Review originally posted at litupmyworld.wordpress.com Rift (Prequel to the Nightshade series) Andrea Cremer Overall rating: 5/5 Research: SUPERB! (also because I’m a huge history buff) POV: 3rd Person Book Released: August 7, 2012 Characters: Ember Morrow: 4/5 Character Details: 16 years old, has auburn colored hair, natural at her warrior skills, daughter of Lord Edmund Morrow. Ember Morrow has a natural gift of a warrior. In the beginning of the book, she is seen practicing with a straw mannequin and immediately the readers are given feedback on her personality compared to the other ladies of her time. She repeatedly said that the affairs of her heart are not of her concern, however, I sometimes feel as if there was a contradiction going on because the moment she saw Barrow Hess—she showed symptoms of a girl stricken by Cupid bow. I mean, who blames her? Barrow Hess is a mighty fine man! However, I may be wrong because then again she’s just a young lady who still is yet to know who she really is. That is why I rated her character personality and over-all a 4/5 Alistair: 5/5 Character Details: perhaps a year older than Ember(?), served under Conatus for a year before taking Ember with him, his mentor is Kael (wheat-blond hair with baby blue eyes, good friend of Barrow Hess), desires for Ember Morrow since they were children, has silk, curly black hair, tall but smaller next to Barrow Hess. He is ill-tempered. Alistair reminded me so much of Ren (if you haven’t read the Nightshade series, then you would not know who I’m referring to). Well, he reminded me of Ren, in terms of his desire and young love for the stories’ protagonist. I rate Alistair’s character a 5/5 because his role is pivotal to the plot. I love, love, love the way Andrea Cremer wrote his character progression and gives the readers front row seat to his transformation. The desires of his heart have been denied, will he follow darkness? That kind of question rose from me as I read onwards. Alistair is ill-tempered, however, he truly does care about Ember and wants them to be together but his actions were too harsh and irrational. You all know that saying that some men’s brains are on their… yeah. He acts like that sometimes. However, due to his pivotal role and I’m a fool if I can’t admire his character—I rated him a 5/5 Barrow Hess: 5/5 Character Details: mid-twenties (I asked on Twitter), tall, broad shoulders, excellent and swift warrior, hair is brown “like a log wet from the rain”, blue eyes, the mentor of Ember Morrow, his weapon is a Persian-origin weapon called a shamshir, his horse is a black stallion named Tosach, he is an evident horse-lover. I don’t know where to begin about my love for Barrow Hess. He isn’t perfect for sure but the beauty of his character that he isn’t that typical, handsome, arrogant male lead we normally see. He’s caring and kind to Ember, which proved me wrong when I thought he’s the kind of guy who would look down at Ember and be harsh on her. Barrow Hess is a Guard, a knight, however his actions and the way he brings himself speak of a true prince. He’s really such a gentleman, who can blame Ember for falling for him? Even I did! Andrea Cremer’s weaving of beautiful history, beautiful characters and awesome plot progression—the novel will have you gripping on your seat, making you stay up late, make you have butterflies in your stomach (god knows how much times I had that!) and many many more. I hope you guys take my word for this. Do yourself a favor and read Rift, seriously. -Michelle -Twitter: @michellemags

I have been a fan of the Nightshade series since it has come out and even though the series had it's ups and downs it was still really great so I had some high expectations for Rift. I thought my expectations were met, I really enjoyed the story and I liked that it was set back in historical times, I also really liked the characters I thought Ember was a great female lead and I love Borrow as well. I will say that when the point of view changed to Eira I found that the book slowed down a bit but nothing big, my only other complaint about this book is that there was an element missing and I wont say what it is because I don't want to spoil but I thought there would be this element but because this is a Prequel I'm assuming that it takes time, I know that made no sense at all but oh well, overall a really good book and I look forward to the next. :0)

As a fan of of the Nightshade series, I was really excited for Andrea Cremer's new novel Rift. No need to mention that the fact that this is a prequel to one of my favorite paranormal series (even though the ending killed me) increased my excitement to a whole new level. Now, after turning the last page of Rift , I have to say that Andrea Cremer did it again! Rift is ubberly fantastic and full of sword fighting, mythology, romance and a breathtaking setting that will leave readers highly satisfied and dying for the sequel! Rift is about the ancient facts behind the Nightshade series. Facts that certainly deserved to be told on its own. This prequel is about the origin of the Keepers and how and why the ancient war that is spoken in the Nightshade series, happened. Rift is set on 1404 (A.D.) in the breathtaking Scottish highlands. Andrea Cremer couldn't have chosen a better and more fascinating place and time period to tell the story of the Keepers. The mythology, magic and breathtaking landscapes are just the tip of the iceberg of the wondrous world Cremer's created. In fact, Rift is full of action, romance, danger, and so much more! Ember Morrow, the lead and kickass female character, is in training with the tall, strong and totally gorgeous Barrow Hess in order to become a female warrior. However, this female training is strictly secret, specially from the eyes of the church. Yet, Ember Morrow's blood runs with bravery and she is willing to face demons and death while walking the path of the warrior. Barrow Hass, as I previously mentioned, is training Amber in the arts of fighting, and then in the art of kissing. So readers should rest assured that there is a heart-racing romance in this novel. This is Andrea Cremer after all, and she knows extremely well how to write delicious and highly enticing love stories without overpowering the rest of the plot. This book is perfect! Contrary to Nightshade's first person narration, Rift is told in third person and I loved it! I think this works wonderfully and I felt it enhanced the atmosphere and feeling of this novel. The third person narration definitely gives a wider perspective of the story by providing insightful chapters about different characters and situations that happen at the same time as Ember's. The Warrior Sisters' chapters, for example, are highly important part of the story and history of the Keepers and I was absolutely intrigued by the story of these two powerful woman who play a major role in the ancient war. With exhilarating adventures, swoon-worthy romance, sword fighting, magic and mythology, Rift is an fantastic prequel and addition to the international bestselling Nightshade series! Yet, it is very different and unique from the popular werewolves/wolves series. In fact, Rift shines with a bright, powerful and scorching hot flame on its own! Highly recommended!

I thoroughly enjoyed Andrea's Nightshade series, but I was thrilled when I heard she was writing a prequel series. Guys, Rift was amazing. I sped through that book like you wouldn't believe. It is entirely reminiscent of some of my old favourite fantasy books - some aspects were a bit Tamora Pierce-esque even. The world is totally rich and vibrant, brimming over with details to capture your attention and heart. There's a very good amount of action, and just enough romance to make your heart pound but not enough to overpower the rest of the story. Reasons to Read: 1.An intoxicating fantasy world: There is so much going on here - from slight "political tensions" between this semi-secret organization and the Church (the ruling authority for the time period, mostly), to magic and knights, and unknown evil just beginning to come to light... it was such a fascinating place for a book. I just felt utterly immersed in it and enjoyed every minute, getting to know this somewhat familiar history. There were so many familiar and new monsters, and I'm always a big fan of the training centre/school idea as a setting for stories! 2.Fairly atypical romance: I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting another Shay v Ren style love triangle in Rift - and I was SO happy to see that the romance does NOT appear to be headed that way after reading Rift! I just don't think my heart could handle another Bloodrose . And I think Andrea did a really good job involving some fairly atypical dynamics in terms of the relationships and romance here - plus I appreciatd that it didn't overpower the rest of the story or take away from anything else going on. The romance is strong and giddy and pained all at the same time, but still blends in nicely with the rest. 3.Dark secrets and mysteries: I really loved all the dark and twisted secrets and unexpected scenes - I felt like I was kept on my toes for the whole time. I mean, seeing as I have read the Nightshade books I know how things eventually turn out down the road, but there are still so many things I need to put together. And it's so different to learn about it in Nightshade as a thing of the past, than it is to experience it with characters who lived through it. Now, I have to clarify that I really did love this book. And I'm DYING for Rise already. But there were a few things that left me feeling a less satisfied than I had hoped for. First of all, the beginning did start off slower than I would have liked. It took me a little while to get into the story and to feel like things were really moving along. And I was somewhat confused by the people and terms being thrown around casually, but after about 50 pages I was hooked and by page 100 I felt caught up and couldn't stop reading. Second of all, I liked Ember- but I didn't love her. She just didn't stand out as a heroine for me. I felt like I have read a number of characters very similar to her, and Ember just felt a little bland because of this because I didn't find anything that really made her stand out to me as a memorable heroine - YET. I have high hopes for her in the next book. And as usual, Andrea Cremer's action scenes are exciting, heart pounding and well-written. The romance is swoon-worthy (of course). And I loved this book filled with action and intrigue and danger. ARC received from Penguin Canada for Razorbill blog tour; no other compensation was received.

Before I start my review I have to confess that I have never read the Nightshade Trilogy. I've heard great things about it, but I'm always a little sceptical about werewolves so I put off reading it. But then I started hearing murmurings of Rift and I thought "Why not? Maybe I should find out what all the fuss is about." But then from my mediocre expectations about werewolves, Rift rose to astound me in ways I never had anticipated. This a single phrase: This book was absolutely stunning. The fantasy and mythos of Rift was so beautifully constructed and rich that you get completely swept away by it. I wished that I could somehow transport myself into the pages so I could be part of Ember's world. I wanted to train to be a fighter, I wanted to be surrounded by magic. I was so extremely jealous of these characters and the amazing world they got to play in. The whole dark fantasy angle was not what I was expecting but it definitely influenced my overall reading experience. Ember herself was an amazing protagonist. She's headstrong and focused on her goals. I like that she never wanted to use anyone as a crutch -- she always wanted to take care of everything herself even if it was perfectly acceptable that she ask. But she wasn't so arrogant that she denied help when it was offered to her. She's a fighter and she has faith in her actions. I don't think you can ask for much more in a knight. One thing I really appreciated about this book, was how religion/the church are portrayed. As soon as I saw the religious angle I was a little bit worried. But even with one of the antagonists coming from inside the Church, Andrea Cremer, never demonizes religion. It was always really clear, in my opinion, that the actions of the antagonists, were actions of individual people, not the actions of an overarching religious system. It made the story believable and compelling but still respectful. Rift is an absolutely gorgeous novel, that I look forward to reading again and again. It also has me excited to go back and finally read the Nightshade Trilogy (or anything else Andrea Cremer writes from now on). It defied my expectations in every way. Final recommendation: If you like beautifully constructed fantasy worlds, and strong, intelligent heroines, then move this book to the top of your list. Even if you haven't read the Nightshade series.