Book Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)
by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre:  Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Publication: first published July 2010
Format: Paperback, 362 pages
Author:  Website, Facebook, Twitter

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces -- wolf and human -- with love bearing its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Linger takes place after Sam was ‘cured’ after that high fever he caught from meningitis. And this book, we were introduced to more characters, like Cole, a rock star who became a wolf to lose himself. Just like Shiver, Linger was written in the characters’ point of view. And in Linger, it was written in Grace, Sam, Cole and Isabel’s.

Linger, in my opinion was a little bit too draggy from the beginning to the middle of it. I guess one of the reasons was because we were introduced to Cole. I have to admit that I put aside the book for a few times because I was frustrated with the slow plot. I was waiting for something big to happen, but this big thing only happened towards the end of the book (the ending was the most interesting thing that happened in the book, but why did it have to end there?)

I was also frustrated with how Grace acted in the second book. I like Grace in Shiver. But I didn’t like her that much with what was happening between her, her parents and Sam. Linger is an okay read. It wasn’t really my preference. But I will still read ‘Forever’ because I'm curious of  what will happen to Grace and Sam next.

Book Review: Shiver

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Publication: 2009

Format: Paperback, 392 pages

I wanted to read this book when I saw it in the book store! I absolutely love the cover. I was fascinated with simple and attractive cover, and I love wolves!

Grace was attacked by a pack of wolves when she was small. Sam, as a wolf, took her away from the attack to save her. Ever since the attack, Grace was attracted to this wolf with yellow eyes or Sam. It was when Jack died when the people in Mercy Falls started to hunt for the wolves. It was then when Grace found Sam at her house, as a human.

Shiver was written in Grace and Sam’s point of view. Now, I have read a few books with alternating point of view, but I found that Grace and Sam’s are a bit confusing because it didn’t alternate between every chapter. It was all over the place, and messy.

In the beginning, Shiver was written in a bit of poetic, lyrical way when Sam was a wolf. But the writing style isn’t as lyrical when Sam turned human annoys me. 

I love the idea of Grace, falling in love with Sam, as a wolf, without knowing that he is a human. I think it was beautiful. But the story is mostly about the love story between Grace and Sam (as a human), and how Sam wanted to stay human. I was looking forward to see more suspense, actually. So, I was a bit disappointed when there weren’t much of them.

Book Cover’s Description

the cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.