Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
Nightshade #2
Release: July 26, 2011 (UK)
Publisher: ATOM
Rating: 4 out of 5
Buy the Book: Amazon US | Amazon UK

This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended.Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. 

But then the Searchers make her an offer,one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack and the man she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive. - Goodreads Page

After reading Nightshade, I was so freaking excited to read Wolfsbane! I loved the first book in the trilogy, and I had high hopes for this one. I definitely enjoyed Wolfsbane, but it didn’t have the same appeal that Nightshade did. I think I know why, and I’ll get onto that in a minute.

Calla finds herself with the Searchers – her supposed enemies since birth – in a large academy, with Shay. She soon discovers that what the Keepers had been telling her hadn’t been entirely true, and the Searchers fill her in on a lot of stuff that she had missed. The Searchers want Calla to bring her pack back to the Academy, so they can win the war against the Keepers. Calla is all for it, she wants her pack to be safe, and so she and the Searchers go off to get the pack that she left behind whilst running away to save Shay.

There is a lot of stuff going on in this book, and I don’t mean action scenes. Most of the chapters are packed full of information on the war between the Searchers and the Keepers, and on the history of the Guardians. It was all very interesting, and I loved reading about it. The only problem was that, at times, the amount of information the Searchers shared at one time was heavy, and it felt like there were huge info dumps going on throughout the book. It was a bit too much.

The action scenes, when there were some, were fantastic! I was holding my breath as Calla & co. went to save her pack. The descriptions were fantastic. And oh my goodness – gargoyles! That’s all I’m going to say. That part gave me chills, it was so, so creepy!

There wasn’t much Ren in this book. He seriously only showed up in one scene, which I was a little annoyed about, as I love Ren! *hugs him tight*

I also hated Shay in this book. And when I say hated, I mean despised. He was such a dick in Wolfsbane, as he kept pushing Calla to do stuff, and wouldn’t let her stand up for herself. Ugh. I wanted someone to accidentally-on-purpose shoot him with an arrow, or whack a mace over his head or something. Bloody hell.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the book. The cliffhanger ending has kept me intrigued for the next book, and I read the first chapter of Bloodrose online and I loved it. Ah!  My lips are sealed, though, you’ll have to read the book to find out what’s next!  

100 Follower Giveaway! - CLOSED

Hey all! As promised, here is the 100 follower giveaway post! Due to my overly generous nature *pff, please* I'll be giving away a copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer to one lucky person. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars; you can read my review HERE. And HERE is Nightshade's GoodReads page

All you have to do is be a follower of this blog and/or a subscriber on my Youtube channel!

I've made this a requirement because this giveaway is to show my gratitude towards all of you lovely people who read my blog on a regular basis, but I will be hosting a non-follower giveaway in a couple of weeks!

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

Contest Information:

+ Entrants must be 13 years of age or older.

+ ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. If you've accidentally entered twice, then mail me so I know you're not trying to cheat!

+ Open to followers/subscribers only.

+ This contest is INTERNATIONAL.

+ Contest deadline is January 22, 2011

Good luck everyone, and thank you so much for reading my blog and/or watching my videos!

Book Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

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? - Goodreads


Let’s start with the plot. There’s so much I would love to tell you, but if I was to do that there would be some serious hate/rotten tomatoes thrown my way due to immense spoilers. The plot is very fast paced, but at the same time, things are slow at being revealed/discovered. It doesn’t all come out at once, which I loved, because it meant that it wasn’t all thrown at you or Calla. Andrea Cremer took her time explaining the (brilliant) world that she has created, whilst keeping a lot of things a mystery at the same time. I couldn’t put this book down once I had started reading it. It was really a tremendous read for a debut novel, and I was shocked, even though I had heard plenty of excellent reviews on this book.


Learning about the Keepers and the Guardians was the best part of this novel. The history involved was in-depth and brilliantly thought out. Each little connection made led you closer to the truth, but even by the end of the novel you’re left needing and wanting to know more. Which is more than appropriate, because there is going to be a sequel coming out next year. 


The main character, Calla, was brilliantly described and is probably one of my favourite female leads I have read about in the past few years. As some of you may know, I tend to have a major problem with a lot of female main characters, but I really loved Calla’s strong, independent character. 


However, what kind of brought this book down a notch - for me - was the love triangle. I’ve seen so many of these, I’ve become bored of them. On one point of the triangle is Ren, the alpha male of the new pack, and consequently the werewolf Calla’s betrothed to. He’s strong, sarcastic, and flirty, at the same time as being loyal and kind. I did like Ren, but at times he got on my nerves and at one point in the story I truly did dislike him. However, I understood why he did what he did. He’s a pack leader, and won’t put the safety of his pack at risk for anything. 


The other point in the love triangle is the new boy in town, Shay. He’s human with whom Calla suffers from the “love-at-first-sight” debacle. I honestly didn’t see why they had a sudden and immediate connection. Shay was an interesting character, but like I said - I wasn’t keen on the love triangle. 


Cover: A+ . It’s absolutely beautiful. It has to be my favourite cover… ever!


Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fast paced, easy to read novel with a strong female lead.

Rating: 4/5

Buy Nightshade at:

Amazon US|Book Depository

Format: Hardcover, 454 pages

Publisher: Philomel

Publication Date: October 19th 2010 (US)

Nightshade is not currently available in the UK, however you can pre-order the paperback edition from Amazon; to be released in December 2010.