Witches War: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Witches War: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Buy Witches War: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
Summary: A great book with enough originality in its mythology to overlook the slightly predictable plot. A pleasure to read.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 480	Date: December 2010
Publisher: Atom
ISBN: 978-1907410277
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Calla Tor has always known where her life is heading. Grow up, become mated to Ren, lead the new pack formed of her packmates and his, serve the Keeper who they are assigned to serve. That's the way things are for alphas, and servitude is the sacred calling of the Guardians. Then Calla breaks one of the fundamental rules of her society – she saves the life of a human boy, Shay. She hopes to never see him again, but when it becomes clear that he's somehow important to the Keepers, and Calla is charged to look after him, she finds herself spending a lot of time with him.

But being near Shay is dangerous. Calla is promised to Ren, but Shay makes her feel happier than she's ever been. And Shay isn't afraid to question the ways of the Keepers and Guardians, not if it causes Calla to question her own future, and whether or not it's possible for her to choose him over Ren…

I loved this book. From the moment I first picked it up it was a delight to read – both in terms of story writing and aesthetic pleasure. The chapter titles are phases of the moon – a genius idea that I can't believe occurred to no one else before now. It was a beautiful way of marking the passage of time in the novel.

The mythology was original, and the reader challenged to keep up with it rather than given a huge amount of exposition in the beginning. The romance was touching, and I loved how the rivalry between Ren and Shay was complicated. Calla's final decision was never going to be easy, and the book was all the better for putting her through every difficult choice she had to make.

Though some of the plot points were fairly predictable, and it did rely a little heavily on the truth being discovered in an old latin book, Nightshade was still an incredibly enjoyable affair, with fantastic characters and enough originality in premise to overlook any predictability in plot. Thoroughly recommended.

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.

Fans of teen paranormal romance might enjoy the Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow and for another great werewolf book, try Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

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