NOTE: Review contains spoilers for Nightshade
After receiving serious wounds and falling unconscious during the massive battle in Bosque Mar’s library, Calla Tor wakes up in the dwelling of the Searchers, sworn enemies of the Guardians and their Keeper masters. Calla is certain that things can only get worse for her until the Searchers reveal their true intentions: they wish to train Shay to fulfill his role as the Scion and, furthermore, form a possibly pivotal alliance with Calla due to her position as a Guardian alpha.
Teaming up with the Searchers may allow Calla to rectify her mistakes by bringing down her former masters and rescuing her pack – including Ren, who she left behind. Calla faces more difficult choices than ever regarding her future – with her pack and the two men she is torn between – and the stakes have never been higher.
Andrea Cremer’s Wolfsbane is a fantastic follow-up to the first book in the series, Nightshade. Many questions left unanswered in the first book are answered, especially where the Searchers are concerned; much of their background – as well as Shay and Bosque Mar’s – is revealed, and the Keepers’ lies are further debunked. The various roles of the Keepers and the facets of “natural” magic (as opposed to the Keepers’ unnatural magic) were fascinating to read about.
The levels of action and suspense are certainly increased through Calla’s attempts to save Ren and her pack from the consequences brought about by her disappearance. New characters are introduced, old but changed ones return, and Calla discovers that the people on her side may not be who she first thought. Wolfsbane builds on all the great elements of Nightshade, raising the stakes and ending on another serious cliffhanger that will leave readers impatient for the series’ conclusion, Bloodrose.
- Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
- Date of Publication: July 26, 2011
