Dear Reader,

“She risked her life to save his, believing she’d never see him again. But he has returned, challenging her destiny as Alpha wolf, leaving her doubting her past, and fearing her future.” I read Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. The book is full of unpredictable events and exciting plot twists. The New York Times Bestselling Series will keep you on the edge of your seat. “Intensely romantic… The strong and seriously hot main characters will drag you into a love triangle that will have you switching your choice for Calla as you turn the pages,” states the Justine Magazine. The whole story is a fantasy, including creatures called Wraiths, Guardians, Keepers, and more. The Guardians are werewolf like creatures, yet they can change any time they choose. Calla Tor, the main character, is the alpha of the young Nightshades, and her future has been chosen for her. She must unite the pack by becoming Renier’s mate, bringing the two packs into one. But Shay might just change her whole life.

If you read The Hunger Games and enjoyed the thrilling action and romance, then you will love this series. Calla Tor is an independent girl, who knows how to take care of herself. I love her personality in the book. As a Guardian, she has wolf instincts. She is challenging and always looks after her pack. She has dirty blonde hair, making her wolf form a stunning white wolf. Her eyes would remind you of a wolf, with the yellow glare. You wouldn’t want to pick a fight with Calla. She could take you down in a second. For example, when the Searchers come to take Shay, she follows her orders and attacks the Searchers, killing one, and almost the other.

In the world of Nightshade, there are werewolves — called Guardians — who serve witches — called Keepers. The Keepers are in an eternal battle with Searchers, who used to be part of the Keepers until a schism centuries ago led them to split in two. Guardians are charged by Keepers with the duty of protecting sacred sites all over world, especially from Searchers but also from anyone who might stumble across them accidentally. These sacred sites are supposed to be kept secret, you see. Calla Tor is a young Guardian of the Nightshade pack. In the mountain town of Vail, there are two Guardian packs: the Nightshades and the Banes. Calla is the alpha of her generation of Nightshades and when the book opens, she is patrolling Vail’s sacred site, a cave named Haldis. The patrol, however, turns out to be anything but routine. She comes across a human hiker being attacked by a bear and despite what training and pack law tell her she should do, Calla saves his life and reveals the existence of werewolves to him in the process. This wouldn’t be an automatic problem since blood loss and trauma often to lead to hallucinations, but Calla is not so lucky. The young man, Shay, turns up at school shortly after as a transfer student. This is only the beginning of Calla’s boy trouble. For her future has been decided by the Keepers, that she shall become the mate of Ren, where they two will create a new pack, consisting of five young werewolves each from both Nightshade and Bane. She’s known this for a while and has prepared for it. However, Shay’s arrival complicates that, because now here is something new, yet forbidden. Shay and Calla have a connection, forming a love triangle for Calla. Despite being human, he’s also the nephew of a Keeper. He has a cross tattoo on the back of his neck that he cannot see. Even though his “uncle” is a Keeper, Shay knew nothing of the supernatural world — or his uncle’s true nature — until he met Calla. Searchers are trying to kidnap him. Shay becomes upset when he discovers that Calla is being forced to be Ren’s mate. Shay decides to do research and discover the truth of Calla’s world. There, they both discover a whole new story. The truth.

I thought Nightshade had a solid, well-paced plot. Although, a few questions that I had were not answered. Why did Calla save Shay? In the scene, she says she does it because she can’t bear to see him die but why? Is it because she wanted to rebel against the Keepers? Did she do it because it was the right thing to do? Was it because she thought Shay was cute? I would be willing to accept any of these explanations, but nothing in the book ever made it clear. Until Shay came along, Calla never rebelled against the Keepers. She accepted their rule and in fact, she has many arguments with Shay about their mission.

Nightshade is a really great book. Although, I wish that Calla’s character didn’t lack so much. Why? Because as the book goes on, the story becomes less about Calla and more about Shay, the human boy with a mysterious destiny. In fact, the narrative stops being about Calla’s journey and focuses on her helping Shay learn his destiny. There’s nothing wrong with that story, I just wished Calla had more in the story, and it makes me wonder why bother making Calla an alpha werewolf in the first place if she can’t be an alpha werewolf. For example: when facing down a supernatural monster, who’s more likely to defeat the monster? The human or the werewolf? I would answer one way based on common sense and the novel’s opening scene but I was wrong. I guess when it comes to real danger, as opposed to “how they met” scenes, the guy must always rescue the girl. Honestly though, I enjoy love triangles. They build more tension for the reader. In conclusion, I really recommend this series. If you enjoy such a thrilling story, you won’t be able to put this book down! Filled with love, lust, action, suspense, and mayhem, Nightshade is a glittering dark gem.