Supernatural Snark: Nightshade

Showing posts with label Nightshade. Show all posts

Monday, January 20, 2014

Review: Snakeroot

SNAKEROOT
Nightshade Legacy #1
Andrea Cremer
Paranormal Young Adult
336 pages
Philomel
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Fans asked for it, and now they've got it!

Andrea Cremer is continuing the story she began in in her internationally bestselling trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose.

Bosque Mar haunts the dreams of both Adne and Logan, trying to escape for the Nether, where Calla, Shay and the other Guardians trapped him in the final battle in the War of All Against All...

Will he turn Adne to the dark side? Will Logan reclaim his birthright? And will darkness take over our world?

MY THOUGHTS
Snakeroot is a story clearly written for lovers of the Nightshade series, providing a look at this world from a slightly different angle as secondary characters rise to the forefront and become the focus. This story does take a little while to really settle into–particularly for those of us who may not have read the entirety of the Nightshade series–our minds trying desperately to piece together the events of the previous books in order to understand the state of things in this first installment, but Ms. Cremer does a nice job of weaving helpful reminders into the fabric of this new story to help any who may be struggling to find purchase.

While the story itself is entertaining enough and many a reader will delight in seeing characters they thought they’d said goodbye to grace the pages with their presence, an emotional connection to neither characters nor events entirely forms. We follow several different characters in Snakeroot, but our time with them is spent directed outward–the roles they’re meant to play in facilitating Bosque Mar’s possible return outlined and the various pieces of the plot shuffled and moved into place–rather than inward (with perhaps the exception of Ren) where we would really be able to feel the pain of their losses in the previous books. This was perhaps a conscious decision given the dramatic events at the conclusion of Bloodrose, but those of us who didn’t experience that book and are picking this world back up anew are left a bit emotionally adrift with no one character really stepping forward to take our heart in their hands.

Despite this being very much an ensemble book with a handful of characters all playing major roles, Adne is arguably the most intrinsic part of this new installment, and she provides a challenge for most of the book. She’s clearly struggling in the aftermath of her brother and father’s deaths, and the addition of horrifying dreams in which Bosque Mar makes his presence known only deepen her misery. Instead of being honest with Connor who is clearly nothing but supportive however, she decides to keep everything to herself and deal with it on her own, a decision that is incredibly frustrating for all the unnecessary drama it causes. She’s given ample opportunity to confide in any of the people who love her, but every single time she pushes them away and, in doing so, only further opens herself up to Bosque Mar’s insidious influence.

Overall Snakeroot, while certain to be enjoyable for those who weren’t ready to leave this world behind in Bloodrose, feels like a preparatory story for what’s to come, a slow-build up culminating in an ending that’s more beginning than anything else. We’re left with what’s sure to be a long and arduous journey on the horizon, but the promise of a return to the very start of things in the highlands of Scotland does ratchet up the desire to see how events in the next installment will unfold.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Andrea:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review.

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Review: Rift

RIFT
(Nightshade Prequel #1)
Andrea Cremer
Paranormal Young Adult
431 Pages
Philomel/Penguin
Available Now
Received at BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

MY THOUGHTS
Rift sprints from the gate as though the evil contained in its pages is nipping at its heels, immediately enveloping us in its dark and richly atmospheric world and continuing to coat us in layer after layer of complexity until we are so thoroughly ensconced in the life of the Guard that we dread the next page because it brings us one step closer to reaching the end. The time period is integral to the success of the story, the absolute control Ember’s father feels he has over her life instantaneously raising our hackles as we want nothing more than to speak out against the injustice of being treated as a commodity rather than a person. Additionally, the constant threat of zealotry from the townspeople surrounding Tearmunn as well as the Church itself–where whispers of witchcraft or an allegiance with the devil are enough to sentence any member of the Guard to a fiery fate–hangs heavy over our heads to ensure we’re fully invested in the health and welfare of Ember’s new Guard family.

Ember is an admirable heroine, choosing to embrace the path the circumstances of her birth dictated for her and throwing herself into it with a fervor that brings a smile to our faces. She's a young woman who fights what’s considered a female’s “role” in this time period, wanting to pick up arms alongside the men rather than be married and safely tucked away with a swollen belly, and she is determined to prove her mettle to the predominantly male Guard. There are times when her young age is readily apparent, mostly when she’s frustrated and takes to stomping her foot as a physical expression of that disgruntlement, but for the most part she’s someone we can easily support in her every endeavor–whether it be physical or romantic in nature.

Ember’s relationship with Barrow, her mentor in the Guard, is the kind of relationship that keeps us up late reading, following a mantra of “just one more chapter” to see if the tension thrumming between them will finally snap before we drag ourselves off to bed. They go from strangers to training partners to friends to something more at a pace designed to tease, their every interaction heavy with things left unsaid, and their every gesture garnering our intense scrutiny to see if we can decipher some meaning beyond the superficial. While there is a third player to the romance in this tale, Ember’s preference for Barrow is made clear to both us as readers as well as the other young man attempting to win her affection, therefore sparing us the formation of an actual triangle.

Readers, like me, who haven’t read the Nightshade trilogy in its entirety will have no problem settling into Ember’s world, and while we may miss some of the smaller details and hints as to what’s to come due to our ignorance, our overall enjoyment is not lessened as a result. We’re left on the last page at what’s clearly a beginning, the darkness that’s been set loose finally reaching the doorstep of Tearmunn and forcing the Guard into action, and the time until Rise is released cannot pass fast enough.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, October 18, 2010

Review: Nightshade

NIGHTSHADE
Andrea Cremer
Young Adult
452 pages
Penguin
October 19th, 2010
Received from publisher

THE STORY
Calla is the young alpha for the Nightshade pack and as such she is expected to set an example of strength, maturity, and dedication to the protection of their masters, the Keepers. Being alpha means more than being a role model, however. It also means her life is not her own. Orders must be followed. Her mate has been chosen. And her union to solidify her status as alpha female looms ever closer.

Perhaps it's the knowledge the course of her life is set in stone that leads her to abandon all her training and disregard pack laws to save the life of a human boy, but whatever the reason, she simply cannot let him die. This one little slip creates a rapidly expanding fissure in Calla's strictly regimented life.

For so long her life has been planned meticulously, but suddenly everything is shifting and spinning out of control. Shay, the boy she saved, not only challenges her mentally and emotionally, but he also pushes her to question her entire way of life and forces her to look deeper into the history of her precious Guardian pack. Her life to this point has been governed by a single truth: the Keepers are to be obeyed and protected, even at the expense of her life. But soon she realizes there are always varying degrees to a single truth.

MY THOUGHTS
This story starts out a bit confusing. We are immediately thrust into the chaos surrounding Calla's decision to disobey her pack, and terms are quickly introduced yet we are provided no explanation for them. Guardians, Keepers and Searchers are continually referred to, but the reader has no point of reference from which to garner understanding of these designations, and no history to explain the allegiances of the various characters or the definition of their roles within the group. Because that information is withheld until almost a third of the way through the book, the beginning is a bit disjointed and we are left clawing for comprehension as the plot plunges forward without us.

Just shy of halfway however, the story starts to change forms, shedding it's jumbled and confusing skin and transforming into an engrossing and mysterious read. Once we are provided some much needed information, it's easy to wrap up in that knowledge and snuggle comfortably into an enjoyable storyline. For all straight lines to be towed and rules to be obeyed in the pack infrastructure, there is an edge of rebelliousness among the younger pack members that sends a little electric shock through the pages and readies the reader for the action to come.

Calla for the most part is a strong female lead. Her blind acceptance of pack mentality in the beginning is frustrating at times (though understandable), and her willingness to succumb to the demands of her superiors is somewhat unbefitting of her alpha title. However, as she and Shay uncover some long hidden truths about the pack's history, Calla's defiant nature sparks to life and she burgeons into not only a leader, but also someone who places the safety and security of her friends and family above her own and above those who have long ruled with an iron fist cloaked in generosity.

Shay and Ren, Calla's assigned mate, are both intriguing characters. Typically, one male lead takes precedence in the love triangle formation, proving himself to be the inevitable romantic choice, but Ms. Cremer does a beautiful job of giving both characters incredible strengths and very redeemable flaws, making the reader oscillate between their amorous attentions as much as Calla does. Just as the story is blanketed in mystery and riddled with questions, the various relationships are equally inscrutable and all the more fascinating for it.

The ending is abrupt and leaves the door wide open for book two which I will be eagerly purchasing in order to bear witness to Calla's inevitable progression to a stronger, more powerful alpha, and to watch as her pack blinders are ripped away, allowing her to blink and see clearly for the first time.

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Fall Giveaway!

It's finally fall! The lovely ladies over at Good Choice Reading are hosting a fall giveaway in celebration of all things book related and I thought it would be fun to participate. I know Blogfest was just a few short weeks ago, but the fantastic people at Penguin sent me 3 beautiful ARCs of Andrea Cremer's Nightshade and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give them to 3 lucky winners. Since I already have the ARCs in my possession and can't use The Book Depository, this particular giveaway is US only.

I like things simple, so as usual entering is really easy. Just fill out the form with your name and contact information and you're done! If the form isn't working, feel free to leave your information in a comment or email me at supernaturalsnark@gmail.com and I'll make sure you're entered.

Following the blog is absolutely not required to enter, but anyone who would like to follow or already follows will receive an extra entry. There are over 50 blogs participating in this giveaway, so be sure and hop around to enter their contests as well, a list is below. The contest will run through September 29th after which my 3 winners will be chosen and notified. Good luck everyone!

Supernatural Snark Fall Giveaway Entry Form

Fall Giveaway Participants: