Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
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Release Date: August 1st 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
Page Count: Hardcover, 400 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, RomanceGood Reads: Link
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 left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance. - Good Reads
I've waited a long time to read this book. Mostly because some jerk had it checked out at the library for 84 years and I'm job hunting poor at the moment, so buying it was out of the question. It finally came in and I just kept staring at it, admiring the cover and wanting to start, but I was too anxious to. I'm not exactly sure what was holding me back, perhaps I need mental help or maybe I had a lot of expectations. Either way, I finally read it.
At 3 am last night when I finished, I hopped out of my chair, threw the book down and said, "that was such a good book!". All smiles. Unfortunately nobody could share my joy because everyone else had gone to sleep.
At 3 am last night when I finished, I hopped out of my chair, threw the book down and said, "that was such a good book!". All smiles. Unfortunately nobody could share my joy because everyone else had gone to sleep.
Okay, I'm stalling because I don't even know how to describe this book. It was wonderful. I've read in some reviews that people disliked the way it was written, but I'm guessing we're on opposite ends, because I loved it. It was lyrical and beautiful. I'm probably going to use the word beautiful at least 25 more times. Sorry in advance.
The whole set-up was inventive. The "werewolf" story was different than anything I've read before. The atmosphere of the book was very intense. I felt the cold through the pages and whenever the weather was mentioned I nearly had a panic attack. In fact, I was whining on twitter that I was sure Sam was going to turn into a wolf, so I kept putting it down because I was so anxious about it.
Shiver is a love story. There is no huge plot other than that. There are sub-plots, but the main idea is the love between Grace and Sam. I found their love story to be touching and beautiful. Funnily enough if I tried to describe this book to somebody, it would sound ridiculous and in theory it is, but on paper it grabbed me and made me believe.
Oh, and Maggie Stiefvater is not a tease. There's a sexy-time scene in this book. Beware! Or in my case, enjoy!
I haven't gotten to this yet. TBR pile is overwhelming. Nice review. I will have to bump it up. I love originality and this sounds a little different than most.
ReplyDelete@fivealarmbookreviews: I know, I have a massive TBR pile at the moment. Thank you stopping by and commenting! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my word, I LOVE this book. I LOVE this series! I LOVE Maggie's writing!! *sigh* So good. :)
ReplyDeleteI read this and I loved it. I have followed the Sam and Grace story. It was so sweet and they were adorable together. The ending was left open, but in a live chat she mentioned that really it was for whatever you wanted, but she believed the cure worked.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you loved this one - I love it, too! I know what you mean about using the word 'beautiful', that's exactly how I always end up describing it: beautiful love story, beautiful writing, beautiful book. The image of you practically having a heart attack about the weather makes me smile. I was exactly the same - it does get really tense there at some points, doesn't it? When Isabel's searching for Sam. I hope you like Linger and the introduction of chapters for Isabel and Cole.
ReplyDelete@LitzaLou Me too! I just finished and posted a review for Linger. I liked Linger a lot too, it was a bit different than Shiver, but I still really love this series.
ReplyDelete@evermore1girl Have you read the newest one, Forever? I'm about to start that. So far I'm loving this series. I've heard that the third one is good- most people with qualms had them with the second book, so I think it's going to be good!
@TG I know! Beautiful - it's hard to come up with adequate words for how she writes! I just wrote my review and posted it for Linger - I loved Isabel and Cole. I actually was rooting for them a lot - I really hope they get together!!! Gosh, this is a good series.
I have read them all, but Forever is the most gripping yes. I hope you enjoy it too.
ReplyDeleteGreat review.. I didn't realize about this series. ;) Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat review.. I didn't realize about this series. ;) Thanks.
ReplyDelete