Nightshade

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

My rating:  4/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  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 review:

I loved Nightshade!  Starting from the cover, it had a certain way of keeping me wanting to read more about all the characters.

I immediately found my favourite wolves from the pack, and they continued to be favourites throughout the whole book.  For example, I liked Bryn as soon as she came into the story, and loved her all the way until the end.  Bryn is the second-in-command in the Nightshade Pack, Calla's pack.  She seemed like such a young and sweet little kid, while, at the same time, she was a fierce werewolf. 

Calla was also a great character to read about; she, like Bryn, was a strong wolf, but she was also so unsure of her decisions.  Unfortunately, I didn't like either of the male protagonists very much, and to completely love a book, the two main characters both need to be fun to read about, not just one.  Another thing that I admit I didn't like too much was the plot.  It started off great, it made me totally curious.  That curiosity started to leave me, though.  The plot was too slow, and it didn't pick up until near the end.  I didn't quite feel the anxiety that the characters felt, because I knew that everything would turn out okay in the end.

I'm not saying that Nightshade was a bad book at all.  In fact, it was fantastic.  I think it was Bryn and Calla who saved me from boredom, and also the vivid detail.  In my mind's eye, I could see the mountain that the pack of wolves controlled: all the nature, the sky, the other wolves.  I can`t wait until Wolfsbane comes out; the end of Nightshade was a huge cliffhanger!