Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 390
Where I Got This Book: Library
Rating: 3 Stars
Goodreads Summary:
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.
My Thoughts: When I first heard of this series, there seemed to be a lot of controversy about whether or not Stiefvater had stolen a few of Meyer's ideas from her series. That and the fact that I'm just not that into werewolves prevented me from giving this book a try. What finally convinced me to read it was discovering that each book in the series was printed using a different colored ink for the text. I thought that this was such a neat idea and it was something I had never come across before, so that made me curious enough to pick it up.
I thought it was well-written and I loved how the author wrote about the wolves. It was interesting that once a person shifted they truly become a wild wolf, with very little to no connection with their human counterpart. I honestly did not see any connection between Shiver and Twilight. Even the mind-reading thing was written quite differently. My only problem with the book is that I couldn't really feel anything for Sam and Grace, and since they are the two main characters that turned out to be a big problem. I didn't hate them or anything--I was just 'meh' about them and their relationship. Actually, if I'm being really honest, I would have to say that I actually did dislike their relationship at times--there were some cutesy scenes between the two that were just cringe-worthy to me.
I also believe that with the way Shiver ended, it could easily have been a standalone novel. I saw no reason why the author felt the need to expand the story into two more books. However, I will continue reading the series to see what the author has come up with, and so that I can hopefully feel something more for Sam and Grace and see their relationship grow.
I really love this book, but I agree with you that, based on the first book, there was no need to make it a series. I think it ended pretty perfectly. However, the next book introduces the viewpoints of Isabel and Cole, who are my favourite characters. That makes the series worth it to me, although it probably is a series just because every YA book *must* be.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a "meh" read. I hate it when I don't connect to the characters. It just makes the read less enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the stand-alone novel thing. In my opinion, Shiver was the best of the series and I didn't see the point of the last two. I liked Sam and Grace so I enjoyed reading more about them in Linger and Forever. There are new characters in Linger and Forever that you might like better than Sam and Grace.
ReplyDeleteWas there mind-reading in Shiver? I don't remember :) Loved your review.
I love this series and Isobel is my favourite character. I love that she's a bitch, but she's decent underneath. You have to read Linger, as Isobel gets her own PoV chapters and a (hot) love interest. Linger is probably slower than Shiver, though - it's just not an action-packed series; it's a romantic one.
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