Nightshade: Book 1 by Andrea Cremer

Nighshade is a rather entertaining novel, with a touch of romance, mystery and suspense. The mythology behind the werewolves is extremely interesting and unique. The romance scenes are steamy and the love triangle is trite.

This book is built around, Calla an alpha female werewolf , who is suppose to be a strong heroine however her character is rather weak and passive.

This story is a mix of, The Twilight Series, The Vampire Academy Series and The Immortal Series, just replace vamps and immortals with wolves. This isn't saying it's bad, just that the story, with the exception of the mythology isn't really all that different from other books out there.

There is a high degree of predictability and a typical cliff hanger ending however, I'm still interested enough to find out what happens, when the next book, Wolfsbane which, comes out July 26, 2011.

Overall, not that bad for a debut novel.

Grade: B-/C+

Synopsis [B&N]

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?