Book Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Linger

Author:  Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 13^th, 2010

Genre: Paranormal, Werewolves

Pages: 360 pages

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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.

My review:

My friend told me I am going to like Linger more than Shiver and she was right. In the second instalment it is not all about Grace and Sam anymore. In addition to the narrative of Sam and Grace we also get a scoop inside Isabel’s and Cole’s mind. S and G are getting closer and Grace is discovering she is getting sick for the first time in her life. But is she sick or is she turning into a wolf? Well, you can guess what happens. Her parents are getting more involved in her life and they don’t want Sam any more in her life. Is she going to finally stand up to her parents?

Isabel is having hard time dealing with her brother’s death and she connects with Cole because he is the only one that treats her differently. Sure, you could say he was a jerk (even though I didn’t) but he has problems (who doesn’t in these books LOL) with suicidal thoughts and is trying to deal the fact he can’t stay as wolf as much as he would wanted too. I can’t explain to you how much I loved Cole. He has doesn’t mind walking around naked (either do I *grins*) and is damaged goods but which girl doesn’t like those, huh?

I didn’t write a longer review because I don’t want to spoil the ending if there are souls on this planet which hasn’t read The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Go read it! It’s fantastic!

4.5 stars

Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title:  Shiver

Author:  Maggie Stiefvater

Published :  August 1st, 2009

Genre :  Paranormal, Werewolves

Pages :  392 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

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.

My review:  

Sometimes I can be the biggest idiot on the planet. You see I had this book for a year and a half but I waited until all 3 were translated to Croatian. I didn’t want to read the first two and then have to wait a lot for the last part.

Maggie sure knows the world of Mercy Falls. The descriptions of nature were amazing. You get the feeling it’s cold and the stillness of forest captures your attention. Melancholic and really magical if you ask me. If I could associate this trilogy to an artist it wold be Lana Del Rey. Her songs encourage you to feel not just listen.

Grace is girl who lives with her parents but they aren’t usually around so she is very independent and knows how to take care of herself. There was this thing I didn’t like about the book and that was the fact she could sneak Sam in her room without her parents checking up on her. I get it, they aren’t around but I find it hard to believe they don’t enter her room at least one a day.

Sam is a werewolf who falls in love with Grace and he is desperately trying to stay human even though the cold is making him change into wolf. He reads a lot, plays the guitar and writes poetry. Basically he is an old soul. He reminds me a little of Jem from The Infernal Devices.

Even though this book is obviously beautiful I didn’t fall in love with it. The main reason for this is the relationship between Sam and Grace. They get together too quickly. I like a good chase before characters settle down and start to date. I usually complain how there isn’t enough romance in paranormal books but this one had plenty, I just didn’t connect with it.

Also I wanted to quit several times because I felt nothing was happening. But I am glad I stick to it and I liked it very much in the end. The last few lines made the book so much better. 

4 stars