For the record, I have had an ARC of this book since last December. In January I tried to read it and was met with bitter disappointment. I was very confused and none of the new cast of characters did anything for me upon introduction. It felt like I was in a badly plotted play where people are awkwardly getting brought in through the first act. I chalked it up as bad timing, vowed to reread Nightshade when the mood struck me, and set Wolfsbane aside. ... last week I acquired an ARC of Bloodrose, the third book in the series, and suddenly I wanted to read it again.. It was time.In Wolfsbane Cremer picks up immediately following the ending events in Nightshade. Calla is with a new crew of people in an unknown location. The Searchers are human, and the enemy. All Calla has ever known is that these humans are dangerous. But time with them begins to prove that perspective is everything when it comes to the enemy. Call it Stockholm Syndrome but Calla begins to bond with her captors, particularly when she sees how they treat her and Shay. She discovers things about the history of the Guardians, in particular knowledge which has been forbidden previously. During this time Shay begins to unravel the mystery of what it means to be the Scion, and what his role will be in the coming battle. My thoughts can be boiled down to this one simple thing - Wow, am I glad I gave this book a second chance. Wow. I generally have a 75 page limit when books are not doing it for me and this book was abandoned in January when I found myself struggling to get there. I was disappointed and mad at Andrea Cremer for ruining, what I thought, was such a great series. Well... a few choice reviewers nudging me to give Wolfsbane another try (and a well time ARC) can do wonders. I'm so glad that I gave this book a second chance. It is one of those series that went from B-list to A with the sequel... though I do strongly advocate reading the two together. The beginning of Wolfsbane is a touch confusing if you don't have the mythos from Nightshade fresh in your brain. I think that was about 95% of my problem, the rest being impatience. The first 100 pages are a tad slow. However, would I have stuck through another 30 pages the book would have picked right up. Lesson learned. With a vengeance.Still, rereading this has brought me full force back into Cremer fandom... and I feel a trifle douchey for doubting her in the first place. This book is so worth pushing through the beginning... the ending is... WOW. Yeah, worth it, to say the least. I am so glad I gave it another shot. One slightly spoilery thing, that won't ruin anything at all for you folks is this... It's very interesting to see the division of loyalties between Calla and Ren's packs after the events of Nightshade... I think you will all be pleasantly surprised. 5 out of 5 stars... the second time around. - review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net
