Tori's Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade #1
Genre: Young Adult, Werewolves, Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★½
Pages: 452
Published by Philomel on October 19, 2010
Date Finished: July 13, 2013
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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?

Okay so this is my review from before I calmed down and digested the book's contents.

The ending oh my god I don't even know Shay Ren I don't know what is the truth nobody knows the truth the last sentence oh my god it's so hard to hate Shay I love Ren omf where is Ren where is Shay who are the Searchers omf WHO IS BOSQUE OMFG WHO IS WHO WHAT IS GOING ON.

YOU KNOW WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE PLOT FIGURED OUT BUT THEN YOU GET TO THE END AND YOU LEARN THAT YOU FUCKING DON'T AND EVERYTHING IS JUST TWISTED AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON AND YOU JUST...EVERYTHING INSIDE OF YOU COMBUSTS AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE HAVING A SEIZURE OR A HEART ATTACK AND YOU JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO BREATHE AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHO TO TRUST AND JUST EVERYTHING SEEMS SO WRONG AND OMFG I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE I NEED BOOK TWO NOW

I HATE THRIFTBOOKS.COM THEY ARE SUCH SLOW SHIPPERS
I ORDERED MY BOOK TODAY
I SHOULD HAVE IT NOW
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
I SHOULD HAVE IT IN MY HANDS RIGHT NOW

I HAVE NEVER FELT THIS WAY ABOUT A BOOK BEFORE
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COPE
OMG

ren. bby. bring me my book before i CLAW YOUR EYES OUT.
i love you <3

And this is my review after I calmed down and digested the book's contents.

To be honest, I was intimidated by this book. That's dumb, I know, but it's the truth. When I first saw this book on the shelves, I saw that it was werewolf novel, and I backed away. (Thank you Stephanie Meyer for temporarily ruining werewolves for me. A vampire and werewolf love triangle is not my cup of tea, thank you very much.) But then I saw this book on Thrift Books, and I couldn't resist buying it for $3.99.

And thank god I bought it, because I don't know what I would've done with my life if I hadn't.

The writing is actually pretty good, and it was extremely easy to just flow through the book. I finished the entire 452-paged book in a 5 hour sitting, and I freaked out after the last word (as you can tell from my rant from up above). I'm definitely reading the next book, and actually I'm not-so-patiently awaiting the next book to come in the mail. Not that any of you care, but it should be here next week!

Anyway, kudos to Cremer for making me sympathize for both of the love interests. That's never happened before.

There is so much that I could say about Ren. He is just an amazing character. Despite his strikingly handsome face, there is a brain inside that pretty head of his. He's deep. (Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm in love with him, but I just found Shay to be sort of an annoying character. Sorry Shay fans, but that's my opinion.)

It's not that I hate Shay, it's just that he's not the type of guy I'd go for. In the beginning, I was all for Team Shay, but then I got more into the book, and I realized that Ren was more than just the son of the rival pack that was going to marry Calla. I realized that he was his own person, and he had feelings too, oh yes, and that I was in love with him. Anywayyy.

Other than my distaste for Shay, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy novels. It isn't so unrealistic that I want to smash my head against my wall, and I love that. I just love this book so much. The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars is the major cliffhanger at the end of the book that just about made my heart stop.