Nightshade
by Andrea Cremer

Summary

When Calla saved the human boy in the woods, she knew she was breaking the rules, but she had no idea her whole life was about to be turned upside down. But when Shay shows up at her school the next day, trouble seems imminent.  As an Alpha Guardian, Calla’s destiny has been set for as long as she can remember and her attraction to this new boy will not be acceptable as far as her pack, her future mate and the Keepers are concerned. But when questions start to arise about everything she believes in, Calla isn’t so sure this destiny is really for her.

Review

Though many are calling Nightshade a werewolf story, I felt Calla and the Guardians fell more into the Shapeshifter category than werewolves. Either way, I found this new take on the human/wolf mythology to be refreshing and very well done!

Because Nightshade follows a different set of rules than most werewolf stories, it starts out somewhat confusing as the reader is faced with many questions as to who the Guardians, Keepers and Seekers actually are. Thankfully, this information is eventually revealed to the reader as it is discovered by Shay who is also new to this world. Once the mythology has been established, the story unfolds with plenty of action, romance and intrigue. Calla is a strong and likeable heroine, who despite having always known her destiny, struggles with her place in life.

While I very much enjoyed Nightshade, I did have issues with some very small continuity flubs towards the end of the book (I’m like the Continuity Police!), but the one real detracting factor was a major plot point in which the characters were oblivious, and I wanted to scream at them so they’d see what was going on. In counter balance, there were also some other total surprises that I didn’t see coming at all, which made up for the aforementioned issue.

Verdict

I really liked this fresh take on the werewolf genre, and look forward to the sequel Wolfsbane which comes out in July.

I also have to comment on the absolutely beautiful cover – I just love it! And if I ever end up with a daughter, Calla is now at the top of my name list!

*I received this book for review from the publisher.