Book Review – Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

She can control her pack, but not her heart …

‘I wanted him to kiss me – wished he could smell the desire that I knew was pouring off me. You can’t, Calla. This boy isn’t the one for you.’

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: graduation, marriage and then a life leading her pack. But when she defies her masters’ laws to save a human boy, she must choose. Is one boy worth losing everything?

Nightshade is the first book in the Witches War Series and Andrea Cremer’s debut novel. Seventeen year old Calla Tor is the leader of the Nightshade pack. Calla and her pack have the ability to shift into wolf form at will and are designated ‘Guardians’, charged with protecting the secrets and sacred sites of their masters ‘The Keepers’ from their enemies ‘The Seekers’. Calla, as female Alpha, is the leader of her pack and is destined to unite with her opposite number Renier (Ren) Bane, Alpha of the Bane pack bringing their packs together in a powerful alliance.

The book starts explosively as Calla breaks the rules to save a lone hiker who is being attacked by a bear in the woods. Calla thinks she has got away with her crime until the hiker she saved shows up as the new boy at school, the mysterious Shay Doran. Shay makes it clear that he remembers Calla but also marks himself out as different by not having the natural human reaction to the ‘Guardian’ packs (to run in the other direction). The plot becomes all the more intriguing when Calla, Ren and their packs are asked to protect and look after Shay by the Keepers.

Woven into the story, the love triangle between Calla, Ren and Shay provides a brilliant background against which the mysteries surrounding the relationships between the wolves and their masters play out. Calla knows that it is her duty to unite with Ren and lead the new pack and she finds herself strongly drawn to the enigmatic Alpha male that she has been destined for since birth. At the same time though, she cannot forget Shay and as she spends more time with him she finds herself more and more drawn to him raising the question; will she follow her destiny and ‘unite’ with Ren or will she forsake all that she knows to be with Shay? 

I loved that Calla is a strong female character; she isn’t afraid to speak out and stand up to Ren or anyone else for that matter. She has been raised as a warrior and that gives a real edge to her character. The dynamic between her and Ren, who has a reputation as a ladies man, is also very interesting and I enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed through the book. Their respective pack-mates are also well developed and interesting characters; I particularly liked Calla’s younger brother Ansel and her second Bryn and am looking forward to finding out what happens to them next.

Shay and Calla make a series of discoveries that throw everything Calla has been raised to believe into question.  As the book progresses there are so many more questions than answers that I was reading as quickly as I could to find out what would happen next. I was expecting to like this book but I was surprised to find that it gripped me in the same way that Twilight did (dare I even say, more so?!). This is a book that will appeal to young adult and adult paranormal romance fans alike and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The mythology is complex and well thought out with a huge cast of fantastic characters and creatures who move seamlessly through our world; the romantic element is gripping and the plot fast paced. Nightshade is full of mystery and kept me guessing until the end. In fact, having read Nightshade, I’m still guessing as to who is the true enemy and I can’t wait for the next installment, Wolfsbane which will be out in July 2011!

For those who can’t wait that long, there is a prequel novella Shadow Days available to download free from Amazon (in the product details section of the Nightshade page).

Nightshade is out today and I’d like to thank the publisher, Atom for sending me a copy to review. You can find out more about the Nightshade Series, Andrea Cremer and Atom books at: http://nightshadeseries.co.uk/