It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with the first two books in this series. I LOVE THEM and recommend them to everyone ( have you read Shiver and Linger yet? No? Why the heck not? READ THEM!!!!!!) so of course it makes sense that I’ve love Forever, the third and final book in Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And while I loved it, yes, I didn’t love it as much as I loved Shiver and Linger.
Now before you all yell “WHAT? HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST TWO????” Let me explain. It was totally, 100% a case of “It’s me, not you.”
I think because I was so enamored of the first two books that I held back a bit when reading Forever. I know, weird, eh? But that’s me. I knew I was going to be upset and devastated that the series was over. I loved these characters and I knew that regardless of how the series ended, I’d want more. So, to stop a major depression where all I did was sit around, mumble “Cole, Sam” and eat chocolate by the pound, I didn’t allow myself to open up 100% to the story.
Okay, now that’ I’ve explained myself, let’s chat about the book, kk? Despite my above ramble, I did love it. Maggie just has a way with words that makes my heart melt and my breath catch in my throat. I’m usually not one for flowery descriptions (totally not meant as a bad thing guys) but Maggie’s prose, totally and completely beautiful, sucked me right in.
While I enjoyed the Grace/Sam storyline, it was the Isabel/Cole parts of the book and their relationship that did me in. There are both so imperfect and so damaged and so perfect for each other that I found myself really wanting more of them and more FOR them. I honestly think my version of Heaven is Isabel and Cole getting there own series.
When Forever ended (kinda abruptly, my only complaint) I found that it was Isabel and Cole that I was curious about. And it was them that I knew I was really going to miss the most. They truly came into their own in this book.
Forever was a great ending to an amazing trilogy. I think fans are going to be very happy with it. I know I was.
I may have yelled out I LOVE YOU SCHOLASTIC CANADA!!! when the review ARC landed in my mailbox. 🙂
I had been hoping for a purple cover, but I love the richness of the reds. Now I am even more excited for the third and final installment of Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy to come out, which I didn’t think was remotely possible.
AND ….. drum-roll please…… Forever is available for pre-order through Fountain Bookstore! You can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be pre-ordering to add to my collection of signed Maggie books. After all, what kinds of friendly Canadian stalker would I be if I didn’t?
Okay, I am giddy happy. Shaking with joy. Sore-throated from squeeing. Freaking flying high. Honestly. OMG. Okay, must calm down and actually explain.
So, a while ago I won a contest over at Merry Sisters of Fate. A signed copy of Linger by Maggie Steifvater. I’m sure there is no need to remind you all of my obsession with Maggie’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Before I realized I had won the contest, I ordered all of Maggie’s books signed from Fountain Bookstore.
Well, my signed copy came today in the mail, from Maggie herself.
It has my name on it! It’s made out to me! And, and do you see? Do you see? THE FREAKING WOLF IS HOWLING MY FREAKING NAME!!!!!!!!!
I jumped up and down in the driveway so much that my undies kinda fell down a bit (no worries I had yoga pants on over them). And I screamed, “HE’S HOWLING MY NAME! HE’S HOWLING MY NAME!” and giggled like a demented twit so loud the hubs looked around to make sure that none of the neighbors were watching.
Seriously, for a bookie like me who has a bit of a literary crush on not just Maggie’s characters, but Maggie herself, this was HUGE. Monumental. The next best thing to getting to meet Maggie herself.
Okay, I’m off to eat. Or read. Or hug my book some more.
*Disclaimer for Maggie: I’m harmless and not really stalking you. Honestly. :)*
Anyone who follows me on Twitter or reads my blog knows that I have, well, a kinda author’s crush on Maggie Stiefvater. I don’t stalk her or anything, or have a shrine devoted to her, but I love her Wolves of Mercy Falls series and will yammer on about them to anyone who will listen.
When Linger, the second book in the series hit the shelves, there was a lot of Twitter talk about Fountain bookstore having signed doodled copies available. Of course my ears instantly perked up and my brain started humming “I wants, I wants, I wants.” I hopped on their website and discovered that they have signed copies of ALL of Maggie’s books. I gleefully tittered and then began to order them. But I couldn’t. Because I lived in Canada.
Now, I run into this problem frequently when shopping on line and usually I go “Oh well” and move on. But not this time. I really wanted those signed books. So I emailed Fountain bookstore and then also tweeted them. Pretty soon after that I received an email that they were working on the issue of shipping to Canada and they’d get back to me. While that gave me a glimmer of hope, I figured it would be quite some time before I heard back from them. Well, it was only a week before the next email, asking me to either email my phone number or give Heather a call.
I immediately called Heather, excited but still thinking that I was going to get a very polite, “So sorry but no can do.” What I did get, though was the offer to take my order over the phone and ship the books to me.
Well, the books came today and let me tell you there was much excitement. And giddiness. And hugging of the books.
I am just one customer and if Fountain bookstore had decided not to try to get the books to me, they wouldn’t have gone bankrupt. I think that’s why I had pretty much convinced myself it wasn’t going to happen. But see, I had forgotten one important piece of information: Fountain bookstore is an indie. And indie bookstores are a completely different kind of beast from the big box book stores.
We only have one indie bookstore here, the Bookmark, and I am kinda embarrassed to admit I don’t know the last time I was in it. With Walmart selling their books at 30% off and Indigo constantly having sales, money factors in when I’m buying books. But I think that’s going to change. I’m on a major book aquisition ban right now, but I am planning on giving books and gift certificates for Christmas. This year I think I’ll head to The Bookmark. As an avid book buyer and book blogger I think it’s time I threw my support, and money, their way.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m gonna go hug some books a bit more.
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.
At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love — the light and the dark, the warm and the cold — in a way you will never forget.
So, you wanna know how good this book was? Huh? Well, in this gal’s opinion there are no words to describe the deliciousness of Linger. In fact, at times it was so overloaded with deliciousness that my brain, and heart, went into overdrive. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to pick it up again and reread it. That rarely ever happens to me. But I loved Linger so, so very much that I can see it becoming an addiction (but in a good way). I loved it so much, in fact, that while I have a review copy I am hoping against hope that I can somehow get one of the signed and doodled copies from Fountain Bookstore delivered to me.
Okay, guess I should include some concrete facts about why Linger was so freaking amazing. First off, Cole. Now, I’m not normally all about the bad boys, but this new characters is one of those bad boys with possibly a good boy buried deep inside, so, yeah, he was hot as Hell. And besides that, he was a well written, dynamic character. And a perfect match for Isabel. Poor, sarcastic, so much fun to read about Isabel. These two are a match made in dysfunctional land and I thought it was perfection.
We also learn a bit more about Sam’s upbringing, in particular his relationship with Beck. Ah, Beck. If there was one character that I wish I could learn/read more about, it’s Beck. Maybe I’ll have to delve into the world of writing fan-fiction to satisfy that itch.
It’s weird. I’m not much for the romance in books, but I am completely drawn in by Sam and Grace’s story. In Linger they have a few obstacles pop up that threaten to keep them apart and, darn it, I don’t want that to happen. I believe in their love and I want to see it triumph. And this isn’t because I am getting mushy in my old age, no: it’s a testament to Stiefvater’s writing. She writes about their love in such a wonderful and realistic way that it got me hook, line and sinker.
KINDA SPOILERY BUT NOT REALLY
The ending of Linger did me in. Seriously. With ten pages left I set the book down, stubbornly refusing to finish it. I knew what was coming and I was upset and mad about it. After a few hours I finally took a deep breath and finished it. And then sulked for a couple of days. Why was I sulking? What I thought was going to happen happened. Plus, I now have to wait a whole freaking year for the third and final book, Forever.
END OF KINDA SPOILERY STUFF
Linger totally lives up to the hype, I swear. I loved it just as much as I loved Shiver. In fact, I would be hard pressed to say which book I loved more. Buy them. Read them. Love them. Trust me, you will.
Oh, hey, for you Canadian readers out there, I’m giving away one copy of Linger. Check out the contest deets here.
And I think this review holds my personal record for the number of times I use the words love, loves, loved. 😛
Thanks so, so much to Scholastic Canada for feeding my addiction.
So, so excited right now for you guys! I was lucky enough to not only get a chance to ask new fave author Maggie Stiefvater some questions about her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, but I also have one copy of Linger to giveaway to a lucky Canadian reader! I know, the awesomeness is just oozing around here today. 😀
First up the Q & A:
LL: First of all, thank you so much for taking the time out to answer a few questions. I’m a new fan, but a big one.In your Wolves of Mercy Falls series, you take a very different approach to the mythos of the werewolf. Were you nervous before Shiver was published that fans of werewolf fiction might scoff at/not approve of your take on werewolves?
MS: There was a brief moment after I’d finished it where I thought I HAVE KILLED THE WEREWOLF MYTHOS ENTIRELY, THEY WILL KILL ME WITH PITCHFORKS. But then I thought, you know what? I’m not really into werewolves myself (yes, this surprises everyone) and surely there must be others out there the same way. The thing about paranormal creatures is that they ought to represent a metaphor for something in our culture, and the old werewolf myth doesn’t really reflect current fears. I wanted mine to stand for the fear of losing your personal identity, something that I think’s really relevent in our homogenized, suburban society.
LL: Sam is constantly composing song lyrics in his head. Do you have any lyrics in particualr that you love?
MS: Of his? Or in general? He has a very emo-angsty set of lyrics in Linger about saying good-bye that I’m fond of. But of other people’s lyrics, I have to say I love The Shins. Songs like their absolutely beautiful “A Comet Appears” are both musically lovely and lyrically incredible:
“We can blow on our thumbs and posture,
But the lonely are such delicate things,
The wind from a wasp could blow them,
Into the sea,
With stones on their feet,
Lost to the light and the loving we need,”
LL: For Sam, winter and summer appear as too very polar opposites, with winter representing cold, isolation(despite having his pack) and longing while summer embodies warmth, familiartiy and belonging. Do you prefer one season over the other?
MS: I do indeed. But it’s neither summer nor winter. I’m a fall person, through and through. Possibly this is because I was born in November and I just spent so much of my childhood selfishly looking forward to my birthday that I can’t get over it. But fall — I feel more creative in fall. Plus, it’s an edge. There’s something about edges of things — fall as an edge at the end of the year, evening as an edge at the end of the day . . . *dreamy*
LL: Linger is one of the most aniticipated releases of the summer. Are there any books that are on your must-read list for the upcoming summer/fall season?
MS: Hmmm. I just picked up an advanced copy of THE MARBURY LENS at ALA and I’m really, really hoping to love it. But really my answer is the same as everyone’s, isn’t it? I WANT MOCKINGJAY.
LL: Once again, thanks so much for answering my questions. I hope that not all of them were repeats! 🙂
MS: They were great questions. 🙂 Thank you.
I’m such a fan-girl that I still can’t believe that I actually got the chance to have Maggie over to my little corner of the blogosphere! *takes moment to once again do her happy fan-girl dance*
OK, I’m back. And now for the giveaway!
As usual I’m going to make this short and sweet and fun. Just comment below and tell me besides Linger (duh!) what other books are you most looking forward to reading in the next few months. That’s it. Easy-peasy. I’ll run the contest until the 5th of August. And, yeah, you have to be in Canada.
If you feel like following me, cool, but you don’t have to. What you should do, though, is follow Maggie. She’s is one of my favorite twitter peeps. And she’s on Facebook. And – ah heck, you know what? Here’s a list of places you can find Maggie online. A list is much easier than me rambling on, eh?
Oh, before I go, have you had a chance to see Maggie’s Linger book trailer? It’s good. Actually it’s more than that. It’s simply beautiful and the best book trailer I’ve seen. I still tear up when I watch it. Stunning.
Make sure to pop back in tomorrow for my gushing fangirl review of Linger.
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf — her wolf — is a haunting 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 and the temperature drops, Sam must fight to stay human — or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.
Yes, I know I am coming late to the party with this one, but my God am I ever glad came! Shiver is one of those books I kept hearing about but didn’t want to read because of the major love story (since I’m not a huge romance fan). But finally I gave into the buzz, which has started once again since the second book, Linger is due out July 20th.
This is definitely a love story. And it’s a well written, engrossing, sweet love story. And, well, I loved it.
I loved everything about Shiver, right down to the color of the text. Shiver‘s cover has different shades of dusky blue-grays and it’s this blue-gray that is used for the color of the font. I never really thought of the color of font in a book before, because it’s almost always black. But the blue-gray of the words added to the mood and tone of the book, enhancing the reading experience.
Stiefvater’s way with words, particularly describing action and movement, was stellar. In one scene where Sam is upset, she describes him so vividly with his hands laced behind his head, pacing, that I felt like I was right there with him.
And while this was a love story, it wasn’t over done. It’s books like Shiver that are helping me to realize that I actually can read a book about love and romance and enjoy it, as long as it’s done the right way. From the get-go I was rooting for Sam and Grace and I was completely absorbed in their story.
For me, the true testament to a good book is how I feel once I am finished. Am I satisfied? Do I want to learn more about these characters? Do I want to share the book with everyone I know? It was a yes on all three counts. I finished Shiver, put the book down, sighed and impatiently started waiting for the release of Linger.
Thanks muchly to Scholastic Canada for sending a review copy my way.
Now before you all yell “WHAT? HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST TWO????” Let me explain. It was totally, 100% a case of “It’s me, not you.”
Lavender Lines 