Review: Forever

Jul

2011

Summary (from Goodreads): In Maggie Stiefvater’s SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

My Thoughts: Wow. Wow. Wow.

I laughed, I cried. This one blew my expectations out of the water – and is so good I don’t know how to put it into words. Definitely worth the wait!

That is what I wrote on Goodreads right after finishing. I have so much to say, so very much. I wanted you to see my initial reaction, though. Those of you eagerly awaiting the release of this book, it will so be worth the wait – and there’s only 10 days until the release date! Don’t walk; RUN to get it when July 12 is here!

I was fortunate in that I got to read this whole series back to back to back … I think it made this book that much more powerful. The previous events were still quite fresh in my mind, and I think that heightened my emotional response.

So, what to say without spoiling anything. Well, firstly, if you haven’t read the first two books, STOP READING NOW. There is no way to talk about this one without spoiling the other two.

This book is so emotional. So amazing, so fantastic. (And here I go, more general statements.) Let’s see. It’s bittersweet. The whole darn thing. From Cole and Isabel to Grace and Sam, and right down to the hunt. So much emotion, so much passion. I am really, really finding it hard to talk about this without spoiling anything.

Possible Spoilers

I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll start at the beginning.

The book opens with Shelby’s perspective. Yes, Shelby’s. And she’s killing (no surprise there). And I had a pretty good idea about who it was she’d killed pretty much right off the bat. And my suspicions were confirmed. I was quite sad, as I wanted to see more of her, but what can you do?

Cole. I knew I liked him by the end of Linger. I knew he’d prove that Beck really did see something – other than a desire to die – inside him. He amazed me. From his brilliance to his bravery and heroism. He was so real in this book, but I would have liked to have get to know him much better. Much better. We didn’t get to see nearly enough of him, but it was out of necessity.

Koenig. Remember him? Very, very deep down I knew there had to be something about him. He was unsurprisingly surprising. When he reappears, it’s evident he’s VERY important, just not how or why. This one will SPOIL things (highlight to read): It is so NICE to see a cop on the good side for once!

Isabel. I hated her early on. I thought she was being too demanding and not compassionate enough. I get that she’s not a compassionate person in general, but did she have to be so vocal? More SPOILING (highlight to read): As the end was quickly approaching, I KNEW she was going to be a pivotal player in the outcome so far as the pack was concerned. I knew she was IT. Their last hope. And I hoped she wouldn’t disappoint …

Grace and Sam just cannot be discussed separately. It’s impossible. I loved how watching them was a huge eye-opener for Cole. I love how their love is so pure, so perfect. SPOILERS (highlight to read): Watching them together as wolves – just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Watching them pull together to do what needs to be done. Watching Sam go from scared to (mostly) fearless leader. Fabulous.

Beck. I cried and cried. I also cried when Cade rushed to Sam’s aid.

Shelby. I was soooo happy to see her get what she deserved. I just kinda wish she’d suffered a bit more.

I think that’s the end of the spoilage.

The hunt was amazing. Absolutely amazing. Even better than the short hunt scene (which I loved) in Shiver. The ending did leave me with a few questions (which shall remain unwritten), but I still found it satisfying.

This was so, so fabulous. An amazing end to a series that grew on me as it progressed. I am so, so glad I finally took the time to read it all.

Oh, and I read an ARC, so I don’t have a final copy with me to comment on the formatting and whatnot. But, the type inside this MATCHED the dominant color on the cover, too. Just like Shiver and Linger. And the cover design matches the other two nicely. Yes, a book lover such as myself can REALLY appreciate these touches!

One final note: If I could, I would give this 50 stars. Alas, my rating system doesn’t go quite that high. In an effort to set this a little bit apart from Linger, I lowered Linger‘s rating to 4.5 stars. It was really good, too, but Forever is a whole new level of awesome!

Source: HUGE thanks to Jen at Banned Book Tours for compelling me to finally read this series. It is through this BBT that I received a copy of Forever for review.

Read It: Forever is scheduled for release on July, 12, 2011. You can pre-order a signed (and doodled-in) copy HERE. (This is a link to an Indie bookstore, as provided by Maggie on her blog.) If you’d rather have a pristine copy, you can pre-order 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 and iChallenges 2011.

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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. Any exceptions to this are clearly noted in the appropriate posts.

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