Review: Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

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: Let me start by saying that I kinda avoided this series. I’ve never been much for werewolves, and really had no interest. I have since read a few werewolf books and decided it was worth a read – plus, I had the opportunity to review Forever (the final book), and decided it’s the perfect chance to read the series!

So far as reading goes, I did enjoy this book. And, honestly, there’s not much I can find wrong with it. Stiefvater is a very talented writer, and I absolutely love her style. I love how she chose to switch between Grace’s perspective and Sam’s perspective somewhat regularly. Other things I love are the cover (much more gorgeous in person than the photo here) and the way the ink inside the text MATCHES the dominant color on the cover! It’s one of those tiny touches that totally makes me fall in love with the book. (And the whole series is like that!)

The story itself is interesting and compelling. (Is that redundant? I’m not sure.) She has some interesting twists on werewolves and their lives. It’s very different from what I’ve read/heard before, but it’s very clever. And I really like Sam and Grace – even though there were some moments I wondered about Grace. There were a couple of somewhat obvious things that occurred, but nothing that is a story-killer. And I must admit that I LOVED the ending. Loved it.

With all of that said, the story wasn’t fascinating. I didn’t fall in love with the story – just the typesetting, color usage, and style. I could not lump it in the same group as Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed, Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade, or Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel. It just didn’t have the gotta-read-it-as-fast-as-possible and leaving-me-dying-for-more qualities that they (and other books) have for me. In fact, I kinda wonder if this book originally was meant as a stand-alone title or if a series was always in the works. While, yes, there are some things that could be further explored, I felt like the story is complete.

Still, I do look forward to starting Linger shortly …

Source: My own personal copy.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011, the 2011 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge, and iChallenges 2011.

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This review is part of Book Review Party Wednesday.

FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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