Rift by Andrea Cremer

Goodreads Blurb

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.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

The Main Characters

 Ember was a strong heroine who was stubborn and independent and she always stood by her decisions no matter what. But something that annoyed me was that she always seemed as if she thought herself high above others, a bit snobby, maybe. She got offended a lot and was too hardheaded (which can sometimes be a good thing) to listen to others even when it may have risked a friend's life. Her attitude made me frustrated a lot of times and I often found myself wanting to strangle her. But Ember did have her strong points so...eh.

Eira, our antagonsit, was a perfect villain. She never meant to be evil per say, she was just swayed by her desire to do what she thought was better for her friends and family. But in the process, she lost what she thought were her goals and wanted to become more powerful than anyone. And that just makes the perfect antagonist. She didn't mean to become the villain it just happened, and the way Andrea Cremer shows the transit form good to bad was amazing, the way she blurred the lines between the two!

The Plot

The plot was awesome! I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened and tearing at my hair when something unexpected happened. Which was a lot. The plot twists were those that you think are going to happen, but doubt it. Which, of course, makes everything moree surprising. Am I right? The plot was action-packed and full of secrets! But at times, I sometimes felt as if it was a bit too...redundant at times. But that might've been just me!

The Romance

You could kind of see how the romance was steadily growing, but I still think that when the big kiss scene came, it was still sudden, still too fast. Especially when it almsot hit the next level. It honeslty surprised me when they did kiss, but I guess it was to be expected.



Pages: 448
Series: Nightshade Prequel #1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Publisher: Philomel
Release Date: August 7
Rating: 4 stars

"Ember brought her sword down without warning and her aim was true. Her blade whistled through the air, hitting its mark and smoothly halving her adversary."