Review: "Nightshade" by Andrea Cremer

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade #1
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Published Date: October 19, 2010

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Synopsis:
"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?"

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book against my better judgement. I mean, it has the dreaded "square of doom" as a friend calls them and I had serious issues with how the heroine behaved and how she was treated. But still, I liked it.

Calla is supposed to be a strong Alpha female, who will be in charge, along with her future Alpha mate Ren and their keeper, of a new pack. But as soon as the experiment begins to try to unify the group, she looses control of some of her original pack members. She's disrespected and she doesn't exert her authority as a leader. Along with her pack, I lost my respect for her. She also seemed to like to place the blame of her actions on others. I felt really sorry Shay had to become interested in her.

As far as Ren is concerned, he's just douche. I didn't like him at all and his sudden puppy love eyes and behavior did not get him any brownie points with me. I did like Shay, even if he was too curious for his own good. So, if I had to absolutely pick a team, I'm definitely "Team Shay".

I know that sounds like I hated this book, but I liked the author's writing style. And if I like the writing style, even if I hate most of the characters, I will tend to enjoy the book. I also liked the plot, specifically the non-romance part of it. It was interesting how Andrea Cremer gave life to a society within the already existing one. And the book had a good rhythm which means I didn't get bored while reading it, nor did I feel like it dragged.

I'm really anticipating the rest of the books in the series.

My Rating: