Nightshade (Nightshade, #1)

Nov 18, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who like good love triangles, intriguing characters, and a dash of conspiracy and intrigue

Shelves: best-characters, paranormal-supernatural-books, covers-i-love, 2010-reads, reviewed

(Actual Rating: 3.5 stars)

Okay, I stayed up late to finish this book, and it's saying something that I am taking time out of my sleeping schedule (or whatever else I may be doing at just after midnight on a weeknight) just to write a review about my feelings for this book. And you know what I thought?

I LOVED IT.

Yes, books dealing with the supernatural are cramming up the young adult shelves in bookstores and libraries everywhere nowadays -- but Nightshade offered enough of a difference from the...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Kat Kennedy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: to-ya-or-not-to-ya, ya-pnr-maddness, kat-s-book-reviews, too-painful-to-finish

Usually, as a reviewer of YA and one who attracts a relative amount of trolls, I get told often that someone as OLD as me shouldn't be reviewing YA books. And at the staggeringly long-lived age of 25, I might as well be on Kidney dialysis and walking around with a zimmerframe to these people.

old woman wearing tiara

Coincidentally, how do you like my tiara?

Usually, I ignore these people because I can easily pretend to turn off my hearing aid and go to sleep. They stop annoying me when I "pretend" to fart in my sleep and...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Maja rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: annoying-love-triangle, audiobooks, huge-disappointment, incredibly-stupid-choices, moments-of-great-frustration, what-does-she-see-in-him, wake-me-up-next-year, werewhatevers, ya, creepy-love-triangle, reviewed-in-2011

This is undoubtedly the worst YA novel I've read this year. I suffered through about 50% of the audiobook, i.e. 6 long, excruciating hours, waiting for it to start making sense, but it never did. Eventually I became too annoyed to continue.

Cremer rarely bothered to explain her world, but even when she did, the Keepers and Guardians made no sense to me. ‘Sink or swim’ is how I would describe her worldbuilding, at least in the first 40% or so - the story just goes on and you either get it or not....more This is undoubtedly the worst YA novel I've read this year. I suffered through about 50% of the audiobook, i.e. 6 long, excruciating hours, waiting for it to start making sense, but it never did. Eventually I became too annoyed to continue.

Cremer rarely bothered to explain her world, but even when she did, the Keepers and Guardians made no sense to me. ‘Sink or swim’ is how I would describe her worldbuilding, at least in the first 40% or so - the story just goes on and you either get it or not. Not. I still don’t understand why these Guardians, werewolves, warriors, whatever you want to call them, would answer to a group of witches, allowing themselves to be controlled in such a horrible way. They can’t be dominant, Alpha, and submissive at the same time.

I love my shapeshifter books as long as they don’t break one simple rule: the author needs to explain clothes right away or I’m done. I don’t care what the explanation is: the clothes can magically appear, they can be hidden somewhere or people can just walk around naked, but I need to know. For the longest time in Nightshade, Calla kept changing forms in public without any mention of clothes. It was explained eventually, but by then I was too angry to even care.

You know how sometimes it seems, especially in books with a really strong plot (view spoiler), that the love triangle was thrown in afterwards, probably to satisfy the publisher’s demand? Well, in this case, I’m betting there was an editor somewhere along the line who said: “Wait just a second, Ms. Cremer. This book needs an actual plot! It can’t ALL be just Calla going from Ren to Shay and back.” And so she was forced to add this plot she probably deemed unnecessary and even damaging to her beautiful love triangle drama.

The love triangle was painful to endure. Calla is a terrible, selfish character with double standards, Shay is mostly just pathetic and Ren is blind to it all. Of course, if I had to choose, I’d choose Ren in a second because he has that sexy name going for him and he occasionally shows some backbone, which is more than I can say for either Calla or Shay.

As Lora pointed out in her comment, the ratings are all over the place. It’s quite possible that some of you will find this story interesting and enjoyable. Many of my friends did. But if you don’t like love triangles, stay far, far away from this series.
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Oct 26, 2010 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 05-literary-crush-worthy, 18-wolves-shifters

Ok, let’s start with some general stuff first. In my opinion, Nightshade was a nice and steady read. I thought the world-building was unique and the heroine easily likeable. She’s pretty, though and a little bit of a tomboy, so nothing new there, but nevertheless, I found myself liking her instantly. There are actually quite a few interesting characters in this book. Some were likeable and some just made my skin crawl. Efron and Logan? Ugh. *shudders*

As for the romance...be warned! This book is...more Ok, let’s start with some general stuff first. In my opinion, Nightshade was a nice and steady read. I thought the world-building was unique and the heroine easily likeable. She’s pretty, though and a little bit of a tomboy, so nothing new there, but nevertheless, I found myself liking her instantly. There are actually quite a few interesting characters in this book. Some were likeable and some just made my skin crawl. Efron and Logan? Ugh. *shudders*

As for the romance...be warned! This book is one big fat love triangle and the story is almost solely focused on it. There are two boys fighting for Calla’s affection.
Ren, a werewolf like Calla, whom she’s promised to and Shay, a human boy who’s new to town and whose live Calla had saved once. (which was a major violation of the rules, of course).
I liked how it all started out with Calla and Shay and the author definitely wanted us to whoop for him in this love triangle but in the end, Ren was the one who got my pulse racing. I’m into strong male characters and don’t mind the occasional jerkness and believe me, Ren can be a jerk alright. He’s basically your typical bad boy. If you had issues with, say, Ethan from Glimmerglass you probably won’t like Ren, though. *nudges Olivia* I thought Calla’s and Ren’s chemistry was great and tangible and I really liked the forbidden romance vibe. I guess we were supposed to get this vibe off her fling with Shay, too, but somehow that was lost on me.

I didn’t get Calla’s attraction to Shay at all, to be honest. I found him rather dull and that whole oh-my-god-I-knew-you-were-my-soul-mate-from-the-first-time-I-laid-eyes-on-you-and-that’s-why-I-want-to-make-out-with-you-right-away thing rarely works for me anyway. I need some suspense, I want to hope and fear and wonder along with the heroine whether her beloved one returns her affection or not. So if the author had made Shay a little less boring and had given Calla and him more time to fall for each other and build up some tension, I probably would have liked him better.

What irked me was the fact that there isn’t that much happening in the first half of the book. It’s all about the romance and the ways of the packs. How the wolves operate is interesting, don’t get me wrong, and I really liked the dynamics within the pack but I want to establish that this book focuses mainly on the romance part. If you don’t mind that, you’ll be fine. Towards the end, the pace picked up a little but the turn of events didn’t really come as a surprise. It was rather obvious, unfortunately.

In my opinion, Nightshade is one of the less innocent YA novels seeing as some pretty though topics were addressed and the make-out scenes weren’t all too innocent either.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and I’m pretty sure that I will pick up the sequel. I’m just hoping for a little less love triangle and a little more plot in Wolfsbane.

I can see why a lot of people loved this book and from what I can tell so far, I think some of the bookers might like it, too. Tina, Nic, this goes out to you especially. Olivia, you most definitely were right to kick it off your wish list ;-)

Oh and, little cover slut that I am, I have to give a few bonus points for the awesome cover and deckled edges :-)

So...3 stars it is!

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Sep 28, 2012 Tori [Book Faery] marked it as did-not-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: bea, arc, read-in-2010

Reason(s) for DNF:
-Shay's character rubbed off on me the wrong way. Though I've only read 119 pages, I did not see what made him so alluring to Calla.
-Did not enjoy how Calla seemingly dropped everything for a random human. It might have worked if Shay left more of an impact on me.
-Did not like how the love triangle felt forced. Again, going back to how I disliked Shay's character. (I'm sensing a theme here...)

Despite my distaste for a character or two, Andrea deserves credit. Why? Because I t...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Kira rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Peeing dogs and maybe peeing cats too as long as they pee as much as the dogs.

Recommended to Kira by: A peeing dog

Shelves: werewolves, ya, lost-the-will-to-live, i-ll-try-again-some-day

I had a really bad day yesterday.

That rainy Monday began with another agent rejection for my query. Exasperated, I went to class and decided to forget about it. When I got to class, I discovered that my teacher was not there, therefore no sculptung would take place. When I went for lunch, I ate pineapple, and it made my stomach hurt because it was brown. Then I walked home in the rain, found that the three had fallen off my house number sign, and my dog peed on the mat at the back door. Then I t...more I had a really bad day yesterday.

That rainy Monday began with another agent rejection for my query. Exasperated, I went to class and decided to forget about it. When I got to class, I discovered that my teacher was not there, therefore no sculptung would take place. When I went for lunch, I ate pineapple, and it made my stomach hurt because it was brown. Then I walked home in the rain, found that the three had fallen off my house number sign, and my dog peed on the mat at the back door. Then I turned on my laptop to check Goodreads, and it bluescreened, so I tried again and discovered that the antivirus software I had bought for seventy-five dollars was actually a huge malware package sold to me by some scum-sucking neanderthal who wanted to hack my computer; I had to wipe my laptop back to factory condition and reload all my data with Gateway Backup. Then my mother walked in, and started screaming at me. We engaged in an epic battle of estrogen for about an hour. Then I walked away, because I was sick of fighting. About an hour later, my sister stirred it all up again, and we fought more.

I left in a mood to rival Satan's.

Then a peculiar thing happened. Wanting to forget the day, I decided a really hot shower was in order. I untangled my hair (which took a painful ten minutes), got in, and burst into screams of laughter. Suddenly, the whole day - the rejection, the pee, the scam - just seemed like the most hilarious thing in the world. I got out of the shower, dressed, and kept on laughing. I woke up at around two a.m., laughing. The whole thing was bizarre (and infuriating to everyone around me) but I couldn't stop. It was just funny. Very, very funny.

And that's all I have to say about this book. It's a really sad attempt at feminist-friendly Action Girl fiction. The further I delved into the flaming turd that is this ridiculous book, the funnier it became. I sat at the kitchen table, snorting into the poorly-cut pages, and I thought about the huge rant review I could write on it - but then I decided that perhaps this was enough. Perhaps it is enough to say that the sheer stupidity of this book will make you pee your panties, right in the middle of the dermatologist's office.

Go figure.(less)

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Feb 11, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: don-t-need-my-clairvoyance-for-this, h-y-p-e-project, i-hate-infodumping, i-screamed-at-it, please-no-more-slut-shaming, stupid-love-triangles, take-your-sexism-and-get-out, the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it, whoops-threw-it-across-the-room, wow-what-a-douchecanoe, worst-books-i-ve-ever-read

See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten!

Alpha female Calla Tor knows what is expected of her: to remain chaste until her eighteenth birthday, when she will mate with the other wolf pack's alpha male Ren and rule the new pack together. Then she goes out on day and saves Shay Doran from death for a reason she can't explain. A few days later, Shay starts at her school and the Keepers who dictate what she and the other Guardians do say to keep Shay safe. What is the purpose of this human boy staying...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-2010, genre-urban-fantasy, about-werewolves-shifters, reviewed-4-stars

When I first read the description for this book, I thought "Here we go with the werewolves again." We're werewolves. We like to run. We like to hunt and we like to kill vampires. Thankfully, there was pretty much none of that in this book. No vampires? Amazing!

Recently I've been in a bit a of a rut, and despite picking up some really interesting books, nothing lately has been holding my attention. I find my mind wandering to other completed series. Hmmmm, I wonder what Peeta is doing right now....more When I first read the description for this book, I thought "Here we go with the werewolves again." We're werewolves. We like to run. We like to hunt and we like to kill vampires. Thankfully, there was pretty much none of that in this book. No vampires? Amazing!

Recently I've been in a bit a of a rut, and despite picking up some really interesting books, nothing lately has been holding my attention. I find my mind wandering to other completed series. Hmmmm, I wonder what Peeta is doing right now.

But finally! Finally, something held my interest and had me itching to find out more. I just love that feeling! When a book gets under your skin. When you start daydreaming about other things going on in it's world, searching for sub-text and insight into the characters minds.

As much as I hate to admit it, I couldn't wait to find out what Ren would do next. Don't get me wrong, I love my hero types; but sometimes, just sometimes, I love some bad in my boys a little bit more. I mean I'll take Han Solo over Luke Skywalker any day.

And Ren is all the best kinds of bad. To put it eloquently, he has the perfect combination of not giving a crap and at the same time giving a crap. That is really hard to even out with many characters. Many male characters tend to be either too chauvinistic or way too bleeding-heart. Ren is the perfect wicked combination. Maybe not the perfect match for Calla, but I LOVE him. Don't get me wrong: I love Shay as well, just not in THAT kind of way.

I also really appreciated that this book was not all about warring factions of supernatural creatures like so much of YA fantasy, although it pushes toward a future of war. This first book of the series was more about a single faction establishing peace amongst themselves and unravelling the mysteries of the past.

Also, alot of first person young adult books tend to either have to much dialogue or too much inner dialogue. This had it just right, and the tone and descriptions were very nice.

I was glad to see that they got a lot of answers to questions raised about the union and such, instead of stringing us along with endless cliffhangers and no resolution in sight. And yes, it ends with a cliffhanger, but it is the best kind. The kind that opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

The plot is simplistic and primarily romance driven, but it is an easy page turner, which is what I happened to be in the mood for. Yeah, this book may be full of taboos. Werewolves (Those are in right now?) A love triangle (Haven't read one of those in a while!) So what? It just does it all so damn well.

If you're looking for a plot heavy book with an in-depth and sensible story, then this might not be for you right now. But if your looking for a romance and tension-filled read with that addictive quality, and don't mind a love frustrating love triangle, then go ahead give this one a try.(less)

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Nov 08, 2010 Veronica Roth added it · review of another edition

If you're thinking, "Oh no, another paranormal book involving werewolves": stop. And read. This book is more than that. It's smart and well-crafted, and there is something really powerful and authentic about the way Calla slowly realizes that what she has always known and embraced is not necessarily accurate or right-- and her character (strong, but flawed), her struggle, and the group dynamics Cremer examines really carried the book for me. Although the writing and the chemistry among all the c...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Colleen Houck added it · review of another edition

I really liked this book. I think people who like my series will most likely enjoy this one also. She ends the book on a cliffhanger similar to my style and she has layered in a lot of pieces which means she's got many things yet to reveal. It's exciting and makes me want to reach for the next book immediately. There is also a nice bit of romantic tension.

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Sep 06, 2010 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, ya

The verdict is still out on “Nightshade”. I’ll begin with the positives.

Pro: I burned through it in about three hours so it certainly can boast of possessing and addictive like quality that makes it difficult for the reader to cast it aside. It’s also very well paced, which again, prevents the reader from willingly throwing the brakes on the story. There really isn’t a stopping point. Once you start, you have to finish. As a devourer of books, I like to be that consumed by a book, regardless of...more The verdict is still out on “Nightshade”. I’ll begin with the positives.

Pro: I burned through it in about three hours so it certainly can boast of possessing and addictive like quality that makes it difficult for the reader to cast it aside. It’s also very well paced, which again, prevents the reader from willingly throwing the brakes on the story. There really isn’t a stopping point. Once you start, you have to finish. As a devourer of books, I like to be that consumed by a book, regardless of the reasons why.

Pro: I loved the twist on werewolf lore. The story reminded me of “Blood and Chocolate” in fact, it’s almost exact and I’d be willing to bet it was the inspiration for “Nightshade”, but the lore was unique. Well, sort of. The lore also reminded me of the movie “Rise of the Lycans”, but in “Nightshade” werewolves are the guardians of the Keepers, powerful sorcerer types that are in a war against the Searchers, also powerful sorcerer types, only for the side of evil, or so the Guardians are told.

Pro: The plot. It wasn’t complex, but it did boast something slightly new to the standard YA paranormal romance. Calla is an alpha guardian of the Nightshade Pack soon to celebrate her 18th birthday on All’s Hallows Eve. Ren is also an alpha guardian, only of the Bane clan. He too will celebrate his 18th birthday on All’s Hallows Eve. However, Calla and Ren will be participating in another sort of celebration on the day of their adulthood, their union which has been planned by the keepers since their infancy. Together they will complete a trial, and form their own Pack which they will rule side by side. Calla has always been prepared for her destiny until a twist of fate presents her with a chance encounter, a human boy named Shay. It is through Shay, that Calla learns just how much the ties that bind, chafe. But Shay is not all that he appears. Surrounded by secrets and forbidden knowledge, Shay and Calla set out to find the truth about the world around them. As a result, their lives, and the lives of those whom Calla loves, will never be the same. Sounds interesting right?

Pro:Ren. I’m not going to lie, I found Ren appealing. I think it’s that whole alpha male, morally ambiguousness thing that gets my blooding boiling.

Con: Aside from Ren, the characters were made of dull and fell flat. What’s with the onslaught of heroine’s who hate being feminine? Most females like clothes. That doesn’t equate vanity or clothes obsession, but I think that a majority of the female population at the age of 18 like to be a bit girly, even when they have non-girly interests and pursuits. I’m over reading about females that encompass such a small percentage of the population. Give me a break.

Con: The love story between Calla and Shay. It lacked substance, was instantaneous, you know the drill. Again, I say give me a break. You can think a guy is hot and want to jump his bones, but if you have an equally handsome guy, who’ve you’ve known your entire life and are meant to be with, chances are you aren’t going to drop him for a hot piece of ass you’ve seen all of one time.

With that, I have given away a spoiler, but it isn’t as if the writing wasn’t on the wall from the start. “Nightshade” doesn’t contain anything spectacular, but it has a slight edge over a majority of the books in this genre. If you’re addicted to the YA paranormal genre, I’m sure you’ll be content to add this new series to your shelves, if not; you may or may not enjoy your time spent with “Nightshade”. I’ll probably follow it, but it isn’t a release I would be on edge about.

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Jan 12, 2012 Lindsay rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cover-lust, books-i-own, never-finished

So everyone is probably going to hate me for writing this review but this is my honest to god opinion. I really wanted to like Nightshade. I waited so long to read this and I was dying to read it too! I heard nothing but great things about this series but I really wanted the book in paperback to save money. And the week the paperback came out, I immediately bought it!

And well...I hated it. Okay no, hate is a strong word. I didn't hate this book. In fact, the beginning of this book started off s...more

So everyone is probably going to hate me for writing this review but this is my honest to god opinion. I really wanted to like Nightshade. I waited so long to read this and I was dying to read it too! I heard nothing but great things about this series but I really wanted the book in paperback to save money. And the week the paperback came out, I immediately bought it!

And well...I hated it. Okay no, hate is a strong word. I didn't hate this book. In fact, the beginning of this book started off strong and had me completely reeled in. But after awhile, I lost complete interest.

First off, Calla just...I don't know how to explain it but I didn't like her. I felt like Cremer was trying too hard to make her sound like a teenager and it didn't come off right on paper. Its like she was a mixture of too many things all at once. She was too fake in my opinion.

Second, there's Ren. Yes, I said it. I don't like Ren. I'll say it again. I. Don't. Like. Ren. Honestly, I found nothing attractive about him at all. Again, I felt as if Cremer tried too hard with his character. Ren was too dominating, too sarcastic, too...much. I didn't like the way he treated Calla at all either. He seemed all over he place. Overbearing at one moment, caring the next. And I didn't like the fact that they were so eager to just get together and mate so quickly.

All of the characters just seemed really poorly written. I couldn't connect to anyone except for one character. Shay. Yeah yeah I know I'm getting some wtf faces right now. But hey, that's just me. Personally, I could relate to Shay. From what I read, he loved literature and yet he had a natural curiousity for things that didn't seem right. I wanted more of him and it confused me why no one else felt the same minus three other people. But as much as I liked Shay, I couldn't finish this book, not even for him.

Now, the biggest problem I had with this book is the plot. I had no idea what was going on! A hundred pages in, I still had no idea what was going on. Nothing had been explained or cleared up and this annoyed me. I mean, a little mystery is good but you can't leave the reader still guessing so far in the book. I lost all interest because not one thing was clear and I don't want to read a book that I can't understand.

Overall, I really didn't like this book. There were so many problems I had with this book and there's no way I'm going to be able to finish this. Too many things left unclear and too many inconsistencies made me unhappy. I'm sad to say that I only fell in love with this book because of its cover. :( Will I ever read another book by Cremer? Probably not.

Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars

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Jan 28, 2011 Laura Lulu rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chubby-chunkster, urban-fantasy, young-adult, shifters, audiobook

My status updates aside, this was a pretty good book. A nice breath of fresh air in the over-saturated world of paranormal YA rubbish.

A wonderfully different take on werewolves, and a really nice, fast paced story/mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

If you did read my status updates, the author does need a bit of help in understanding the economy of words. A few examples:

"Her mug clattered into the stainless steel basin."

"Her mug clattered into the sink." works just fine--get...more My status updates aside, this was a pretty good book. A nice breath of fresh air in the over-saturated world of paranormal YA rubbish.

A wonderfully different take on werewolves, and a really nice, fast paced story/mystery. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

If you did read my status updates, the author does need a bit of help in understanding the economy of words. A few examples:

"Her mug clattered into the stainless steel basin."

"Her mug clattered into the sink." works just fine--gets the image across perfectly & succinctly. Economy of words is a great premise.

"He poured tall, dark liquid from the thermos." Was the coffee also handsome? "Tall, dark liquid"??? So silly. We don't need flowing prose about coffee.

And my favorite:
"Unwelcome searing liquid pooled in my eyes." Did I mention the concept of "economy of words"? The word "tears" would have worked just fine here--actually, it would have been better. I listened to this book on audio, and when I first heard "Unwelcome searing liquid..." I thought someone threw something caustic at her.

Any thoughts I have on the love triangle would be spoilers, so here we go...(view spoiler)

Oh, and one last thing. The author should have written in a few cold showers for Calla. This girl was a comical sensory trip. This boy makes her shiver, that boy makes her shake. This boy makes her breath stop, that boy makes her limbs go numb. It was over the top. When I start laughing when I read the next physical description of Calla's 0-60 desire, that means you've gone a bit too far. ;)(less)

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Jan 19, 2011 Anila rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: galleys-are-win, reviewed, incoherent-anger, save-me-from-the-tropes

This book is preposterous, degrading, and offensive to strong women everywhere.
There. If you disagree passionately with that statement, you will be offended by what follows.
You've been warned.

Oh yeah, and spoilers ahead, because I don't really care enough about this Idiot Plot enough not to give it all away. Capice? Good. You may proceed.

The worst part of Nightshade is that I actually liked the basic concepts. The notion of a world populated and semi-controlled by witches and werewolves, with in...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-arc, bea-2010, signed-arcs, books-i-own

What made this novel so awesome? The plot. I didn't love this novel because of the characters. I loved this novel because of the intricately weaved, never a dull moment plot... the history of the characters and their mythology. I absolutely fell for this story. It's action packed. I am not exaggerating when I say there isn't a dull moment... there's not! Nothing is what it seems... one word I wouldn't use to describe this novel is predictable. I had lot's of moments where my mouth was hanging op...more

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Jan 26, 2010 Tiff rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advance-copy, tiffs-favorites, young-adult, need-to-read-again, read-in-2010

Don't think I should say much on here because this book is not being released for another NINE months! I am putting this on my "need to read again" shelf because a. I loved it, and b. the sequel, Wolfsbane, tentatively comes out in Fall 2011, and I will need/want a refresher by then!

For now, I'll just say this is a sexy, intriguing read that I could not put down!

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Jan 01, 2011 Brittany rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So I really liked this book. It was really good but there's one thing that I really really hated about it - SHAY. Why? Some people might love him, think hes nice and loves Calla and all but to me he was a pushy, annoying hindrance that made me want to strangle the book whenever he popped up. TEAM REN!! *Cough* moving on..

The plot was good although kinda predictable,IMO. The story is built around the main character, Calla, a female Alpha Guardian. She had always known how her future would turn ou...more So I really liked this book. It was really good but there's one thing that I really really hated about it - SHAY. Why? Some people might love him, think hes nice and loves Calla and all but to me he was a pushy, annoying hindrance that made me want to strangle the book whenever he popped up. TEAM REN!! *Cough* moving on..

The plot was good although kinda predictable,IMO. The story is built around the main character, Calla, a female Alpha Guardian. She had always known how her future would turn out - Marry Alpha male guardian Ren (he's awesome btw) and lead a new pack with him. Until SHAY arrives (here we go). Calla saves SHAY from a grizzly bear attack at the beginning of the book and when he joins her school she starts to get to know him better. (She feels this INTENSE attraction to him which I can't really comprehend). Calla begins to question everything she believes in and her destiny once she starts talking to him. This leads to them (Shay forcing her *Ahem*) to start investigating even though it is forbidden and could get Calla in SERIOUS TROUBLE. And yeah they unravel hidden truths and lies she and the other guardians have been led to believe.

From the very beginning of the book I just couldn't bring myself to like Shay. And as the book progressed I really began to hate him. And over the book he became and and more obsessed with Calla. He was also really pushy and just plain annoying and I hated his attitude (especially towards Ren).

I truly loved Ren as a character. Hes portrayed as a bit of a player and sexy and confident. I think he really loved Calla though. He gave her a pretty ring and when he did he wasn't so confident and even blushed ;D. I was really sad for him in chapter 33 when Calla was running away with Shay (>.<). I wish Calla had given Ren more of a chance instead of always being so mistrusting of him. There were also parts in the book where she treated him really unfairly.

The side characters were also interesting. I especially liked Calla's brother Ansel and thought his relationship with Calla's best friend Bryn was cute. And I like how the author brought a few gay characters into the story too.

Overall the plot was really good and it was a good read.I can't wait to see what happens in the next book, Wolfs bane. As long as it has Ren ;D

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10 likes · like · see review

Jan 05, 2011 Alyssa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, 2011-read, kick-ass, really-excited-for, ya-romance, great-books, highly-anticipated, mystery-suspense, ya-loved

Good book, but I liked the wrong guy. Sorry, Cremer, but you made Ren more enjoyable. I’m so behind on reviewing that I thought I’d start with a book that’s easy for me to lay out.

In Calla’s world, she’s always known that her destiny is to life her life as co-pack-alpha with the sexy werewolf, Ren, and to lead the new pack. She never expected to fall for the gorgeous human guy she saved from the mountain one day, on patrol.

She never expected for everything to change.

Calla was a really strong ch...more Good book, but I liked the wrong guy. Sorry, Cremer, but you made Ren more enjoyable. I’m so behind on reviewing that I thought I’d start with a book that’s easy for me to lay out.

In Calla’s world, she’s always known that her destiny is to life her life as co-pack-alpha with the sexy werewolf, Ren, and to lead the new pack. She never expected to fall for the gorgeous human guy she saved from the mountain one day, on patrol.

She never expected for everything to change.

Calla was a really strong character. She had the emotions to make her believable, she had the attitude to make her realistic and enjoyable, and the voice to make her someone to remember. She was someone I would look up to if I had the opportunity to be blessed by her company. She appeared to me like an average teenage girl with problems would, and I was actually very happy with her maturity and confusion over the issues she faced. I was glad she turned to her Scooby-Doo gang for help – go Ansel! – and I certainly liked how she wasn’t afraid to give up her pride in extreme times of need. Although she annoyed me a little bit with her whole Shay-obsession, she was a truly memorable character.

This book focuses almost entirely on its love triangle. And one hell of a love triangle this one was. Calla – and the reader – becomes caught between two wonderful guys (one more wonderful than the other) and it truly is a journey wandering through her gaze as she spends time with both. I wasn’t too happy with the male lead, though (Shay), mostly because I hate human guys when comparing them to the supernatural. I also didn’t like him too much because he influenced some of Calla’s stupidest ideas (I didn’t like the plot twist in the climax. More on that later) and he just seemed completely naïve in comparison to his competition, Ren, the all-awesome werewolf.

The pacing of this book is what made me knock it down star-wise. Everything seemed to be happening way too fast and even though I like quick paces, this one moved a little bit too quickly. Even though the action was fabulous and the plot was wonderfully unique, I found myself constantly wishing for Cremer to slow it all dooowwwwnnnn.

The climax – besides me other qualm – was fun and heart-pounding, and I keep wishing for more. That cliffhanger…hoo boy, I’ll be one of the first in line to grab WOLFSBANE.

Check out more here at my blog: http://bookbybooksummer.blogspot.com/
(less)

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Jan 01, 2011 Bianca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, books-i-loved, romance-i-envy-and-love, best-characters, put-life-on-hold-to-read, guys-i-wish-were-real, goodreads-reading-challenge-2010

*Spoilers*

I LOVED this book and would have given it five stars but seeing as she chooses Shay I decided to deduct a star, purely because I am TEAM REN!

I really liked Calla as a character, she was strong and determined and her own person. I loved the feeling of family and loyalty between the Nightshades and even the relationships between them and the Banes. Calla has grown up her whole life knowing that she will be paired up with Ren to create a new pack. She of course hates the fact that her fre...more *Spoilers*

I LOVED this book and would have given it five stars but seeing as she chooses Shay I decided to deduct a star, purely because I am TEAM REN!

I really liked Calla as a character, she was strong and determined and her own person. I loved the feeling of family and loyalty between the Nightshades and even the relationships between them and the Banes. Calla has grown up her whole life knowing that she will be paired up with Ren to create a new pack. She of course hates the fact that her free will was taken away and that she doesnt have a choice in the matter. Still though she remains loyal and knows its her duty to Ren and the pack members to follow through, until Shay enters the picture.

I loved Bryn Calla's beta, she was a great best friend and kept secrets that could have gotten Calla into loads of trouble. I love how she and Ansel (Calla's brother) end up together although I was sad at the same time when Calla mentioned how they got to be together (Due to her and Ren putting in a good word for them later on) yet she doesnt get that chance. I really liked Ansel especially when he said he would run away with Bryn to be with her if he had to because thats what love is.

I just couldnt seem to like Shay as much as I wanted to he just wasn't appealing to me. He came into Calla's life and from that moment on Calla began questioning herself and everything she believes in. I like how she finds out the truth about the Keeper's and I cant imagine how it must have been for her to believe in something her whole life only to find out that it was a lie, must have been horrible. I can see why she relates to Shay and how she ends up with him over Ren. It also helps the storyline along, being with Shay just adds to the list of things she is not supposed to do. Also I doubt she would have ever discovered the truth if she chose Ren. He has admirable qualities but I still don't think he compares to Ren.

Chapter 33 was my favourite, It was a hard time emotionally for Calla and Ren. Even though Ren throughout the book appears to be a sleazy player deep down he is a really nice guy. He truly loved Calla and you see that in this chapter. He is willing to do anything for Calla including protecting Shay if he has too. I thought it was really sad when he asked Calla to return to him, that she would come back to him and the pack and that he doesnt want to lose her. You can see that even though they are arranged to be married he has fallen in love with her. I wish Calla hadnt been so untrusting with Ren, especially when she questions whether he would be like his father. I dont think Ren was anything like his dad. He proved many times that he was a good person deep down. For a while he just had a funny way of showing it. Plus he gives her a ring!! Who doesn't love a guy who gives the girl he loves a ring!>? I just don't beleive Calla gave Ren a proper go, even though she has known him for a long time she never really *knew* him. She didn't give him a fair go.

My favourite line from the book was "This isn't about love, it's about survival" "No Calla" His voice became hushed "This is only about love"

I will continue to hold onto the hope that she changes her mind and ends up with Ren, in the next book. I definatly can't wait for the sequel.(less)

23 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Krys rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, witches-wizards-magic-themed, werewolf-shapeshifter, own, arcs-manuscripts, medium-length-book, first-person-narrative, urban-dark-fantasy-paranormal, lgbtqi, series-i-love, read-in-2010, read-in-2011, series

Here's an experiment - go to your local book store and stand in the Young Adult area. Randomly throw a rock... chances are you will hit a book with a love triangle in it...odds are good that it has a Werewolf theme to it too. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer has both of those things in spades. However, this is the book that has single-handedly restored my languishing faith in the Werewolf genre of story writing.

Recent perusals of mine into this genre have left me cold and annoyed (save Maggie Stiefva...more Here's an experiment - go to your local book store and stand in the Young Adult area. Randomly throw a rock... chances are you will hit a book with a love triangle in it...odds are good that it has a Werewolf theme to it too. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer has both of those things in spades. However, this is the book that has single-handedly restored my languishing faith in the Werewolf genre of story writing.

Recent perusals of mine into this genre have left me cold and annoyed (save Maggie Stiefvater's sublime Shiver and Linger). Several books I have read lately end up spending too much time telling and not showing... pack dynamics, alpha/beta aggressions, running, running... running... What's with all the running? I know it's true to the wolf essence but really? How many hundreds of pages does one really need to read of running in the woods riotously glorifying the hunt? I am sick to death of S. Meyers clones and I want it to stop!

That said, Cremer does it right. And I am so pleased of this. When she describes this world it is just enough to pique the reader's curiousity. The prose flows and the dialogue sings. Many of the characters are fleshed out and dimensional while not seeming like carbon copies to what's been written before. The love story (said triangle mentioned before) is sweet and complex and trumps other romantic novels by far.

I am also pleasantly surprised that there is no big dramatic overwrought "OMG! I'm a Werewolf!!" moment to be found in this book. Calla opens up this book a werewolf, chasing down a bear from a human hiker and shifting back and forth with ease. For once, a character who knows her abilities and doesn't spend a portion of the book learning to be her supernatural self. Bravo! How refreshing to not have to grow into it with the character, but to be it already. We can focus on other things then, like character interactions and gorgeous world building... and a stellar plot line about the how and why this group of Werewolves came to be.

I am in awe of this idea. I can't wait to see how this pans out. Such a great story. Wonderful debut, Cremer. You've earned a 5 out of 5, and a solid fan. The first of many, I trust.

-review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net (less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Jord¥n rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal, werewolf, beyond-crap, rotten-pumpkin, disappointed, cover-love, stupid-main-character

Ok, so I'm being nice and going to give this book a fourth chance. I just bought it a few weeks ago for 2$ and it really seems like my type of book. I just have to suck it up and try to finish it this time. Will read this and the other two books next month for sure :)

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Since this book has been published iv tried to read it two times. This is the third time. I thought, hey third times a charm right? Wrong! Atleast this time iv made...more Ok, so I'm being nice and going to give this book a fourth chance. I just bought it a few weeks ago for 2$ and it really seems like my type of book. I just have to suck it up and try to finish it this time. Will read this and the other two books next month for sure :)

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Since this book has been published iv tried to read it two times. This is the third time. I thought, hey third times a charm right? Wrong! Atleast this time iv made it farther then I have in the past.

I got to page 146 in nightshade. I stopped for a few reasons.
1. Bored me to death. Iv put this book down a ton of times during these past few days. There's like no action in it. Couldn't keep my interest.
2. This is like a crappy remake of blood and chocolate. The writing is very much the same and also the same idea of a wolf(both white) girl has to mate with another alpha male. But anyway they fall for a human boy. Atleast in blood and chocolate vivian doesn't have to be with the alpha male until she won the fight which she didn't have any intention on be part of anyway. This book just reminds me way too much of blood and choclate, maybe if iv never read blood and chocolate I would have liked this book more.
3. The characters are dull and boring and annoying. I couldn't find one character that I liked. Calla is very annoying and I got irriated with the all "growling" and "snarling" she did as human. Shay is dull and annoying too. Very much a wuss. I can't see what an alpha werewolf sees in him at all. Ren. Ren ren ren, he seems very sexy and all that junk, but he's just too cocky for my liking.
4. All this guardian and keeper crap I didn't get that much. Reminds me way too much of adult urban fantasy books. Which I'm not a fan of anyway.
5. One of the keepers apparently has a sexual relation with a teenage girl(he's old like my dads age ugh) and apparently he has fantasies about a even younger girl. Can you say pervert!! Ya in blood and chocolate a 24 yr old has the hots for a 17yr old but come on, this is worse than that situation.

In all honestly this book is crap, well to me anyway. I don't understand all the hype it has got. The only decent thing about this book is the cover. I just wanna buy a cheap copy of this book and keep the cover flap *sigh*

I will not be continuing with this series. I won't even read the rest to find out who she ends up with. Just really don't care. (less)

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 13, 2010 tonya. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, paranormal, favorites-of-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The first third of Nightshade captured my attention like little else has recently. I found the characters authentic and compelling, and the world Andrea Cremer built was unique and intriguing. Even the love triangle element (which I suppose has become a requirement of YA literature) was tolerable, simply because I found both love interests equally as attractive and possible. This was not a Team Jacob / Team Edward situation where the main character's ultimate choice is so obvious you can only ey...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jul 03, 2011 Denny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kdyby to bylo zakončený Renem dala bych i pět.

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 21, 2010 Galla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like that this book offers a twist on werewolf lore. The idea of werewolves as Guardians with a sacred trust to protect a sect of witches known as Keepers was intriguing, especially as it becomes obvious that the Keepers are feeding select versions of history to the Guardians in order to keep them compliant. I think that storyline could have been more effective if it had been a little more subtle. The Keepers here are written to make your skin crawl from the very beginning. One Keeper consider...more I like that this book offers a twist on werewolf lore. The idea of werewolves as Guardians with a sacred trust to protect a sect of witches known as Keepers was intriguing, especially as it becomes obvious that the Keepers are feeding select versions of history to the Guardians in order to keep them compliant. I think that storyline could have been more effective if it had been a little more subtle. The Keepers here are written to make your skin crawl from the very beginning. One Keeper considers it his right to rape a teenage girl from the Bane pack repeatedly (and he gives her drugs on at least one occasion); his son intends to follow in his father's footsteps by demanding sexual favors from a teenage boy in the Nightshade pack.

A lighter touch with the Keepers' depiction would have made several elements of the plot less predictable, and frankly, it just would have fit better with the version of their purpose and mission they've been serving up to the Guardians for so many years. We learn there have been rebellions in the past. If the Keepers don't want history to repeat itself, it makes a whole lot more sense to adopt a facade of benevolent control, not abusive ownership. However, given the degree of the Guardians' essential brainwashing in this novel, I suppose the Keepers would have to openly firebomb a Guardian's house and dance in the ashes before the pack members starting putting two and two together. Even then, characters like Calla's parents would probably find a way to remind her that it's her sacred duty not to rock the boat by being upset about charred corpses.

The love triangle in this book is a primary focus. I did not love this love triangle. Calla and Shay do that insta-connect thing, complete with electricity, that is all the rage these days. I'm fine with that kind of beginning if it develops into a more emotionally meaningful relationship, but until Calla and Shay actually start working together to learn more about the Keepers, they're mostly all about having really strong physical responses to each other. Ren, Calla's intended mate and the other point in this love triangle, grew on me by the end, but his habit of attempting to seduce Calla despite her protests was tiresome.

Calla's not without blame in that arena, either. She spends most of the book not knowing what she wants, and seems to decide that in the meantime, she'll make out with each boy, get herself worked up, realize she's crossing lines she doesn't want to cross, and then push him (whichever one it happens to be at the time) away. Sometimes this is accompanied by threats of violence and/or dismemberment. The pattern is repeated so often that it got frustrating for me.

Side notes: why do the Guardians insist on having most of their conversations about pack business in the middle of the high school cafeteria? Where do their clothes really go when they shift to wolf form? How does being obsessed with Indiana Jones comics give Shay badass proficiency with a whip? Did he practice, or was it comic osmosis? I'll probably never know, since I'm not terribly motivated to read more in this series.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Lesley for TeensReadToo.com

Calla is the leader of the Nighshades, one of the two wolf packs in town. Her destiny has always been to mate with Ren, the leader of the Bane pack, and she has always been preparing for mating.

Ren has always been the carefree one. Though an obvious alpha leader, he bends the rules and doesn't take them so seriously. Calla and Ren have never been close, but knowing the date of their wedding is approaching, they both try and make an effort to get to know one...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 23, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: junior-high, middle-school, romance, senior-high, supernatural

Calla is the new alpha female of the nightshade pack, destined to be mated with Ren, the alpha male of the bane back, to make a new Haldis pack. She has known this since she was a little girl, and as an alpha female, Calla must be as pure as the driven snow, while Ren gets to run around with every girl at school. Calla's life changes when she is on patrol and saves a lost hiker from a bear attack. The hiker was badly injured by the bear and Calla has to give him her own blood to save his life, n...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jun 23, 2010 Ashley Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm the first person to tell you that I don't like werewolf books. There's evidence of it in previous blog entries to prove it. However, I really *really* enjoyed 'Nightshade'. Very similar to how 'Twilight' was a book for those who had never read vampire books before, 'Nightshade' is a book for those who haven't read werewolf books before. You'll definitely want to give this read a try.

More at Brooke's Box of Books:
http://brookesboxofbooks.blogspot.com...

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Lucy *and I don't like Peter Pan* rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, favorite-2011

Great story.
Full of question and mystery.
Calla is indeed an amazing character. She's sweet yet strong and patient.
The love story between her, Shay and Ren is kinda heartbreaking because both of the guys left the tempting temptation in her world.

She confused in choosing between her pack, responsibility and her love, her life, her freedom that she always dreaming of.

The ending is so so so CLIFFHANGER! *palm twitching*

Still, this is a great story! I love it and I enjoy reading it.

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Kimberly Moeller rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, romance, teen-literature, paranormal

I am starting to feel that every young adult book is following the same outline. Either the world is coming to a very satirical and destructive end (Maze Runner, Hunger Games, Matched, etc.), or there is some sort of a terrible love triangle in which the main female character has a male friend she should be with, according to obligations or some other reason, and yet she is drawn to a second, ultimately "bad for her" male character (Twilight, Nightshade, Firelight, etc.)

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Arlene rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, read-2010, weres-shifters, autographed, ya-paranormal, gifted-to-me, young-adult

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is an explosive debut to what I feel is going to be a great series. I enjoyed this first installment quite a bit, as the characters are intriguing, the plot is unique and the pace of the story kept me turning the pages at a rapid pace to see where it would all eventually lead.

In this first installment, there were quite a few characters introduced as the two wolf groups, the Nightshades and Banes, prepare for a merge to become the Haldis pack. Calla is the alpha female...more Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is an explosive debut to what I feel is going to be a great series. I enjoyed this first installment quite a bit, as the characters are intriguing, the plot is unique and the pace of the story kept me turning the pages at a rapid pace to see where it would all eventually lead.

In this first installment, there were quite a few characters introduced as the two wolf groups, the Nightshades and Banes, prepare for a merge to become the Haldis pack. Calla is the alpha female of the Nightshade and in her pack she has Bryn, Ansel, Mason, and Fey. Ren, the alpha male for the Banes, is followed by Cosette, Neville, Sabine and Dax. Together, Calla and Ren will be united as one group to serve as Guardians to the Keepers. The groups are preparing for the inevitable merge, but plans begin to take a turn when a stranger comes to town and uncovers secrets and deceit that Calla isn’t able to easily ignore. Her feelings for Ren are compromised and she must make a decision and risk everything including her pack to follow her instincts and her growing feelings for Shay.

I liked the blend of old magic, paranormal lore, intrigue and strife that was infused in this story. The main character Calla was someone I could easily root for despite her flaws and questionable choices. Her feelings between Ren and Shay even confused me at times and I kept switching back and forth between who I thought was the better choice for her as I liked both characters quite a bit. Overall, there were a few flaws, but not enough to detract me from the storyline and keep me riveted the whole way through.

The only spoiler I will offer is that Nightshade does end with a significant cliffy, but so much happened in this book and there is quite a bit to process that I don’t feel on edge waiting for the next installment because I just might use this time to re-read the book, which I don't often do. I am eager to read Wolfsbane because the ending seemed appropriate and left me wanting more. Great installment that I will definitely continue with!(less)

19 likes · like · see review

topics	posts	views	last activity
Ren Vs Shay	181	283	May 16, 2013 11:07am
Is Ren abusive?	10	56	May 09, 2013 04:28pm
! YA Heroines !: Nightshade series	5	5	Apr 27, 2013 03:50am
The YA Book Club: Team Ren or Shay	5	19	Apr 07, 2013 11:20am
Crazy for Young A...: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer → Start Date: March 17th, 2013	51	28	Apr 01, 2013 01:32pm
Worth Reading?	23	42	Mar 13, 2013 10:49am
JLA Addicts Book ...: Nightshade Series	1	4	Mar 04, 2013 11:14am

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