Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (REVIEW)

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)

Genre: YA paranormal -- Publication date: August 1, 2009 -- Source: Library

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance. (Goodreads.com)

All right, so I'll start with a little backstory. About six months ago I had this book checked out from a library in Florida, which was where I lived. I was so siked to read it, but I had another book that I was even more excited to read first (In the Vlad Todd Chronicles). I was halfway through that book when -- SURPRISE! I'm moving to Arkansas in two days and I really had to pack and return the books to the library. So not only did I not finish the Vlad Todd book (which drives me crazy to this day! I hate not finishing books!) I also did not get to read Shiver. And Shiver, apparently, is in high demand in Arkansas (no surprises there) and I have literally been checking my library for it for the past six months, and I FINALLY got it!

So you could imagine how thrilled I was to finally have my hands on it.

I apologize in advance, for this will be a review with lots of side comments (sometimes I talk to myself) and rambling. I've had way too much caffiene today. Not entirely professional, but imbued with love and passion for the books I read.

And, without firther ado, I present you with my review (Hey, that rhymed!).

I'm a die-hard vamp freak. I love love love vampires. Apparently some people believe that if you love vampz you can't be equally infatuated with werewolves. I STRONGLY disagree because I do love werewolf books. And hott werewolves that run around without a shirt on (yummy!).

And then I see Shiver, which has a pretty radtastic premise and I heard that it had a kickass romance in it. What more could I possibly want!?

But Shiver was much better than I had initially suspected it would be.

Okay, I'll admit, the beginning didn't thrill me. I was slightly confused and I felt pretty disconnected from both characters. Not to mention I found it pretty creepy that Grace was obsessed with a wolf. She didn't know that he turned into a human. She thought it was just your average run-of-the-mill wolf that lurked in the woods by her house and pretty much stalked her. And it was pretty darn obvious that she was in love with it! I repeat: CREEEPY.

But then he turns into - you guessed it - a human boy! And he is beautiful and broken and smart and gentle and...I could go on forever (LOL. That's the name of the third book) but my point is that the boy, Sam, is irresistable in literacy context.

Except he's got a little issue with the cold, and this time that issue may transform into something permanent. No biggie.

I loved entering Sam's point of view. He was sad and insightful. And his memories. I loved those. Sam felt real and fragile and wonderful, whereas Grace...wasn't. I don't have a problem with her. She doesn't bother me. I don't really want to slam her face into a wall. But I don't like her either. Sometimes I felt like her dialogue didn't fit her personality, but she was still a generally entertaining character.

The writing and the pacing were both fantabulous. It was easy to get absorbed in Mercy Falls. However, I feel like there could have been so much more in the plot. A little more umph! You know? I did love that there were obvious plot holes that were left to be filled by the following books.

All together, this story was delectable and I devoured it as quickly as possible.

 + 1/2

I rarely give out half-pawprints, but this was a special case.

Lovers of...

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer

The Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer

The Raised by Wolves series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong

The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

will get shivers from this wonderful book.