Sunday 5 May 2013

Review: Shiver, Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver, Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

      

From goodreads:

Shiver: 
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.

Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Linger:
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.

Forever: 
then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be kill in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

Okay, so I read all of these books back to back - so it's only fair that I review them as a trilogy rather than individual books (also, I may or may not be able to remember exactly which book certain things happen in - so doing it this way is much easier for me!)

So... not having read these books earlier kinda makes me feel like I've been living in a cave. They are everywhere. They are legendary. They are New York Times bestsellers. The covers are gorgeous and are practically everything I love in a cover... so what's wrong with me? Why haven't I picked these books up sooner?

Honestly... it was the werewolves. I feel like I've done the werewolf and vampire thing to death. They're everywhere, and each and every werewolf - no matter who it is - I compare to Jacob Black. Is that wrong? Absolutely. But I can't help it. And it is for this reason alone that I kept my distance from Shiver, Linger and Forever.

However, when a work friend gave them to me and told me that they were a great read - I decided to give them a go! How bad could it be, right?

Well... here I am with my tail between my leg (no werewolf pun intended there!). I really enjoyed these books. They were easy to read, they were well paced and they kept me interested... and, more importantly, not once did I compare Sam to Jacob Black!

Sam is the main werewolf in this trilogy. His golden eyes entrance and intrigue Grace who once had a close call with the wolves. Sam is battling with his humanity - fighting desperately to avoid the cold weather that turns him from human to wolf, for if Sam loses his battle and turns to a wolf then he will lose both his human form and his relationship with Grace.

All three books continue with the relationship of Sam and Grace - with a few other characters and a few other werewolves thrown in too, of course. The plot changes and the stories expand - but throughout the books this a relationship that you find yourself rooting for, and consequently you're rooting for Sam the human. They story lines grab your interest and are very easy to read - before I knew it I'd finished all three books.

Would I recommend this trilogy? Yes, I would. No, they aren't Twilight - but they aren't trying to be. In fact, they're a great YA pick! Lose your werewolf misconceptions and give these books a go!



2 comments:

  1. Yay! Really glad to see your review, Lisa, because I loved talking about these books on Twitter with you. They were amazing, weren't they? Definitely one of my favourite trilogies! :)

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  2. I have yet to read any of this trilogy even though it is hugely popular. It interests me, it's just one of those I haven't gotten around to yet.

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