BLOODROSE (NIGHTSHADE #3) by Andrea Cremer

Title: BLOODROSE  (Last in the trilogy of NIGHTSHADE (#1) and WOLFSBANE (#2))
Author: Andrea Cremer
Publisher: Philomel (a Penguin imprint)
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Number of Pages: 414
Source of Book: ARC sent from Penguin after NCTE (mostly because I was stalking it and drooling over the one copy they had at their booth in the exhibit hall!) Thanks, Penguin Peeps!
Author’s Website: blurredhistory.blogspot.com

The Ultimate Sacrifice.

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon
her, there’s more at stake than fighting. There’s saving Ren, even if
it incurs Shay’s wrath. There’s keeping Ansel safe, even if he’s been
branded a traitor. There’s proving herself as the pack’s alpha, facing
unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers’ magic once and
for all. And then there’s deciding what to do when the war ends. If
Calla makes it out alive, that is. 

In the final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, New York Times
bestselling author Andrea Cremer creates a novel with twists and turns
that will keep you on the edge of your seat until its final pages. A
dynamic end to this breathtaking trilogy.

This is a tough one to write without spoiling anything, so let me first say, if you’ve read NIGHTSHADE and WOLFSBANE, you’ll definitely love the ending to this trilogy, but if you haven’t – go read them…no, seriously, go get them now! NIGHTSHADE was my book obsession of 2010 and as soon as BLOODROSE showed up on my doorstep, I dropped all my other books, and things I should have been doing, and read it for a day and a half straight until I finished. I’m bummed my time to spend with Calla and her pack is over, but I’m satisfied with the resolution to this trilogy and thankful to have experienced this journey and world that Andrea Cremer created for us to enjoy.

This final book in the trilogy is really all about Calla’s journey – finding her strength and ability to be in control of her own life/choices/decisions. Calla is a strong character, but I don’t think she realized how strong she can be in fighting against the life that she was born into until the events at the start of this book. She really has to come into her own as an alpha in this book. I enjoyed spending time with Calla during this time of upheaval in her life and struggle to balance both sides of her dreams and wants and personality. However, it was tough for me because although it’s not all about the boys, it still is a little, and my preferred one did not end up being the one in the way I would have wanted, but I also understand why the story couldn’t have ended up that way. It was heartbreaking to me, but I do understand as Andrea tweeted me: she’s “bound by blood and bone to the story.” Unfortunately, I think deep down as I was reading, I knew it would end up that way, and so the whole time as much as I wanted to love it, I felt myself pulling back a little because I didn’t want to read the part I knew was inevitably coming.

This book had quite a bit of suspense as the search is on for the remaining parts of the Scion’s sword and action as the war between the Keepers and the Guardians/Searchers came to it’s battle-filled conclusion. I enjoyed the suspense and action as well as the characters. The way that the pack dynamics were written drew me into all of the characters even more, and some of my favorites were highlighted in this book. Having other couples and friends dealing with real emotions and relationships (family and pack and Searcher, both friendship and romantic) added a juxtaposition to the search and war situations which kept the reason for the war at the heart of the story. And I enjoyed Connor’s comic relief again and the ultimate end to his story. Andrea has an innate intelligence to her writing that I really appreciate. I can tell she knows her history when reading her books and she has created a complex world for us to share for a little while.

I was very satisfied with the ending to this book. In fact, I really loved the very last chapter-it might have been one of my favorites especially because of whose perspective it is told through. There was redemption for many characters and relationships and I felt a sense of a deep breath of satisfaction at the end in knowing everyone was where they should be, living the lives they should be, with the people they could be with. You definitely need to get your hands on this one January 3rd – and make sure to block out some time to read it because once you start, you won’t want to stop until the very last word (and even then, you’ll probably wish it wasn’t over)!