Second Bookses

I wanted to love Nightshade. I really did. And yet... I couldn't. Calla Tor is out in the woods when she comes upon a human who'd been attacked by a grizzly. Going against rules that bind her, she saves the human's life and sets off a chain of events that may come to destroy her entire way of life. Bound by tradition, her pack is to be united with that of another on Samhain, but her feelings for the human she saved are getting in the way. On top of that, she's learning that all she knows about their way of life may not be the truth.I loved the mythology, at the heart of it. I loved the magical realism, where these humans go to school with the Guardians and the Keepers and just sort of have to stay out of their way. I love the tradition of the magic. But between the blind acceptance of the feudal system where sexual abuse is accepted as part and parcel of their lot in life to get cars, houses, etc. because the Keepers "take care" of the Guardians and the overall confusion of the immense cast of characters (by the end of the book I still was never sure which pack half of the characters started in) had me constantly flipping pages trying to figure things out.But probably most frustrating is that the book really doesn't stand alone without its sequel(s). The ending gives no answers at all, and nothing has been resolved. The reader is left wanting answers, but wondering if reading the next book will give any, or if you'll be left waiting for the third at the end anyway.