Early Review - Wolfsbane (The Witches War, Book 2) by Andrea Cremer (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal
Size: 400 pages
Publisher:  Philomel
Release Date: July 26, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-0399254833
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Witches War series
Source: ARC through Book It Forward ARC Tours
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the second book in The Witches War series by Cremer.  I received an ARC of this book through Book It Forward ARC tours.  The third book Bloodrose is planned for a summer 2012 release.  This book was an excellent addition to the series.  The reader learns a ton more about Calla's world in this book and it was a pleasure to read.

Calla has fled her pack and wakes up in a facility full of Searchers; her sworn enemy.  They want her to join them and possibly aid them in obtaining an alliance with the Guardians against the Keepers.  Shay is there with her and, as the Scion, is very important to the Searchers.  Calla must decide who to trust.  Can she believe the Searchers and the history they tell her?  Will Shay stand firm at her side throughout the fight?  What will become of Calla's Guardian pack and the people who helped her escape?  Many secrets are revealed and Calla is forced to decide if she will aid her sworn enemy.

This book was even faster paced than the first book  There are a lot of action scenes and we get to meet some great new characters.  The reader is introduced to the world of the Searchers and it is a complex world.  There are four new schools of magic in the Searchers facility, along with a whole bunch of history, and lots of new characters with interesting issues.

Cremer does an excellent job creating this world and populating it with engaging characters that have a lot of depth to them.  When I started the book it took me a second to get the factions sorted in my mind (Keepers, Guardians, Searchers) but Cremer does a good job of backfilling and aids the reader in remembering what happened in the previous book.  Then the reader has a lot of new terminology thrown at them that relates to the Searchers magic and schools.  This was the only part of the book that was a bit annoying; it was hard to keep everything straight early on.

Calla and Shay have great chemistry together and this book features them; Ren enters the picture now and then to shake things up...but this book is definitely focused on Calla and Shay.  There is a new character, a Searcher, who enters the story and is very intriguing.  Cremer does an excellent job with dialogue; lots of the dialogue between characters is very witty and adds humor to the story.  Cremer's writing style is in general very readable and fast-paced.  I tore through this book very quickly and had trouble putting it down.

The story ended well and wrapped the main storyline up nicely while setting things up for the next book.  This book was just the beginning of the Witches War and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Overall an excellent continuation of this series.  Cremer has created a wonderfully complex world, a heart-pounding fast-paced plot, and characters that are fun to read about and very engaging.  A must read for fans of Nightshade, also a great read for fans of paranormal YA.  This is one of those paranormal YA series that really stands out in an over-crowded genre.  I absolutely cannot wait to read Bloodrose.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge