Nightshade - Andrea Cremer

                I literally sat in my chair for a solid 15 minutes, trying to decide where to begin. And then my fingers began flying across the keyboard.

                Let’s begin with one word. One word that, if I’m being honest, is totally inadequate to even BEGIN to describe this book: WOW.

                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? More info about this book can be found here.

                To begin with, I LOVE the cover art. Very pretty, very attractive. For those of you who don’t pay attention to details enough, did you notice how sick it was that every new chapter had a picture of a different phase of the lunar (moon) cycle? When I saw that, I was amazed. (Yes, I am a dork like that ;D). But I applaud the little details throughout the book. It adds to the story and makes it even more interesting.

                MOVING ON, this has literally been a nail-biting book. Two of my friends – who have the same taste in books as I do – recommended this novel to me, saying that it was totally epic. AND IT IS. Nightshade is the type of novel that does NOT have a wishy-washy female protagonist. No siree, Calla Tor is the complete opposite of useless girly-girl characters like Bella Swan or Elena Gilbert. She is an Alpha wolf, leader of the Nightshade pack. She obeys her orders, leads her pack well, and is overall one tough person. Only when rare, drastic things happen does she disobey her orders. And the one infraction that started it all was saving human Shay Doran.

                Now, even though I’m ALL FOR saving a person in need, saving Shay really messes up Calla’s life. The plot thickens and takes many interesting turns as Shay causes Calla to question whether her destiny is what it appears to be and if it's really what she wants, or is actually a bunch of bullcrap spun by her authorities. And when I say the plot thickens and twists, I MEAN it thickens and twists. My gut was in for such a roller coaster ride as action and suspense packed the pages, and my jaw hit the floor at one point in the book (particularly around pages 296. hehe).

                Oh and, obviously Shay interferes with Calla’s relationship with Ren... Sexy, sexy Ren. Excuse me while I scream girlishly and run around crazily. Personally, I am Team Ren all the way! He’s tall, dark and dangerous, but under all that bravado is a really, really sweet guy who cares for Calla more than she’ll ever know. However, Calla is attracted to Shay, so... It’s an impasse. *sigh* Why are books so complicated??

                Overall, an amazing, action-filled book with themes of love, freedom, and finding your own destiny weaved throughout. Andrea Cremer, koodos for writing such an uberfantastic book! A note of warning: Nightshade ends with and impossibly intense cliffhanger, so intense it will make one think that July 2011 is too far away to wait for Nightshade’s sequel, Wolfsbane!

OUT OF 5 STARS!!

- sm:)e .