Rift, by Andrea Cremer, is the first prequel to her Nightshade Series.  I have no qualms admitting that Andrea is one of my favorite writers in YA today.  Cremer’s Nightshade Series is definitely my favorite “wolf” trilogy, and this glimpse into the creation of her world is full of conflict, combat, and chemistry!  I have been telling friends all over that Rift is a YA version of Dinsey’s ‘Brave’.  Your daughter or little sister can have Merida, and you can live vicariously through Ember!

The setting, characters, and plot left me wanting to learn swordplay, with a handsome instructor, in a castle courtyard.  Throw in the foreign accents, a mysterious villain, and  smexy tension and you can’t go wrong with Rift.  I fell in love with Barrow, and appreciated the growth of Ember, into a young strong woman, through the story.  A prequel can occasionally lead to over analyzing facts, but Andrea Cremer succeeded in building the story around captivating and compelling characters.

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I give Rift 5 books on the Bookshelf!

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Book Synopsis:

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.

A Nightshade Prequel 2: Rise will be release in January 2013.

Review of WOLFSBANE!

Review of BLOODROSE!

For more on the Nightshade Series, check out NightshadeNexus.com or NightshadeBook.com!