Andrea Cremer

Book RANT: For those unfamiliar, there are occasions when I'll read a book that SOUNDS perfect for me, and may indeed include details that suit me quite well, but SOMETHING ruins the entire thing for me. That's when I rant about my unhappiness and the injustice of it all.

Please note I will rant, rave and curse the gods for the author's writing and the book's content. I will never attack an author on a personal level and I do try to remain constructive.

Today we have Nightshade a Young Adult show more Paranormal that had me literally gnashing my teeth.

Since this book rant has spoilers, I'm placing the majority under a cut.

What I liked:
I really enjoyed the world building of this book. It was something different; you have the Guardians (the werewolves), the Keepers (the ones they protect, who keep the world in Balance), the Searchers (the 'enemy' the Guardians protect the Keepers from) and than the regular old humans who are stuck in the middle. The Guardians don't see any reason to keep themselves under wraps, as long as they don't go shouting to the humans 'hey we can be wolves!' all is good. The Keepers meanwhile are doing pretty much the same thing, just they don't turn into wolves. All that undercurrent tension makes itself very apparent to the humans who segregate themselves pretty far away.

I liked that the Keepers were obviously power-tripping maniacs, who did bad things (a lot) and probably would win sociopaths of the year if anyone so cared to make that award. They had their own little clans (in this book its the Nightshades--Calla--and the Banes--Ren) they oversaw, had some fighting, but by in large they treated the Guardians the worst. There wasn't a single redeeming feature for them and for that I found them entertaining to read about.

I felt that the way Cremer handled the Guardians was refreshing. They don't so much as become wolves as they are always both, but never at the same time. Just depends on which body they want to walk around in. They retain some of their wolfy-ness as humans and vice versa. I also liked that the Banes and Nightshades may have been rivals, but they make a good effort to be more of an integrated group when the time comes. Calla and Ren's idea to begin melding the group before it was necessary was important and I thought clever.

I loved Ren. He was a playboy, and arrogant and pushed Calla, but he also respected her wishes. He tried to make things work between them, he took her advice and didn't sneer at her. He respected her as an equal Alpha leader--maybe he didn't agree with her decisions, but he didn't try to undermine her or take away her power. Was he a bit of a jerk and bully at times? Yeah, but he also showed real emotional turmoil when discussing what was happening in his own Pack.

What I did not like:
CALLA. No seriously. I was kind of intrigued with her in the beginning chapters, when it was obvious she was trying to mold her own future and do what was best for her Pack. I was kind of irritated with how standoffish she would be with Ren, than what a tease, than standoffish, than outraged...sure they couldn't 'consummate' their union until the actual ceremony, but for crying out loud! She was such a tease! She'd tell Ren they needed to stop, but would cave pretty quickly, only to get angry at herself (which quickly became anger at Ren) and start the cycle all over again. Then also she was something of a two-faced hypocrite. On the one hand she was planning her upcoming union with Ren, making him believe her whole heart was into it (well as much as he was, they were both kind of doom and gloom twins at times) and on the other it was 'Oh Shay...he makes me feel so wibbly wobbly'.

The Calla that was a good leader, and a strong alpha and who I wanted to read about would suddenly become a lovestruck idiot, flaunting common sense and authority. I understand that there is something fishy about the whole business of the Keepers and Shay, but Calla lost all sense when with Shay. Ren was bending over backwards to do whatever she asked of him in regards to their relationship and the upcoming Union, but she repaid him with lying and falling in love with another guy.

Which brings me to SHAY. Oh ye gods above. Half the time he was very milquetoast--worried, distracted and doing his level best to put himself into suicidal situations. The other half he was pushing Calla to flaunt tradition, get rid of Ren, love him more and trust him more. Some of Calla's very serious and very reasonable objections--like I don't know, the entire fate of her people?--just breezed past him. Let me say this once: love does not conquer all. If a person says something along the lines of 'we need to tread carefully because my masters have no compunction about killing us all if we are caught' the reaction should not be 'run away!'.

He didn't take her responsibility to her Pack very seriously I don't think. Or he chose to ignore it in favor of doing things to get himself killed.

I skipped around for the last two hundred plus pages of the ARC and unless I was missing all the dramatic shifts of character in the passages I wasn't reading, not much seems to change. In fact I think the end, where I thought Calla was going to do the right thing and finally trust Ren, and stop treating him like an unwanted stalker, she goes and does a very stupid thing. Karma kicks her butt for it though. And I won't lie I kind of rooted for it. Maybe, just maybe, in the second book she'll weigh her options a little and realize 'going this alone is the worst possible idea I've ever had'.

And god help her if she hurts Ren (emotionally speaking) some more. I'll invent a way to climb into this book and beat the snot out of her.


As you can see I had some very...strong...feelings about this book. Its not very often I'll come across a book that I want to enjoy with every fiber of my being, but can't because the main character makes me want to shoot her. But this is my purely bias'ed opinion. Around the blog-o-sphere the book seems to be quite popular, so maybe I'm just missing something. show less

Where do I start with my love for this book? Seriously. If I'm not careful this review will simply turn into a gushing mess and you'll all run away, which is exactly the opposite of what I want. No I want you, dear readers, to understand why it is so important that you go and purchase a copy of this book the moment that it comes out! So I'll try to keep my mushy fandom to a minimum. I'll try.

I also promise that I won't spoil Nightshade for you. You have my word!

First off I must profess my show more love for Calla. Oh Calla! She is everything that I love about a female protagonist. As Calla is the alpha wolf of her pack, she has an outwardly tough demeanor. She gives orders, takes charge, and even is willing to bend the rules a bit if necessary. Calla takes her rightful place among my top 10 favorite female characters of all time. I wish to applaud Andrea Cremer for her creation of Calla and her fellow packmates! From the moment I met them in the story I was hooked. There was no turning back for me, and I read ravenously right on until the end.

To keep things mysterious, I won't tackle Calla's love triangle too deeply. I'll simply say that both Ren and Shay, Call's love interests, are delicious. Did I just describe male characters as delicious? You bet I did! Each comes to the table with their own set of traits to fall in love with. Calla ends up torn between what her heart wants, and what her world dictates she should want. Classic love triangle.

The storyline is amazingly well-paced and the pages just fly by. Before I knew it, I was turning the last page and gasping in anticipation of what comes next. It was over all too soon. What I appreciated most was the delicate balance between all out action and the romance aspect. Truthfully, that balance is very important to me when it comes to feeling connected to a story. Andrea Cremer walks that line perfectly and crafts a story that I fell deeply in love with!

Vague enough for you? As I said, I won't ruin the story! I want you to experience this for yourself. I recommend Nightshade with my highest seal of approval. It comes out in a matter of days, so mark it on your calendar and go get a copy for yourself! show less

Nightshade is a completely engrossing novel that has enough action—and romance—to keep your heart pounding for hours after you put it down.

I really, really enjoyed Nightshade— so much, in fact, that I made myself read the book slowly so that I could savor every bit (a difficult task!). And let me tell you, Nightshade is quite savory. With a love triangle that doesn’t make the decision easy (for either Calla or the reader), Nightshade is totally swoon-worthy. There are cute moments, show more steamy moments, and tug-of-war moments abound. You’ve got Ren, the alpha boy Calla has to love, and Shay, the adorable, puppy-like boy who Calla might just love. I suppose if I have to state my preference, I’d pick Shay, since he’s not as pushy as Ren and he’s much sweeter (but, you know, Ren’s fine, too).

Many of the scenes in Nightshade went a little like this:
SHAY: Can I take your clothes off? *puppy eyes*
REN: Forget asking, I WILL take your clothes off!
CALLA: (halfheartedly) Nooo… I’m not allowed to participate in sexytimes until I get married!

Though Nightshade focused heavily on romance, Andrea Cremer did one heck of a job building a world for Calla and the other Guardians to live in. The history of the Nightshades and Banes was absolutely fascinating—it mixed fairy-tale and werewolf lore with a dark twist— and the pack dynamic was great. I felt like I was a part of the book myself, taking in all the scenery and characters.

Nightshade ends on a cliffhanger, which is completely unfair and awful, but it only spurred my excitement for book two! I can’t wait! (No, really, Andrea Cremer, lock your doors!)

I would definitely recommend Nightshade to any teen, especially to those who are reluctant readers. Nightshade is completely addictive, and it has the chops to make almost any reader fall in love with it.
(Originally posted to 365 Days of Reading) show less

Bloodrose, you've broken my heart. But I can't say why because I don't want to give anything away. While I'm happy with the way this series has ended overall, I'm not entirely happy about some of the paths this book took to get to that ending.

Now, even keeping that heartbreak in mind I'd have to say of the three books in this series, Bloodrose is my favorite. I don't remember Nightshade very well, except a feeling of dislike towards Shay. Wolfsbane was very good, but this was the most fun show more book in the series. Cremer sends you on a quest with these characters, in which they're retrieving the last three pieces of Shay's Cross weapon. And boy let me tell you, Cremer is not afraid to do what needs to be done with her characters. So prepare yourself for some hard spots for these guys. The writing was done so well that I even felt like I was in those locations with everyone.

In terms of the love triangle, there is of course a decision made, and was clear early on what that decision would be before Calla even did anything to really confirm it. This I will also not say because I don't want to spoil that for anyone. It was nice seeing even more of the new characters from Wolfsbane. This book only cemented my love of Conner, Ethan, and Adne. I did miss Monroe, because even though he was only around for a little while, he did leave an impression.

I have to say, honestly, the last battle was not quite what I thought it'd be. It just seemed a little less than what all the build-up throughout the book was pointing towards. Stuff happens, and believe me, depending on which team you're on, you'll probably be crying at one point. I know I did. I was shocked by that twist, though I guess it had to happen. Then once the final battle is won, there's another twist. I wasn't sure I liked how it ended at first, but after more thought I decided it was perfect. Though a little sad, since Shay recovers something, only to lose it minutes later.

Seriously, Bloodrose is an explosive end to series that I've come to love. I felt truly sad when I realized that this was it. I've gotten to know these characters, so I'm sure I'll reread these books many times to revisit them. I recommend this of course for fans of the series, but also just for fans of werewolves in general, whether you read YA or not. Andrea Cremer is an excellent writer, and I will read anything she writes in the future. show less