Book Review: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer ( Nightshade #1 )

Title: Nightshade
Author: Andrea Cremer
Series: Nightshade #1
Links: Website | Blog | Tumblr | Twitter
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Date: October 19th 2010
Format: Hardback
Pages: 452
Add it: Goodreads | Shelfari
Buy it: Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Summary from Goodreads;
Calla is the alpha female of a shape-shifting wolf pack. She is destined to marry Ren Laroche, the pack's alpha male. Together, they would rule their pack together, guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But then, Calla saves a beautiful human boy, who captures her heart. Calla begins to question everything - her fate, her existence, and her world and the orders the Keepers have asked her to follow. She will have to make a choice. But will she follow her heart if it means losing everything, including her own life?
*Due to my range on emotions throughout this book and afterwards, this review "deserved" a couple of gifs, lol.
Rating:
**** 4.5 stars; Enjoyable read, would recommend to some people.
Thoughts:
Me throughout most of the book;

I decided to continue because even though the characters frustrated me to the point of almost putting it down, the writing was gorgeous. Such detail! I loved the details because everything felt as if it was displayed in front of you to watch.
Me, frustrated because of the characters and knowing I had to continue because of the writing.

The plot was centered around Calla, whom is the main character and two male characters named Shay and Ren resulting in a love triangle. Now, I don't mind love triangles if written well but if they're not -- well I don't generally enjoy them but for this book I made an exception. Andrea's gorgeous and detailed writing made a structure for the plot which had me riveted from the beginning to the end. Calla has been living in a world built around lies, everything she knows and believes in is a lie.
The characters were frustrating to read about but towards the middle of the book you get to know a much deeper side to them and you come to understand them. You also realize why they act how they act. There is a lot of character development but I do wish I'd seen more of Ren.
The ending was completely and utterly fantastic! It's a cliffhanger which made me feel like this;

I was completely taken back after reading the second half of this novel because of the way the writer and plot pulls you in and makes you flip through the pages even faster. Another element these pages held was action! I couldn't stop to breath between these pages because of the amount of action they held. I would've definitely picked up the second book if it wasn't for the fact that it's already on my shelves, score! Andrea's Nightshade is the first novel in the Nightshade trilogy which I will be continuing due to my curiosity and the beautiful writing.
I recommend this to anyone looking for an action packed novel with beautiful writing and is fast paced.
New cover: I'm a big fan of the first shiny cover but this looks more professional and logical, if that makes any sense. ^__^

Trailer:

“All I wanted was to take a hot bath, to go to sleep, and to not wake up. EVER.”
― Andrea Cremer, Nightshade