Friday, May 13, 2011

Review: Nightshade

Title: Nightshade (Nightshade #1)
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel - an imprint of Penguin Books
Goodreads | Amazon


Description:
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?
Review:

First off, the cover:

Once I saw the cover for this book, I knew I had to have it! It's gorgeous, isn't it? It's shimmery in person, and the pages are deckle edge (meaning they look torn or frayed). The paperback version of this book will have a different cover:


Before I read the book, I couldn't understand why they'd change the awesome cover that it already has, but now I know. While the original cover is fabulous, it doesn't really fit the book. Calla isn't a big girly-girl who wears makeup. I think Calla herself would love the paperback cover more. Now I kind of want to pick up a copy of the paperback too (it will be released June 14)!

Anyways, on to the actual story:

I really enjoyed Nightshade!

The dynamics between all of the characters in this book was so interesting. There were so many social levels, and I was surprised that the wolves weren't on the top. Their history was really interesting, and all of their mannerisms were pretty amusing. Their wolf habits often crept into their reactions while in human form.

The one thing I had a hard time connecting with was the love triangle. I feel like it was a bit shallow, like there was no real connection other than physical. I think that Cremer fixes this over time, and by the end it didn't bother me so much anymore. I don't know if I'm team Ren or Team Shay. I can't decide! I think that will depend on the boys' actions in book 2. It seems that both of them truly have feelings for Calla, but I feel like she doesn't know what she wants, because she's never had the chance to think about her future for herself.

I am really excited to see where this story goes next! I have a feeling that it will just get better and better! There are so many questions that I can't wait to have answered.

The next book in the series is Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2). I'm really digging that the titles are types of flowers:


The cover that's on the Advance Reader Copies and that matches the first hardcover (but probably won't ever be released):

8 comments:

  1. I wish I could get an ARC because I did really like the cover for Wolfsbane! While I like the new Nightshade cover, the Wolfsbane one just had this mystical feel and I did like that cover model!

    Did enjoy this one and can't wait for Wolfsbane, and I do like the new Nightshade cover as well, because like you mentioned, it lets you know it's a werewolf book.

    Old Follower
    Jessica@a GREAT read

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  2. Yeah, I guess I like both covers for both books. I kind of wish they'd release the green one in hardback, and the other one in paperback, so we could have all of them! :)

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  3. Glad you enjoyed Nightshade! Great review too! Nightshade and Wolfsbane is very high on my list of favorites and it's always awesome to see how many other people love it. I was totally stuck with the two guys too! Got to love them both though :)

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  4. Yeah, I really like both of them right now. Neither one of them sounds perfect for her, but I'm guessing their will be a lot of character growth in the series. I hope so!

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  5. I loooooove this series too! Like you, I find the hierarchies fascinating. The dynamic of control and dominance and loyalty is so powerful =)

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  6. Excellent review - I am really excited for this series! I like both covers for both books - but I think that I would really love to have the green cover on Wolfsbane!

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  7. I've seen this book a lot on Goodreads and the overall synopsis looks good. Your review makes me want to read it even more now! Totes fabulous!! :)

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  8. NIGHTSHADE is great from the start and instantly pulls you in. I refused to put it down, each chapter more compelling than the next. This is book one of the series, and I for one am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next!

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