Review: Wolfsbane By Andrea Creamer

Andrea Creamer
Hardcover, 390 pages
Penguin YA Group
July 26th 2011

“It took less than a second for me to shift and leap onto his desk, snarling. My fangs snapped inches from his face. Silas yelped, tipping his chair over backward, and rolled across the floor...
I glared at Silas, who was brandishing a letter opener at me.
"You do know she's not a werewolf, right?" Shay smirked at the Scribe. "That silver thing's not gonna be worth much." 

When Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemies, she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer—one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack—and the man—she left behind. 


Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? 
Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

****************

Wolfsbane is the second installment in the Nightshade series and I really enjoyed this book. We enter Wolfsbane right where we left off in Nightshade. Calla and Shay are in hands of the Searchers. When Calla wakes up after being attacked by the searchers on the night of her union with Ren she doesn't know what to expect, but she would never expect that the Searchers want her help. With a chance to save her pack and possibly get rid of the Keepers for good, Calla only has one choice.. She must work together with the people who she thought were her enemy's. 

I really liked the introduction of a few new characters in Wolfsbane. Here we meet a few of the Searchers, 

Connor, the sarcastic and slightly perverted Searcher who I love.. He had me laughing at multiple points in the book.  Adne, who is a Weaver for the Searchers and has a strong personality herself. I really liked that she was not afraid to speak her mind. She is young but is not afraid to stand up for herself and tell it like it is. 

As Calla tries to wrap her head around who the Searchers really are and if she can trust them she learns a lot about the history and the fact that The Keepers have been lying about more then she could have dreamed.  There is a very big back story in this book about the Keepers and the Searchers. Creamer gives us a lot to absorb.  I did enjoy learning a bit more about the past of Calla's world but at times it was a bit much. I tended to want to skip a bit of the history and get back to the action of the book. And Action there was. 

Calla has to return to her home town of Vail to try to locate her pack. But that is way easier said then done.  She and a few of the Searchers who make up her team are faced with Guardians who have turned agents her and Keepers who want her dead. 

Calla seemed to get on my nerves a bit in this book. In Nightshade she was a strong Alpha leader who would do anything for her pack. Now she has abandoned her pack for Shay ( who I have never liked). She does try to go back and make it right but In the beginning of this series I never thought that she was the selfish type. I really was a bit disappointed  in her choices. And then there is Shay, still getting on my nerves. I just cant see what Calla sees in him. In Wolfsbane he comes off as controlling and still lacking personality. There was also not enough Ren in this one. I really missed him in this book and the little that we got of him was not enough. 

All in all I give Wolfsbane 4 Hoots. I really enjoyed the action of this book and the introduction of the new characters. The story line was fast pace and had plenty of surprising twists. I do have to say that the ending almost killed me. It was very cut off and I probably would have liked the book less if I was not saved by the first chapter of Boodrose that is offered HERE. I cant wait to read the third book in the Nightshade series when it comes out January 3rd, 2012. As a whole I did like Wolfsbane quite a bit. I wish the main characters were a bit more likable but it is a good story that I would recommend to readers who enjoy YA paranormal books!    

Review: City Of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare
Hardcover, 424 pages
 Simon & Schuste
April 5th 2011



“You know, some people think Shadowhunters are just myths. Like mummies and genies." Kyle grinned at Jace. "Can you grant wishes?"

"That depends," he said. "Do you wish to be punched in the face?” 


The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend. 

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

***********************

Let me start by saying that this book was a long time coming for me. I absolutely love TMI series and when I finished the first three books in 2 days in 2009 I was dreading the wait for City Of Fallen Angels. So when it FINALLY came out I decided to re-read the first three books. I must say that I'm glad I did. 

We enter the book a few weeks after City Of Glass ended. Things have settled down and every one is getting back to normal life. Clary is training at the institute, trying to tap into her Shadowhunter roots, Jace is training Clary and trying to find himself through his fathers old things, Alec is off traveling with Magnis, and Isabelle is with Simon who also happens to be dating Maia. 

In City Of Fallen Angels someone is killing Shadowhunters that were associated with Valentine and the Circle. The Shadowhunters have to investigate the killings that happen to be turning up in the territories of the Downworlders.  On top of all this Jace is pulling away from Clary due to terrifying and violent dreams he is having, and is keeping it all from her. Someone is following Simon and thanks to the mark of Caine, ending up dead. 

I really loved the forth book in TMI series. It was a fast pace read with great plot twists. I really enjoyed the different angels with each characters. I love the fact that Simon was such a big part of this book. He really held his own and has defiantly grown on me as a character. It was also hard for me to read about problems between Jace and Clary. I really love them as a couple and hated seeing Jace pull away from her. 

I do have to say that I really enjoyed Kyle, Simons new roommate. He reminds me of Jace in some ways. He has that funny sarcastic vibe about him that I love so much. He also has some secrets of his own that I really did not see coming.

Overall I give City of Fallen Angels 4+ Hoots. It was not my favorite book in the series but it had everything I loved about the series included. I loved the character dynamic in City Of Fallen Angels. The characters have grown and each stand on there own to make me want them all to have their own stories. There was however a huge cliff hanger at the end which I thought was a bit predictable for me but I really enjoyed the was it was played out. All in all I really enjoyed this book and cant wait for City of Lost Souls, release date May 8th 2012.