Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Plot: 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? (Summary from goodreads.com).

First sentence: I'd always welcomed war, but in battle my passion rose unbidden.

Cover: It's really pretty and I like the color scheme. It manages to look dark and threatening without being clichéd black. I also love the calla lilies depicted.

My opinion: I really liked the novel. Although it had a slow start, which is rather symptomatic for first novels of a paranormal series because the world building takes up some time. However, it picked up pace and really got me invested in the plot. I finished it in three days despite working full-time. Commuting to work really has increased my reading.

I like the character of Calla. She is not your typical weak and whiny YA heroine; on the contrary, she is strong and responsible. In my opinion, sometimes too responsible. She lets others dictate her life and her future, and she just accepts her destiny. Though, still, I appreciate her not whining as much as many other girls in YA fiction. In addition, her both love interest (classic love triangle, yay) also showed lovable and redeeming qualities and choosing teams was actually much harder than it usually is. On the one hand, there is the alpha male Ren that has been selected as Calla's mate and who she's known her entire life that she's to marry. In the beginning the was overly macho and a real ladies' man, but as the story progressed it is obvious he genuinely does care for her. On the other hand, there is the rebellious human, Shay, who challenges everything Calla has ever learned or knew. There was some serious sexual tension going on. I'm still undecided.

There were many twists and turns, but I have so say I'm quite satisfied that I figured out some of them before they happened, for example the twist in the forest at the night of the union. Totally saw that coming. Something that I did not see coming, however, was the ending. OMG. What a cliff-hanger! That Andrea Cremer is one mean lady for leaving us hanging like this. Thank God it's only (!) 122 days to go before the sequel, Wolfsbane, is released...