Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade (#1)
Publisher: Penguin
How Received: ARC at BookExpo America
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.
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Side note, before we start the actual review: The first line in the summary? EPIC.
Okay, side note over.
I went into this with VERY high expectations. I expected to be wow-ed, swept off my feet, with what I've read about this and my own judgments. The summary is epic, the cover gorgeous, and I've heard nothing but praise for it.
I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.
Was it good? Of course. It wouldn't have gotten such high praise had it not been well written, which it is. And I give Andrea Cremer MAD PROPS for how she arranged the wolf packs. I am big on keeping to wolfish instincts, and she got those down pat, right down to how they treated each other, how they fought, their reactions to things - those were perfect.
But I never really connected to the story.
Is Calla interesting? Sure. But she's got a little bit of Bella Swann syndrome. She thinks she's average; other people thinks she's pretty. The new boy and the hot alpha wolf both think she's the best thing since sliced bread; she doesn't understand why, but hey, she likes them both. Does she kick ass? Yes. Does she also say she's a tough warrior who never cries, and then we see her crying in multiple scenes throughout the book? Yes.
(Pardon me; I may be being harsh. I read this right off of reading Crusade, and I figured if I saw another crying scene I was going to start crying.)
The only character I really, truly loved was Ren. Yes, Shay is nice and all; I get that. Bryn is interesting. The Keepers are fun to read about and so on. But Ren is ALL alpha male, and he struggles with that, and I love it.
[SPOILER ALERT] But mad props for bringing in some gay characters, Andrea! Mason, Neville, and Logan - I LOVE seeing gay characters in paranormal, because it's so rare. More mad props. To quote Brent from his blog post on Lambda Literary:
it’s not really a big deal that Mason is gay. Like, oh, there’s a blonde werewolf, a werewolf with blue eyes, and werewolf who’s gay. So, Andrea Cremer definitely hits the fact that sexuality is just like race and gender and eye color. Which I love.
[/SPOILER ALERT]
The plot? Once you ignore the romantic triangle - which had interesting dynamics, but is the same as practically every other paranormal book - I REALLY liked it. I kind of wish Andrea had focused more on the plot and less on the romance, because I think it would have been fantastic. The dynamics between the Searchers and the Keepers and the Guardians and what Haldis was - THAT I loved. But it tied in so much with the romance...
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 7/10. Decent plot outside of the romantic triangle with characters who just barely pull it off. Ren aside, of course.
Cover Notes: I AM GOING TO MARRY THIS COVER. SO. MUCH. COVER. LUST.
Nightshade comes out in nineteen days from now on October 19. You can preorder it online or buy it at your local bookstore.