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?
Before I actually begin my review, I'm going to warn all Team Shay fans--I am slightly biased toward Ren. Before I even started reading Nightshade, I was on Team Ren. Why, you ask? Because I've heard multiple people say that they picture him like Ben Barnes. For someone like me, that's an automatic win. My first celebrity crush was Ben Barnes, when I saw him as Prince Caspian in the second Narnia movie. *dreamy sigh* I still love him, evidently, and perhaps that's why I'm so head over heels for Ren...but anyway, I'm totally getting off topic here. My bad. Let's get to the review now, shall we?
The blurb is an excellent little description of what happens in Nightshade. Calla Tor, our female protagonist, is an alpha female, shapeshifting wolf. She is meant to be the mate of alpha male, Renier Laroche. Calla is resigned to the decided union between her and Ren, but things begin to change when she meets Seamus Doran, aka Shay. Their first encounter is not exactly normal--Calla saves Shay from a bear attack, which is completely against the rules. She is frightened by the natural connection they have, so Calla flees with the hope that she'll never see him again. Of course, it's never that simple. Shay transfers to the Mountain School where Calla, Ren, and the other shifters go to school, and chaos ensues.
I love almost everything about Calla. She's intelligent, strong, fierce, and so on. She cares deeply for her family and her pack. My issue with her, however, is that she is falling for Shay. I don't understand. Next to Ren, Shay appears so average. Ren is this gorgeous, cocky guy turned shy and unsure when he's around Calla. He's everything a girl could hope for. Shay doesn't come close, yet Calla seems to be choosing him.
Okay, I'll shut up about the guys now. I loved the way Andrea Cremer told this story. Her history background definitely aided in creating a seemingly flawless plot. There was tons of action, romance, drama, and everything in between. Andrea has set a very high bar for YA paranormal romance novels with Nightshade. Can't wait to get my hands on Wolfsbane and then Bloodrose!
Rating: 5/5 stars
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