her having to do something forbidden in order to save her own life.

Nightshade is a book that packs a punch! It's a fantastic story with such intricate worldbuilding that as each layer was peeled away, I wanted to know more. No, I needed to know more. This story takes your breath away at times, makes you feel as if you're about to be swallowed by an abyss of heartbreak, before seeing the light again. Only to fall back in. It's like walking a tightrope--exciting, exhilarating, but scary too. I was instantly hooked, and loved every minute of it.

This rich-filled plot, with characters that draw you in so much you just want to know more and more about them the more you read, is unique and wonderful.

This is certainly a series that I can see becoming one of my faves. Have you seen the beautiful cover for the next book, WOLFSBANE? Isn't it gorgeous? Can't wait to read it.

Nightshade: Witches War #1, November 2010, ISBN 9781907410277, Atom Paperback

2 comments:

Ericka Scott said...

Looks like a great book! Thanks for sharing the review.

Yolanda Sfetsos said...

You're welcome! This was an AWESOME book. Loved it.

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