I've read the whole series this year, and I am going provide mini reviews for all three books in this post. Enjoy.
Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.
Shiver sat on my shelf for months before I got around to reading it. I was really excited to read it when I first bought it. However, I read some not so great reviews and I my excitement dwindled. I did eventually read it and I enjoyed it, however I also see why others did not like it. The pace was a bit slow for me in the beginning, I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, but nothing was really happening. I was a bit confused about what exactly was going on. But I persevered, and kept reading.
Maggie Stiefvater is a phenomenal writer, and it was for the reason alone that I kept reading.
I loved the characters in these books. They were fantastic in all three of these books. I adored Grace. There was something magical about her. She was a strong character that was not at all boring. When she wanted something she went for it. She was beautifully written. Sam was an interesting individual. I'm not sure about him, I think I found him a little too docile for my taste. He wasn't all bad. I liked that he was broody and I appreciated his love for music and poetry.
They idea of the wolves change being provoked by cold weather was interesting, but not something I was terribly fond of. I thought it was a little corny to be honest. It didn't make sense to me. The same goes for the supposed cure.
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.
I wasn't sure I was going to read
Linger. As I mentioned above. I thought
Shiver was ok, but I got kind of bored with it. But I got curious and I wanted to know what else was in store for Grace and Sam. I enjoyed
Linger WAY more than
Shiver. I thought the story was a whole lot more interesting and it brought us Cole. What a wonderfully complex character, he came to us broken and wanting to die. I found this part of his story terribly heart breaking. I loved his encounters with Isabelle, and I loved seeing their relationship develop. I also enjoyed
Linger more because we got to see Isabelle grow as a character. I enjoyed her in
Shiver and I knew there was more to her then what was initially presented to us.
Grace's Parents. They were the most neglectful people I have ever read about. They're selfishness drove me insane. I could not believe it. The fact that they did not know that Sam was staying at their house at night baffles me. Then we have Beck, he loved Sam and cared for him like any father would love their son. Beck wanted the best for Sam, he tried to give Sam everything that he needed. But for all intents and purposes he kidnapped Sam by intentionally changing him. The parental units in this novel were seriously lacking. Even Isabelle's parents were a little to non-caring for me.
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.
Forever was the last installment of this trilogy. Again, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't great for me. I still got great characters but the story never really went anywhere for me, I was waiting for certain things to be resolved or explored more, but that never happened. Cole's story for instance, I was expecting a little more detail into his life before he became a wolf but that was never mentioned. His relationship with Victor's sister was never again mentioned, which I thought was a little disappointing. Grace and Sam's story was a little boring for me. Even with the new conflict of Grace being a wolf. I did not enjoy the wolf hunt aspect that Isabelle's father was leading, I thought it unnecessary and trivial. I also did not like the end. I did not think it was much of an ending. There were SO many unanswered questions and that kind of annoyed me.
Overall, I don't think that this was a good series for me. I enjoyed the characters. Although the writing was good I didn't like the story- I don't think werewolves are my thing.
~Happy Reading Everyone!
