Nightshade (Nightshade #1) by Andrea Cremer

Nightshade (Nightshade #1) 

by Andrea Cremer

For Calla Tor, her future is set in stone –or so she is thought to believe. She is the alpha female werewolf of the Nightshade pack and is set to be mated with the alpha male werewolf of the Bane pack, Ren, to eventually form a new pack, the Hallis pack. Her status as werewolf is referred to in the book as a Guardian. Though, they aren’t the normal kind of werewolves we’ve read many other books and stories about. The Guardians possess magic that allows them to be human and wolf at the same time, allowing them to shift between forms instantaneously, and can be triggered by emotions, as well as “on command.” From the start of the book, although Calla is adamant about upholding the rules and ways of her pack that have been instilled in her from birth, Calla breaks one of the most serious rules, and saves a human by fending a bear off him and then saving his life. Calla thinks that this one exception, this one incident of saving the human boy will not get her into any trouble, the boy won’t remember much, and she will never see the unfortunate hiker again. HARDLY. The boy she saved, Shay, turns up at her high school – he’s the new student and nephew of one of the head-honcho Keeper, who are persons with magical abilities and basically control the lives of the Guardians. With Shay’s presence now a constant part of Calla’s life, she begins to question her roles, duties, proposed future with Ren, her growing feelings for Shay, and the real history between Keepers and Guardians.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount and names of the secondary characters, specifically Calla’s pack members and also Ren’s pack members. I liked the development of Calla’s breaking away from what is expected of her and would rather make her own choices, her own destiny and to know the truth about multiple topics in the book. I did not like how each time Shay and Calla were alone and he wanted to know more about things, Calla would just let all the information and stuff fall out and just spew all the information he wants out of her. Much like Twilight and the Hunger Game series, there is the triangle love problem that Calla must deal with. I also hated the ending – cliffhangers are really not a fair way of ending a book, even if there are sequels in the works.

Also, I absolutely LOVE the cover!

Rating: 3/5 Stars.