33p3barpercent's review
4.0
I really liked this one. It's a typical werewolf (but they don't call themselves werewolves) story, but Cremer's created a whole different hierarchy. Usually with love triangles, I get really annoyed and eye-rolly, thinking, "Just. Pick. One." But I didn't feel that way reading this. Normally in love triangles, you can usually tell which one is going to end up getting the girl, but both Ren and Shay were awesome, and I'm still not quite sure who's going to end up with whom in the end. There seems to be enough room for a huge twist.
This book is chock-full of story, and I can't wait to read the sequels.
This book is chock-full of story, and I can't wait to read the sequels.
cr6zym0nkeyiz's review
4.0
He drew a shuddering breath. “I thought myself strong, but discover I am weak as the next man. Perhaps weaker.” “And if I wish to give what you ask,” she whispered. “What then?” He bent down, brushing his lips over her forehead, the bridge of her nose.
After the horrifying ending of Andrea Cremer's Bloodrose, I have been a bit terrified to even read another one of her books. Come release day of RIFT I didn't realize how excited I was for it. I thought I"d give her one more chance since she is one of the few YA authors that have the power of blowing me away! Well, guess what? She blew me away again! RIFT has got to be one of the best YA books of the year! I sat reading this baby for a day and a half unable to put it down. My butt was seriously glued to my bed!
She cupped the pendant in her hand. It was rimmed with gold, its surface delicately carved to reveal a rose crossed by two swords. Alistair leaned over her shoulders. "The Bloodrose it represents the love and sacrifice required of a true warrior.”
RIFT is a prequel about the origin of the Keepers in Nightshade. It takes place in 1404 A.D., which is one of my favorite times because it is the time of those yummy sexy hottie scotties! RIFT is the story of Ember Morrow in training to become a guard with, the sexy and desirable, Barrow Hess mentoring her. There is much evil and deception and betrayal in RIFT that makes you hold your breath. Oh, and a whole set of wonderful characters you fall in love with! I loved Ember! She was strong-willed and stubborn and eager to fight on the battle field! She is a natural warrior and look forward seeing her grow more as a character!
Ember pulled his face to hers, kissing him again before she said, “Your strength gives me courage.” He smiled gently. “No, Ember, that is all your strength and none of mine.” She balked, but he kissed her, murmuring against her lips, “And that is why I love you.”
Barrow Hess. Nuff said. He reminds me of Dimitri from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy in a way and I think that is one reason why I am so in love with him. Barrow is loyal, strong, sexy & hot, and my god. I love him! He doesn't quite turn into a love interest until almost the end and I really enjoyed Barrow and Ember's relationship just developing into something. No rush! But when it does turn into something. Oh. my. god. They have such sweet and tender moments that made me want to melt. I just needed more! I look forward to seeing their relationship develop more in the next book!
Breathing hard, Ember looked up into his face. He wore that infuriating expression of being on the verge of laughter. “You’re supposed to be teaching me,” she said. “Not enjoying yourself.” “I believe I can do both.” He smiled.
We have so many fun characters! Kael, Alistair, Lukasz, and Sorcha who are apart of the guard and I have a place in my heart for all of them! I would say that the evil that took place and who being responsible for bad stuff happening was predictable before it happened. Love triangle? We may have one in the next book. We'll see. And here is where I conclude my thoughts! I adored RIFT and I am both excited and terrified for the next book, Rise. And with Andrea Cremer's books you just can't help to be a little terrified, because you never know what she's going to do or who she's going to kill!
After the horrifying ending of Andrea Cremer's Bloodrose, I have been a bit terrified to even read another one of her books. Come release day of RIFT I didn't realize how excited I was for it. I thought I"d give her one more chance since she is one of the few YA authors that have the power of blowing me away! Well, guess what? She blew me away again! RIFT has got to be one of the best YA books of the year! I sat reading this baby for a day and a half unable to put it down. My butt was seriously glued to my bed!
She cupped the pendant in her hand. It was rimmed with gold, its surface delicately carved to reveal a rose crossed by two swords. Alistair leaned over her shoulders. "The Bloodrose it represents the love and sacrifice required of a true warrior.”
RIFT is a prequel about the origin of the Keepers in Nightshade. It takes place in 1404 A.D., which is one of my favorite times because it is the time of those yummy sexy hottie scotties! RIFT is the story of Ember Morrow in training to become a guard with, the sexy and desirable, Barrow Hess mentoring her. There is much evil and deception and betrayal in RIFT that makes you hold your breath. Oh, and a whole set of wonderful characters you fall in love with! I loved Ember! She was strong-willed and stubborn and eager to fight on the battle field! She is a natural warrior and look forward seeing her grow more as a character!
Ember pulled his face to hers, kissing him again before she said, “Your strength gives me courage.” He smiled gently. “No, Ember, that is all your strength and none of mine.” She balked, but he kissed her, murmuring against her lips, “And that is why I love you.”
Barrow Hess. Nuff said. He reminds me of Dimitri from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy in a way and I think that is one reason why I am so in love with him. Barrow is loyal, strong, sexy & hot, and my god. I love him! He doesn't quite turn into a love interest until almost the end and I really enjoyed Barrow and Ember's relationship just developing into something. No rush! But when it does turn into something. Oh. my. god. They have such sweet and tender moments that made me want to melt. I just needed more! I look forward to seeing their relationship develop more in the next book!
Breathing hard, Ember looked up into his face. He wore that infuriating expression of being on the verge of laughter. “You’re supposed to be teaching me,” she said. “Not enjoying yourself.” “I believe I can do both.” He smiled.
We have so many fun characters! Kael, Alistair, Lukasz, and Sorcha who are apart of the guard and I have a place in my heart for all of them! I would say that the evil that took place and who being responsible for bad stuff happening was predictable before it happened. Love triangle? We may have one in the next book. We'll see. And here is where I conclude my thoughts! I adored RIFT and I am both excited and terrified for the next book, Rise. And with Andrea Cremer's books you just can't help to be a little terrified, because you never know what she's going to do or who she's going to kill!
bibliophile_booklover's review
5.0
This was awesome. i didn't know what the keepers were until i read more and even before then i didn't trust them. i love shay and ren. i'm happy for calla and shay but i hope love will find ren, i don't mind if it's me but since i can't be part of the story ah well. efron, emile, lumine, logan i hate they can go to hell and suck a pickle. anyway love the book, reading the second one now^-^
melinicely's review
3.0
Okay so what makes me completely furious is that I am in love with the whole plot of the book, but it was ruined by a shitty 'love triangle' (and believe me I'm normally a sucker for love triangles but this one Made my blood boil) and frustrating characters . So much lost potential here
exhaleartist's review
5.0
Why did it take me so long to read this?! I cannot believe that I kept passing up on opportunities to read this amazing book. So, you may be asking, why did I? Well, it was the summary. I am not sure why, but it never really *caught* me. Despite the gorgeous cover, I just was not drawn in. I finally decided to break down and read it. I am absolutely thrilled that I did.
Calla is the biggest reason for loving this book. She is an excellent heroine. She’s strong, courageous, tough, and definitely not your typical YA girl. I love her! The relationships within and between the packs were absolutely fascinating to me. I loved the variety and mix of the pack members. They were all their own people as well as members of the pack. I really enjoyed the relationship between Bryn and Calla, although I wish it had been present more. There is a love triangle. I know that makes many of you sigh, and me along with you. Shay and Ren are both good, decent characters. I was not sure which one I liked, even as I finished the book. As I have thought it over though, I think I am definitely more in love with Ren. I am not sure why, but I had a hard time liking Shay. I do kind of feel, however, that he was the one I was supposed to like. I am still hoping that Ren and Calla have a chance though.
I love the world the author created. The balance and power between the Guardians and the Keepers. Plus you have the mysterious Searchers. I love the mythology and history that is given to the characters and their world. It is a tense, mysterious read that kept me interested and intrigued. I do not know what else to say beyond how much I really loved it.
I would like to note that there is some content that tips this more towards older readers. Some of the moments, especially between Ren and Calla are a bit steamy, so just beware before handing this to a young reader.Otherwise, go read this!
Calla is the biggest reason for loving this book. She is an excellent heroine. She’s strong, courageous, tough, and definitely not your typical YA girl. I love her! The relationships within and between the packs were absolutely fascinating to me. I loved the variety and mix of the pack members. They were all their own people as well as members of the pack. I really enjoyed the relationship between Bryn and Calla, although I wish it had been present more. There is a love triangle. I know that makes many of you sigh, and me along with you. Shay and Ren are both good, decent characters. I was not sure which one I liked, even as I finished the book. As I have thought it over though, I think I am definitely more in love with Ren. I am not sure why, but I had a hard time liking Shay. I do kind of feel, however, that he was the one I was supposed to like. I am still hoping that Ren and Calla have a chance though.
I love the world the author created. The balance and power between the Guardians and the Keepers. Plus you have the mysterious Searchers. I love the mythology and history that is given to the characters and their world. It is a tense, mysterious read that kept me interested and intrigued. I do not know what else to say beyond how much I really loved it.
I would like to note that there is some content that tips this more towards older readers. Some of the moments, especially between Ren and Calla are a bit steamy, so just beware before handing this to a young reader.Otherwise, go read this!
pollyroth's review
3.0
I don't really know how to convey how much I liked this book in words. Seriously, for a book with such flat and cliche characters, I enjoyed my reading experience immensely. That being said, the things that I didn't like made it impossible to give higher than a three star rating. I'm probably being generous too...
Calla has her life laid out for her. As the alpha Guardian (Aka werewolf) she is betrothed to another alpha and will serve the keepers for the rest of her life. Then she meets a beautiful human, one who doesn't have his life planned for him. And everything she thought she knew about herself comes into question.
What I liked: Although Shay was unbelievably lifeless, I couldn't help but sigh during the romance in this book. It's totally the overused girl-meets-boy-who-makes-her-question-everything type of thing going on, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for cliches...
The take on werewolves was kind of cool, and while I didn't like how Calla treated her pack no better than dogs, it was unique.
What I didn't like: Shay. I tried sooo hard to like him! I completely enjoyed the romantic elements, but what kept me from really like the book was the lack of personality Shay gave off. Literally, he was sooo 2D. Nothing about him screamed "I COULD ACTUALLY EXIST! I'M NOT IN A BOOK!" He was like a character from an okay movie actually. No real character development, just the average "parents are dead" thing.
As previously mentioned, the way Calla treated her pack was a bit too wolfish. I get they're wolves, but she was just too about being above everyone because she's the alpha. She didn't really think about her pack's feelings, especially her so called best friends!
One MAJOR annoyance I had was the lack of time. Calla is always talking about the Union in October, but never once in the book is it mentioned that it is in fact OCTOBER! Or that the Union is fast approaching! I literally didn't know how far away the Union was until a day before it happened!
While poor character development and minor annoyances kept this book from being a four star, I still enjoyed reading this book.
Calla has her life laid out for her. As the alpha Guardian (Aka werewolf) she is betrothed to another alpha and will serve the keepers for the rest of her life. Then she meets a beautiful human, one who doesn't have his life planned for him. And everything she thought she knew about herself comes into question.
What I liked: Although Shay was unbelievably lifeless, I couldn't help but sigh during the romance in this book. It's totally the overused girl-meets-boy-who-makes-her-question-everything type of thing going on, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for cliches...
The take on werewolves was kind of cool, and while I didn't like how Calla treated her pack no better than dogs, it was unique.
What I didn't like: Shay. I tried sooo hard to like him! I completely enjoyed the romantic elements, but what kept me from really like the book was the lack of personality Shay gave off. Literally, he was sooo 2D. Nothing about him screamed "I COULD ACTUALLY EXIST! I'M NOT IN A BOOK!" He was like a character from an okay movie actually. No real character development, just the average "parents are dead" thing.
As previously mentioned, the way Calla treated her pack was a bit too wolfish. I get they're wolves, but she was just too about being above everyone because she's the alpha. She didn't really think about her pack's feelings, especially her so called best friends!
One MAJOR annoyance I had was the lack of time. Calla is always talking about the Union in October, but never once in the book is it mentioned that it is in fact OCTOBER! Or that the Union is fast approaching! I literally didn't know how far away the Union was until a day before it happened!
While poor character development and minor annoyances kept this book from being a four star, I still enjoyed reading this book.
lucindaslibrary's review
3.0
Typical teenage angst. Awkward love triangle as usual. Not a bad read, definitely a guilty pleasure for myself.
lazygal's review
4.0
My first thought when seeing this book was "oh no, not another book about horror movie creatures updated to sexy protagonists" (eg, vampires, zombies, etc.). Lucky for me, this new take on werewolves is better than that; one might say that this isn't about werewolves at all, it's about dual-natured creatures that can shift between human and wolf form at will. So, slightly different.
Calla's life has been defined by being an alpha in a pack of Guardians, knowing that she will marry (mate with?) Ren, another alpha. This is who she is, what her life has always been. Shay, a normal human guy, arrives in town and her assumptions about her life change, as do her relationships with her pack and Ren. Her confusion about these changes, as well as her emotional distress at being caught between Ren and Shay mimic the real-life confusion many of us go through as we reach the end of our high school careers and explore dating (and other relationships). I particularly liked that Shay wasn't just there as the Exposition Human, that the world of the Guardians and Keepers (and, to some extent, Searchers) was slowly revealed without huge passages of "and then this, and then that" narrative.
My biggest complaints were: the pop cultural references (those get dated really fast!); the way in which a handful of students, possibly 20 total, somehow terrified and cowed the rest - unless the school was far more exclusive than the book implies, it just doesn't make sense; and the abrupt ending. Yes, this is yet another series and clearly you need to end with a cliffhanger, but I felt as though it ended almost in the middle of a sentence (it doesn't, quite). I know that the second book will follow this story, not pursue another narrative thread that takes place in this world (as Fire or Scumble do). I feel manipulated into buying another book, which makes me feel a little resistant (although I probably will buy it).
ARC provided by publisher.
Calla's life has been defined by being an alpha in a pack of Guardians, knowing that she will marry (mate with?) Ren, another alpha. This is who she is, what her life has always been. Shay, a normal human guy, arrives in town and her assumptions about her life change, as do her relationships with her pack and Ren. Her confusion about these changes, as well as her emotional distress at being caught between Ren and Shay mimic the real-life confusion many of us go through as we reach the end of our high school careers and explore dating (and other relationships). I particularly liked that Shay wasn't just there as the Exposition Human, that the world of the Guardians and Keepers (and, to some extent, Searchers) was slowly revealed without huge passages of "and then this, and then that" narrative.
My biggest complaints were: the pop cultural references (those get dated really fast!); the way in which a handful of students, possibly 20 total, somehow terrified and cowed the rest - unless the school was far more exclusive than the book implies, it just doesn't make sense; and the abrupt ending. Yes, this is yet another series and clearly you need to end with a cliffhanger, but I felt as though it ended almost in the middle of a sentence (it doesn't, quite). I know that the second book will follow this story, not pursue another narrative thread that takes place in this world (as Fire or Scumble do). I feel manipulated into buying another book, which makes me feel a little resistant (although I probably will buy it).
ARC provided by publisher.
suzannedix's review
4.0
Glad to finally have read this one. I did find it unnecessarily long (over 450 pages with a dense font) but the mystery behind the keepers, guardians and searchers was very exciting and interesting.
I would have a very hard recommending this one to middle school students. While they would love the werewolf storyline, the mature implications about this violent world of domination and possession was at times disturbing.
I would have a very hard recommending this one to middle school students. While they would love the werewolf storyline, the mature implications about this violent world of domination and possession was at times disturbing.